Screen Rant » the graysons

‘The Graysons’ Scrapped Before It Started

Bruce Simmons — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:23:23 +0000

The CW have scrapped their plans to produce an origins-type show based on the pre-Robin days of Dick Grayson, called… The Graysons.

The decision to axe the show came from the same guy who first approved it, Warner Bros. production president Jeff Robinov. Was Jeff reading Screen Rant?

When The Graysons was first announced, as we reported in early October, no one really took to it out here in the net-verse and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how we’d feel watching what should have been a pre-teen, whose parents eventually die.

In the comics mythos, Dick Grayson develops into the potential of what was to become Robin, the crime-fighting partner of The Batman, and then in later years, evolve into Nightwing.

But that very well could be the hang up. It’s been said that there were concerns that The Graysons, being on-air during the release of Batman movies in theaters could be a distraction from the silver screen effort. They think that Smallville had something to do with the weak box-office performance of the 2006 effort, Superman Returns. (Dudes: I don’t think Smallville was the problem.)

The Graysons was slated to fill the slot that Smallville will be vacating, if it indeed closes out its existence on television this season. No one has said anything otherwise, but there are suspicions (hopes) out there that Smallville will continue for at least another season.

There are other issues in play behind it all.

Around the “halls” (email) of Screen Rant, we fellow scribes got to talking about some aspects of this issue. Carl Lee wondered what with Marvel bringing The Avengers to the screen, you’d think that Warner Bros. would need to mount a similar, competitive effort.

But Vic reminded us that Nolan has stated that there are no superheroes in his Batman universe. If WB wants to merge characters, they’ll probably be doing it without Nolan and probably without Bale. To me, if WB tried moving forward with such an effort, it would be complicated.

If WB actually gave it a go, we’d probably get another version (different actor) of Batman. And that kind of discontinuity is distracting and disappointing.

If WB could somehow bring it together, Robert Keyes thinks it would be amazing to see Christian Bale on screen with Brandon Routh as Supers and Ryan Gosling as Green Lantern. The fans would probably eat that up.

Since I like Nightwing, if the WB is all hot and bothered to expand on the DC universe, they could consider bringing Nightwing to the small screen to replace Smallville. He’s got the obvious relationship to Batman, but isn’t his partner. With how the team has reinvented Clark Kent, it’s doable. It would be like CSI meets DC. Detective work, drama, action. It could have it all.

Then they could use the show to keep people guessing – energize the viewing public’s curiosity as to if or when Batman might show up or be mentioned. This could even be used as a marketing tool to hint at upcoming Batman movies without having Nightwing actually appear in the movie. It could work. (Or it’s the caffeine talking again.) I mean come on, we just saw a red cape on Smallville last week! Twist it up, keep it fresh. (No, it’s not what you think… really.)

Robert went on to voice his opinion that the Graysons idea being let go was a good one. He didn’t think there’d be any value or worthy stories to the Graysons premise. Without super powers and meteor freaks, who exactly would young Dick Grayson fight? School scandals and teen smoking issues?

Robert also echoed the desire of some of our readers when he said (WB, are you reading this?) WB should continue Smallville under the premise of Metropolis or Superman and continue with the developing story of his evolving character, whichever way that might be with the present creative team of Smallville. As Robert put it, “It’s not like the cast has anything else going on, heh.”

As it stands, one of our newer writers, Carl Lee, said that having Nolan’s concerns addressed would mean keeping heroes in their own respective cities, towns or farms, saying that WB can make it fly with multiple cities and multiple heroes. No guest appearances, no nuthin!

But that’s just the chatter here, in the “halls” of Screen Rant.

As it’s going, Warner Bros. is really allowing the scenario to get complicated and if they’re hoping to compete with the Avengers, they need to start doing something bigger than something on the small screen. Get it focused and under one vision. Kind of like what they’re doing in Smallville, with the Justice League (Which I suspect is a platform they’re probably considering taking Smallville’s place) and the upcoming appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes. (Oops, did I just let something slip? Stupid fingers.)

For now, we know The Graysons will not swing into our living rooms, so we won’t have to find out how they were going to make the premise work. But now, we wait and see what WB does end up doing.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Source: Variety

Is Smallville Season 9 Vaporware?

Bruce Simmons — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:53:05 +0000

We’ve been reporting for some time now that Smallville was slated to run an end game in Season 8, making it their final season. Season 8 is moving along pretty well so far and as in some rare scenarios, the success of a final season can sometimes change the minds of network execs.

Face it, cash cows are hard to let go of sometimes.

Rumors or hopes have been floating around the internet that some folks would like to see the show continued. Some fans want to see a spin-off into a Green Arrow series, others want to see Batman and Wonder Woman breeze through the 9th season or various other scenarios.

Of course we’ve all heard the news on how The CW is panhandling the DC universe to the max, hoping to extend its cash cow potential with an origin show of Dick Grayson called The Graysons. So far, no one I know is too enthused about this weak premise. But it is what it is and they will either create such a compelling show that we’ll like it, or we’ll be sending them lots of nasty letters in robin’s-egg-blue colored envelopes. Heh… not that I’m suggesting anything.

In the meantime, an offshoot site of the well known KryptonSite, got themselves a note from Smallville’s executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders where they intimate the possibility of a Smallville Season 9.

Yep, you read right. A 9th season.

They said that they are very committed to creating an origins story of Dick Grayson and they are equally committed to continuing the success of Smallville – seasons 8 and 9.

Right after that statement, they toss out that they are working on a story for Clark that allows for seasons of further trials and adventures. Ah, folks, you just brought in Doomsday (the character who in the comics killed Superman). I halfheartedly expect the show to end with Doomsday. But that’s just me.

So they got me to wondering and away I went, scouring the web and getting all tangled up in searches. And what did I find?

First off, they’ll have to juggle schedules since Erica Durance (Lois Lane) has at least two projects coming up, and Aaron Ashmore (Jimmy Olsen) has some upcoming work as well. Justin Hartley has two projects done and coming out, so I can surmise the possibility of future employment for him. Otherwise, the majority of the staff is free… for now.

Here’s my own predicament: I’ve seen a post that says: “The President of the CW Network has stated that Season 8 might not be the last season for Smallville” but their reference link does not point to anything that substantiates that statement.

In an interview over on Collider.com with Brian Wayne Peterson and Kelly Souders (two of the executive producers), they said that they and the cast would love a season 9 but are prepared to write an end story arc for the last several episodes of a season, if given enough of a heads up to be able to do it.

For me, I feel like I’ve just been tossed a red herring.

Not once have I seen a statement saying that season 9 is approved, hinted at, a go, nothing. It’s as if I was talking about winning the lottery, as if it’s going to happen. I feel like it’s a hopeful statement by the creative team of Smallville and nothing more. I came across one of the many Smallville bulletin boards out there, and almost to a tee, the sentiment on a 9th season is… let me paraphrase: “Noooo!”

Heck while the creative team keeps dropping bread crumbs about another season, some wonder if the CW is even going to around for another season itself. It probably will with shows like 90210 and such keeping it afloat.

Am I off the mark on this one, or am I just being my usual dour, suspicious self? What are your thoughts on the matter?

Sources: IMDB.com, KryptonSite

Robin The TV Blunder?

Niall Browne — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:01:16 +0000

Holy bad idea Batman!

Robin the Boy Wonder is one of the most well known characters in the DC Comics stable. As Batman’s sidekick, the character has been at the forefront of comic book history for the past 70 years.

Now it would appear that that the character is going to get his own television show titled The Graysons, which has been seen as a possible replacement for Smallville on the CW network.

According to Variety:

“The Graysons will follow the world of Dick ‘DJ’ Grayson before he takes on the iconic Robin identity and aligns himself with Batman. In the one-hour ‘Graysons,’ which will be set in modern times, young DJ will face challenges involving first loves, young rivals and his family as he grows up.”

Oh, and the show will be produced by McG. Yes, you did read that right.

Warner Bros. TV hopes that if Smallville does indeed end this year then The Graysons will be a solid replacement (as it’s aimed squarely at the same demographic) – but if Smallville continues, then the hope is that it will make a solid companion piece.

Would the circus visit Smallville? Everyone else has!

I’m a lifelong Batman fan, but I honestly feel that this project is wholly unnecessary. Much like Birds of Prey and the ill-fated Catwoman feature, any Batman-related spin-off lacks one key factor: Batman. The fact that they’re calling Dick Grayson “DJ” should set alarm bells ringing, but I guess there just aren’t enough Dicks on television anymore.

A Robin spin-off where the character is at College and away from Batman, a Nightwing solo show (Nightwing is who Robin became after leaving Batman) might be worthwhile, but a show about a family of acrobats just doesn’t sound that exciting. I can imagine it now, Dick… sorry… DJ solving crimes and wooing girls while saying (or whining) that he feels that he is destined for something greater.

Of course this begs the question: Just how young will they make the character? Certainly not 8-10 years old as he’s been in the comics. Just what audience will they try to capture? Tweens? Likely they’ll make him at least 13 or so in order that they can put him in situations with “first loves” and not have him so young it would creep viewers out.

Considering how CW has played fast and loose with Superman mythology, I can see this deviating quite a bit from what we would expect from the comic book version of the character. No doubt in the series he won’t become Robin until he’s 17 or so.

It would appear that Warner Bros. is now of the opinion that anything Batman related is “money” after the huge success of The Dark Knight.

If this isn’t canceled after a few episodes (or a season at the most) expect Burt Ward and Chris O’Donnell to guest star!

The show should air sometime next year.

As an added bonus, you probably don’t know that there’s actually already been a fan film created called Grayson and it’s pretty darned cool. Check it out:

[See post to watch Flash video]

To learn more about that short film check out our post Grayson Fan Film = Cool

Source: Variety