Sci Fi channel UK has ordered a superhero-themed mockumentary drama – the first commission for its new broadband player Sci Fi Play.

Legion of Fire stars Ron Moody, playing 80-something Cecil Roper, aka Flash Harry, who runs a Croydon-based superhero club. He’s probably best known for his performance as Fagin in the 1960 feature film Oliver! but has guest starred in recent years on shows such as The Bill and Holby City.

Tellyjuice are no strangers to SF: some of the team produced a spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which has been broadcast online. For more of that team’s work, check out their YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/attar

There are six members of the Legion of Fire club, including plastic-snake adorned single mother ‘Snakebite’, the aging and botanically-inspired teacher “The Deadly Nightshade” and the electrically charged “Flex”.

The mockumentary will be less caught up with super villains than super debts and declining recruitment numbers, spooing much of the superhero mania abounding in today’s pop culture.

World Screen Digest reports the 25-minute documentary-style script was commissioned by Ken Jones, the branded content manager for SciFi UK, and will be split into episodic installments for streaming on SciFi Play this autumn. As well as capitalising on the success of shows such as Heroes and Stan Lee’s Who Wants To Be A Superhero?SciFi UK hope to build on the fan-base established by a spoof documentary filmed earlier this summer titled Major Victory: Man Behind the Cape.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Digital Media, Television

Tags: SciFi Channel, Video