Everybody is getting into the “original content” game these days, and Microsoft is no exception. They recently announced their original shows, both coming and what’s in development… and we took the liberty of ranking them.
From best to worst, according to the press release:
Gun Machine
It’s based on a pretty good book by Warren Ellis. That pretty much automatically puts it at the top of the pile.
Fearless
Paul de Gelder is a diver who defuses bombs and survived a shark attack, and it’s a reality show about him going around the world helping people who do similarly insane jobs. Did we mention he has one leg? That strokes that Mythbusters sweet spot, if there had to be a reality show.
Signal To Noise
That E.T. cartridge excavation was for this series of documentaries about the history of video games. If they’re real documentaries, and not just puff pieces, they could be of genuine interest.
Deadlands
The pen-and-paper game gets a TV series. Which is interesting, but so open-ended that it could go either way.
Winterworld
On the one hand, the source material was written by Chuck Dixon, and is Dixon’s usual solid, thought-out work. On the other, it’s not clear Dixon’s got anything to do with this series, and honestly it seems optioned more for its post-apocalyptic nature than anything else. It doesn’t help that it’s basically a goof on Waterworld.
Every Street United
It’s a sports-themed reality show. Have you ever seen one of those that didn’t turn out to be either a festival of goopy “inspiration” or a total macho train wreck?
Humans
You know what would be awesome? If Microsoft used its heft to find series like Real Humans, the hard-to-find but absolutely worth it Swedish drama about androids. Instead, Microsoft is remaking it, because God forbid we, the English-speaking peoples, struggle with subtitles.
Bonnaroo
You know, because it’s impossible to find live performances from Bonnaroo anywhere on the Internet, and everybody loves the entire lineup of the festival. This won’t be something you fast-forward through at all!
Anything Halo
If you’re not a fan, and you’ve been reading, say, Halo: Escalation, just how limited and unoriginal the Halo universe is has been brought into painfully sharp focus.
Extraordinary Believers
OK, so there aren’t many details about this particular show, but it’s the Robot Chicken team, which can be so hit or miss we’re kind of down on this one right out of the gate. Bonus negativity if it turns out to be a show about religion, because frankly, Twitter arguments between self-righteous religious people and equally self-righteous atheists are far funnier.
Untitled JASH Comedy/Variety Show
A bunch of famous comedians essentially use Microsoft’s money to plug their friends. Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim and Eric and Reggie Watts are involved, and let’s face it, you probably only like one of the comedians on that list.
All that said, this is at least a varied and strong lineup. We’re looking forward to it sitting on the Xbox One for a year before Microsoft gives up and sells the streaming rights to Netflix.
Via Kotaku