Old Movies Rebooted for TV

[Curmudgeon]

I came across this article today and was curious as to what you guys would think of it.

Reboot-a-Palooza: All the TV Remakes Now in Development

Some of my thoughts..

I don't think its too surprising that Star Trek is getting a reboot and I do think that it could be done well. I was never a huge Trek fan, but I have seen much of the original, the Next Generation, and the movies both old and new and enjoy them all a lot. While I'm sure this series will be much more similar to the new movies, the only thing I hope is that it retains some of the thought-provoking themes and ideas that were in the older series. As with all shows Star Trek had its cheesy moments and flop episodes, but there were some real gems in there and thats what I would hope to see more of with this reboot, rather than the Enterprise blasting through space with no phasers set to stun.

Honestly of this list the shows that I would most like to see are the Fargo miniseries and the 12 Monkeys show. Fargo simply because it is a miniseries and I know it wouldn't be drawn out far longer than it should be just to make the network more money. I loved the movie and I think a similar plot in miniseries format could be really great. It worries me however because what made the movie great was the writing, and if the miniseries lacks that then it will essentially be just another cop show, like (dare I say) Low Winter Sun.

Anyways thats my two cents. Feel free to discuss. Sorry if this has been posted already

 

[Krel]

Actually "The Flash" did pretty well. What killed it was that the costume was too expensive! CBS didn't like paying for them, so canceled it.

David.

 

[Wes R]

I agree the Flash wasn't a bad show for the late 80s early 90s. CBS' reason for canceling it sounds as bad as when the old Thundarr cartoon got canceled for being too violent despite high ratings or when Dark Skies got canceled with high ratings as i think it was getting too expensive too. Actually there's been talk of them rebooting the Dark Skies tv show with the creators at the head of the project.

 

[cboath]

Actually, i'd be surprised if Paramount ok'd a reboot of Star Trek that supposedly (as i read it anyone) is a reboot of Kirk/Spock/etc. If it's 100 years after TNG - ok, but that's not how I read it. Anyone know what they're looking at story wise for the show?

I loved Remington Steele when it was. I'd watch if it was still on. I want an Auburn for that reason I CANNOT see a reboot (not really a reboot tho) following their daughter as a 30 minute sitcom though. Would love to see Pierce don the personna again, but I know that'll never happen since NBC was a ******* before.

 

[Wes R]

I'd love to see some reboots but i guarantee they'll be badly done or if they are done well they'll be canceled for no good reason. Personally i'd like to see Scarecrow and Mrs King back on with the original actors.

 

[Zombie_61]

With the possible exception of Star Trek (depending completely upon the treatment) I have zero interest in any of those, and wouldn't watch them unless they paid me a boat load of money.

 

[Wes R]

I agree. I'd be happier just buying the originals on dvd to watch.

 

[Mola Rob]

The originals have persisted for a reason so therefore they do not need to be remade.

 

[Probe Droid]

Yikes! Half that stuff--at least--was bad enough the first time.

 

[Apollo]

Reboot my ass! :facepalm

Heres a novel idea!

How about some fresh new ORIGINAL programming?

 

[cboath]

don't think they know the definition of new and original

 

[Krel]

The original "Battlestar Galactica" was canceled for being too expensive. It got good ratings, but the network didn't like the costs, despite the heavy use of stock footage. There have been a few shows that were canceled for that reason, despite good ratings.

The tv show "Space Rangers" was canceled by CBS because of the violence. The network didn't like that when they fired their guns things died on the show. I guess they wanted it to be more like "The A-Team".

David

 

[Zombie_61]

don't think they know the definition of new and original

To the studios "new and original" often means "too risky", which is why we've seen more than we ever needed of medical/legal/police dramas, family sitcoms, and so-called "reality" shows. They have no idea how to make a sure-fire hit, so they keep regurgitating whatever made them money in the past.

 

[Solo4114]

On the one hand, UGH. Remakes. Enough already!

On the other, I gather that some "remakes" have been quite successful. Personally, I've very much enjoyed Hannibal, and I gather Bates Motel is doing pretty well, too. With the success of these shows, it's not a huge surprise that TV producers would look to reboot/remake some of these films or other franchises into shows.

I find that, in many cases, what might be a mediocre movie ends up being far better as a long-form television drama. Moreover, particularly with movies based on books, you have less of the "JJ Abrams" effect, where you start with a really cool premise, but have no idea where you're going. Instead, you know where your beats are going to be and the real question is filling in the moments in between those beats. So, in Hannibal, we know Will Graham will have XYZ events happen to him within Season ABC, and the only question is mapping out that season's events. This is a marked contrast to shows that have no clearly defined endpoint and where the story is determined more by how long the network will keep the show on. E.g. "Well, we would've ended with XYZ event, but then we realized we could do another two seasons' worth of material if the network gave us the greenlight. They did, so we added 28 new characters and 15 new plot points, all of which basically upend the original plan we had."


This is one of the reasons I prefer a lot of shows from the UK: they're focused far more around telling the story, and then they just...end when the story is done. Best example that comes to mind is Life on Mars. It's another reason I really like American Horror Story. Each season is a tale unto itself, rather than part of a larger, overall narrative, so you're never left wondering "But what happened then? They never answered this point that they raised back in Season 3!"

 

[Wes R]

On the one hand, UGH. Remakes. Enough already!

On the other, I gather that some "remakes" have been quite successful. Personally, I've very much enjoyed Hannibal, and I gather Bates Motel is doing pretty well, too. With the success of these shows, it's not a huge surprise that TV producers would look to reboot/remake some of these films or other franchises into shows.

I find that, in many cases, what might be a mediocre movie ends up being far better as a long-form television drama. Moreover, particularly with movies based on books, you have less of the "JJ Abrams" effect, where you start with a really cool premise, but have no idea where you're going. Instead, you know where your beats are going to be and the real question is filling in the moments in between those beats. So, in Hannibal, we know Will Graham will have XYZ events happen to him within Season ABC, and the only question is mapping out that season's events. This is a marked contrast to shows that have no clearly defined endpoint and where the story is determined more by how long the network will keep the show on. E.g. "Well, we would've ended with XYZ event, but then we realized we could do another two seasons' worth of material if the network gave us the greenlight. They did, so we added 28 new characters and 15 new plot points, all of which basically upend the original plan we had."


This is one of the reasons I prefer a lot of shows from the UK: they're focused far more around telling the story, and then they just...end when the story is done. Best example that comes to mind is Life on Mars. It's another reason I really like American Horror Story. Each season is a tale unto itself, rather than part of a larger, overall narrative, so you're never left wondering "But what happened then? They never answered this point that they raised back in Season 3!"

We get the MHz international channel on my tv and i've been watching a ton of crime dramas and it's nice to watch a series that isn't about rape every episode or where they have corpses being cut open. They're very european, and even very 1990s, style in how they do the story and such. A lot of them are based on books too which helps in that 1) they know where they're going with things and 2) i've never read them lol. I hate cop shows but these are really well done. It's like watching old episodes of mystery on PBS. I'd love to see reboots done like this but i guarantee if Scarecrow and Mrs King got remade it would look like NCIS or something.