Métal Hurlant Chronicles
Métal Hurlant Chronicles is an English-language Franco-Belgian television science fiction anthology series based on the popular comics anthology magazine Métal Hurlant, known in the United States as Heavy Metal. Each episode is a self-contained story taking place on a different planet with a different cast, and the episodes are linked together only by the idea that an asteroid, the "Métal Hurlant", passes the planet in question during the events of the story. The show's premise originated with Guillaume Lubrano, who put together a self-financed pilot to pitch the show, which was broadcast as the series' third episode. Lubrano and Justine Veillot produce the show through their company WE Productions. It was largely filmed in Bucharest, Romania.
| Métal Hurlant Chronicles | |
|---|---|
 TV poster | |
| Genre | Science fiction, action, thriller, adventure, fantasy |
| Created by | Jean-Pierre Dionnet (Métal Hurlant) |
| Developed by | Guillaume Lubrano |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Guillaume Lubrano |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Benoît Allemane (French) |
| Theme music composer | Jesper Kyd |
| Country of origin | France and Belgium |
| Original languages | English, French |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Production location | Romania |
| Cinematography | Matthieu Misiraca |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 26 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | Panini Group |
| Release | |
| Original network | France 4 |
| Picture format | HDTV |
| Audio format | Surround |
| First shown in | France |
| Original release | 27 October 2012 – 12 May 2014 |
| External links | |
| Official Website (French) | |
The series premiered on French television on 27 October 2012 on France 4. Broadcast rights for various European countries such as Germany, Austria, Luxembourg were bought by Sony Pictures Television.[1]
Plot
As an anthology series, each episode is a self-contained science-fiction story taking place in a different world, with different characters played by a different cast and adapted from a story previously published in the Métal Hurlant magazine. However, the show also proposes that all the stories are linked together by an asteroid, called the "Métal Hurlant", which is passing close to the planet where the episode's story is taking place.
The opening credits, narrated in French by voice actor Benoît Allemane, inform that the "Métal Hurlant" (Screaming Metal) is the last fragment of what was once a living planet, led to destruction by the madness of its inhabitants and condemned to travel ceaselessly through space and time, screaming its sadness and despair.
Cast
A number of notable British, French, American and Dutch actors have performed in various episodes of the show, including Scott Adkins, Karl E. Landler, Michael Jai White, James Marsters, Michelle Ryan, David Belle, Dominique Pinon, Kelly Brook, Joe Flanigan, Frédérique Bel and Rutger Hauer among others.
Broadcast
After being initially expected for early 2012,[1] all six episodes of season one were broadcast on France 4 in a late night time slot over the course of two nights in either default dubbed French or optional subtitled original English audio tracks, between 27 October and 3 November of the same year. Nolife was expected to rebroadcast season one in France sometime in 2013.
Sony Pictures Television has bought the broadcast rights for several European countries, where it was at least aired on Animax in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[2]
Syfy Channel began airing the first season of the series in the U.S. on 14 April 2014 on Mondays at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m with various repeats during the week following.[3]
Reception
Broadcast on 27 October 2012 after 3 episodes of Doctor Who that gathered a 1.4% share on the night, Métal Hurlant succeeded in raising the global share for channel France 4, bringing it to a tie with W9 and beating out Gulli, NT1 & D8.
The premiere episode attracted 347,000 viewers, garnering a 2.2% share at 11 p.m, but lost about 100,000 viewers for the next two episodes broadcast on the same night. Overall the night held 2.4% of 15- to 34-year-olds and 3.5% of men aged 15 to 49.[4]
When it debuted on SyFy in 2014, its viewership was slightly below normal for a pilot in its time slot, and then steadily declined.[5] Its critical reception has been tepid, from the start. Generally, the series is described as having decent visual effects, but being poorly written and produced, with inconsistent acting.[6][7]
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | 27 October 2012 | 3 November 2012 | |
| 2 | 6 | 4 January 2014 | 12 May 2014 | |
Episodes
All 12 episodes were directed by Guillaume Lubrano.
Season 1
| Episode # |
Title | Writers | Air date | Prod. code | Viewers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "King's Crown" "La Couronne du Roi" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 27 October 2012 | — | 347,000 | 2.2% |
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Starring: Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Darren Shahlavi & Matt Mullins Based on: "King's Crown" by Jim Alexander & Richard Corben from Métal Hurlant №142, and (Vol.2) No. 10,[8] and (hardcover) No. 2 | ||||||
| 2 | "Shelter Me" "Protège-Moi" | Guillaume Lubrano, Justine Veillot & Dan Wickline | 27 October 2012 | — | 250,000 | 1.9% |
|
Starring: James Marsters & Michelle Ryan Based on: "Shelter Me" by Dan Wickline & Mark Vigouroux from Métal Hurlant №142, and (Vol.2) No. 9,[9] and (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
| 3 | "Red Light / Cold Hard Facts" "Lumière Rouge / Réalité Glaçante" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 27 October 2012 | 101 | 250,000 | 2.2% |
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Starring: Guy Amram, David Belle, Jean-Yves Berteloot, Cyrille Diabaté, Patrice Delmont & Jean-Michel Martial Based on: "Red Light" by Geoff Johns & Christian Gossett and "Cold Hard Facts" by R.A. Jones & Matt Cossin from Métal Hurlant №141, and (Vol.2) No. 2 ("Red Light"),[10] and (Vol.2) No. 8 ("Cold Hard Facts"),[9] and (hardcover) No. 1 (both) | ||||||
| 4 | "Three on a Match" "Oxygène" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 3 November 2012 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Craig Fairbrass, Dominique Pinon, Eriq Ebouaney, Nathan Rippy & Andy Chase Based on: "3 on a Match" by R.A. Jones & Ryan Sook from Métal Hurlant №139, and (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
| 5 | "Master of Destiny" "Les Maîtres du Destin" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 3 November 2012 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Joe Flanigan, Kelly Brook & Charlie Dupont Based on: "Les Maîtres du Destin" by Alejandro Jodorowsky & Adi Granov from Métal Hurlant №143, and (Vol.2) No. 10 (as "Masters of Destiny")[8] | ||||||
| 6 | "Pledge of Anya" "Le Serment d'Anya" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 3 November 2012 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Rutger Hauer, Grégory Basso, Puiu Mitea, Ion Bechet & Gabriel Velicu Based on: "Le Serment d’Anya" by Julien Blondel & Jérôme Opena from Métal Hurlant №146. | ||||||
Season 2
| Episode # |
Title | Writers | Air date | Prod. code | Viewers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Whiskey in the Jar" "Whisky" | Guillaume Lubrano & Justine Veillot | 21 April 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Michael Biehn, James Marsters, Dan Cade & Florin Stancu Based on: "Whisky in the Jar" by Jim Alexander & Gérald Parel from Metal Hurlant (Vol.2) No. 14,[8] and (hardcover) No. 2 | ||||||
| 2 | "The Endomorphe" "L'Endomorphe" | — | 19 April 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Michelle Lee, Silvio Simac, Michael Jai White & Darren Shahlavi Based on: "Endomorphe" by Stéphane Levallois from Metal Hurlant (Vol.2) No. 14,[8] and (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
| 3 | "Loyal Khondor" "Le Dernier Khondor" | Guillaume Lubrano | 5 May 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Karl E. Landler, Marem Hassler, Scott Adkins, John Rhys-Davies, Marc Duret & Kamel Laadaili Based on: "The Loyal Khondor" by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Pascal Alixe, and Dan Brown from Metal Hurlant (Vol.2) No. 4.[9] | ||||||
| 4 | "Second Chance" "Seconde chance" | Guillaume Lubrano | 28 April 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Scott Adkins & Karl E. Landler Based on: "Second Chances" by James MacDonald, Jorge Pereira Lucas, and Dan Brown from Metal Hurlant (Vol.2) No. 5,[9] and (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
| 5 | "Second Son" "Le Second fils" | — | 5 May 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Karl E. Landler, Frédérique Bel & Dominique Pinon Based on: "The Second Son" by Brian Robertson & Fred Beltran from Metal Hurlant (Vol.2) No. 13,[8] and (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
| 6 | "Back to Reality" "Retour à la réalité" | Guillaume Lubrano | 12 May 2014 | — | N/A | N/A |
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Starring: Jimmy Jean-Louis, Dominique Pinon, Lygie Duvivier, Guy Amram, Grégory Basso & Aurore Tomé Based on: "Reality Check" by Jim MacDonald & Francis Tsai from Métal Hurlant (hardcover) No. 1 | ||||||
Home release
Shout Factory released both seasons on 14 April 2015 on Blu-ray and DVD.[11]
References
- "Métal Hurlant Chronicles", Scott Adkins: Action Star, 3 October 2011. Retrieved on 3 October 2011.
- "Schwermetall". animaxtv.de.
- "Metal Hurlant". Schedule. Syfy. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Cotte, Tony. "Métal hurlant chronicles démarre devant 350000 téléspectateurs", Toute La Télé, 29 October 2012. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
- Monday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: "The Voice" Tops Demos, "DWTS" Leads Viewers
Metal Hurlant Chronicles (8:00)* – Syfy 0.747 million viewers, #34; 0.307 million adults 18–49 (0.24 rating), No. 35 - "Metal Hurlant Chronicles". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
The problem is that with the great influence that the magazine has had on genre storytelling across all media in the last forty years, none of the show's episodes feel truly innovative. Of the six episodes, three are a total disaster in terms of writing and directing; the other three, while significantly better, still feel like something that would have been considered fresh had it aired two decades ago.
- "Metal Hurlant Chronicles is classic sci-fi (with the beauty and charm removed)". The AV Club.
Michael Jai White appears in both, and the clearest sign of progress on the filmmakers' part is that, by the time they made "The Endomorphe," whoever is responsible for the closing credits had learned how to spell White's name. (He's listed as "Michael Jay White" in "King's Crown.")...Both "stories" amount to a series of fights that gradually winnow the cast down until there's just enough people left onscreen to take in the twist ending. Of the two episodes screened for critics, the twist endings run the gamut from predictable to unintentionally hilarious.
- Cail, Dave (3 October 2011). "Métal Hurlant Comic Book List – 2004". Heavy Metal Magazine List.
- Cail, Dave (3 October 2011). "Métal Hurlant Comic Book List – 2003". Heavy Metal Magazine List.
- Cail, Dave (3 October 2011). "Métal Hurlant Comic Book List – 2002". Heavy Metal Magazine List.
- "Shout! Factory Brings Home the Metal Hurlant Chronicles". Dread Central.
