It has been said that when it comes to Neil Gaiman's Sandman series people are split into two groups. Those who have read it and those who have yet to. True many that haven't can fail to see what the big deal is, and many I have spoken to who only recently picked up the comic wonder why they didn't years ago! It's just that good. But I could go on for hours about how much I love the comic, I wanted to discuss the planned tv series here.
There has been talk of and attempts made to adapt The Sandman in some form or another since the mid 90s. Movie versions have languished in development Hell ever since. Recently though it seemed that DC Entertainment were finally going to get the ball rolling on a tv series. Then a couple of days ago we heard from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, who had been charged with brining the property to the screen, that the Sandman show was stalled, possibly indefinitely. Some felt this was for the best, perhaps not relishing a CW take on the character. But then yesterday we heard from DC CCO Geoff Johns that these reports were premature and the Sandman tv series was very much "awake", with Neil Gaiman in tow. Definitely more encouraging right? But can ANY tv adaptation of this incredibly vast and layered story work?
First of all to do this properly your talking serious budget, and I mean SERIOUS. Certainly more than any other show has had put behind it before. Even if this were a movie that was in the works I could imagine a studio running scared at the expense. But would a movie be able to take the time needed to flesh out the story? If they didn't attempt to cram everything in and set it up for sequels it could, but such care with that type of thing can be rare. In that at least a tv series has the advantage. Then there is the concern of how much tv can get away with un terms of mature content. On HBO sure, to a lesser extent AMC etc, but how likely is that? The very first attempt to adapt the comic for tv screens under director James Mangold did try to find a home at HBO before it fell through. Could that be a possibility now? Don't get me wrong, although the comic contains violence/profanity/sex it's hardly rife with it. I would be more worried about it being dumbed down to find a bigger audience as it can be complex, poetic, at times ponderous(Some may say boring, a network may insist it) But this is all part of what makes The Sandman what it is. Then what about all those characters. The likes of John Constantine, Dr Destiny, Lucifer, Etrigan. To superheroes like Mr Miracle, Martian Manhunter. Do they make the cut? Sure many of them are not vital to the story but would that very first story arc in which Morpheus searches for his lost tools really be the same without them?
But despite these concerns I have to also remain cautiously optimistic. Gaiman has refused to be a part of several attempts to adapt Sandman for both the big and small screen, publicly berating some of the scripts WB sent him. And he also said:
"I'd rather see no Sandman movie made than a bad Sandman movie...We need someone who has the same obsession with the source material as Peter Jackson had with Lord of the Rings or Sam Raimi had with Spider-Man.". We will assume his convictions also apply to bad tv shows! If Gaiman is on board for this I take it as a very good sign. Let us assume that he will still be just as determined to find that person passionate enough to get the job done right.
If you have read Sandman then you most likely love it. And your expectations, like mine, will be very high. Can any tv show live up to them? No, of course not! But I'll settle for a damn good stab at it. Gaiman and Johns are in the driver's seat, lets see what they can Dream up.