the traveller movie

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

It would give the opportunity to gradually introduce the scope of the Traveller universe, and also let the show get its "sea legs" and generate more intrest and bigger advertising sales, and therefore more money to spend on production. The TRaveller Setting would be what binds the show together, and would grow as the show goes on. But small bites would be used.

Consider: The Ferengi in the early seasons of Star Trek: NG had fairly complex makeup but a crappy prop situation (Sonny bono vests and "energy whips") Later, they get a sort of standard uniform, and ships, etc. SO by the time it came round to start doing "Ferengi Episodes" for DS9 they had a firm footing. (I support the idea of this, but not the execution in this case, I found the ferengi to be excrutiating!)

I for one, would love to have a full sized Scout/Courier But a strategy would be needed to get there. Too many shows make the mistake of bombing the viewer with too much background too soon. They need to relate to the characters first. The OTU would be an ideal backdrop.

 

[Madarin Dude]

As far as the broad setting goes I like it. The traveller thing is more for the writers so there is some consistancy between episodes certain things work a certain way. I really don't care if the viewers know what traveller is all about.Just enjoy the program. I have played it many times over hte years and I don't think I know what it is all about. Short stories abotu the Imperium what a thought? I like having a show I like with characters I like but there is also the possibility that the actors and the show might not work.(voyager for me does not work) If there is a problem with a traveller show then the next one will be better. I have not seen firefly because I have been out of the USA since 2002. But I woudl enjoy a sci fi show of one offs. Using traveller as a background and having some rules liek ships take so long to go so far. Peopel use lasers and assult rifles. Things like that. This way we don't have Zapatron handguns that destroy worlds in one episode and people shrugging off rifle bullets in the next.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

I don't think you could effectvely do a Traveller Movie in two hours, any more than you could do a Dune movie in two hours... that simple bit is why a show might better, especially a cable show.

 

[Shadowdancer]

A big problem with an anthology-style show such as the one the Baron suggests is the nature of TV production. The production companies prefer to spend as much of the production costs up front as possible, so the big expenses (sets) can be written off over the life of the show. For most series that use sets, if a major set isn't built for the pilot, it won't get built later on.

In the case of the Baron's series, if you jump around from different locations in the OTU each week, and feature different ship interiors each week, etc., the production company isn't going to like that. "Why spend money for a far trader interior if it isn't going to be used in the pilot, or it isn't going to be used in every show?" Then, if the show does get greenlighted, the production company isn't going to want to spend more money for a major set piece. "Why do you need that? It wasn't needed in the pilot? It's not going to be needed each week?"

The people running production companies, for the most part, aren't creative people. They are businessmen, accountants and lawyers. They look at the bottom line. They aren't going to want to make a series that requires major sets which don't get used every week, or even every other week.

So in order to make all of the major interior sets for all of the different classes of starships that would be used in an anthology series, the initial budget would be so big no one would greenlight it. And if you kept the initial production costs low to get the show made, the company isn't going to be willing to spend larger amounts of money further down the line because that practically eliminates any chance of the show being profitable.

For one of the Star Trek series -- either Next Generation or DS:9 -- the story goes that the creators realized when getting ready to shoot the pilot that there was a major set which would probably get a lot of use over the course of the series, but which wasn't being built for the pilot (I want to say it was part of the engine room on Enterprise for Next Generation, but I'm not sure). Knowing the production company would be reluctant to outlay enough funds to build that set later, they rewrote the pilot to include a scene in that set, thereby ensuring it would have to be built.

Otherwise, I think the Baron's idea is a good one. But it might work better as a book idea as a way to build interest in Traveller and the OTU, a series of short stories which demonstrate the scope of the setting and the versatility of the game.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Currently, there are many companies looking to find a good venue to showcase both HD camera work, and so-named "Virtual Sets"

Also, Scripts should be the number one priority, you can't pitch a show without at least one (four in the can is the usual number). Everything else builds around good writing.

 

[Hecateus]

Hi ho! haven't been here in a while, but given the lack of a contemporary Traveller RPG type game, the subject of TV show/movie or somesuch interests me.

I still recomend making a series via SWflash or Machinima ala Red vs. Blue. TV and the Multiplexes are too crowded.

Either way I think it would be neat to have two interlinking series, a complex series of interlocking 'Traveller: Epic' story arcs ala B5, /and/ a series of one-off stories set in the 'Traveller: Universe', to provide story background and variation from the former. Time them right and they would rock.

Cheers!