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May 27, 2012

Would you watch an Underworld TV series?

by Mike Moody, posted Jan 27th 2009 5:03PM
underworld 3 rise of the lycans nighyI'll admit it. I'm an Underworld apologist. I know that all three Underworld movies are flashy, derivative and have little to offer in terms of story, suspense or character, but I still love 'em. I caught Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans yesterday and, save for one of the dumbest sex scenes ever filmed, it was pretty awesome. Michael Sheen was great as a mutant Che Guevara, Bill Nighy's over the top, er, vamping was exceedingly watchable, and director Patrick Tatopoulos really knows how to film dudes shoving swords into other dudes' faces. It was six bucks well spent.

The Underworld movies always leave me wanting more – perhaps because they all hint at a great story but never really deliver it – and more is what we might get. Franchise creator Len Wiseman is dropping hints about a possible Underworld TV series. No deal is in place yet, but I can see Spike or even Sci Fi showing interest in the idea.

Wiseman says he'd like the series to jump through time, possibly depicting the films' vampire vs. werewolf war over many centuries. That sounds somewhat intriguing. Vampires and werewolves are immortal, so it might be fun to follow the same characters around in different time periods. Still, Wiseman and crew will have to do a whole lot better in the story department to make a TV series work.

Vampires and werewolves might be hot right now, and I'm sure an Underworld series would deliver high style and decent action, but it would have to bring something new and fresh to the genre to really stand out. Unfortunately, "new" and "fresh" are words that are rarely – if ever -- used to describe this franchise. Honestly, I thought Underworld's next incarnation would be a straight-to-DVD flick.

Would you watch the Death Dealers pursue the Lycans on TV, or should the Underworld franchise take its rightful place in straight-to-DVD land?

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Anthony Pilone

Would I watch and Underworld tv series ? YES!!!!!!! YES, I WOULD LOVE A SERIES! I WOULD REALLY LIKE THAT BY A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 04 2011 at 2:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bjorn

i just got done watching the latest underworld movie... it was pretty good. i really liked the first two in the series.. i love kate beckinsale, and not having her in this movie was disappointing, other than the fact that she doesn't fit into that part of the story. the gunfire was awesome in the first ones, and i found it very interesting to see the same story but w/o guns.
this movie, however, probably would not have been as appealing if i wasn't crazy about the other two. it was definitely a good follow up.
for a tv series... i would definitely like to see it, but they've already killed off viktor, sonja, marcus, lucian, and whoever else,,, so depending on the timeline you would have to introduce some major new characters,,, but it could work.

January 30 2009 at 1:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tobias

I think this sounds like a great idea. It would be awesome if Michael sheen were in it...He sells any role... I think it's the "heroine addict" look..It's great for werewolves...

January 28 2009 at 12:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
10VD

I'd only watch on two conditions

Bill Nighy - because I just find him hilarious

and more importantly - Kate Beckinsale, just because I find her unbelievably sexy. Damn, now I feel the need to go watch a few of her Leno interviews again


January 28 2009 at 3:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
shadowracer

You need a fairly large production budget to do this right. Plus there needs to be a good amount of bloodletting. Then you add the sex that would become necessary with all of the tight leather and boots, and general sexuality that comes with bloodsucking.

Ideally HBO would pick this up, throw a budget at it. Hire a good writing team and let everything fall into place. But they wouldn't want two competing vampire shows.

FX(as demonstrated by Nip/Tuck) can get away with all of that. But personally I would prefer to see it on AMC.

January 28 2009 at 1:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Argus

I don't get this "Vampires are hot right now" business. Vampires have been hot since the early 19th century. Lost Boys and Dracula, it keeps going... The only difference now is that we have more mediums to spread trends.

Harry Potter and Twilight aren't phenomenons because they broke new literary ground, they came out at the right time in history where social marketing could turn them into something of social value....

January 27 2009 at 11:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Argus's comment
Argus

So basically what I'm saying is that are current environment acts sort of as a "hotness magnifier" for things, including the perpetually hot vamps.

January 27 2009 at 11:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kelly J. Compeau

I'd like to see an Underworld TV series. I just hope it doesn't steal any potential viewers away from The Black Tower TV series, if there ends up being one.

January 27 2009 at 8:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
divineparasite

It didn't work for Blade: The Series. I know that show gets lots of flack but I thought the show had promise. It was sort of like Buffy in the sense that maybe the first season was only a hint of its possiblities, but the later seasons could have been a big improvement. Unlike Buffy Blade got cancelled after one season. Much like Buffy the supporting cast was much more intresting then the title character. I think an "Underworld" series would probobly not work in the long run, and wasn't Spike TV giving up on original scripted series?

January 27 2009 at 7:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
shamon

hey it worked for buffy,stargate ,friday night lights, highlander but underworld i dont know . I really want a punisher show by hbo .

January 27 2009 at 7:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Stacey

I've enjoyed the Underworld movies but have yet to see this last one. I'd tune in to see what they could do with the concept as a TV show. Might be simply entertaining.

January 27 2009 at 6:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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