G.R.R. Martin Had His Own Flopped Multiverse Show That Needs a Second Chance
The show almost ruined one writer's career in the past, but it could be a new round of his creativity in the future.
A series of books A Song of Ice and Fire, on which the super-successful series Game of Thrones was filmed, is not George Martin 's only pride and joy. There are many scripts on his desk that could also be potential hits.
And one of them has already been filmed, but was canceled after the pilot episode. However, this multiverse story looks like something that would be a hit these days.
Martin worked on the project, originally called Doors, for several years. In 1991, he pitched the pilot script to various television networks, and ABC agreed to pick it up.
Martin began to refine the script, and the title was changed to Doorways, as network executives were concerned that the show would be confused with either The Doors biopic or worldwide famous rock band The Doors.
As early as August 1992, a draft version was shown to the heads of ABC, who were enthusiastic about the project. However, the series was later cancelled.
The show was to tell the story of Cat, a refugee from a parallel world controlled by aliens, who falls from the sky into our world right on the highway.
She wakes up in a hospital, where she is cared for by a young doctor, Thomas Mason, who has fallen in love with a mysterious patient.
Thomas soon learns that Cat is hiding from the hunt: she is being pursued by the servants of the Dark Lord from another world.
Adding to the hunt is a group of FBI agents. Thomas must save Cat, and to do so, he must go with her through the doors to another dimension.
By Martin's own admission, this failure was almost the end of his career:
"When 'Doorways' failed to go, and all the other shows I had been developing didn't get to the pilot stage, people suddenly stopped returning my calls.[…] You're as successful as your last project, so that was kind of a bitter disappointment for me."
It's hard to beat the success of Game of Thrones, but now that the multiverse themed projects are in full swing, a show about traveling between universes would have every chance of getting great ratings and viewership.
And it would give Martin himself a chance to show that his work is not just about the Iron Throne and Westeros.
Source: Insider