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You are on the Global Frequency
Aug. 3rd, 2005 01:51 pmI've just watched the unaired pilot for the television series version of Warren Ellis's Global Frequency. I remember when I read the first issue, oh, must be about two years ago, now, that I thought that Ellis had written what was a so-so comic book but in such a way as to make it perfect for a television series, and I later found out I wasn't the only one - a pilot had been made, but WB passed on it, in the end, because of the usual television calamity - a change in network presidents. You know how it goes, whenever a new president takes over, he axes all the stuff that his predecessor has going because he wants to make a splash. Not the first time it's happened, and won't be the last.
For the uninitiated, the Global Frequency is a worldwide conspiracy that protects the world from the consequences of its actions. Organized by the mysterious Miranda Zero, at any one time there are 1001 people on the Global Frequency, identified by their numbers and contacted through special mobile phones. They are called in, for their special skills, to deal with extraordinary crises, coordinated by Zero's assistant, Aleph, and their pooled resources as a smart mob deal with the problem, no matter if the powers that be want to stop them, and no matter what it takes. Call it, like one reviewer did, Mission: Impossible meets The X-Files.
It's a concept whose time has come, as modern telecommunications has made this actually possible, and that's the real appeal of the concept - that you can really see this happening, and that any one of us can be called on to save the world. Wouldn't it be just amazing if this was actually real? As Zero puts it in the pilot, "When I formed the Global Frequency, I gambled that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if given the chance." And we can. And they do.
"This is the cool part. Welcome to the Global Frequency."
The reason why I thought GF was a so-so comic is because it was very, very standalone. It was choppy, it didn't take real advantage of the serial format, or the sequential art format, and there was very little depth to the cast of characters that rotated in and out. It was very dance club, quick cuts, MTV kind of storytelling. Which doesn't rock my world when it comes to comic books, but all these are very well suited for television.
A couple of months ago, the GF pilot was leaked onto BitTorrent, to much hoo-ha. I finally got my grubby little hands on it this morning, and watched the pilot over lunch. I can only say this: "WB are fuckwits." Given the general reaction on the net, I'm not alone in this. What's horribly frustrating even, is that despite... no, because of the popularity of the download on P2P... according to Warren Ellis has on his mailing list, the leak has actually killed all chance of GF ever making it to series. Which is about as classic an example of cutting off the nose to spite your face I have ever seen. Nah, that's not strong enough. It's as classic an example of castrating yourself with a nail file just because you can't even get laid if you paid someone for it.
If you get a chance, troll the usual BT suspects for it - demonoid.com, torrentspy.com, etc. and have a quick look. It's based very heavily on the first issue of the comic book, and it's rough in spots, but there's so much potential there, it's criminal that WB has decided to waste it.
Maybe we can organize a Global Frequency of our own and get WB to either pick it up, or let the series team shop it elsewhere. But that would take the Warner Bros' - who own DC as well as the property - cooperation, and right now, that's not looking good.
If you'll excuse me, I think my phone's ringing. Time to save the world.
For the uninitiated, the Global Frequency is a worldwide conspiracy that protects the world from the consequences of its actions. Organized by the mysterious Miranda Zero, at any one time there are 1001 people on the Global Frequency, identified by their numbers and contacted through special mobile phones. They are called in, for their special skills, to deal with extraordinary crises, coordinated by Zero's assistant, Aleph, and their pooled resources as a smart mob deal with the problem, no matter if the powers that be want to stop them, and no matter what it takes. Call it, like one reviewer did, Mission: Impossible meets The X-Files.
It's a concept whose time has come, as modern telecommunications has made this actually possible, and that's the real appeal of the concept - that you can really see this happening, and that any one of us can be called on to save the world. Wouldn't it be just amazing if this was actually real? As Zero puts it in the pilot, "When I formed the Global Frequency, I gambled that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if given the chance." And we can. And they do.
"This is the cool part. Welcome to the Global Frequency."
The reason why I thought GF was a so-so comic is because it was very, very standalone. It was choppy, it didn't take real advantage of the serial format, or the sequential art format, and there was very little depth to the cast of characters that rotated in and out. It was very dance club, quick cuts, MTV kind of storytelling. Which doesn't rock my world when it comes to comic books, but all these are very well suited for television.
A couple of months ago, the GF pilot was leaked onto BitTorrent, to much hoo-ha. I finally got my grubby little hands on it this morning, and watched the pilot over lunch. I can only say this: "WB are fuckwits." Given the general reaction on the net, I'm not alone in this. What's horribly frustrating even, is that despite... no, because of the popularity of the download on P2P... according to Warren Ellis has on his mailing list, the leak has actually killed all chance of GF ever making it to series. Which is about as classic an example of cutting off the nose to spite your face I have ever seen. Nah, that's not strong enough. It's as classic an example of castrating yourself with a nail file just because you can't even get laid if you paid someone for it.
If you get a chance, troll the usual BT suspects for it - demonoid.com, torrentspy.com, etc. and have a quick look. It's based very heavily on the first issue of the comic book, and it's rough in spots, but there's so much potential there, it's criminal that WB has decided to waste it.
Maybe we can organize a Global Frequency of our own and get WB to either pick it up, or let the series team shop it elsewhere. But that would take the Warner Bros' - who own DC as well as the property - cooperation, and right now, that's not looking good.
If you'll excuse me, I think my phone's ringing. Time to save the world.
