Projects I Want To See: X-Men TV Show

Lately I've been watching Smallville on CW. Don't get me wrong, I hated the show in the first couple seasons, but I started watching it again in the fifth season and it was like a completely different show. One thing I've noticed about TV shows is that it can take a while for the writers and actors to really get to know their characters, so a viewer really has to make it through at least the third season before they can judge a series as a whole. Well, the Smallville writers were a bit slow because it didn't pick up until the fifth season and it wasn't even until the eighth season that it almost has become what I wanted it to be in the first place... which is basically a Superman TV show.

But I'm getting off the point. I will and have watched most sci-fi or fantasy television (within limits, Andromeda) so I've been watching a variety of superpowers on Smallville, CGI antennae on Star Trek: Enterprise, CGI robots on Battlestar Galactica, great superpowered fight scenes in Angel... and it suddenly occurs to me... they could do an X-Men TV show.

Fuck X-Men movies. If you've been paying any attention to my blog, you already realize that there is too much X-Men to fit into movies. Television would be a much better format. The mutant metaphor lends itself better to topics like discrimination and terrorism in a television format which can follow the consequences of previous action (or in-action).

Characters

I see the show with a slowly building principle cast consisting of Professor Xavier, Moira MacTaggert, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Hank McCoy, Bobby Drake, Ororo Monroe, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, and Kurt Wagner. First, no Wolverine because I imagine this as a teenage version of the X-Men and having an old Wolverine flirting with Jean would be gross. Also, the role is strongly associated with Hugh Jackman at the moment and it would be hard to replace him. Second, no Angel because there is still no way for it to look as cool on film as it does in the comics, especially on a TV budget. Unfortunately, that removes the two best "third wheels" for the famous Scott/Jean love triangle.

All they really need to do is to get Patrick Stewart to sign up for the lead and get Hugh Jackman to sign up for the occasional cameo by the fourth season. Recast the rest. My vote still goes to Rutger Hauer for Magneto and I'm pretty sure you could get him for regular guest appearances on a TV show.

My character choices are a combination of centrality to the overall X-Men story, strong characterization, interesting powers, and fairly easy to do on a cheap budget. I'm imagining the pre-fur version of Beast... leaving you with the option to go the other way in later seasons if it is feasible. As for Nightcrawler, get one of the Star Trek makeup guys to do the face, CGI the occasional tail, and give him an image inducer (to disguise his deformity) in the pilot just to give you more storytelling options (and save money). Also, don't show the acrobatics as much as the teleportation, which can be done on a fairly cheap budget. The hardest power might actually be Iceman's, though naturally you wouldn't do the complicated ice slides.

Best of all, you don't need to do any complicated costumes. Just come up with a number of tight-fitting T-shirts with the X logo and some belt buckles with the same. The rest you can customize, but unlike other superheroes, the X-Men aren't defined by their costumes. You could even forget the costumes altogether if you really wanted to.

I think you could really get women and girls excited about this show as well because women really seem to dig the X-Men. Jean would be your girl-next-door, Ororo the wise African goddess, Rogue the wild girl who can't touch anyone, Kitty the ambitious child who walks through walls, and Moira the responsible educated adult without any powers. Hell, if you could get Gates McFadden to do a Scottish accent, you could have yourself a little TNG reunion. But if you brought in Gambit a little later as the bad boy that breaks Rogue's heart... well, I think you could create the next hot genre hit, capture the female audience, and create something really good and true to the comics all at the same time.

Here are the people involved. Note: Images of actors are not necessarily casting recommendations. Just stand-ins. Well, some are recommendations like...

Professor Charles Xavier

Naturally, Xavier has to be there to guide and teach the X-Men, but the hard part will be avoiding what they did in the movie... which is make the character perfectly boring. Writers do it a lot with Superman too. If you are really supposed to look up to a character who is noble and pure, that's hard to write. Believe me. But Xavier isn't as perfect as he often is portrayed. He can sometimes be an overbearing task master who is too preoccupied with his grand plans to see the people carrying them out. He's trying to be a protector and guide to the inheriters of the Earth. That would take its toll on any one.

Moira MacTaggert

I like having a human on a team of mutants, but that's not the only reason I added Moira to the cast. Xavier needs someone to talk to as an equal so that the viewers can see that side of him. Moira could be just a friend or a love interest, but more importantly, she would be a female mentor who doesn't need superhuman abilities to make herself useful. Maybe she would teach the sciences, working closely with Hank and Kitty.

Scott "Cyclops" Summers

If you had to pick a single protagonist, it would be Scott. Scott is perfect because he is so accutely aware of the strength and weakness of his power. In the early comics, they nicknamed him Slim because he was tall and skinny. In the comics today, he is an athlete. It makes sense because Scott is a control freak and he doesn't like to show his weaknesses. This could be an element that develops as he goes from insecure, skinny kid feeling sorry for himself into the quintessential X-Man. Of course, a large part of his motivation would be Jean.

Jean Grey

Jean might be the hardest character to write because in the comics she never had a very defined personality. She goes from the tough cookie, Marvel Girl, to the world destroying Phoenix, so her storyarc also seems to be about power and self-repression. She witnesses the death of her friend Annie from inside her mind and it traumatized her, forcing her to suppress her telepathic abilities. So I could see her as being a young woman very conflicted about her own strength. This could be why she and Scott fit so well. However, her arc would be about working with Professor X on developing her powers safely and exploring the inner workings of the mind. Imagine the storytelling possibilities of having a psychic around.

Bobby "Iceman" Drake

Bobby might be the most identifiable X-Man because he is fairly normal. In the original comics, he was the youngest and a prankster, so you could keep that aspect. Add to that a penchant for hoodies (if would go well with his powers) and hardcore rap, then we'd have a pretty identifiable male character. Although this may be violating some broadcasting law about male characters all being metrosexual Dawson boys, I see Bobby as someone who would have pursued a career in video games if he hadn't been a mutant. Here is a character that you can organically shape throughout the series. They'll have to use a lot of spray on foam to simulate frost, but covered in frost could be a good look for Iceman.

Hank "Beast" McCoy

Hank is wise, sophisticated, and intelligent, but also very humorous and humble. You'd have to be to call yourself Beast. He'd be the Chris Stevens or (if you didn't watch Northern Exposure) the Wilson. Always with a philosophical perspective or parable. Of course, Hank is also a scientist so you could even use scientific analogies on social matters. The hard part might be the acrobatics, so you would have to hire someone fairly big and athletic. If you can get him to do some parkour training, you could fake the acrobatics with a minimum of wires or CGI.

Kevin Smith recently became my casting choice for Beast in the films, so someone similar (but younger) would be great for the show.

Ororo "Storm" Monroe

This would be an Ororo younger than in the comics. She has a great deal of empathy, compassion, and intelligence, but she has yet to develop wisdom and understanding of how the world works. Xavier convinces her that her upbringing as an orphan in Africa has given her impressive skills, but a limited perspective. When she realizes that the gift of rain that she is giving will eventually cause more harm than good, she agrees to go with Xavier, who promises that she can study whatever she would like. I see her as being very much a social activist, speaking with moral conviction where others see nothing worth speaking about.

Rogue

I added Rogue to this cast for two reasons. First, she is wildly popular amongst women I've spoken to. I think the idea of a woman who cannot touch some without hurting them really resonates with a lot of women. But maybe it's more than that, if Rogue touches someone, she practically becomes them. It is a very intimate connection that is rife with story telling possibilities. Second, it's just cool to be able to copy people's powers. On a few occasions, she has copied the powers of multiple people and used them in conjunction. And beside all of that, Rogue has always been a character struggling with her dark side and that is usually fun to watch.

Kitty Pryde

I threw in Kitty Pryde for a few reasons. First, her power is easy to produce on a modest budget. Second, she is often the youngest member of the X-Men and this version is no exception. I thought it might be fun to have a character who is considerably younger and more playful than the primary cast. It gives her a different perspective. Maybe she can't be an X-Man the first year or two, so she is just a student. In the comics, she was a computer genius and it might be fun to play up on that angle as well. A friend of mine tells me that his kids are little computer geniuses, so rather than her being the stereotypical geek, she would be part of a generation that evolved with computers.

Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner

If there was one character that could be taken off this list, it's Kurt. Why did I include him? Because he is a fan favorite. If we went with the furless Beast, Nightcrawler wouldn't seem so redundant. Also, there aren't any other characters who were deformed by their mutant powers to the same extent. His character has always been fun loving and charming, but rooted in an insecurity over his own appearance. He is also a particularly religious character who could contrast well with Reverand Stryker in later seasons.

Erik "Magneto" Lensherr

I would love to introduce Magneto not as a villain, but as Xavier's old friend and a sort of uncle to the X-Men. You could have him work with Xavier's school and bring some of the mutants he has found including Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Toad. You could gradually build up the tension between his and Xavier's perspectives on mutant destiny and activism. By starting him as a friend, we can start fracturing the X-Men into philosophical differences that would reveal their inner characters. Of course, at some point, he would break off, form the Brotherhood of Mutants, and become a true villain, but that would be fun too.

Stories

But you could do entire episodes about meeting a new person with a new mutant power. This is what X-Files, Buffy, and Smallville fans call the "freak of the week." Many could be existing comic characters like Mastermind the illusionist, Mimic the power copier, or Destiny the precog. For season long story arcs, you could infiltrate the mutant terrorist group, the Brotherhood of Mutants, or the anti-mutant group, the Friends of Humanity. Do a story about Reverend Stryker and the Purifiers centered around Nightcrawler's faith or Beast getting an intership at a company that manufactures mutant hunting Sentinels. They could go to the Hellfire Club and meet their own school of Hellions. They could even do stories about the Morlocks, Days of the Future Past, Mr. Sinister, and Apocalypse.

Season 1

I can see season one starting with a mutant girl on her own who is running from the authorities. With reluctance suppressed by necessity, she runs into a crowd and touches multiple people to absorb their strength. Now when she runs, she runs like a track star and when she throws a punch, she hits like a boxer. Maybe she escapes, maybe not but she pops up on Cerebro.

Meanwhile, at Xavier's school, Scott is doing well, both as a student and as an X-Man, but not excelling at either. They go to a public school for most classes because Xavier believes that it is important that they learn to integrate with others (also, more storytelling options). Scott is so nervous that his glasses are going to fall off that he never does anything too physical. Other people always look at him strange, but he tells them that he is wearing prescription lenses; he gets migraines without them and his retinas adjust to the red filter.

The first story would be centered around Scott and Rogue, but include Xavier, Moira, Hank, and Bobby. Xavier sends Cyclops, Beast, and Iceman to find Rogue who thinks that the government sent special soldiers to get her. A fight ensues in which Rogue samples the other's powers until she realizes they are trying to help her and goes with them.

The second story I see as a second-part to the pilot in which Xavier meets with his old friend, Erik, as they recruit Jean Grey, a troubled girl with a great deal of power. Xavier brings her back to the mansion along with Erik who takes an interest in the traumatized Rogue. Meanwhile, Scott is transfixed by Jean, but too nervous to get to know her.

In the very next episode, we find Professor Xavier in Africa where a young girl named Ororo is being worshiped as a goddess because she brings the village rain. Xavier tells her the she is not a goddess; she is a mutant. He offers to take her to be with other mutants and teach her control of her powers, but she refuses, saying that her place is there. Later, a local wise man asks her if she is immortal. She says that she does not know. He tells her that he sees more people having families and less people dying meaning Ororo will have to bring more rain for more crops for many generations. If she were to die, it would be very bad. Considering this, Ororo agrees to go with Xavier.

As the X-Men encounter mutants, they find that most of them are seduced by the temptations of their powers and are not interested in practicing responsible control. Many of them try to kill people or harm them in some other way. Erik (or Magneto as he comes to be called) ends up influencing many of those who stay at the mansion and breaking off to form the terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Mutants. Rogue is amongst those who join. Here Magneto fills their heads with their genetic right to rule and of the destructive history of man. It is a compelling contrast to Xavier's ideology.

Magneto encourages Rogue to use her powers to the fullest. He encourages her to touch others, to sample their minds and abilities. He tells her that it is her genetic gift and it is meant to be used, but eventually, she finds the psyches of others to be overwhelming. It pushes her to the edge and eventually drives her back to Xavier for help.

Rather than have an X-Men/Brotherhood face-off in the pilot, season one would focus on them being two divergent philosophies. Members of both groups would socialize and debate, but gradually they break apart, leading to a confrontation in the season finale which would reveal the existence of mutants to the world. Season two and all subsequent seasons would focus on the fear of mutants as a parallel to terrorism, school violence, and discrimination.

Conclusion

I think this could really work. The only serious drawback would be the absence of Wolverine, but even this absence would keep people watching in hopes that he would eventually appear. It would capture the youth audience beautifully and provide a vehicle that would be full of social commentary (if people still do that any more).