What does the prospect of 'The Graysons' mean for 'Smallville'?

[Gmanofsteel]

A story about Dick's journey to becoming Nightwing would be so much better than a prequel to to him becoming Robin

 

[Bruce_Wayne29]

Hopefully this will mean SV will finally end and hopefully on a good note. But the spin-off should have been Green Arrow not The Graysons.
Hell even Supergirl would have been a better idea...

 

[Mikelus]

funny I dont recall seeing any "angsty teen drama" this season now that they've been running the show

PS3 have written a lot of angst in the past, we'll see how they handle the Cloisana and ChimmyDoom! triangles of this season.

"The Graysons" concept and wanting a S9 show these producers care more about money than the characters integrity.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

I'd rather see a Justice League show, a Batman show (after Nolan's but they could be non-canon), a Metropolis show or a Green Arrow Show.

 

[Webhead2006]

Yea i talked about this over at a few other threads the idea is interesting but a pre robin dick grayson show there is not much to do about the chacter, and i would have thought if batman if offlimits in live action tv wouldnt all the characters in the batfamily be offlimits too? Also yea i agree if this does go through they should totally drop this pre robin idea and switch it to a post robin career where he is knightwing and then we still get around no batman showing up. But really they should drop the idea totally and officially commit to green arrow solo show, or jl show they already have the characterd built up and fans enjoy them and a good majority of smallville fans would totally go for ga solo show or a jl show. Also this was posted at www.kryptonsite.com

A Message From Souders & Peterson Regarding "The Graysons"
Smallville's executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders have written in with a message to the fans at KryptonSite, clearing up some reports that had been made implying that Smallville may be on its way out...

Dear Smallville fans,

As news and rumors swirl around the development of The Graysons for the CW, we have every intention of letting you, our fans, be the first to know the reality. Never have we been so committed to the continuing success of Smallville as we are to seasons 8 and 9. While we are extremely excited to be working hand-in-hand with Wonderland, Warner Bros. and the CW to create the origin story of Dick Grayson, it has never been intended as a replacement for Smallville, as is speculated in some media. The cast, crew, writers and producers are all working full-steam ahead on a story-line for Clark that allows for seasons of further trials and adventures for our favorite hero. As always, we all have you to thank for achieving eight years of this amazing show that Al and Miles created, and we're looking far beyond!

Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders

 

[AgentPat]

...Never have we been so committed to the continuing success of Smallville as we are to seasons 8 and 9. ...The cast, crew, writers and producers are all working full-steam ahead on a story-line for Clark that allows for seasons of further trials and adventures for our favorite hero.

t:

 

[Serene]

Indeed.

If CW really wants a superhero show to step up in the event of Smallville's demise, I see no better candidate than Green Arrow.

"The Graysons" has a 50/50 chance of being horrible, while Justin Hartley is just made of awesome. So it's an easy choice if I were head of WB/CW.

ITA. A GA spinoff with Justin at least has a good chance of a built in fanbase following it.

But Dick Grayson? I can't imagine the appeal to.. anyone.

I am pretty amused that they are calling him, "DJ." Are they really that worried about a male lead being called, "Dick?"

 

[AgentPat]

ITA. A GA spinoff with Justin at least has a good chance of a built in fanbase following it.

Yes, but they can't do a GA spin-off if Hartley is still a reg on SV (S9).

But Dick Grayson? I can't imagine the appeal to.. anyone.

Well, to play Devil's Advocate, a LOT of people couldn't see the appeal of a Superman show if he didn't wear the costume or even fly. Yet here we are, eight seasons later and still going strong.

Personally, I have ZERO interest in a show about Dick Grayson. Are they for real? LOL But I "get" why they're doing it. It's all in that Variety article. I'd imagine the success of the Batman film franchise probably has a lot to do with it as well. Can't use Batman? Okay, we'll do Robin. Why not Nightwing, you ask? Pish. Who's "Nightwing?" (Rhetorical). The general audience knows "Batman and Robin," not "Batman and Nightwing." Superman was an easy sell; everybody knows him. But selling Nightwing would be even harder than selling a show about Robin - before he's Robin.

I am pretty amused that they are calling him, "DJ." Are they really that worried about a male lead being called, "Dick?"

Nah. This is the same network that published "OMFG" ads everywhere to promote Gossip Girl. I don't think they're afraid of pushing the envelope.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea i am willing to give this show a chance once we know more of what is going on, but a knightwing series would totally get people behind it or as others here and other places have said a green arrow/jl/etc.... show built off of smallville would have the fans already there and people would watch it. But we dont know what they are planning with this and if it will get an actual pilot and if it is picked up.

 

[Mikelus]

A Nightwing series of a young adult Dick Grayson fighting crime and trying to live a balanced life, with some flashbacks about his past as Robin is a lot better than "The Graysons" teen soap. A lot of fans are really pissed with this ridiculous concept of Peterson and Souders (PS), is not that hard to come with a better one, if PS need help, we could give them some good ideas.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea i so say knightwing would be alot better and still gets around the batman embargo and all that. But like i said before we dont have all the details yet for this and if it would even get past pilot stage maybe they will do a pilot and it doesnt get picked up and if that happens and we get a 9th season of smallville maybe then we get ga solo or jl show to happen then.

 

[KBX]

IF they wanted a reap the success of Batman, might as well have something on the lines of "Gotham Knights" without Bats. Do exactly what Smallville is doing, but have Robin, Huntress, Canary, Question, Batgirl, whomever instead. Having just Robin, well they will be making up stuff along the way....

 

[Webhead2006]

yea we will just have to wait and see what developments and if it doesnt look good hopefully the network wont pick it up for a series and they all rethink and finally do green arrow or jl instead.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

I am pretty amused that they are calling him, "DJ." Are they really that worried about a male lead being called, "Dick?"

heh funny story. On the old Incredible Hulk TV show, CBS made the show's producers rename Bruce Banner into "David Banner" because the execs thought "Bruce" was too gay of a name (honest to God). Glad to see Hollywood hasnt changed much in 25 years....

 

[Migu-EL]

heh funny story. On the old Incredible Hulk TV show, CBS made the show's producers rename Bruce Banner into "David Banner" because the execs thought "Bruce" was too gay of a name (honest to God). Glad to see Hollywood hasnt changed much in 25 years....

But.....what about Bruce Lee?

 

[Brainiac 8]

heh funny story. On the old Incredible Hulk TV show, CBS made the show's producers rename Bruce Banner into "David Banner" because the execs thought "Bruce" was too gay of a name (honest to God). Glad to see Hollywood hasnt changed much in 25 years....

Heh, this is what I was thinking also.

Appearantly David is less gay sounding than Bruce.

 

[kal_el_526]

There definitely going to mention so much about Batman or Bruce Wayne in this show, and its RIDICULOUS cause Smallville which has been on for 8 years couldn't? I just HATE this whole idea.

 

[Prison Mike]

this grayson show will be a huge tease. They will allude to batman and dick becoming a crime fighter each episode (much like the obvious anvils they throw around in Smallville) but they can never show Batman as long as he does well in the movies!

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Batman will be to the Graysons what the super suit is to Smallville. Once he/it shows up, the point of the show is over.

 

[Syncos]

Yes, but they can't do a GA spin-off if Hartley is still a reg on SV (S9).

But Dick Grayson? I can't imagine the appeal to.. anyone.

Well, to play Devil's Advocate, a LOT of people couldn't see the appeal of a Superman show if he didn't wear the costume or even fly. Yet here we are, eight seasons later and still going strong.

Oh c'mon. Who wants to watch a show about a traveling circus? a Graysons show sounds like the worst idea in the world. a Nightwing, or even Robin show could be awesome.

 

[Superfreak]

Oh c'mon. Who wants to watch a show about a traveling circus? a Graysons show sounds like the worst idea in the world. a Nightwing, or even Robin show could be awesome.

the whole concept is flawed because it's based on a sidekick. Gonna keep saying it: why don't they make a show about a superhero that deserves a show, not a sidekick to take advantage of a certain movie property that is hot right now. The fact that it won't align with said property (I say fact, because like their gonna let a CW 'masterpiece' ruin a hot movie property) pretty much dissolves any momentum the show could borrow from the Batman movie franchise.

go with a real hero. Hell, I'd much rather see a live action version of the Question, which would be infinitely easier to produce.

 

[04nbod]

the whole concept is flawed because it's based on a sidekick .

thats just silly. Of all the sidekicks robin is DC's first and most famous. To me a sidekick is an apprentice before becoming a master of their craft. We've seen this with robin-nightwing, speedy-red arrow, aqualad-tempest, kid flash-flash, wonder girl-troia, Its an intruiging journey but to do it without the mentor is stupid

 

[Prison Mike]

Batman will be to the Graysons what the super suit is to Smallville. Once he/it shows up, the point of the show is over.

so I guess the series finale of the show will consist of Dick's parents dying and Bruce taking him in? They should really lay off anything related to Batman since you can't use him on tv. They should focus on a Green Arrow show or something.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

so I guess the series finale of the show will consist of Dick's parents dying and Bruce taking him in? They should really lay off anything related to Batman since you can't use him on tv. They should focus on a Green Arrow show or something.

Well as I said earlier I think the whole concept of this kind of show is flawed. The CW could have a certifiable hit on their hands if they picked up on a series starting at the point in Dick Grayson's life where he puts down his Robin mantle, moves to Bludhaven and then becomes Nightwing.

It's almost too perfect for the CW. You have a REALLY compelling storyline about a transitional phase in a young Dick's life (LOL ) where he has to "up his game" in a strange city so they can have the whole "fish out of water' thing that they love so much.

He's also in his early to mid 20's so he has those types of "life issues" to deal with so it aligns perfectly with their target demos. He's also got no superpowers so he's extremely relatable, and you've also got a combo of Supernatural and SV producers running the show which seems like the perfect mix for a dark, heroic character.

AND since its in his post Robin days, you dont have to have Bruce Wayne be an integral part of the series. He can be referenced as his "mentor" etc but never actually named, so you never run afoul of the Features people or Nolan, especially since Dick Grayson doesn't even exist in the BB/TDK world.

How did they miss this and go for the pre-Robin Dick? You basically have to trip over it to get to the pre-Robin concept. It's so obvious. It's like they're swimming across the Atlantic Ocean so they can get salt water out of the English Channel.... How are they missing this??

 

[Mikelus]

^^ Agreed, Peterson and Souders (PS) need to reconsider all this pre-Robin nonsense. After years of "when will Bruce Wayne/Batman show up in Smallville".... now is only going to get worse!

PS should focus on Nightwing, leave pre-Robin/Robin stuff for flashbacks.... could TPTB listen? They communicate more with the fans this season, maybe they will if enough people write to them, maybe is not too late to make them change their minds.