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EXCLUSIVE: Just the other day, Mike Fleming reported on DreamWorks acquiring Voices from the Dead, an original script by Changeling and Thor scribe J. Michael Straczynski. Based on the real-life friendship between magician Harry Houdini and mystery author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it is a fictional account of how they teamed up with a psychic to solve bizarre murders in 1920s New York.
Independently, Syfy had been negotiating for Among the Spirits, a drama series project about Houdini and Doyle solving mysteries in 1920s, with the deal closing at the very time the feature announcement was coming out. “I guess there is something in the air about that whole time period and that very interesting relationship between Houdini and Doyle,” said Syfy’s president of original programming Mark Stern. (Both Syfy brass and the producers of Among the Spirits first heard about Voices from the Dead from reading our story.) Among the Spirits, named after Houdini’s book A Magician Among the Spirits published in 1924, is based on self-published graphic novel Among the Spirits by writers Steve Valentine and Paul Chart. Stern describes the project, which is being put in development, as “a turn-of-the-century Fringe.” It will be in the vein of steampunk TV classic The Wild Wild West and Guy Ritchie’s 2009 movie Sherlock Homes which put the steampunk genre back into the zeitgeist. It will center on Houdini and Doyle who, with the help of a female cop, try to solve bizarre murders and strange occurrences that look like hauntings and other supernatural events using steampunk technology. “We have Houdini, who was the ultimate illusionist and was all about creating illusions, and Dolyle, who was all about getting to the truth underneath – the pragmatist and the dreamer – set against that 1920s world of America where technology is just starting to grow.” Entertainment One, which produces Haven for Syfy, is behind Among the Spirits, with Chart and Valentine writing as well as producing with Daniel J. Frey.
Among the Spirits is not the only period mystery series project in the works involving real historic figures. ABC gave a pilot order to Poe, a crime procedural following Edgar Allan Poe, the world’s very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston.
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One more reason not to watch Siffy. Epic FAIL.
Houdini and Doyle make a funny dynamic. Friends first, they evolved into a bitter feud because Doyle insisted that psychics were real and Houdini was very adamant that they weren’t. Doyle thought that Houdini must have been infused with some sort of spirituality that helped him perform his escape feats. Houdini, however, explained that these were just “tricks”.
Houdini spent most of the latter part of his career on lecture tours exposing psychics and showing how they performed their parlor magic tricks.
And we won’t even get into Doyle’s role into the “Cottingley Fairy Photos” in 1917.
“solving mysteries in the 1920s… with the help of a female cop”
Sigh…
The premise sounds similar to Caleb Carr’s excellent novel, “The Alienist” which should have been developed for the big screen years ago.
THE ALIENIST has been in development forever at Paramount with Scott Rudin producing.
David Henry Hwang did a draft. Steven Katz did a draft that got Curtis Hanson attached to direct. Then Philip Kaufman did a draft for himself to direct.
I think it’s dead now.
Steve Valentine is fantastic. Very talented and creative, great move for SyFy!
If SV’s not acting in it, I’ll still watch if he’s writing it.
If there’s any network you don’t have to worry about competing, it’s SyFy.
Dreamworks has NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.
Ah, yes…Doyle and Houdini solving crimes and Lincoln chases vampires. Hollywood at its best. Next —Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin search for serial killers in Williamsbug and Edison and a young Einstein find cerebral villains in the Roaring 20′s. More to come.
William Hjortsberg: Nevermore (1995)
Publichers Weekly’s summary: “Set in the Jazz Age and featuring Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as protagonists, Hjortsberg’s gothic mystery centers around spiritualism and a murderer who is modeling his crimes after those in the stories of Edgar Allan Poe”
exactly why i am in the fetal position today.
Whoa. Could this be the beginning of a lawsuit?
You could also mention ABC’s “Poe” by Chris Hollier.
Same exact setup, just with Edgar Allan Poe.
“Guy Ritchie’s 2009 movie Sherlock Homes which put the steampunk genre back into the zeitgeist”
Wrong. Novels and comics have been doing a steampunk revival for almost ten years now. As usual these days movies and TV are the last to catch any trend.
And anyway — what exactly was ‘steampunk’ about the 2009 Holmes?
there were some steampunk elements in it definitely, but imho Chris Nolan’s Prestige was more steampunk.
So Abe Lincoln is off fighting vampires while Houdini & Doyle solve crimes. In 50 years, look out for my masterpiece about Obama and Cheney fighting mummies!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Let’s just hope that Cheney isn’t the one carrying the loaded rifle.
I’m pretty sure they are greenlighting a GAME spinoff… and one for HOUSE OF PAYNE too.
So there’s a feather for your cap.
E1 is a Canadian company. This sounds like they’re just copying the relative success of the Canadian period piece Murdoch Mysteries (1890′s brainy detective using methods from the dawn of forensics) and transferring it here with a bigger budget of course. That Pinkerton period pilot sounded suspiciously similar as well…
The events of the relationship betyween Houdini and Doyle were real. However,Doyle was looking for a spiriual revelation and Houdini knew the feats he performed were stage tricks. I doubt they would ever have teamed up to solve crimes. Doyle tried to help Scotland Yard with cases but he wasn’t very helpful. I’ll watch the intial shows to see if the stories are believable.
Next up the Hitler Mysteries? Or maybe Corpus Christie, about a young Jesus solving crimes in Roman-occupied Palestine, through which he gathers his apostles? Peter would make a dashing Dr. Watson, wouldn’t he?
JESUS looks down at the murdered Roman Centurion. He lifts the man’s sliced throat. Next to him, PETER stares at the sky.
Jesus: “I can’t see the hand of god in this, Pete.”
Pete: “What are you, his son?”
I was willing to give this a shot until I heard “female cop.” I don’t care if they want to pretend fairies and spirits are real, but pretending women had equal employment opportunities is too much fantasy.
Anything is better than Boardwalk Empire. They built a great set and hired a great cast but forgot to write a great show to go with it.
Couldn’t agree more. Not sure what all the fuss is about except Scorcese put his name on the pilot. I watched it faithfully hoping it would improve. The plot went nowhere but crazy town.
No doubt… I love everyone involved, but nothing that they actually produce.
I love everyone involved with BE – the design and the acting are first rate. But the story telling sucks. The female roles are simply terrible. The writing is so dark and sadistic. Watching the show isn’t exciting or fun but a chore. I tuned out after episode 8. My favorites were 4 and 5. Everyone I know gave up on the show. I hope things are rebooted for season 2. It needs some hope, some life.
This will not end well.
If I’m William Hjortsberg (who wrote “Nevermore” in 90s about Houdini and Doyle partnering to solve mysteries), I’d be lining up lawyers to sue for plagiarism.
Just read the Amazon synopsis. Dangerously close. Maybe Hjortsberg will get some sort of based on or inspired by credit? I just remember what Harlan Ellison went through when “Demon With A Glass Hand” got ripped off by James Cameron. It took years for that to be settled.
According to Wikipedia it wasn’t “Demon with a glass hand” that got ripped off. I was the other Harlan Ellison script “Soldier”.
Let’s give thanks to the recent pitch that started this fire of copycats.
Let me guess. This is going to be The X-Files where Houdini the skeptic turns out to be wrong, but every new episode he refuses to believe what he saw was supernatural. I loved the X-Files, but just once I would love a show that treated this subject with a sense of reality. The last thing I can remember that was honest about this was Scooby Doo (the original). I understand the idea of taking these characters and putting them in situations that they never were in and seeing what happens is interesting, but taking someone who so often fought against this type of thinking and showing them to be wrong can be a fine line to walk.
I’m just glad it’s something slightly different. The dichotomy between Doyle’s spiritualism vs. Houdini’s pragmatism could be an interesting byplay w/ allegorical elements of today’s culture conflict between religion & secularism.
Even if it doesn’t go that deep, these are really interesting characters to explore.
So don’t screw it up, Sciffy.
PS: Starsky & Hutch didn’t need a female sidekick. Neither do Doyle & Houdini. Keep that hackneyed shit to a minimum. ‘K?
I like it now, and I liked it when it was “Fairytale: A True Story.”
Zounds! My dear Houdini, how the deuce did you escape from those handcuffs so quickly? I’ve barely gotten my trousers off.
Help! Somebody call the police!
I wonder how many female cops existed in the 1920′s. Anybody?