Most of my life I wanted good fantasy on TV. But as I grew older I started accepting that while I had the desire, my expectations would ever be met. In my brain fantasy and live action hardly ever click nicely. Even the greatest achievements like the Lord of the Rings adaptation is a bit off to me. Fantasy belongs in drawing, paintings, stories … not actors and special effects.
Another thing I never wanted was a retelling of an adventure or a campaign. That would just mess up the original, put expectations that would influence the future players, defeating the purpose of the source.
That leaves me with interesting settings that could be done well on today’s TV.
The Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City
Luka Rejec made a setting that is … I really can’t do it justice. But the first time I saw the illustrations I was transported to my childhood Summers. I could smell the attic of our family house, filled with comic books that were stashed there. I could feel the paper under my fingers flipping through titles that today we call classics. It transported me to the world of Jeremiah, Den, Axa, and so many more comics I read as a kid.
Ars Magica
Skirting my opinion on fantasy on TV is the most famous game of medieval mages. I’d set the covenant in the Balkans so we get a nice mix of cultures, and do it like a magically enhanced Cadfael series.
Shadow of the Beanstalk
My dearest modern cyberpunk, or cyber-noire if you prefer, setting for games and fiction. This setting is dripping for a good treatment of any kind. The card game was so awesome that once the licence expired a non-profit was organised to keep the game alive. The original board game was OK, and I’d love to try it with the Director’s Cut fan made rules. The RPG was tacked to the FFG house system, and was still OK.
But the setting is so rich, so well crafted, already full of beautiful visuals … it is a true shame it is not getting more love.