Should/Could Dredd live on as a series of Direct to Video films?

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Do TV Shows still commission a Pilot episode where they test the material on an audience?

That said Sci Fi is always expensive but having Judge Dredd set inside a Sector House might reduce money a bit. Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue mostly concentrated on the Cops inside a Precinct Centre which limits things expense wise BUT limits any explosive action too. That's of course the problem the violent world of Mega City 1 is hardly ever going to be explored since it will be too expensive to show it.

Mega City Blues anyone?

[JOE SOAP]

That said Sci Fi is always expensive but having Judge Dredd set inside a Sector House might reduce money a bit. Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue mostly concentrated on the Cops inside a Precinct Centre which limits things expense wise BUT limits any explosive action too.

It doesn't really, the Pit is a story that's fairly contained but no less explosive.

[Professor Bear]

Do TV Shows still commission a Pilot episode where they test the material on an audience?

Yes, but instead of showing it to an audience, they show it to a bunch of people who make tv shows, and those people then decide if people who don't make tv shows will like it, then they come to an arbitrary decision that may or may not make any kind of sense to an outside observer (ie: passing on John Woo's Lost In Space pilot just so they can use the sets in Battlestar Galactica, or retooling the series as something else entirely, as happened with Dollhouse when the series became about sexy hookers rather than the pilot's mind-swapped assassins).
Lots of pilots based on comics properties have been commissioned and then never aired (Locke and Key, Wonder Woman, Power Pack, Global Frequency, Aquaman, Powers), so a pilot is not a guarantee of a series, or of a series that looks like the pilot.

[judge macbrayne]

AH watch arrow on sky 1 its good but shit they could make DREDD the series

[MR. ELIMINATOR]

Joe soap, I don't know if i've ever said this before, but you're one smart cat.

Anyways, I would accept any sort of sequel with open arms. That being said, if the same team that did this one worked on what ever came next (if aything) that would be easier to embrace. But I would still except a total b movie, straight to dvd dredd. I think that will always be his territory. Norms are freaks.

[Spikes]

Dont really want to give to much thought about any Dredd TV series, or straight to DVD film release, as im clinging to the hope of a proper sequel. Wishful thinking maybe...
Should summat turn up though, and in whatever form, i'd hope that the bulk of the major cast and crew  would be a part of it, though that may be wishful thinking as well.

[Frank]

One of the best things about Dredd stories is they don't require sustained violence and if you've ever watched Breaking Bad or the Sopranos you'll see they can present a level of violence that can equal film. TV series compensate for less spectacle with a different character based format and Dredd has a wealth of characters.

If a TV series focussing more on character interaction, comedy and the dramatic potential inherent in situations (rather than explosions and CGI) came up with an episode as great as the Pine Barrens episode of The Sopranos - the joy of which is Paulie and Chris's ineptitude, and the way being trapped in that car reveals their true natures; or the episode of Breaking Bad where Jessie leaves the keys in the ignition of the RV, and the basis of their relationship is laid bare as they almost die of dehydration in the middle of the desert - then I'd be onboard for a stripped back Dredd TV series with restricted settings.

[radiator]

You can't have an entire series of bottle episodes though.

[The Bissler]

TV series would be my preference.  It would also offer the scope to offer a variation in story types - you could have some gritty tales in the mould of the recent film, but some weeks could have a lighter tone dealing with some of the more outlandish tales of MC-1 citizens.

I wouldn't be worried about getting away with violence.  Just look at series like the Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones.  Plenty of horrific/extreme violence in these which doesn't seem to have put off audiences.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Cops  is one of the most successful TV series in the world depicting the everyday life of Police Forces both in the USA and around the world. Could a Judge Dredd TV series use this as a starting template; hand held camera's showing the inter action between the bonkers citizens and the stalwart but overworked Judges?

The DREDD Film is often described as parred down so could you take that a step further and have an almost documentary feel to a Judge Dredd TV show? A day in the life of a single Judge scenario as he/she is called to deal with some of the Cities individual citizens complaints and crimes inside a Block. Other Judges join him/her as the situation demands.

[Frank]

Cops  is one of the most successful TV series in the world depicting the everyday life of Police Forces both in the USA and around the world. Could a Judge Dredd TV series use this as a starting template; hand held camera's showing the inter action between the bonkers citizens and the stalwart but overworked Judges?

That's very much like Duncan Jones's Man Bites Dog-style pitch for his take on Dredd.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Cops  is one of the most successful TV series in the world depicting the everyday life of Police Forces both in the USA and around the world. Could a Judge Dredd TV series use this as a starting template; hand held camera's showing the inter action between the bonkers citizens and the stalwart but overworked Judges?

That's very much like Duncan Jones's Man Bites Dog-style pitch for his take on Dredd.

Blimey I enjoyed watching Moon again at Christmas so if Duncan is ever interested in a fly on the wall look at Mega City 1 that's fine by me!

[ChickenStu]

Guys, if the movie continues to do this well on blu ray it could have another shot in cinemas. Sure, there wasn't an audience there when it released - but the amount of units being shifted indicates already that there could be an audience there second time round!

Remember, The Terminator and Escape From New York weren't huge hits when originally released. It was home video and television network sales where those films found an audience. Yeah, OK we had to wait a bit longer than we'd traditionally wait for a sequel - but with that in mind there could be a silver lining.

Seriously, the stronger sales of Dredd get, the prospect of Dredd 2 just gets liklier. Let's just hope that if/when we see that movie, it's more like Terminator 2: Judgment Day than Escape From L.A!

[Molch-R]

[Stan]

Is that a hint? Murray for Cal!