Battlestar's Ronald D. Moore Setting Up New Series, Helix, At Syfy

[Brendon Connelly]

Ronald D. Moore has been trying to make straight-to-series deals, sayDeadline, avoiding the need to shoot pilots before getting a fullcommission. Nice position to be in.

As a result of this strategy, Syfy will be picking up his series Helixfor a full thirteen episodes if the i-dotting and t-crossing goes okayin their ongoing contract negotiations.

All we know about Helix so far makes it sound just a little like TheThing, which Moore himself adapted-cum-sequelised on paper just a fewyears back, though the eventual remake film didn't use his script.

The show will be:

About a team of scientists investigating a possible disease outbreakat an Arctic research facility who find themselves trying to protectthe world from annihilation.

The script was apparently written on spec by one Cameron Porsendah,Untested, but you can read his screenplay Old Nothing online.

[Bishop37]

It'll be 13 eps and out.

[obii]

If it is 13 good episodes it is good enough

[CraigMD]

I can see this being a decent plot for a movie, but it seems like it will stretch itself really thin as a TV show.

[cforshaw67220]

If they protect the world from annihilation by watching old movies and making fun of them, I am totally there!

[n8twing]

If it's another collection of wounded, morose, suicidal "heroes", I'm out.

[Lemurion]

It sounds like John W. Campbell's Who Goes There? - the story on which The Thing was based. Come on, credit the real source.

[cforshaw67220]

If it's another collection of wounded, morose, suicidal "heroes", I'm out.

You are kidding, aren't you? The moment Apollo just went, "I'm depressed and I'd rather be dead," was the one moment that seemed less like "Sci-Fi 24" and more like the realistic take on science-fiction they claimed the show would be. It felt like a real person struggling with just existing - something about 90% of the gung-ho idiots on television never feel because they are about as far from reality as they can possibly be.