Alan Moore is famously not a fan (to say the least) of his work being adapted for the movies, but what about a cable TV series? Honestly, I’m sure Moore would still be grumpy about that, because he’s grumpy about everything, but perhaps fans would be more appreciative. Moore’s stuff is just too dense to work within the confines of a two-hour movie, but I think you could do some of Moore’s works justice if you had a full season of TV to work with.
So, I’m actually pretty excited about the news that FX is adapting Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell. The 500-page-plus graphic novel tells the tale of Jack the Ripper in exquisite period detail from the perspective of The Ripper himself. There is, of course, a 2001 movie version of From Hell starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, but that it was severely dumbed-down and just generally not very good.
Unfortunately the TV show won’t be making an entirely clean break from the movie. The producer of the From Hell movie, Don Murphy, will also be producing the TV shows. Thankfully The Hughes Brothers, who didn’t really seem to have a feel for the subject matter, won’t be involved, and the series will be written by David Arata (Children of Men).
So, do you think a From Hell TV series has a shot at being good? If it works out, what other Alan Moore series should get the cable TV treatment?
Via Deadline