Hello there and welcome back to The Dan Cave! Have you been working out or were you always covered in slabs of toned, rippling muscle?
Yesterday gamers across the globe bid a fond farewell to any semblance of free time they once had thanks to the long-awaited release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, an anthology game that has four complete Halo games on one sweet, sweet disc. While the prospect of early access to the Halo 5: Guardians beta and playing remastered versions of their favorite first-person shooters was tempting for many Halo fans, many more were excited by the prospect of seeing the Ridley Scott-produced, five-part web series Halo: Nightfall. Starring Mike Colter as Agent Locke, Halo: Nightfall takes us on a black ops mission gone awry when members of the Office of Naval Intelligence discover a sinister plot by the Covenant to release a biological weapon on humanity.
Since recording this episode, I’ve seen the first two episodes of the series and my hunch has been confirmed, but in today’s show I’m asking the question, “Why is Halo ideally suited for TV?” Dating back to at least 2005, Microsoft had been trying to get a Halo movie made, but when that didn’t pan out, it seemed like one of the most iconic video game/entertainment properties of the last decade was going to be left by the wayside. Now with Halo: Nightfall and a follow-up TV series on the way, it seems like Microsoft is shifting its focus from the silver screen to the small screen. But why is that? Well, sit back, relax, and start charging up your Overshields because I’m about to break it down like a Gravity Hammer on an unsuspecting Spartan’s head.
Are you digging Halo: Nightfall so far? Do you think TV is the right choice for the franchise? Or would you rather see a feature film adaptation? Maybe an erotic flipbook perhaps? Let me know in the comments below or tell me on Twitter (@Osteoferocious) using the hashtag #TheDanCave.
The notion that retelling a story for film isn’t enough is ridiculous. Half of the fun is seeing a story I love retold in another format and seeing who they cast and how they portray the physical worlds. I don’t need the filmmaker to add their own “creative spin” to a world/story that I already love. Simply, that is not a good enough excuse to not adapt Halo CE, 2 and 3 into a film trilogy.
And, I pretty much agree. The whole movie tie-in franchise is feeling tired. As you talked about before with superhero movies the inundation of “the film based on the thing” in cinema feels played out. Hollywood took it and rolled with it but they kind of always have. From Bram Stoker to Shakespeare the many decades of film have adapted previous works. Television (or the episodic format for that matter)? Especially now with the graphic content that can be depicted, it’s a pretty wise choice.Plus, I like the world-building that can be done with serials.
LOL “black” ops, now that’s just insensitive, Dan. XD
I think you mean “African-American” ops.
Why? Because it’s not the 1950s anymore. Television is good now. We’ve figured out that people will watch a little show called Breaking Bad and it can be successful. That’s why.