On the “Hmmmmm, interesting” front, I note that the first season of Jeremiah is coming out on DVD. That’s the Showtime series created by Joe Straczynski, erstwhile creator/producer/writer of B5.
JMS is labeled as the creator, but it’s acutally based on the Belgian graphic novel series by Hermann Huppen. The basic premise:
Set in the future, the series focuses on Jeremiah (Luke Perry) who must navigate his way through a world populated by the survivors of a deadly epidemic that spared only those who had not yet reached puberty. Now those same survivors must find their way in a decadent civilization and attempt to create a new world order of hope.
Jeremiah, a loner by nature, is joined by the naïve yet colorful Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) on a quest to find the mysterious “Valhalla Sector”. Together they set out on a journey during which they discover rival social factions at war and young people who must make decisions without wisdom from those who lived before them.
So, a classic “differerent world” sort of episodic TV sf show, with plenty of JMSsy goodness.
Has any regular reader here actually seen the thing? Me and mine, no Showtime have we. So I’m kind of curious — not quite enough curious for $68, but I could be possibly convinced …
I’m planning to rent it, so I’ll let you know.
I would recommend it. It is a good post-apocalyptic ride. You get a good translation of the “graphic novel” feel. The first season is better than the second because the second reveals some things that make things anti-climatic (no spoilers here). There is some gratuitous nudity and foul language because of the Sopranos Effect. Perry (who is also the executive producer) and Jamaal-Warner work well together. The one positive of the second season is the introduction of Sean Astin, aka Samwise Gamgee.
The Showtime web site for the show can be found here.
We had Showtime during the first season, and were going to keep it only for this show, but the price was something we decided we didn’t need, with me out of work.
It’s good stuff. Some times not so good, as JMS can be, but on the whole, it was excellent. Second season is supposed to be really good, too.
The second season introduces Mr. Smith played by Sean Astin. He is an unwilling prophet who occasionally gets messages from God. There’s enough ambiguity (whether he is a prophet or just plain crazy) in the character to make it real interesting. The other thing I noted about the second season was that it was more basic cable friendly (less nudity and profanity). It would not surprise me if it showed up on the Sci-Fi channel, which is also owned by Viacom.