So close, but not quite.

[Justin D.]

Ever read or heard about a concept that sounded like it would be fascinating if done correctly only to have your opinion changed to the almost polar opposite after reading more about it?

I did just that when I read about Couch (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=62559).


Parzybok then got to thinking how some kind of collective, public experience might change the fate of three social outcasts and convince them to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do. "I imagined three roommates carrying a couch across the United States..."

I like it. Quirky and could lead to some interesting story and character possibilities.


-but then I moved to Ecuador, and the place was thick with a sense of mystery and magic," he said. "At some point I realized that the couch they were carrying was not a normal couch, that it was a rare and coveted and devious object, and that couch was taking them on a wild ride, deep into South America."

The couch has a sort of power over the three roommates. "They attempt to carry the couch where they believe it wants to go, based on the heaviness of the couch when carried in certain directions. Meanwhile, others are chasing them to steal the mysterious couch for themselves," Parzybok said.

And that's when my interest on this wanes considerably.

You?

[Donald M.]

Ever read or heard about a concept that sounded like it would be fascinating if done correctly only to have your opinion changed to the almost polar opposite after reading more about it?

I did just that when I read about Couch (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=62559).



I like it. Quirky and could lead to some interesting story and character possibilities.



And that's when my interest on this wanes considerably.

You?

Having read one novel in which a mystical South American couch plays a significant role and decided that, while it was a good book, it wasn't a plot point I longed to see repeated, I'll have to agree on the book in question. The initial idea sounds much cooler.

As for the topic of the thread, I'm sure I can come up with at least one example, but I'll need to think about it.

[StoneGold]

Couch? Even at the first point, it was gay cowboys eating pudding.

[Pól Rua]

I can't help myself. I love magical realism. I like the second one.
Please don't hate me.

[howyadoin]

Is the couch red, by any chance?

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Couch-Portrait-America/dp/0912383054

[Asmith]

The idea of friends moving a couch together as a bonding experience is patently ridiculous. As anyone who's ever tried to save a few bucks by ropng in friends to move house knows, by the end of the day everyone hates everyone.

Plus someone always breaks a lamp... the bastards.

[Asmith]

As for concepts that sounded great till you learnt more about them...

How about the early 1900s invention of an umbrella with a lightning rod and grounding wire on it to protect users from death by lightning strikes?

Sounds brilliant till you realise that they actually attract lightning and the bolt is more likely to pass into the umbrella holder than the wire... apparently that invention killed a few people before it was thought better of...

[Pól Rua]

Ever read or heard about a concept that sounded like it would be fascinating if done correctly only to have your opinion changed to the almost polar opposite after reading more about it?

Actually, 'Torchwood' is like that for me.

We're a team of specialists that explores the unknown. Tick.
Created in the late 19th Century by Queen Victoria. Big Tickitty Boo.
We're led by Captain Jack Harkness, time travelling swashbuckler and invincible man. Tick.
We're set in the Dr.Who cosmology, so lots of creepy sci-fi aliens. Tick.
We're kinda harkening back to classic 60's telefantasy like 'Sapphire & Steel', 'The Champions' and 'Department S'. Big fucking tick there.
Skilled normal folks battling the unknown. Tick.

Why then, is the whole damn thing such a morass of unlikeable poo porridge?

[Asmith]

Actually, 'Torchwood' is like that for me.

We're a team of specialists that explores the unknown. Tick.
Created in the late 19th Century by Queen Victoria. Big Tickitty Boo.
We're led by Captain Jack Harkness, time travelling swashbuckler and invincible man. Tick.
We're set in the Dr.Who cosmology, so lots of creepy sci-fi aliens. Tick.
We're kinda harkening back to classic 60's telefantasy like 'Sapphire & Steel', 'The Champions' and 'Department S'. Big fucking tick there.
Skilled normal folks battling the unknown. Tick.

Why then, is the whole damn thing such a morass of unlikeable poo porridge?

I know exactly what you mean. I keep wanting to like this show as, like you, it ticks off all my big wants from any show, but... well, it's just so damn uninteresting and unwatchable! Near as I can figure it is that the scripts are shocking and characters poorly cast.

Ah, The Champions! My all-time favourite ever show in all of eternity! I know they did a complete series dvd over in the UK but have you ever heard of it being released here?

[Pól Rua]

Ah, The Champions! My all-time favourite ever show in all of eternity! I know they did a complete series dvd over in the UK but have you ever heard of it being released here?

They've released a bunch of ITV series, and I managed to snavel 'The Prisoner', 'Department S', and 'Randall and Hopkirk - Deceased' when they were on sale.
But I'm not sure if I've seen 'The Champions'.

[Paradox]

Asmith goes about it wrong:

The idea of friends moving a couch together as a bonding experience is patently ridiculous. As anyone who's ever tried to save a few bucks by ropng in friends to move house knows, by the end of the day everyone hates everyone.

Duh. That's why you give them beer afterwards. Then the love flows like water. :biggrin:

[Paradox]

Pól Rua missed the freakin' flour:

Actually, 'Torchwood' is like that for me.

We're a team of specialists that explores the unknown. Tick.
Created in the late 19th Century by Queen Victoria. Big Tickitty Boo.
We're led by Captain Jack Harkness, time travelling swashbuckler and invincible man. Tick.
We're set in the Dr.Who cosmology, so lots of creepy sci-fi aliens. Tick.
We're kinda harkening back to classic 60's telefantasy like 'Sapphire & Steel', 'The Champions' and 'Department S'. Big fucking tick there.
Skilled normal folks battling the unknown. Tick.

Why then, is the whole damn thing such a morass of unlikeable poo porridge?

Don't know the show, but it sounds like it's missing an essential. "Good writing".

[Chris N]

The idea of friends moving a couch together as a bonding experience is patently ridiculous. As anyone who's ever tried to save a few bucks by ropng in friends to move house knows, by the end of the day everyone hates everyone.

Plus someone always breaks a lamp... the bastards.


Friends helped me move a couch once. And by "move" I mean "steal".

We bonded.

[howyadoin]

Duh. That's why you give them beer afterwards. But definitely not before.

[Asmith]

Friends helped me move a couch once. And by "move" I mean "steal".

We bonded.

It's a little known fact that a long time ago in Sicily three local guys stole a couch for their godfather who had recently moved house. They too bonded. Became family. The next thing anyone knew they were running numbers, prostitution and protection rackets, calling themselves the Mafisofa, later just Mafia. That's why couch stealing has long been thought of as a 'gateway' theft to organised crime and the word 'mafia' is Sicillian for 'two-seater sofa'.

[Loren]

Ever read or heard about a concept that sounded like it would be fascinating if done correctly only to have your opinion changed to the almost polar opposite after reading more about it?

From yesterday's CBR front page (and now almost off the front page entirely):


WILLINGHAM: "FABLES" PILOT A SURPRISE (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19091)

“Fables,” one of the most celebrated and beloved comic books of the past decade, is moving closer than ever to finding a home on network television.

The Hollywood Reporter first announced Monday that ABC, no stranger to genre/fantasy adventures, having produced breakout hits over the years like “The Outer Limits,” “Batman,” “The Invaders” and “Lost,” had granted the DC/Vertigo title a pilot commitment for the upcoming season.

Potentially awesome. Even if it doesn't get picked up, that'd be something to keep an eye out for at a convention video booth. But what does it mean that it's a surprise to Willingham?


n an exclusive first interview since the pilot was announced, Bill Willingham told CBR News that he knew DC Comics had signed a deal, but he was unaware of any specifics and to date, and is in no way involved with the televised “Fables” project...

Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner, the duo who penned the Jennifer Garner-starring “Elektra” and have been tapped to write a screenplay for “Deathlok,” are scripting the “Fables” pilot.

Yeah. "From the people who brought you 'Elektra' " doesn't exactly fill me with hope.

[Loren]

*Double Post*

[Justin D.]

I can't help myself. I love magical realism. I like the second one.

I'm a big fan of magical realism, but the first half of the description interested me so much that the second half made me care less about the overall story by being so far away from where it started.


Please don't hate me.

Never.