Harry Potter and the Small Screen Part II

Having found an ancient but interesting thread
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/harry-potter-and-the-small-screen.254463/page-5

Decided to pick up.

Hello again, everyone! I want to apologize for allowing this thread to fall into dormancy. There's nothing I can really say that can justify my absence, other than to reiterate that my other thread has always come first, and over the last few months I got rather bogged down in my writing over there. However, I've recently decided to slow the pace of those updates, partly in order to dedicate more time to HPSS. But first, as always, for my long, long overdue replies to your insightful comments...

Our problem with Palin is Quirrell is that he's too old - way too old. He's even older than Alan Rickman! The character is clearly intended to be relatively young - only been teaching for a few years, easily corruptible by Voldemort, and of course, more easily intimidated by Snape and even his own students.

These are also very good reasons to exclude Palin.

I think that's how we're going to approach the casting. The emerging cohort to play the adult Marauder generation was mostly born in the late 1950s, so casting actors who were born in the early 1980s allows for a full quarter-century of aging between them - which more than covers the gap depicted in the novels.

There are a few problems with Day-Lewis: he was on hiatus at the time that the series would commence production ITTL; granted, this isn't a problem in that we don't need a full-time Voldemort actor until the fourth season (which would film in 2003), and by then, he had returned to acting with Gangs of New York in the previous year. However, look at his IMDb filmography: it is very sparse, and seems to follow the "one all-encompassing project at a time, with breaks in between" philosophy of a man truly dedicated to his craft. I just don't see him making that kind of years-long, intermittent commitment to The Adventures of Harry Potter.

This is the major stumbling block when it comes to the casting - no doubt about it. We've made some progress, as you're about to see when you scroll down to look at the updated list, but it has definitely been limited, with more than one "out there" placeholder candidate.

Then consider it done :cool:

That is fascinating, although of course not particularly relevant to this timeline. Perhaps some other timeline project, with a much earlier POD? ;)

Well, I'm always happy to do my part to promote federal unity :)

It makes for a nice reversal of American shows that can only be seen by checking out the US network feeds (or picking up their signals), as neither CTV nor Global decided to pick up the shows for simulcast. (Speaking from personal experience, most of the TGIF block on ABC in the late 1990s was left alone, for example.)

Thursday would be a big gamble, even in ordinary circumstances. But in the 2000-01 season, we're looking at one of the most celebrated nights in television history. Survivor and Friends at 8:00 (and Whose Line on ABC, for the record - no wonder that show never stood a chance). Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?, Will & Grace, and the first season of CSI at 9:00. (And ER at 10:00.) The only viable timeslot for that evening is, fortunately, the one you recommend at 7:00 (against Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!).

I think the optimal solution here is importing the raw footage shot by the BBC for the featurettes, and re-cutting and then dubbing it (both the French and the English versions) to emphasize desired aspects of production which casts the CBC in a better light. We can certainly have both teams working in tandem for that.

This is all very good stuff, Dan! I really appreciate you working out the technical details like this. Your arrangement seems both plausible and mutually beneficial.

No, HBO is definitely going to be our network in the United States - I remember TBS in the late-1990s as well, and the idea of them airing it is positively ludicrous. That said, a possibility worth mentioning (not that I find it particularly likely either) is the Disney Channel - they aired Road to Avonlea, after all, and we're still at just before the point where they morphed into their present format (which most credit to the success of Lizzie McGuire, premiering in 2001).

A&E is an interesting choice - their work with the BBC (most famously on the celebrated Pride and Prejudice miniseries) makes them a prime candidate, as does their "classy" reputation (before the horrifying network decay it experienced in the 2000s). The one problem is that, unlike HBO, they don't really have experience with children's programming. As to your question about ratings, I would suspect that the two pre-hiatus seasons of The Adventures of Harry Potter would probably be awarded a TV-Y7-FV rating.

By the late-1990s, the "magic number" had been revised down from 100 to 65. However, "limited series" (which would only be re-aired on special occasions) could get away with 13 episodes - which is one season of The Adventures of Harry Potter. The last five seasons of 45-minute episodes would equal exactly 65.

Don't worry, Stolengood; believe it or not, I am capable of going back to the previous page and reading those posts as well ;)

And since The Adventures of Harry Potter is going to last for about a decade, and since it's taking up an hour's worth of timeslots, that means I can butterfly shows like Little Mosque, simply because there's no room for them! Isn't the scheduling process fun? :D (A double-edged sword to the limited space for timeslots; it's a zero-sum format.)

Well, surely there must be Aurors in the United States as well as in the UK, though they probably use an entirely different name for them :p

Seriously, Stolengood, thanks for all of your illustrations - they look amazing. When we do decide on Voldemort, I hope you'll give him the same treatment as well :)

---

Now, obviously, I would not have resuscitated this thread merely to reply to everyone's comments, though they were most insightful and helpful. With the assistance of my story editor (and an outside consultant), I've taken all of the casting suggestions made on this thread and integrated them into a list of viable nominees (trimming only the obvious outliers). At the same time, we solidified the possibilities for some of the core kids, though the roster remains very shaky there and could use additional suggestions.

Remember that our tentative timetable for the first season is 1999 (to be aired the following year). The casting directors do not want any first-year boys born before 1985, nor first-year girls born before 1986. There will likely be a year-long break between the second and third seasons (to be filmed in 2000 and 2002, respectively).

Selected Candidates for the Roles of Characters in The Adventures of Harry Potter

Note that, though I'm reasonably sure about most of these candidates, I will continue to accept additional suggestions only if you believe them to be truly exceptional.

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Rubeus Hagrid

Peter Pettigrew

Filius Flitwick

Argus Filch

Peeves the Poltergeist

Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic

Mr Ollivander

Gellert Grindelwald

Potential Candidates for the Roles of Characters in The Adventures of Harry Potter

For these candidates, please choose between the nominees given (unless otherwise stated), and do not revive rejects, who have been deliberately removed from contention.

Ron Weasley
No preference, input eagerly accepted:


Hermione Granger
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


  • Jenna-Louise Coleman (b. 27 April 1986)
    • Caveat: not a child actress... but performed in plays at school
Neville Longbottom
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Ginny Weasley
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


  • Karen Gillan (b. 28 November 1987)
    • Caveat: not a child actress... but strong interest in dramatic arts from early age
Percy Weasley
No preference, input eagerly accepted:


Albus Dumbledore
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Severus Snape
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Sirius Black
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Remus Lupin
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Lord Voldemort
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Tom Riddle
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Bellatrix Lestrange
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Quirinus Quirrell
Rough order of preference, but up for discussion:


Gilderoy Lockhart
No preference, input eagerly accepted:


Viktor Krum
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Cuthbert Binns
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, aka “Nearly Headless Nick”
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Ludo Bagman
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Igor Karkaroff
No preference, alternate suggestions accepted:


Young Gellert Grindelwald
No preference, input eagerly accepted:


Required Candidates for the Roles of Characters in Harry Potter

Note: This is obviously and by no means an exhaustive list of candidates for whom we have received no suggestions.

Seamus Finnigan
Dean Thomas
Lavender Brown
Parvati Patil
Luna Lovegood
Vincent Crabbe
Gregory Goyle

Fred and George Weasley
Cho Chang
Cedric Diggory
Oliver Wood
Minerva McGonagall
Pomona Sprout
Madam Hooch
Vernon Dursley
Petunia Dursley
Dudley Dursley
Arthur Weasley
Molly Weasley
Bill Weasley
Charlie Weasley
Fleur Delacour




Bump- found



Suggestions for

Minerva McGonagall
Sian Phillips (b.1932- did Magician's House, ITV Snow Spider)
Honor Blackman (b.1926)
Jean Marsh (.1934)
Eileen Atkins (1936)
Jackie Burroughs (1940 - Anglo-Canadian)




Arthur Weasley
Duncan Preston (.1946)
Peter Davison (1951)

Molly Weasley
Maureen Lipman (1946)
Patricia Hodge (1946)
Julie T. Wallace (1961)

Kingsley Shacklesbolt
George Harris possible again
Hugh Quarshie (.1955)
Stefan Kalipha (1940)
Oscar James (1942)

Petunia Dursley
Felicity Montagu (1960)
Arabella Weir (1958)

Vernon Dursley
Alun Armstrong (1946)
Bill Paterson (1945)
Philip Jackson (1948)
Sam Kelly (1943)


Argus Filch
Cyril Shaps (1923)


Gilderoy Lockhart
David Robb (1952)

Jerome Flynn(b.1964) for any of the Marauders, perhaps.
 
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