Rueben's Ramblings

Last weekend during Comic Con 2012 TV writer and series creator Bryan Fuller, the man behind Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies participated in panel dedicated to his two new projects that are upcoming on NBC: Hannibal and Mockingbird Lane, his reboot of the classic 60’s B&W comedy The Munsters.

The panel started out with a 4-minute sneak peek at the pilot episode of Mockingbird Lane, that will star Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan and The Defenders) as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi (Ally McBeal and Arrested Development) as Lily Munster, Eddie Izzard (The Riches) as Grandpa, Charity Wakefield (TV’s Sense and Sensibility) as cousin Marilyn and introducing newcomer Mason Cook (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World) as Eddie Munster.

It should be noted that, according to Bryan himself, Mockingbird Lane “is not your father’s Munsters” and I can confirm that this version is definitely nothing like the comedy. Bryan went on to share that he is “not afraid of reboots or reimaginations, just bad ones”. He also explained that NBC is really behind this remake even though the show has yet to be officially picked up to series, but has received an order for additional scripts. The network has put a lot of support behind the show, which will be reflected in the production value. Bryan explained that the costumes (especially those worn by Portia) are immaculate; that the cast are taking their roles seriously, veering away from the full-on comedy from the original series without losing any humor to lighten the mood and that among the ‘creatures’ who will pay visits to the Munsters will include The Invisible Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Film director Bryan Singer (the man behind The X-Men franchise) directed the pilot of Mockingbird Lane, that there are plans to bring some of the Pushing Daisies creative team over to Mockingbird Lane once it receives a series order and that original The Munsters actor Butch Patrick, who made the introduction at the Comic Con 2012 panel, will be featured in the new version.

Moving over to Hannibal, which is expected to air on NBC sometime next year, will star Hugh Dancy (The Big C) will star as Detective Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen (Clash of the Titans) as the legendary Dr. Hannibal Lechter.

The goal behind this version of the well-known novels by Thomas Harris is, according to Bryan Fuller, to cover “stuff in the books that never made it to the screen”. He shared that the plan is for season 1 to be the ‘bromance’ stage between Will and Hannibal; season 2 will be the horrible break-up. In fact, he has seven seasons planned out with season 4 to focus on the novel ‘Red Dragon’.

Much like Mockingbird Lane, Bryan will be bringing over some of his creative team from Pushing Daisies, including Jesse Alexander (Lost, Heroes and Alias), who will work as an Executive Producer. It should also be noted that film director David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Hard Candy) directed the pilot episode of Hannibal, which Bryan calls an “elegant horror movie on television”.

Again, Hannibal is expected to air on NBC sometime next year while Mockingbird Lane is waiting on a pick-up order; but Bryan Fuller certainly seems positive in the support from NBC.

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Jay Ryan, Kristin Kreuk and Brian Peterson (Executive Producer) from Beauty and the Beast (Photo by Rueben)

Last week at Comic Con 2012, I had the chance to participate in the panel dedicated to the new Beauty and the Beast that will debut on The CW this fall.

This new version stars Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) and Jay Ryan (Terra Nova) as the title characters – Catherine Chandler and Vincent Keller. Their co-stars will include Austin Basis (Life Unexpected) as Vincent’s best friend and confidante J.T., Nina Lisandrello (Nurse Jackie) as Catherine’s partner Tess [they are police detectives] and Brian White (Men of a Certain Age) as Joe (a fellow cop).

The panel started out with a screening of the debut episode – in fact, we were told we were the first audience to see the full pilot – and I have to say that I enjoyed the episode. It has similar elements of the original 80’s classic series for which it is based while mixing more modern elements related to updating Vincent’s background and the people in their lives.

I won’t spoil the aspects of Vincent’s beast-side because, according to executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders (of Smallville fame) and co-creators/writers Sherri Copper and Jennifer Levin (of Brothers & Sisters fame), that is still a work in progress; but I want to believe they will keep improving that aspect of who Vincent becomes; but be aware that he is not a lion-creature like Ron Perlman’s version in the 80’s TV series. Fans of the original classic should also be happy to know that three of the original creators of the 80’s version are on the staff too.

Beauty and the Beast

During the audience Q&A, Kristin was asked by a fan if she might be able to get any of her Smallville co-stars to make an appearance on the show; and while she nor the creative team weren’t opposed to that idea, she really couldn’t speak on whether that could happen or not.

Jay was then asked about the physical stunts involved in playing Vincent, and he shared that he actually went back to the 80’s TV series for research; but the opposite is the case for Kristin who decided not to watch Linda Hamilton in the original series and draw from the script for her inspiration.

The reboot of Beauty and the Beast will debut on The CW on October 11. Mark your calendars!

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