Reboot A Show: Give Us A Pitch!

[magicdog]

And I think Murphy Brown's [son] is old enough to fill her mom's journalist shoes.And I think Murphy Brown's daughter is old enough to fill her mom's journalist shoes.

 

 

I would love this!

 

In fact it could fit into my earlier post about a show involving clashing politics.  Murphy was the last of the old school TV journalists - working for one of the big three networks, having a primetime news show (akin to 20/20 or 60 Minutes).  Her political views were also no secret.  Now fast forward to Murphy retiring, whining about how cable and the internet have usurped network news and we learn her son Avery has not only followed in her journalistic footsteps, but works for a FNC type network - which really makes Murphy howl! 

[Kromm]

Limited series is just code for backdoor pilot.  

Not any more.

 

There's been a recent evolution with a few examples of them being place holders, on purpose.  Event programming to "hold" a timeslot so the network doesn't have to surrender it while their main show isn't airing new episodes.  They figure if they hold onto a similar audience, then they own that timeperiod on a permanent basis.

 

Of course in some senses it's based on the prehistoric concept that "timeslots" even matter.  But that concept still had another 5 years or so before the bottom totally falls out on it.  For now, they still matter, even if far less than they did a mere 3 or 4 years ago.

[cpcathy]

Not that I want one, but if TPTB ever want to redo Columbo, they NEED to cast Mark Ruffalo, no questions asked. He'd be perfect.

[SmithW6079]

It occurred to me that you could actually do an X-Files continuation (rather than a straight reboot). Same premise, same continuity, but with new leads and with Mulder and Scully safely tucked away in the past. In fact, I'd have the new cast work from files Mulder left behind, although I'd also have Walter Skinner on hand as well.

 

For starters, one always needs Walter Skinner on hand. I always thought an X-Files continuation could be after the alien invasion (by whichever alien Carter & Co. had decided was the one invading Earth), and mankind is fighting for survival. (Or is that already that Noah Wylie show on TNT?) X-Files did try the new leads -- Doggett and Reyes -- which limped along for a few more seasons. (Although, when I finally re-watched those seasons, they weren't bad at all.)

[ganesh]

They weren't that bad. It was just that it Wasn't Mulder and Scully.

 

If I rebooted the XF. I'd have Mulder and Scully in the pilot, continuing off from the last movie. "Something" is coming for them and a new agent discovers the actual x files and investigates the something. End the pilot with them disappearing. The new agent helps them, defeats the something and fakes their deaths.

 

The problem with reboots is as a showrunner, you need to free yourself from the canon because you'll get too restricted in actually being able to make the show. Let's face it, the XF continuity and canon is deplorable. Tooms, Pusher, and Home are classic tv episodes and the show would need to be about that. The aliens are gone and that's it. 

 

There's enough weirdness to investigate without them. The Pentagon irl has said global climate change is going to be the biggest security risk in the world. What shady things are they doing now to avoid that? Or make sure that they can secure resources when the time comes. That's a good overall mythology to develop for a new XF. 

[Rick Kitchen]

 

The problem with reboots is as a showrunner, you need to free yourself from the canon because you'll get too restricted in actually being able to make the show. Let's face it, the XF continuity and canon is deplorable. Tooms, Pusher, and Home are classic tv episodes and the show would need to be about that. The aliens are gone and that's it.

 

Any attempts to rewrite canon would be attacked and people would scream.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I was also interested in Alcatraz, truthaboutluv.  For about 2 episodes.  I like Parminder Nigra (although she has been playing the same character lately).  Jorge Garcia was never one of my favorites on Lost; he was ok, but not strong enough to carry the show.  And I have an irrational problem with Sam Neill.  So, for me it was the cast.  And maybe the pacing.

 

The idea itself could have gone a lot of places.  I'd give the reboot a try.

[ganesh]

Any attempts to rewrite canon would be attacked and people would scream.

 

That's my point. The people screaming are really a vocal minority, but it can be enough to torpedo your show. That's why I'm saying rebooting the XF works better as a continuation.

[ParadoxLost]

That's my point. The people screaming are really a vocal minority, but it can be enough to torpedo your show. That's why I'm saying rebooting the XF works better as a continuation.

 

Actually,  I think that a continuation is as problematic because everyone will always expect the canon to inform the continuation and you end up with everyone focusing on when Mulder and Scully might make a guest appearance.

 

Mulder actually 'found' and restarted the X-Files, right?  I think it would work better doing a prequel about the agents that initiated the X files that Mulder stumbled upon.  Then the end of the series is either Mulder unearthing the X-Files or the beginning of an investigation into Mulder's sister's disappearance by the agents working X files in that time period.

[ganesh]

I think it would work better doing a prequel about the agents that initiated the X files that Mulder stumbled upon.

 

The original show did a prequel episode on that actually. Arthur Dales was the agent and his secretary filed the cases in the X draw because there was space there. 

[ParadoxLost]

So the X Files reboot is happening.  Six expisodes with Mulder and Scully.  We are going to find out how they'd do it.

[ganesh]

CC made it sound like they were standalone episodes. Since six is confirmed, I would actually go with 3, 2 hour movies. NO ALIENS PLZ.

I don't know anything about what actually going to happen, but there's nothing that says M&S are working for the FBI again. There's no reason they have to. I actually didn't think the second movie was that bad, and I'm not a shipper. If it's going to be like that, it could work. 

[magicdog]

NO ALIENS PLZ

 

 

I'm on board with this!  I rather liked the one ep in which a person M&S were speaking with who claimed the whole UFO/aliens/Area 51 stuff was all made up by the US government as a distraction. 

 

Another animated suggestion:  The New Scooby Doo Movies  reboot.

 

The original incarnation (1972) had some of the most talented celebs guest starring and solving a mystery with the gang.  Tim Conway, Dick  Van Dyke, Cass Elliot, and Don Adams all appeared as themselves.   A regular TV series may not be likely but this could work in the current DTV releases.  They've already had the gang deal with Blue Falcon and the WWE wrestlers.  I propose a new generation of talent selected  to participate in a series of mysteries.  The condition would have to be they be  people who have been in the public eye for at least 20 years (to avoid the flash in the pan celeb du jour issue) and have cross section appeal.   

Edited March 26, 2015 by magicdog

[Mindymoo]

I don't know if this would really apply, since it's more a translation than a reboot, but I will go with it anyway. In the 1960s, Hunter S. Thompson hung with the Hells Angels for a year and wrote a book about his time with them. Originally, it was to be an article for the Rolling Stone, but they liked what he was writing so much that he was able to ingratiate himself with them for much longer and turn everything into a book. He ended up, at the end of his time with them, getting the shit kicked out of him because one of the Angels was beating on his woman, and their dog came in and tried to intervene, and he kicked the dog. Hunter said "Only a punk beats a woman and kicks a dog", and the gang of thugs turned their attention to him. My pitch would be to translate his book "Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" into a miniseries for television. It would have to be on HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Audience or Netflix, just because of the content of the book and the sort of writer that Hunter was. I would not want Johnny Depp anywhere near the project, even though he did play a good Raoul Duke in "Fear and Loathing....", this took place when Hunter was in his mid-to-late twenties and he would not be able to pull that off. The adventures, sex, violence and politics among the Hells Angels in the mid-1960s would make for a fascinating miniseries. I just have a hard time imagining anyone who could pull off the HST role.

[UYI]

The sitcom Coach is getting a reboot:

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/craig-t-nelson-star-coach-784791

 

I know how random it may seem--and it is--but damn it, I grew up with this show and was even born the same night it premiered. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, and as someone who doesn't care much for sci-fi shows (which are the shows that seem to get reboots the most often), I am THRILLED as hell to see a comfort food sitcom from my childhood get a reboot, and even better, Craig T. Nelson will be there!

 

"When the Screaming Eagles fight, they fight with all their might..." 

[Kromm]

Good lord.  Who the hell asked for THIS?  

 

Craig T Nelson reprises role as Coach for new NBC revival series

 

I.  Don't.  Get.  It.

[janie jones]

Aw, I was so happy for UYI after reading the above post.

 

My family watched Coach when I was a kid, but I'm pretty indifferent.

Edited March 27, 2015 by janie jones

[UYI]

Good lord.  Who the hell asked for THIS?  

 

Craig T Nelson reprises role as Coach for new NBC revival series

 

I.  Don't.  Get.  It.

 

I didn't ask for it, but I'm sure as hell happy that I got it. *stamps foot in protest*

 

 

Aw, I was so happy for UYI after reading the above post.

 

My family watched Coach when I was a kid, but I'm pretty indifferent.

 

Aw, thank you. :)

 

I know it's a strange thing to fangirl about, but we all have the one thing we love that makes no sense to anyone else. :)

[UYI]

I've heard since that none of the original cast is supposed to come back except CTN, and Christine will be killed off.

 

If that's true, forget it. I'm done. It's one thing for the original cast to only show up as guest stars or something, but the idea of Hayden and Christine not being together, or especially divorced (and you know that they would show Hayden married to a younger woman)...no. Just no.

 

That said, I know Shelley Fabares hasn't necessarily been in the best of health. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by UYI

[Irlandesa]

I enjoyed Coach while it was on but literally the only interest I had for this reboot was Christine.  I loved that character. 

[UYI]

I have heard that SF is essentially retired now, so even if she didn't want to guest star or appear on a recurring basis, they could still do something like have Hayden call her offscreen or mention what she's up to in passing. They could find a way to keep them together that doesn't include having her onscreen.

[Kromm]

That said, I know Shelley Fabares hasn't necessarily been in the best of health. 

She's long out of Showbiz.  They'd have to recast to have the character appear.

they could still do something like have Hayden call her offscreen or mention what she's up to in passing. They could find a way to keep them together that doesn't include having her onscreen.

Or that, I guess.  Its only 13 eps, so treating her as Maris Crane/Carlton The Doorman is certainly an option.

[Mulva]

How about a reboot of the Gilmore Girls? I'd like to see a version with a more mature Lorelai, a Rory who had an actual personality, and a non-surly Luke.

[Kromm]

How about a reboot of the Gilmore Girls? I'd like to see a version with a more mature Lorelai, a Rory who had an actual personality, and a non-surly Luke.

If you mean a "2.0", like is being done with Coach, the timing is right too.  None of the main stars from the show have a current gig.  Graham for the same reason Craig T. Nelson is able to do Coach 2.0.  Bledel because her movie career went nowhere after the Sin City/Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants period.  And even Bishop, for no good reason at all, since she should be such an asset that various sitcoms for example, should have been breaking down doors trying to cast her.  I suppose Scott Patterson can come too (he had a few post-Gilmore gigs, but nothing that stuck around for long).

 

Coincidentally:  Gilmore Girls Cast Signs on for Big Reunion Event in June: Details! 

 

Note the use of the word "event".  It's just some kind of festival panel discussion.  

 

 

 

Getting together in honor of the show's 15th anniversary, Graham, 48, and Bledel, 33, first announced this past November that they would be attending the annual festival. They will be joined by Gilmore Girls regulars Scott Patterson (Luke Danes), Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore), and Jared Padalecki (Dean Forester), according to TVLine.

The reunion will also include Liza Weil (Paris Gellar), Keiko Agena (Lane Kim), Sean Gunn (Kirk Gleason), Liz Torres (Miss Patty), Yanic Truesdale (Michel Gerard), and John Cabrera (Brian Fuller).

Edited March 29, 2015 by Kromm

[janie jones]

Melissa McCarthy appears to have better things to do.

 

It kind of bums me out to see Keiko Agena in a Verizon commercial.

[Kromm]

Melissa McCarthy appears to have better things to do.

She's hardly a necessity for a continuation.  I wouldn't call her a minor character on the show, but she definitely counted as second string.

[janie jones]

So do a lot of the other people in that list.

[Kromm]

So do a lot of the other people in that list.

Where's the debate?  The point was made that she's too busy for a reboot of the show.  The others aren't, even if they were also second string characters.

[janie jones]

I wasn't aware there was a debate.  I was merely observing that Melissa McCarthy wasn't going to be at the festival.

[Kromm]

I think the Greatest American Hero is getting a reboot but I'm not sure about the details . 

I can't really find any info about it or if it really is happening.  (EDIT - Wait.  Here it is:  ONE lone mention)

 

I actually DO think it's a viable idea.  You have to be careful though to retain the slightly cheesy aspect,  but without going overboard.

 

Who would you cast in it though?  For me, the odd idea would be if you could draw Steve Carrell back to TV.  He'd be perfect for the William Katt role.  The Robert Culp role is tougher.  If Scorpion wasn't renewed (yuck) I'd say Robert Patrick might be good, but he's booked.  It's got to be someone like that though. Crusty and grumpy, Lantern-jawed, but washed up fed.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Kromm

[ganesh]

This is a terrible idea. We're in a very cynical age and I don't think they'd be able to capture the cheese. Of course, I assume it would be a "gritty" reboot. Because that seems to be the only kind. 

[The Crazed Spruce]

This is a terrible idea. We're in a very cynical age and I don't think they'd be able to capture the cheese. Of course, I assume it would be a "gritty" reboot. Because that seems to be the only kind.

I dunno. If it were to keep the tone of, say, The Flash, or maybe just a bit lighter, it'd work.

[Kromm]

Well yeah.  "Gritty" would utterly ruin GAH.  It can't be QUITE as cheesy as the original, but it indeed needs a very light touch.  Yes, even lighter than The Flash, although that show isn't THAT bad.

 

No blood ever.  People's lives can be in danger, but mostly in abstract ways.  The hero can have some minor angst about things, but his life can't be total shit--it's got to be comical angst, not serious.  

 

You shore that all up with slick dialogue, characters that have some dimension, even if they're comical, and scripts that make sense.

[ganesh]

Actually, if the show was made more in the style of the better Burn Notice episodes it might work too. 

[DeLurker]

ABC is doing a reboot of The Muppet Show.

[AstaCharles]

The Robert Culp role is tougher.  If Scorpion wasn't renewed (yuck) I'd say Robert Patrick might be good, but he's booked.  It's got to be someone like that though. Crusty and grumpy, Lantern-jawed, but washed up fed.

Bruce Campbell?

[ParadoxLost]

Bruce Campbell?

 

Bruce is doing the reboot of the Evil Dead for the small screen.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Bruce is doing the reboot of the Evil Dead for the small screen.

That's the only reason I didn't pick him for the Robert Culp role. ('Cause let's face it, he'd be perfect!)

[ganesh]

I don't think BC is the main character though.

[JAYJAY1979]

Punky Brewster, small wonder, just the ten of us..

http://www.chicagonow.com/confessions-coffeeholic/2015/04/full-house-three-suggestions-revive/

[ParadoxLost]

They could do a reboot of The Wonder Years every twenty five years or so.  First installment is mid-30's reflecting on childhood.  Next is mid-50's reflecting on mid-30s (early 40s now... they really should have hit the 20th anniversary based on the time-line of the first series) and so on.

 

Edited to add that they are doing a reboot of Celebrity Death Match on MTV2.  I liked the original if only because they summed up all the X Files snark in under five minutes.

Edited April 16, 2015 by ParadoxLost

[Kromm]

So franchise show cloning is at full force. At CBS, CSI Cyber, as shitty as it is, has remained alive even though CSI itself is gonna be gone. NCIS keeps cloning itself in various locales, as unbelievable as that is. Criminal Minds is going to have a sequel series next year. Over on NBC, every third show on the network is gonna be named "Chicago" something soon.

I hate the whole thing, but it occurred to me that if CBS is tired of trying to find justifications for new versions of NCIS in particular in new cities, they should take a page from their own playbook and reboot JAG. In other words, NCIS was a sequel series to JAG, now reestablish a new JAG as a sequel to NCIS in turn.

They could cast David James Elliott again, but this time in the obligatory "old guy" role all these shows insist on having. Or not.Really the show doesn't need him if his asking price is too much. But it'd be a way for them to continue their relentless march towards total recycling, but in slight variation from lets say... NCIS: Hawaii or NCIS: Nome, Alaska.

[zxy556575]

I'm looking for gentler fare these days and would genuinely like to see another reboot of Kids Say the Darndest Things. To be very specific, the Art Linkletter years. As Cosby proved in the 90s, the host can make or break the show.

[BW Manilowe]

I'm looking for gentler fare these days and would genuinely like to see another reboot of Kids Say the Darndest Things. To be very specific, the Art Linkletter years. As Cosby proved in the 90s, the host can make or break the show.

Have you tried the new NBC show Little Big Shots? It's a kids' talent show hosted by Family Feud's Steve Harvey & produced by Ellen Degeneres. It's only aired twice--last week after 1 episode of The Voice & then this past Sunday night in its regular timeslot, 8PM Eastern/7PM Central, but it got amazing ratings in both slots & got a renewal for S2 yesterday. It might be up your alley for gentler fare.

[zxy556575]

Have you tried the new NBC show Little Big Shots? It's a kids' talent show hosted by Family Feud's Steve Harvey & produced by Ellen Degeneres.

 

That's what made me think of it! I haven't watched and generally don't like the precocious kid segments on Ellen or other talk shows, so I'm dubious. The thing with the original Kids Say is that the titular children weren't trying to get their SAG cards or anything.

[BW Manilowe]

That's what made me think of it! I haven't watched and generally don't like the precocious kid segments on Ellen or other talk shows, so I'm dubious. The thing with the original Kids Say is that the titular children weren't trying to get their SAG cards or anything.

I saw part of it Sunday (have been dealing with a longterm illness & fell asleep in the middle, sadly). The kids I saw didn't seem too precocious. Steve was on Ellen's show today & mentioned 1, a 4-year-old piano player who, when finished, was surprised by the ovation he got as he didn't think he did anything special. And, I forgot, Steve's also a producer on the show with Ellen.

It's supposed to be on again this coming Sunday (which is also Palm Sunday); if you're around you might try a few minutes. If you still think the kids are too precocious/just out to get a SAG-AFTRA card, no harm, no foul.

[Actionmage]

In trying to come up with some fun pairings for the EHG Mini today, I looked up Police Woman. She was part of the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the LAPD.  I was 8 when the series started, but I loved that Pepper was the lead of the team, even though Bill was supposed to be the final word.  Having a reboot of the show with a WOC lead, maybe with a slightly larger team ( more than just two officers and a Sergeant) could be cool. The original covered a lot of ground, but maybe this could be more like Wiseguy in that the lady cop is given a half season or full-season to be undercover? As opposed to the seemingly one-and-dones of the original.

 

Cast someone like Liza La Pira or Celina Jade or Annie Ilonzeh, good actresses that could be great given good material.

[methodwriter85]

A couple of my ideas:

 

1.) Quantum Leap- this time, a new Sam-like character  who is about 40 years old who launches himself in 2020, 25 years after Sam Beckett vanished. This gives us a timeline of 1980 to now to work with, with the bulk of episodes taking places in the 1980's and 1990's.

 

2.) A Different World- Dwayne Wayne and Whitley send their son/daughter off to school (it could be either the kid they had at the end and they can "tweak" the age, or it can be a younger brother/sister), and they deal with the issues of Hillman College. One storyline I'm dying to see would be the discomfort/tension that the faculty/students feel about the pressure to recruit white students to the college, which is happening at historically black colleges.

 

3.) Good Times- This time, the twist is that the family lives in a neighborhood with encroaching gentrification, and the tension based around that as they tried to hold on to their home despite rising rents and pressure for their landlord to sell.

 

4.) Step by Step- Al Lambert got married in a whirlwind romance with a divorced father of three children, ranging from 11 to 16. The mother had full-time custody, but very soon after the marriage, the mother dies in a car accident. The kids come to live with Al and her husband full-time, and wacky hijinks mixed with sad moments ensue. Luckily, Carole and Frank have decided to sell their old family home to Al and her husband, deciding to move to Florida for retirement.

[magicdog]

The Step By Step reboot is a bit too close to the Full House sequel series,  Fuller House that's currently running on Netflix.  At least in the sense that the basic premise of the original is mirrored in the reboot and taking place in the same old house.

 

Quantum Leap- this time, a new Sam-like character  who is about 40 years old who launches himself in 2020, 25 years after Sam Beckett vanished. This gives us a timeline of 1980 to now to work with, with the bulk of episodes taking places in the 1980's and 1990's.

 

 

Yeah, but I'd miss the episodes that took place between the 50s and the early 80s.    Maybe it can be tweaked so that the "Sam" character could travel to a wider range of times.  

 

 

Good Times- This time, the twist is that the family lives in a neighborhood with encroaching gentrification, and the tension based around that as they tried to hold on to their home despite rising rents and pressure for their landlord to sell.

 

 

The whole point of the original was to lament the ghetto lifestyle the Evans family wanted to escape. They'd want to either welcome the gentrification or they'd move to the burbs (via Section 8) and then you'd have a story of trying to leave the ghetto life behind but still can't.  

 

As for the Different World reboot, considering Bill Cosby's public image is in tatters, I'd doubt any project he was ever affiliated with would fly now.

[Irlandesa]

I agree about  A Different World because I believe Debbie Allen was going to try to reboot it and I could definitely see how some of the streaming venues might've been interested at one point.  But with the whole Cosby mess, it likely will never happen.  And the part of me that never to give a cent to Cosby ever again appreciates that but the part of me that loved A Different World and thinks it would be relevant to today is disappointed.

 

As for Quantum Leap, I have heard some fans speculate that Sam's daughter "Samantha" could be the time traveler.  I too would miss some of the 50s/60s time period episodes as those were some of my favorites.