Tales of MU

I was planning on keeping this under wraps, but… Tales of MU has been optioned by the Sci-Fi Channel!!!!!!1111!! They were originally talking about a made for TV movie or miniseries, but with Battlestar Galactica off the air they’re looking for another ongoing series to fill out their schedule… basically, there’s no limit to how far this could go. It’s all very cool.

While the studio insists they need a free hand to develop the story in a going-forward fashion unhampered by undue restraints like continuity, we have what is known as a “gentleman’s agreement” about my vision, which producer Robert Lieberman has promised to respect in the morning. I was a little bit unsure about his first choice of casting for the re-envisioned Puddy role, but I’m sure Sebastian Roché is a fine actor. I haven’t seen any scripts yet, but I assume I’m going to be seeing them sometime tomorrow as I’ve been told they expect to run a statement from me endorsing the whole first season in Friday’s Variety.

Ian fans will be happy to learn that they’re planning an increased focus on the Mackenzie-Ian dynamic, with Mackenzie’s lesbian leanings treated as more of a “thematic element”, I think was the phrase that was used. I’ve been reassured that the lesbian elements will feature all the more prominently in the on-air advertising campaigns, so I suppose at least they’ll be represented.

And people who enjoy the action sequences will also be in for a treat, as the creative re-imagining of the concept will involve Mackenzie and her sidekicks fighting a different monster each week, with the defeated ones having a choice: come to MU and join the fun at Harlowe, or be sent to the Nteenth Dimension, a hellish (though they seem shy about using the word “hell”) world ruled over by Mackenzie’s father, Lord Pytch (who is actually sort of a composite character, apparently) and his demonic (they don’t like that word, either) Downsiders.

I haven’t heard confirmation on this next part, but the buzz is that H.R. Giger’s going to be creating Mackenzie’s “ultimate form”, whatever that is.

The show… which has been shuffled between the working titles Magisterius University Nights, Professor Magisterium’s School For Gifted Monsters, and The Legend of Magisteria… is slated to air next fall on the newly-rebranded Syfy Channel.

Discuss this news item on my blog.