Sci-Fi Announces Miniseries Line-up

Sci-Fi Channel (or, as it is about to be rebranded, Sy-Fy) has announced that three new miniseries are being developed over the next year, with one slated for a winter release and two being prepared for 2010. A modern adaptation of Alice in Wonderland has secured the winter slot, with an adaptation of comic-book hero Phantom and an adaptation of fantasy book series "Riverworld" to follow.

The Alice story is being penned by Nick Willing, who created the Tin Man adapation of The Wizard of Oz that aired in 2008. I had mixed feelings about Tin Man, which did a good job of bringing the fairytale into the world of science-fiction, but was unable to create a strong drive in me to find out what would happen next. At best I was mildly interested in the story, and with some forced performances, I was underwhelmed by the overall production. I have about the same expectations for Alice; the story lines follow the same episodic construct and Alice has a sufficient supply of zany creatures and characters to create a twisted rebirth of the Lewis Carrol novel. One side note: Tim Burton is currently working on a film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, with an all-star cast that includes Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway. What kind of connection, if any, is there between this sudden interest in the tale?

Of the remaining miniseries, I'm most looking forward to "Riverworld," the story of a photo-journalist who ends in a "world occupied by everyone who ever lived on earth." The promise to keep away from campy stereotypes of historical figures and to reimagine them as youthful 20-year-olds sounds like a solid idea. One particular remains unclear to me: Does this journalist travel between Earth and this other dimension, or is he stuck there? As for Phantom, my only exposure to previous incarnations is limited to a vague memory of a movie I came across when I was a child. Apparently there have been multiple attempts to adapt this superhero to a screen format, all without success. I suppose Sci-Fi is living up to the maxim "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try...try again." Here's hoping these producers have better luck than there predecessors.