nos morituri te salutamus

According to Variety, the Sci-Fi Channel is working to add a new series based on comics to its line up, Strikeforce: Morituri. The channel is upping its budget and reported to be spending between $300 - $ 400 million dollars on new programming from now until the 2005 TV season. (This is the same network that canned Farscape, resulting in much bitterness from Farscape's fans - see the threads at Strange Horizons for a taste of the angst.)

Strikeforce: Morituri will be presented under a new name, A Thousand Days and feature bio-engineered soldiers. The title reflects the fact that each soldier has a life expectnacy of 1000 days after becoming a part of the elite strikeforce. Attached to the project already are writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, who are supposed to produce the series as well. On Marvel's end of things, Avi Arad and Rick Ungar are listed as being producers.

This is one of my favorite comic books of all time - and the first time I had a letter printed in the letter column (sheesh, to digress: once upon a time, I wanted to be a letterhack, and have hundreds of letters printed in comics I read. Ultimately though, I only had some printed in Strikeforce: Morituri, Elfquest, Legion, Doom Patrol, Hellblazer and a few others).

What made it a must-read for me was the premise: to defend Earth against invaders, people volunteered to undergo a process that gave them powers at a terrible cost. After the process, each person had a maximum of one year to live (often shorter - for example, in the series, a main character died an issue after receiving abilities). It made for wonderful drama, especially among the Strikeforce and their support teams. Plus, the roster shifts became heartrending.

I can only hope the TV series becomes as good.