District 13 and Other Luc Besson Movies That Need TV Shows

The news that La Femme Nikita would be coming back with a brand new TV series came as somewhat of a shock -- after all, we still can't believe that the awesome French action film from 1990 managed to inspire such a terrible Bridget Fonda movie, let alone the hit Peta Wilson TV show that lasted five seasons. But then again, it is an awesome shoot-'em-up written and directed by Luc Besson, the godfather of modern French action films. Which got us thinking -- are there any other films in Besson's distinctively awesome body of work (including films he directed and films he just wrote) that would make kick-ass weekly TV shows? We found several, including one that's playing at the local arthouse cinema...

District 13 (2004)
With a Besson-penned sequel, District 13: Ultimatum, hitting American theaters this month, it's never been a better time to make a TV series about a near-future city where the undesirable part of the population has been walled off in their own neighborhood so they can't bother anybody. With a cop on the outside investigating district-related intrigue and a criminal on the inside trying to protect his friends and family from bigger fish, it'd be the ultimate "odd-couple-on-opposite-sides-of-a-big-effing-wall" story.

Taken (2008)
A man's daughter is kidnapped, and he has to track her down and find her. Simple enough, right? Well, in the film, Liam Neeson finds his daughter in the space of 93 minutes, but what if it wasn't that easy? What if he has to run down every lead on a kidnapping that crosses his path, and none of them are his daughter? And what if he feels compelled to help the victim's distraught loved ones before he can go on his way? And kicks down doors until he finds the kidnappers and gets every abducted girl and boy back where they came from? Looks like you've got a hit action-drama on your hands.

Leon (1994)
How does La Femme Nikita have a remake and two TV series, but Leon has squat? Also known as The Professional, this movie about a French hitman in New York City with a young girl assistant could translate well to the small screen, although they'd need to give Leon another partner or two to pad out the cast. Has there ever been a TV show about a paid assassin (aside from Nikita, that is)? We can't think of one, but we're pretty sure that whatever network aired this one would get letters.

The Fifth Element (1997)
The hardest part about making a serialized version of this sci-fi space opera would be finding an actress to wear Leeloo's skimpy outfits episode after episode. But as soon as that was pinned down, it'd be easy to send her and Corbin Dallas to hunt down the four lost elements from the far corners of the galaxy, dodging Mangalores and getting help from the Mondoshawans along the way. Hey, it sounds like it would be as good a show as Lexx or Farscape, and look how long those lasted.

Taxi (1998)
No, not the Jimmy Fallon/Queen Latifah movie -- the popular French film franchise (written by Besson) that inspired the U.S. version. In it, a speed demon taxi driver is forced to help the police catch bank robbers and kidnappers in order to avoid imprisonment, so it'd be like a police procedural, but with a high-speed chase at the end. Granted, it might get costly to film a car chase in every episode of a TV series, but if Knight Rider can have KITT turbo-jump through a train every week, then they should be able to figure something out.

The Transporter (2002)
Kind of the opposite of Taxi, this series would follow a professional driver who uses his skills only for evil. Well, not that evil -- he has a code, after all, and whenever a client violates his rules or his sense of morality, things get explosive. But that can't happen every episode, so we'd probably have to rely heavily on a mysterious past, a probing cop and an old enemy in order to not make the series all about him driving people places.

Subway (1985)
We don't know what the plot of this TV series would be (the film follows a hunted thief into the underground society in the Metro beneath Paris), but the idea of a TV show that takes place entirely underneath a city seems like it has the potential to be awesomely creepy. It would be like living in the hatch on Lost in every episode! Whether pre- or post-apocalyptic, we can see the underground dwellers exploring the furthest reaches of their tunnels, and maybe encountering strange technology and mutated groups of Others. Plus, for action sequences, we've got two words for you: Train chase!

Quel film de Luc Besson ferait une bonne exposition de TV? Dites-moi ci-dessous.

5 Comments

February 4, 2010 11:48 AM
TahjMer
Reply

I think the only way any of those would work and work awesomely is if they either landed on FX or any of the movie channels that champion good gritty drama with little to explicit cursing (Starz totally excluded - gag me). Imagine a District 13 on HBO, the same network that gave us The Wire, Oz, and The Sopranos or a Leon that came right before or after Dexter? It would be great!

February 4, 2010 12:40 PM
HoneyBee
Reply

The Fifth Element series would be awesome, actually. Maybe going back and forth between the Egypt scene with Luke Perry, and the space scene with whoever actor who could play Corbin Dallas.

And The Diva!

February 4, 2010 2:34 PM
Ruthie
Reply

I would watch the "Taken" show. As long as we get lots of Whoever-is-taking-over-Liam's-role kicking bad guy ass every week.

February 4, 2010 6:40 PM
frenchgirl
Reply

"exposition de TV" is not the right translation for TV Show; it's "Série télé".
By the way, Besson (and his latest movies, above all as writer/producer) has a really bad rep in France...

February 4, 2010 8:11 PM
sagefemme
Reply

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092319/ Beauty and the Beast already took place completely beneath the city - no? But love the list and the movies!

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