Finally! I actually had to record this twice since Audacity had the audacity to somehow destroy the first set of files, but here we are. It’s a podcast about nothing but the Marvel/Netflix Daredevil show coming our way in 2015!
I make a number of references to old posts, news, and various YouTube clips during this podcast, and you’ll find all of them below the embedded audio player (the file can also be downloaded directly and the episode will show up on iTunes within a few hours). They will make sense within the context of the show, I promise. Show? Can I call it a “show”? Seems a little silly, but oh well. 😉
Direct download here and iTunes page here.
Links to other TOMP posts mentioned
- My review of the 2003 Daredevil movie (post from 2008)
- My list of Dos and Dont’s from when there was news of a Fox reboot (post from 2010)
- A post about the difficulty of showing Daredevil’s radar in two dimensions (post from 2012)
Links to recent Daredevil set photos
- Charlie Cox on set (with footage from the filming of young Matt’s accident)
- More Charlie Cox on set
- Elden Henson as Foggy (and some other pictures)
Various YouTube clips
- Steven S. DeKnight Talks Daredevil at Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Red Carpet
- Charlie Cox, scene from Boardwalk Empire
- Deborah Ann Woll, scene from True Blood (embedding not available)
- Deborah Ann Woll and her boyfriend E.J. Scott in a PSA for Choroideremia research
Great podcast! Thanks for doing it! I have high hopes for the show. Marvel Studios has been firing on all cylinders and has IMO yet to come out with a bad product. I am with you on the Agents of SHIELD show, I wasn’t that into it either but I have to say that the last half of the season was much better. The fall out from Captain America: The Winter Soldier really helped the show and pushed it into a much more intense and interesting direction when its revealed that SHIELD has been infiltrated by Hydra. So I would definitely give it another shot. If you haven’t been watching the show Arrow I highly recommend it. Its based off the DC character Green Arrow and it really is the shinning example of how good a comic based TV show can be. It shows how great the action can be with a superhero with no powers and done in a very realistic way. The costumes are done well and very believable, and the show is done in a very mature and sophisticated manner that would fit DD perfectly. They also do just what you were suggesting with providing the origin in small doses throughout the show in continuing flashback sequences. It works great and there have been times when I have been more interested in the flashbacks then the main plot, but they also intertwine the two plots perfectly in such a way that the flashbacks give insight into the characters personality as it pertains to the main action of that episode. I think a similar approach for DD would work great. I agree completely that the show needs to be grounded in its action with no CGI elements. I am also one that wants the shows and movies to take some liberties with the story as long as the core character traits are honored. I mean surprise me and add something new. So I am really hoping that they don’t use Elektra, there is just to much baggage and pressure to remake the Miller story and that takes focus off Matt and the natural flow of any other story that they are trying to tell. Fingers crossed that this will be good. I enjoyed the 2003 movie alright, they just need to get a better sense of what Matt can do physically and get a much tighter reign on what they want the story to be, not be some DD greatest hits mash up.
Oh and Guardians of the Galaxy was awesome! And these are very indie characters that even die hard Marvel fans didn’t know that much about. But they went into it with that feeling of “were nobody underdogs but were going to kick ass and have a blast on our own terms anyway” and it worked. Just a fun movie with enough heart to let you fall in love with and root for these guys. Highly recommended!
Hi Christine. You definitely have a lot of good thoughts and I agree with most of it. To me, there’s so much depth to Daredevil that lets him really benefit from long-form storytelling. Some of his best stories don’t even involve him as Daredevil (Born Again, for example). Could you imagine a two hour movie where the superhero sinks into depression as the world around him falls apart and he never bothers to put on his costume? But as the middle of a television season, it works much better.
Regarding the flashback idea: I actually had the same idea. There’s a lot of substance to Matt Murdock’s childhood that made him who he is. I think that is worth exploring. And I agree flashbacks is a good way to do it. Plus, unlike most superheroes, Matt Murdock gets superpowers years before he becomes a superhero. It’s not something that can be compressed into an hour of time easily.
Regarding getting good legal consultants: I agree completely there (full disclosure, I’m a lawyer so I have some personal investment in seeing it done right). It doesn’t have to be flawless. I think it’s similar to your comments about how they should know the canon but not be afraid to change things. They should have an idea of what does or does not make sense in the legal world, but not be afraid to change something if it makes for a better story. For the blindness-related aspects, I think it should be clear to everyone that they should just hire you.
As a side note, Agents of SHIELD does get better. It’s not excellent (I’m hoping Daredevil will be far better), but it might be worth checking out at some point to finish it. Without giving too much away, there’s a greater connection to the Marvel universe that was part of the reason the show started out the way it did and why it will switch suddenly to become much better right around episode 16 or so (not that you can just skip to that episode because they did lay the groundwork to make those episodes work).
I’m still on the fence with this project. I have seen nothing in Charlie Cox past performances that indicates he is a good fit for this role, and he certainly doesn’t look the part. I’m not saying he’s a bad actor, just can’t see him in the role. (I’m calling you out Cox; prove me wrong!) The rest of the cast looks fine to me.
Whenever I hear the, “we’re going gritty” line, I get concerned. I wouldn’t dig a neck breaking, throw people off rooftops brand of Daredevil in an attempt to appeal to an adult audience. They don’t need to go there. In other words, I hope they let him be a superhero. A guy who can do amazing things in a dark world. That’s what I’m hoping for.
I think CGI is ok. Really do. Let Matt get his feet off the ground, be an over the top acrobat and ninja. Let him be a guy who you can imagine as a good cinematic companion to Captain America. That will make the show respectable. Being street level does not mean you can’t be awesome. I don’t think an Arrow style soap opera will be well received. I really don’t want to see Marvel does Smallville/Arrow/Birds of Prey.
Please get this right Marvel.
I think Cox looks great as Matt Murdock. He’s absolutely got the acting chops to pull off the role. I do wish he was a little bulkier, but I think that will be negligible once we see him in action, especially if they are going for an agile acrobat/ninja.
My one worry is they might hurt themselves and the shows potential by intentionally going too far away from what the movie did. I’m gonna be that guy. I love the Daredevil (Directors Cut) movie. It certainly has flaws, but they are far outweighed by the good. The main flaws of the film were bad wire work and an over reliance on CGI, just like EVERY other superhero movie from that time period. The script definitely could’ve used another polish before filming, but the characters were there, especially Matt, Urich, and Foggy. Affleck and Favreau knocked it out of the park as Murdock and Nelson. The Daredevil suit was fine, The tone was fine. I could see the new show runners choosing not to go a certain way with any number of things simply because they don’t want to be too similar to the movie, which again, wasn’t bad and got much more right than it got wrong.
Great podcast!! =)
I’m really looking forward to this series, and I have to concur with everyone else that has recommended a return to ‘Agents of SHIELD’. It was a series which felt like it was treading water until the events of ‘CA:The Winter Soldier’ kicked in, but they had a HUGE difference to the feel of the whole thing. The writers clearly had a plan, but it just took too long to kick in and many people lost interest before it became evident.
On Daredevil, you mentioned that you weren’t sure what DD’s in-comic costume was made of. If I remember correctly, it was described in the first few pages of Volume 2 #1, written by Kevin Smith. I don’t have the issue to hand, but I’m sure you (or someone else) can check! =)
I completely agree that the DD series needs to be grounded, but that it doesn’t have to sacrifice being ‘fantastic’ in order to do it. ‘Arrow’ gives a good blueprint for this, and I hope that the programme makers don’t try to do something (using CGI, extreme wirework, etc) in an effort just to be different. Good parkour/free-running looks amazing and combined with gymnastics & martial arts can give us something we haven’t seen before.
Thanks again for your efforts on this blog, loving TOMP!!! =D
Have you seen this?
http://mashable.com/2014/10/11/marvel-netflix-daredevil-first-footage/