Whilst fan demand for a Dredd sequel continues unabated, there seems little in the way of actual forward momentum to put the iconic lawman of Mega a City One back onto the big screen. Maybe it’s understandable that studios are nervous. In his two cinematic outings, one ended a pantomime, the other deemed a financial failure. But we live in an age of kickstarters and crowdfunders, so has this fan frenzy got the potential to be harnessed and converted into action? Surely enough money for a Dredd animated film could be produced. How much would you donate to a project to explore the Dredd universe again?
Well if the powers that be are still unwilling to take a gamble on any future Dredd projects, then they could do worse than delve deeper into the pages of the comic that created him, 2000AD. This anarchic British publication has spent it’s 38 year run both celebrating and satirizing popular culture, free from the rules and controls of the more mainstream comic companies.
So here are 20 other 2000AD series you should look into if you are a fan of Dredd. All contain strong thematic material, which has the potential to be converted into a brilliant TV pilot, the style of which Amazon and Netflix are now trialing, and also come with suggestions for a style for them to run with:
20. DR and Quinch
What is it?
The scattershot adventures of a pair of psychotic high-school aliens, who ricochet around the cosmos, destroying the Earth, joining the army, and bizarrely becoming film directors.
How to present it?
An utterly irreverent representation of the anger and turmoil of teenage years, with the inclusion of ultra violence and heavy weaponry, this would play out as a twisted cousin of SAVED BY THE BELL, only with a greater body count. There’s no way on God’s Green Earth this could get green-lit. By any network. Ever…
19. Vector 13
What is it?
Enjoying a 3 year run, and seizing on the then-success of the X-Files, this series of stand-alone tales, all related by the shady Men In Black, detailed supernatural and sci-fi stories from within their casefiles. Highlights included Nazis adapting UFO tech. A prehistoric tribe hidden in the English countryside who are responsible for big cat sightings, and a ghost-hunting reporter turning into his own story courtesy of a time slip.
How to present it?
The same format as THE OUTER LIMITS. Incorporate an A-List name into each episode to draw the viewers in, and then keep the audience hooked with the suspense generated by good scripting, and subtle use of special effects.
18. Robo Hunter
What is it?
The adventures of Sam Slade and his assortment of oddball assistants were a regular feature over the years. As with most robots appearing in sci-fi, the series raised many issues about the relationship between creator and creation, humanising Slade’s opponents, but usually resulting in him ultimately blowing them to pieces, whilst smoking s big cigar.
How to present it?
With the overall deteriorating state of the Terminator series, this could be an opportunity to resurrect the format left by the SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. A human antagonist with robot sidekicks taking on looming robotic threats, only substituting Leana Heady for a suitably Ron Perlman-esque, cigar chomping lead character.
17. Zenith
What is it?
The eponymous adventures of the powered son of1960’s British superheroes, who elects to use his powers to further a career as a Popstar, whilst also fighting inter-dimensional menaces, and occasionally highlighting flaws in the UK political system.
How to present it?
Another problematic one to bring to the screen, this. There’s no shortage of up and coming Young British talent that could assist the project, but the material reads like the bastard offspring of a night of passion between HOUSE OF CARDS and HELLBOY. But best of luck to anyone who tries to bring it to the telly.
16. Button Man
What is it?
The rich elite of society employ assassins to battle each other, and gamble on the result. One of these Button Men, Harry Exton, tires of the game, and when it becomes clear to him he won’t be allowed to leave, he resolves to destroy the system as his only means of freedom. Given the current growing gap between rich and poor, it’s a concept that remains very relevant to a modern audience.
How to present it?
Following turns in The Guest, and Walk Amongst The Tombstones, Dan Stevens has proven his ability to take on dark and complicated characters. Surround him with a few like-minded allies, and use the format ARROW employs, splitting between the current threats that Harry faces, with the past battles that have put him in this situation
15. Harlem Heroes
What is it?
The adventures of a 21st century Aeroball team (essentially basketball with killer jet packs…), lead by the disembodied brain of a deceased team member, the series followed the squad through a set of ultraviolent confrontations to the grand finals of the competition, with later versions morphing into a street gang with the same name.
How to present it?
The heroes were notable for not wearing protective armor, and being representative of their fans. There really haven’t been that many fictional TV sports dramas to work off, so essentially this would be FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS with jet packs, a shed load of fatal injuries, and a brain in a jar.
14. Ace Trucking
What is it?
The adventures of CB radio talking Ace Garp (occasionally joined by himself from a parallel universe) and his small band of lunatic crew members. Consisted mostly of them transporting/smuggling various contraband items across the galaxy, evading rivals and pirates alike.
How to present it?
With humor being the main draw here, over actual action, then surely this is an opportunity for a new animated/prosthetic answer to the void filled by RED DWARF?
13. The Ballad of Halo Jones
What is it?
The chronicle of a futuristic teenager, neither superpowered or gifted, who tires of her humdrum existence, and ends up propelled on a galaxy-wide adventure, which eventually sees her enlisting in the army.
How to present it?
Sassy, attitude-filled teenagers, struggling to find their place in life and experiencing the trials and tribulations of the conversion from adolescent life to adulthood? SKINS, in space. With war…
12. Finn
What is it?
Cursed by its similarity to the comic’s more well known character, Slaine (more of him later), Finn never managed to garner the spotlight it deserved. The series told the story of a man chosen and seduced by Pagan forces to fight against big corporations destroying the planet and environment. And those big corporations are in fact run by extraterrestrial invaders. So essentially, Forest Spirits Vs Aliens. With big machine-guns. Which I appreciate sounds like a mobile phone game app.
How to present it?
Given the fact it’s one man trapped between the forces of supernatural and science fiction, it would be good to play along the lines of LOST, trying to make the viewer doubt if some of the things that he lead character are experiencing are indeed real, or the product of a mentally ill vigilante. Environmental action remains a very modern topic, so there are themes to be explored which are pertinent to today’s audience.
11. Sinister Dexter
What is it?
Set in the sprawling European futurescape of Downlode, this series followed the adventures of two gun-toting hitmen as they negotiated the complex layers of the city’s criminal underworld. Although one of the two was unhinged, and the other chose to beam TV directly into their brain, the series was rich with a supporting cast of eccentric personalities.
How to present it?
Framed against a subculture of gang and criminal fraternities, a similar setup to BOARDWALK EMPIRE could be employed, with complex relationships and alliances between the rival parties, through which our boys move. Of benefit might be employing someone like Tony Curran as the older of the two, guiding a younger less experienced gunsmith through the adventures and intrigues.
10. Flesh
What is it?
Time travelling humans return to the time of the dinosaurs to capture and exploit the beasts for their own purposes, time and again being taught a lesson by nature that in this timeline, they are not the natural rulers of the earth.
How to present it?
In its day, the most comparable influence would have been Westworld, but these days this would sadly be seen as a knock-off as Jurassic Park. The series has great potential though, with huge industrial tractors equipped with chainsaws, radioactive giant spiders and the time travelling aspect. It would probably be best being run as something similar to DEFIANCE, with a sinister human force seeking to take control of a human settlement trying to survive amongst the dinos.
9. Slaine
What is it?
Wielding a gigantic axe dubbed ‘Brainbiter’, and having the ability to warp into a monstrous berserker beast, the Barbarian King Slaine has been hacking and slashing his way through his enemies since 1983.
How to present it?
The answer you probably weren’t expecting here was FALLING SKIES, but bear with me. Over a 5 series run, Noah Wyle and friends have faced off against a multi-layered conveyer belt of alien opponents. On one of his more bloody run-ins, Slaine was fighting in Britain against opposing natives, who were being oppressed by occupying Romans, who in turn were being manipulated by Hell-Demons. We’re gonna need a bigger axe….
8. Durham Red
What is it?
A former member of the Strontium Dogs, and lover of Johnny Alpha, this super-sexy Vampress wakes a thousand years in the future to find half the galaxy believe her to be the messiah, and the other half want her eradicated. Accruing a small band of misfit allies, she travels this new timeline, encountering enemies old and new. None more dangerous than her own future-self, driven mad by immortality and the consequences of its indulgences…
How to present it?
A spaceship full of misfits, and half the Galaxy are after it because of who one of her crew is? Maybe if FIREFLY had been captained by a smoking hot sexy vampire lady, it might have lasted long enough for a second series.
7. Stainless Steel Rat
What is it?
Intergalactic con artist Slippery Jim takes things one heist too far, and finds himself forced to join the authorities, and use his skills and techniques to catch his fellow criminals, falling into all manner of marital, political and time travelling shenanigans along the way.
How to present it?
The series was certainly grand in scale, covering Jim’s early heists, through his marriage and the birth of his kids. In terms of universe-traversing scale, this could definitely be the new FARSCAPE.
6. Nikolai Dante
What is it?
Trying to scrape a living in the shady backstreets of a future galaxy ruled by the Russian empire, our eponymous hero discovers he is the illegitimate offspring of a Tsar, when he accidentally bonds with a genetically-coded weapons system… Well, it could happen. With his new-found abilities, he struggles to adjust to his new regal position, fighting the enemies of the monarchy, whilst trying to surviving the threats from within it.
How to present it?
Warring royal houses? Intrigues and power-plays? So essentially it’s a steampunk GAME OF THRONES. Where Jon Snow gets to do a lot more shagging. And can turn his hands into blades. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
5. STRONTIUM DOGS
What is it?
When nuclear war splits the world’s population into norms and muties, Johnny Alpha and his colleagues become the aforementioned Strontium Dogs. All mutated by Strontium radiation, they use their skills to track and eliminate/retrieve criminals from various dimensions and time streams, continually harassed and oppressed by the norm government.
How to present it?
A small group of rebellious souls trying to make a living outside the law? Reads like SONS OF ANARCHY to me. Hell, you could even transplant the cast. Ryan Hurst as Wulf Sternhammer. Tommy Flanagan as Middenface McNulty…
4. Bad Company
What is it?
After his platoon is wiped out battling the villainous alien Krool; soldier Danny Franks falls in with Bad Company. A twisted gang of Frankenstein hybrids and murderous humans, committed to destroying the alien attackers by any means necessary.
How to present it?
Bloody and brutal in its portrayal of a handful of conflict-scarred soldiers battling their way through a larger conflict, this is essentially a futuristic BAND OF BROTHERS. With brain surgery. And plants grafted onto limbs….
3. Nemesis
What is it?
Demonic freedom fighter and Warlock, Nemesis battles to protect the rights of aliens in a future tyrannised by Tomas De Torquemada, and his oppressive police state. An unholy hybrid between the Spanish inquisition and the KKK.
How to present it?
With the striking religious overtones of the piece, rich in fantasy and sci-fi tropes, it’s a perfect fit for the next PENNY DREADFUL. The only issue would be whether to go animated, and keep the nose, or tone things down for a live action production. But, oh, the fun to be had from bringing über villain Torquemada to life….
2. Rogue Trooper
What is it?
In a (yet-another) world decimated by nuclear holocaust, a crude reimagining of the American Civil War has split the populace into the Norts and the Southers. The only surviving member of a massacre of super-soldiers cloned to win the war, Rogue is hunted by his creators as a deserter, as well as by the opposition. Apart from other outsiders he encounters on his travels, his only companions are the electronic personalities of three of his dead brothers, incorporated into his equipment and weaponry.
How to present it?
Our main character travels across a devastated world, trying to retain his humanity, with the dead for company? Think THE WALKING DEAD. Only Rick has blue skin. And a kick-ass machine gun. The format aside, this is sci fi at its best, constantly questioning the ethics that have bought Rogue to be where he is, with the nice touch of the three disembodied companions.
1. ABC Warriors
What is it?
Much as in the last list we went from Strontium Dog, to Durham Red, here we segue from Nemesis, straight into his sometime allies, the ABC Warriors. What introduction is necessary? Hammerstein. Deadlock. Joe Pineapples. Mongrel, Blackblood, Mek-Quake. Names etched in comic-book lore. Like a mechanical A-Team, this motley crew of robot killers fight their way across the galaxy, to hell and back, doing the dirty work humanity can’t, and won’t do.
How to present it?
I mean, let’s be frank. Hammerstein was probably the best performance in the Stallone version of Dredd. I’ll take these guys on screen in any form. CGI. Anime. Claymation. With the idea of a group of skilled individuals coming together to fight greater threats, I’d play this is a kind of HEROES setup, introducing the history and skill set of each robot, before throwing them together against a greater threat.
And for the truly geeky readers amongst you, honorable mentions go to:
Future Shocks – Okay, okay. I should’ve put that in the original list instead of bloody Vector 13. What can I say? I’m a child of the 90’s…
Fiends of the Eastern Front – The Strain meets Stalingrad? Hell, yes…
SANCHO PANZER – Rivals fight it out on a world using giant super battle tanks…
MANIAC 5 – Alien invasion is repelled by dead soldiers inserted into super robots…
What did you think of the list? Let us know in the comment section at the bottom of the page!