'Hercules: The Legendary Journey' & 'Xena: Warrior Princes' two great Fantasy shows that had to do a lot with the Greek Gods![/caption]I am sure that we have all seen the shows like, 'Hercules: The Legendary Journey' & 'Xena: Warrior Princess', and their use of the, 'Greek' gods in the TV show... The truth is though, is that the show takes place, not in the real ancient world, but in the mythologized ancient world where that could happen.
Two great shows, but in all truth, definitely shows that would be considered to be, 'Fantasy' shows... What I wanted to talk about today is their use in writing Sci-fi TV... And I will say this, it truly is a great writing concept!
What do I mean by this? Well lets first take a look at some of the ways that they have been used on TV...
One of the earliest examples of this that I can think of, and it is one of the more famous episodes of Star Trek, and that is the episode, 'Who Mourns For Adonais?"
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The original series episode of, 'Star Trek' called, 'Who Mourns For Adonais' is a great example of the use of the Greek gods in a Science Fiction TV series![/caption]In this episode, Captain Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are in orbit around the planet, 'Pollux' when they are taken captive by an Alien that as it turns out is the Greek God, 'Apollo'... And will ultimately have to fight their way out of his clutches!
Another great example of this, Battlestar Galactica (Both original and remake series...)
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The Battlestar Galactica with it's refugee fleet, is another fun show that has utilized the concept of the ancient Greek Gods![/caption]Now this show ultimately ended up using the, 'Greek Gods' in their show... But they are A: more a part of the series then an episode, and B: a secondary part of what makes up the series... But this is done in such a way that it is... You could almost say like what the ancient Greek society might have been like if they had been given the opportunity to survive and colonize the universe!
And the last last example that I wanted to give here before I go on to the next part is, 'Stargate.'
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Stargate... A great example of a kick ass series that has man versus the old gods...[/caption]Now this franchise took a distinctly different turn when it came to how they perceived the, 'Gods' (and I do mean gods, as just about all of them are mentioned in this franchise.)
Well in the case of the Stargate franchise, the story is, is that the United States Government ends up initiating a program that would allow mankind to travel to other planets, when in the 1920s, an Archaeologist uncovers a giant ring (that would eventually be called, 'Stargate',) that in the modern time they would end up discovering how to use it!
After a mission is sent through the gate to discover what lies ahead, the team ends up coming face to face with an Alien race that has subjugated a portion of the ancient human race and has made themselves in to the, 'Gods' of the Ancient world... After destroying one of them, they come back through the Gate and the program is shut down.
Well after an attack by another of the Ancient gods, mankind is thrust in to a war that will ultimately decide the fate of either god or man!
Sounds great right?
Well the concept is there folks, and the one things that, that I have found in the examples that I have given is this... Using the Ancient gods in a new and innovative way in your TV series or in your web series is a something that will almost certainly always catapult what you are writing in to something (that if done right, and done smart) will catapult your episode or show in to the more popular bracket...
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Apophis, maybe the embodiment of pure evil, but his appearance and the rest of the ancient gods appearance on TV over the years has definitely made for some great TV![/caption]Now you might be wondering what I am talking about... Well lets take a look at the examples I mentioned above shall we?
The Star Trek episode, 'Who mourns for Adonais' is one of the more famous episodes to have been produced for that series, Battlestar Galactica... Besides the first series, has seen one reboot, one remake, a spin off, and several movies and mini-series, and, 'Stargate' has so far had a TV series, a couple of spinoff series, and almost half a dozen movies!
In the end, is it profitable? Sure, but one of the things that I have learned as a writer, is that if you can do it right, you will find that the Ancient Gods are a great concept to add to Sci-fi TV!
http://youtu.be/Budt6ucBIAY
http://youtu.be/Rz508DAx68U
http://youtu.be/NMQrORyQnEA
http://youtu.be/CLlMiqDaDbE
