As we all know, the Harry Potter series of novels was adapted into a series of films, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone, for those of you sadly underestimated by Scholastic) in 2001. This was the result of a search for adaptable properties by film producer David Heyman, who subsequently remained on board for all of the movies. However, and believe it or not, he made his pitch to adapt the then-fledgling series of books in 1997, shortly after the first had been published; this is a very early juncture for a series that had yet to pick up significant steam (it wasn't until after the release of the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in 1999, that it began to become the phenomenon we all know it as today). But it turns out that Heyman had the perfect motive: desperation. Plans to adapt The Ogre Downstairs, a 1974 novel by the established fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, had fallen through, with Harry Potter the result of a frantic last-minute search for a replacement.
But what if the plans for a film version of The Ogre Downstairs went through after all?
J.K. Rowling sold the film rights to Warner Bros. for one million pounds in 1998, IOTL. What's worth noting is that, this same year, a television adaptation of the superficially similar children's book series The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy, premiered. An international co-production, it aired on ITV in the UK, children's network YTV in Canada, and eventually, HBO in the United States. A strong cast, and solid production values, developed this show into a reasonably successful program that proved to have "legs" (two spinoffs would follow). I mention this example as a test-bed for my own idea, something I've been thinking about for years.
A ridiculously common complaint by fans of the books is that the movies are too compressed, with a minimalist approach to the richly detailed world created by Rowling. There's always something to be lost in the adaptation from book to film, but a definite impression of jury-rigging and flying by the seat of one's pants has been made with the construction and formatting of those films. How else could the longest book (The Order of the Phoenix) turn into the shortest of the movies? There's also the problem that TV Tropes describes as Continuity Lockout, in which subsequent films rely on the details of earlier books that did not appear in their movie equivalents, in order to drive the plot.
But wouldn't it make more sense for Harry Potter to be adapted into a television program? Each novel could be adapted into a season (series) of episodes, with each episode loosely corresponding to a chapter. In my opinion, television is unquestionably the best possible medium for adaptation, because it is the most conducive to continuing story arcs, and is the likeliest to reflect the warmth, intimacy, and inviting nature of Rowling's world (the better to contrast with the starkness and brutality featured in later books). Sometime in the late 1990s, an enterprising television producer could notice this fledgling novel series, and (inspired by the example of The Worst Witch) decide to adapt it to television as well... only to find himself in over his head as Pottermania begins to take hold around the turn of the millennium. But it will attract more investors, which means more money, and the opportunity for something truly groundbreaking. We've seen truly high-quality serial programs of this nature in recent years, so it is plausible to have Harry Potter serve as a pioneer in that sense, a stepping stone between the competent-but-conventional Worst Witch and something altogether more ambitious.
Special thanks to e of pi for urging me to claim this idea and share it with all of you. This thread is going to chronicle the development of a Harry Potter television program, which will be entitled The Adventures of Harry Potter. It will be produced in the United Kingdom, though with involvement from other countries. Rowling will serve in a role roughly analogous to the one she had in the movies, as a "creative consultant". Among her "requests" will be the OTL prohibition against non-British (or Irish) actors in any of the roles. This won't be anything near as elaborate or detailed a timeline as my other project, That Wacky Redhead, if only because that is still in progress and I have no desire to abandon it after coming this far. Therefore, this thread will serve as something of a cross between a conventional WI discussion and a proper timeline. Many of you will have plenty of ideas about how a televised Harry Potter should look and feel, and I'll field all of your suggestions and requests in order to make it happen.
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
But what if the plans for a film version of The Ogre Downstairs went through after all?
J.K. Rowling sold the film rights to Warner Bros. for one million pounds in 1998, IOTL. What's worth noting is that, this same year, a television adaptation of the superficially similar children's book series The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy, premiered. An international co-production, it aired on ITV in the UK, children's network YTV in Canada, and eventually, HBO in the United States. A strong cast, and solid production values, developed this show into a reasonably successful program that proved to have "legs" (two spinoffs would follow). I mention this example as a test-bed for my own idea, something I've been thinking about for years.
A ridiculously common complaint by fans of the books is that the movies are too compressed, with a minimalist approach to the richly detailed world created by Rowling. There's always something to be lost in the adaptation from book to film, but a definite impression of jury-rigging and flying by the seat of one's pants has been made with the construction and formatting of those films. How else could the longest book (The Order of the Phoenix) turn into the shortest of the movies? There's also the problem that TV Tropes describes as Continuity Lockout, in which subsequent films rely on the details of earlier books that did not appear in their movie equivalents, in order to drive the plot.
But wouldn't it make more sense for Harry Potter to be adapted into a television program? Each novel could be adapted into a season (series) of episodes, with each episode loosely corresponding to a chapter. In my opinion, television is unquestionably the best possible medium for adaptation, because it is the most conducive to continuing story arcs, and is the likeliest to reflect the warmth, intimacy, and inviting nature of Rowling's world (the better to contrast with the starkness and brutality featured in later books). Sometime in the late 1990s, an enterprising television producer could notice this fledgling novel series, and (inspired by the example of The Worst Witch) decide to adapt it to television as well... only to find himself in over his head as Pottermania begins to take hold around the turn of the millennium. But it will attract more investors, which means more money, and the opportunity for something truly groundbreaking. We've seen truly high-quality serial programs of this nature in recent years, so it is plausible to have Harry Potter serve as a pioneer in that sense, a stepping stone between the competent-but-conventional Worst Witch and something altogether more ambitious.
Special thanks to e of pi for urging me to claim this idea and share it with all of you. This thread is going to chronicle the development of a Harry Potter television program, which will be entitled The Adventures of Harry Potter. It will be produced in the United Kingdom, though with involvement from other countries. Rowling will serve in a role roughly analogous to the one she had in the movies, as a "creative consultant". Among her "requests" will be the OTL prohibition against non-British (or Irish) actors in any of the roles. This won't be anything near as elaborate or detailed a timeline as my other project, That Wacky Redhead, if only because that is still in progress and I have no desire to abandon it after coming this far. Therefore, this thread will serve as something of a cross between a conventional WI discussion and a proper timeline. Many of you will have plenty of ideas about how a televised Harry Potter should look and feel, and I'll field all of your suggestions and requests in order to make it happen.
I look forward to reading your thoughts!