Thursday, December 15, 2005

MAN & AQUAMAN

The WB has OK'ed a pilot to be filmed for a TV series about the superhero Aquaman. It's going to be headed by the same team that's in charge of Smallville -- Miles Millar and Alfed Gough -- but Alan Richson isn't being considered to reprise the role he played on an episode of 'Smallville'. Apparently, the producers want the show to stand on its own.

Fine, but you know that at the first sign of trouble in the ratings, they'll go running to a crossover with 'Smallville' to help bring in the viewers.

"The stories will come from the environment: ocean polluters, evil oil companies and other (threats to the) environment," Alfred Gough said. Skein will be set -- and possibly lensed -- in the Florida Keys, not far from the Bermuda Triangle, which will be another major story engine".

Right now, I'm leaning towards letting this version of 'Aquaman' remain in the universe of Earth Prime-Time. The major factor? Well, Aquaman really hasn't appeared yet in the main TV Universe. The Tooniverse has seen a lot of him, what with his own Saturday morning adventures and as a member of the 'Super-Friends'. And 'Smallville' is set in an alternate TV Land. (My choice? The same universe where you can find 'The West Wing' and 'Mr. Sterling'.)

Hopefully, if you've been paying attention, some of you might be ready to argue that Aquaman can't exist in Toobworld if 'Entourage' is also set in the main TV universe. All this past season, Vince Chase was attached to a James Cameron movie project about the comic book hero, "Aguaman".

Not the "real-life" hero. The guy from the comic book.

I don't see a Zonk! in this. Jerry 'Seinfeld' referred to all sorts of details about Superman - he had the magnet image of the super-hero on his fridge door; he used "Jor-El" as his PIN. And yet Superman existed in Toobworld, as seen back in the 1950s on 'The Adventures Of Superman'.

But that's.... okay. Because in an episode of that series ("The Birthday Letter"), little Kathy Williams was reading an issue of the comic book when Superman swooped into her apartment to give her a ride through the skies of Metropolis.

Within Toobworld's reality, a comic book must have been published to cash in on Superman's fame. And I'm sure Superman would have insisted that any profits to which he was entitled should go to charity.

And from there, we could then assume that a TV show was created about Superman which featured an actor named George Reeves. This way, we can avoid a Zonk! for that episode of 'I Love Lucy' which mentions George Reeves (who gets no onscreen credit) but which features an appearance by Superman.

The same thing happened to the Lone Ranger. The real Lone Ranger might have resembled Clayton Moore, but it was only John Hart who portrayed him within the TV Universe - as seen in episodes of 'The Fall Guy' and 'Happy Days'.

And coincidentally, it also happened to Jerry Seinfeld on his eponymous sitcom. The original pilot of 'Jerry' might have failed, but with a bit of re-tooling and re-casting, it finally became a success WITHIN the TV Universe and was probably renamed to be 'Seinfeld' as well. So that's why we can refer to both George Costanza and Jason Alexander (who allegedly played George according to an episode of 'The Larry Sanders Show') as being in the same TV Universe.

But getting back to Aquaman......

If, as I suspect and expect, there will be the inevitable crossover with 'Smallville', we'll just have to move it back to that alternate dimension.... and then give these guys a Toobworld splainin as to why their hero's looks have changed.

It might be something in the water......

And I know a lot you must think that whatever it is, I must be drinking it!

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

1 comment:

WordsSayNothing said...

Actually, I was thinking, "Where are you getting this 'water', because I want some..."