The Passage is a new show that is being broadcast on Fox. Genre-wise, it can be considered a drama. However, it should be noted that it is a vampire show, though it remains to be seen whether it will be a stand-out to the same extent as its source of inspiration or not. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about The Passage:
1. Based on a Novel Trilogy
In short, The Passage is supposed to have been based on a trilogy of novels called The Passage. The rights to said trilogy were picked up by Fox in 2007 so that it could be turned into a trilogy of movies. However, 12 years of development have seen those movies turned into a TV show instead.
2. The Novels Covered a Very Long Period of Time
The novels were unusual in that they covered about a millennium’s worth of time. However, while it is possible that later seasons of The Passage will cover later content should the show last long enough, there is no way of telling whether that is the plan or not at this point in time. After all, covering later events would come with a lot of practical challenges, meaning that it is difficult to imagine that the people behind the show would want to take them on.
3. There Are Vampires
The Passage has vampires. It is still too soon to say much about what the vampires will be like in the show. However, it is interesting to note that the vampires in the novels were created based on the concept of a “real” organism that could have inspired pop culture vampires as well as their counterparts in a wide range of cultures in a wide range of time.
4. Centered on Project Noah
Much of the show is centered on Project Noah, which is a research program for a virus that could lead to a cure for all diseases while possessing the potential to destroy the human race. Unfortunately, dystopian fiction being dystopian fiction, the latter is much likelier than the former.
5. Starts Out with Scientists Looking into a Rumor
The show opens with a couple of scientists looking into rumors of a 250-year-old man living in a cave. One of the scientists is interested in the potential profits, while the other scientists is more interested in finding a cure for his wife, who is suffering from early onset dementia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the second scientist who winds up becoming Patient Zero by being bitten by their subject of interest.
6. Other Vampires Come from Death Row Inmates
With that said, there is build-up before the inevitable vampire breakout. As stated, the scientist who wanted to cure his wife was Patient Zero. However, it isn’t too long before more vampires are created from death row inmates, who exchange execution for becoming subjects for human experimentation. Suffice to say that this isn’t exactly what one would consider to be good bioethics to say the least.
7. The Researchers Decide that They Need a Child
On hitting a stall, the researchers decide that they need a child for a test subject to help them get over the hurdles. As such, they settle on a girl named Amy Bellafonte, who is a convenient choice in that she is an orphan who hasn’t been orphaned long enough for there to be much of a paper trail if she went missing.
8. The Protagonist Gets Sent to Kidnap Amy
The protagonist of the show is Brad Wolgast, who is the one sent out to kidnap Amy. In short, he is a former veteran turned federal agent who feels a sense of guilt about the death of his daughter. Unsurprisingly, this means that Brad soon decides to go on the run with Amy.
9. Turns Into a Road Trip
In effect, this means that a fair-sized chunk of the first section is what amounts to a road trip with Brad and Amy. On the plus side, a lot of the reviews state that the two actors work well with one another, thus making for pretty watchable television.
10. Probably Won’t Be Any Romantic Vampires
For people who enjoy vampire fiction but are less than enthused about vampire fiction in which vampires are potential romantic interests, The Passage might be worth checking out. So far, its vampires seem pretty vicious, meaning that the chances of a Twilight or a revisionist Dracula plot aren’t looking particularly high.
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