F-U, Reboot-Mania: Express Your Hate Here

[ganesh]

The Star Trek shows aren't reboots because they maintained TOS universe continuity. I don't have a problem with the STs because they're telling new stories in that same universe. The movies are a joke and have nothing to do with GR's vision. Which is a shame because they easily could have. *Everyone* knows the Enterprise and everyone knows Vulcans. You could easily make good movies set in the same universe, but just 100 years later or something.

 

That's what bothers me. Reboots are a scam. They're not telling new stories. They're derivative with characters you know reduced to one dimension.

[Kromm]

That was more of a continuation of Roddenberry's original show right?  A reboot would have been starting from scratch or pretending the old show and its events never existed.  DS9 et al were all spinoffs so they were all part of that same universe.

I'd call it more of a "sequel" than a "continuation". Sequels also keep the original premise and continuity intact.

 

The slight difference between "sequel" and "spinoff" by the way is that I think a spinoff is only that if the original show is relatively recent (or even still on the air).

[DittyDotDot]

The Star Trek shows aren't reboots because they maintained TOS universe continuity.

 

But isn't that the definition of reboot? Restarting a computer that's been shut down, but presumably with the same operating system [universe] and same basic programs [premise].

 

Wouldn't the remake be the scam? Making a new machine with a knock off of the previous operating system and loading it with the same basic programs. You know, it's shinier, has a bigger screen and runs faster so people tend to ignore how the programs don't always play nice with the new operating system.

 

 

One thing I can't quite define in my own head is the difference between a continuation and a spin-off. Any ideas?

 

To me, a spin off usually only takes one aspect of a show and makes a different show from that. It still exists in the same universe and characters can cross over, but the shows also stand independent of each other. Frasier; DS9, Voyager and Enterprise; and Stargate Atlantis are good examples. All these shows co-existed with their parent shows, but were also their own shows in their own right. 

 

A continuation would be taking the same characters and the same premise and continuing the story where it left off. For instance, when Stargate SG1 was cancelled on Showtime and picked up on SyFy. It was the same creative team, the same actors and they just picked up the story where they left off. 

[kassygreene]

Reboots are fan fiction with really big budgets.

 

Seriously, fan fiction is all sorts of things, from fan-written missing scenes, to alternate endings, to a forum for Mary Sue-ing, to crossovers, to fusions with other "universes" (i.e. other fandoms), to full-blown alternate universes.  Occasionally it works; more often it doesn't.

 

Example: Stargate Universe was a spin-off or sequel to Stargate SG-1 & Stargate Atlantis, but the argument can and has been made that the showrunners really wanted to be the guys that created the BSG re-make, or to have worked on it.  So the effect was a re-boot written to "fix" everything that was "wrong" with the first two series.  It failed because it trashed the story universe, told original fans to suck it up and deal because the new young fans that would be making this must-see teevee would love it, and it didn't make money for the network.

 

Example: Hawaii Five-0 (2010) was from the beginning a re-boot of Hawaii Five-O (1968).  The showrunner loved the first series and wanted to do it in a 21-century setting.  Whatever you may think of it as a show, it is a successful re-boot financially, it has great eye-candy, good talented people in front of and behind the cameras, and one of the best locations in the world. The eye-rolling parts of any script are the same eye-rolling parts of any other procedural script.  

[ganesh]

"Reboots" are using a known property and just doing whatever you want and not paying attention to original series continuity. Star Trek shows aren't reboots because they exist in the same universe that Kirk and Spock are in. The X Files is continuing the story of Mulder and Scully. I assume that the show/movie continuity is in tact. It's not a show called the "X Files" where some young unknown FBI agent finds the leftover work of Mulder and Scully and takes up the cause. 

 

Neither is Star Wars. Everyone knows the franchise was planned to have 9 episodes. It's continuing the events after ROTJ where the main 6 are the canon. Neither are the Stargates. SG1 was a continuation of the movie, literally from the first shot of the show. They discovered Atlantis on SG1 and moved on to the show. Universe was terrible, but O'Neill was in the pilot as one of the people involved with recruiting the new crew. 

 

The term reboot was coined in this context to re brand "remakes" because it had a bad connotation. "Oh, it's a reboot, so it's the same show." No, it's not. At all. The use of reboot isn't what an actual reboot means. That's the scam. They're tricking everyone. It's a way to make a derivative, banal pg13 movie and rake in the endorsements while cashing in on a known property and not having to deal with any continuity. Just slap alternative universe on it and you're set.  It's more like a factory reset than a reboot. It's the same OS and equipment and operates the same way, but everything that was on there is wiped out. 

[merylinkid]

 

I'm waiting for a Starsky and Hutch remake.  Huggy Bear will be played by Chris Rock, Jensen Ackles as Hutch (hey Supernatural has to end sometime), and David Schwimmer as Starsky.

 

Nah, they would make it an all female cast.  Like they are doing with the Ghostbusters and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.   Instead of giving us a good storyline, they are just changing the genders of the main characters.   Yeah that will cause folks to flock to it.   I find this trend insulting and in the case of League beyond stupid.   It's right in the title:   GENTLEMEN, that means men.    hmmmph

 

Just for the record, I am female and I don't need to see women shoehorned into roles just for my existence to be validated.

[ganesh]

Actually, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is a great comic, does have a woman as the main character, and includes a decent amount of female characters in the series. Mina Murray drags Quartermain out of an opium den and kicks him back into shape. She's basically in charge. 

 

Which again is my point. It's an R rated series, so no way it's going to be a movie. You're not going to have Mr. Hyde literally raping the Invisible Man. 

 

The actors involved with Ghostbusters are all funny, talented women. Why not just make an original movie with them?

[Wax Lion]

As for the recent Dallas continuation, its last season (S3) did use main titles which copied the "3-photo panels of each main cast member" style from the original show. But that was the only season that did; it would've been better if they'd had them from the get-go, in my opinion, since everything else about the main titles & the theme music were almost perfect copies of those used in the original show.

 

That made the first two seasons look cheap. I know it's cheaper to open video editing software and make a montage than to film some helicopter shots but skipping that bit really made it seem like they weren't that interested.

 

I never really liked Dallas but every time I saw the original show's opening it just got me hyped for it, a show I didn't really like.

 

What went wrong with the Charlie's Angels reboot? In theory, a show about a trio of smart, sexy secret agents should be a hit.

 

I really liked the twist of the reboot (that these women were all seeking some kind of redemption working for Charlie) but good god that reboot was just dumb. It started with a satelite taking pictures of inside a building and it was like if the bad writers from the Mitchell & Webb sketches wrote a Charlie's Angels reboot.

 

"One Day At A Time" seems like a really stupid unnecessary reboot for sure.  Making it Latino?  I see what he intends there, but really you wind up asking "Why LABEL it One Day At A Time" then?  Single parent raising two girls is not juicy or unique material, even adding the ethnic angle.  I say do the project, drop the pretense that it's a reboot.

 

As much as I love Norman Lear, I don't get this reboot. What would a latino One Day At a Time have to offer that Jane the Virgin doesn't? JtV has a lot of those elements, intergenerational relationships, single mothers, tackling social issues with humor...

 

But, again, I'm hoping his All That Glitters gets rebooted.

 

The Good Times remake makes a lot more sense, especially with income inequality being in the news and few shows (especially on free TV) about the poor.

 

The term reboot was coined in this context to re brand "remakes" because it had a bad connotation. "Oh, it's a reboot, so it's the same show." No, it's not. At all. The use of reboot isn't what an actual reboot means. That's the scam. They're tricking everyone

.

The first use of "reboot" I know of is from comics when The Legion of Super-Heroes was rebooted in 1994. After a divisive change of direction lost its novelty, sales dropped and the fans who were chased away by the darkety-dark version couldn't be lured back so they wiped out the entire continuity and started from scratch. There wasn't another way to recapture the spirit of the series.

 

Actually, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is a great comic, does have a woman as the main character, and includes a decent amount of female characters in the series. Mina Murray drags Quartermain out of an opium den and kicks him back into shape. She's basically in charge.

 

Yeah, I don't know how to feel about the League talk. It sounds like they're doing it for the wrong reasons even though it would make it truer to the source material.

 

But I don't get the hate for the Paul Feig Ghostbusters. It doesn't sound like an actual reboot, from what I've read only the premise is being kept and the cast is known to be funny, it's not like they're making it with Heather Graham, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson and Rachel Leigh Cook.

 

And, yes, there is a new Reboot series coming.

[bmasters9]

You've got me. I was (am?) a huge Dallas fan--watched the entire original series, the subsequent TV movies, & all 3 seasons of the continuation series that ran on TNT. Like I said in my previous post, everything else in the main titles of the TNT continuation was as close as they could get it to the original CBS main titles (the DALLAS logo & the main title theme, & I think there were also shots of famous Dallas sights, like either the actual Cowboys football field--which was used in the original show--or at least the new stadium the Cowboys use [which has another name besides Cowboys Stadium now, as I remember; I just don't remember the new name]), interspersed with the lead actors' main title credits.

Per Wikipedia, the place where the Cowboys play now is called AT&T Stadium.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Stadium

[Trini]

And, yes, there is a new Reboot series coming.

 

Don't toy with me.

[Snipsa]

Except if I missed it (which is always a big possibility) it seems my favourite reboot of the last decade (and probably ever) has not been mentioned. It is the reboot that gives me hope for any other reboots to come (especially in the scifi universe). The BSG reboot.

It took an interesting concept and made it into a stunning tv show. Of course it went slightly off kilter by the end, but for the most part it was an awesome show with some of the best story telling and acting around.

If movie to tv show adaptations were seen as reboots I would also add FNL to the list. But it seems it is not included in the broader definition of the word reboot...

[merylinkid]

I guess reboots are subjective.   I LOVED the original campy BSG.    I hated the reboot.   To me all they did was add sex, make it even darker than the original, took out all the camp that made up for all the dark stuff in the original, and made Starbuck a woman who slept with the entire Adama family.   

[ganesh]

Calling BSG a reboot isn't technically correct, which is the best kind of correct. They came up with the "all this has happened before and will happen again" concept, which wasn't that bad, and the show included TOS canon. They even had the original models on the show.

[ParadoxLost]

Calling BSG a reboot isn't technically correct, which is the best kind of correct. They came up with the "all this has happened before and will happen again" concept, which wasn't that bad, and the show included TOS canon. They even had the original models on the show.

 

Calling BSG not a reboot is splitting hairs.  I can't think of a reboot that didn't nod at cannon in some way even if they didn't respect it.

[callmebetty]

I agree.  Seeing Ann Romano as a divorced mother raising her daughters alone and taking back her maiden name (not every divorcee did that - they often kept their married names unless they remarried) was a unique premise for TV at the time.  Today, no big deal.  Making the characters Hispanic doesn't add much - unless the audience is supposed to act shocked that whites aren't the only ones to get divorced.  These and other reboots/remakes exist for two reasons:

 

• It's a familiar brand to a certain generation of people - therefore there's a built in audience they hope to tap.

 

• There's a dearth originality in Hollywood and they're afraid of getting creative people who might actually make something good.

 

As for the Good Times reboot, I call BS.  Things have changed since James and Florida Evans lived in the Chicago projects in the 60s-70s (I'm assuming they moved there in the late 60s when their oldest children were young and the project buildings fairly new).  Today, the Evans' could get Section 8 housing and relocate to the suburbs.  They get welfare and other subsidies (EBT) if they weren't working.  There is "Affirmative Action" hiring and promotions if they were.  What might work would be if the show was reset to the 50s-60s when the projects were new and civil rights era was just beginning.  At least then there was a challenge.  Or perhaps how hard it is to leave the ghetto life behind despite moving to a better neighborhood.  

 

 

 

I prefer to think of it as a reimagining (some may say I'm splitting hairs).  It's the Holmes we've always known but in a modern American setting with a female Watson.  It's in its own universe as much as any other version of Sherlock Holmes since he first was adapted to the big screen/TV.  One thing I always liked about the character is that he can be dropped into virtually any time period between the 1880s and the present.

 

James Bond is a bit like this - even though many films retained the same actors (Q, M, Miss Munnypenny) well into the 1980s/early 90s while the Bonds periodically changed.  They too, seem to operate in their own universe - unless we find out Bonds are retired and are replaced but keep the 007 moniker.  I always liked the idea of an island of former "James Bonds" who live quiet retirements when they age out of their spy games. 

 

 

That was more of a continuation of Roddenberry's original show right?  A reboot would have been starting from scratch or pretending the old show and its events never existed.  DS9 et al were all spinoffs so they were all part of that same universe.

 

I don't mind the occasional continuation of a good show if it's true to the spirit of the original. - but can still have enough room to move into new territory.  This is especially true of shows in which there were limits due to SFX or public mores making certain situations unacceptable to viewers.   If surviving members of the original cast are willing to make a glorified cameo to help bridge the gap between the shows, all the better.  

 

 

ETA:

 

After seeing the link to possible rebooted shows, I have to say Ike the idea of rebooting:

 

Greatest American Hero – as with the original, part of the fun was watching Ralph Hinkley try to master the suit’s powers on the fly (literally!).  However, eventually, he should be better at using them as the series continues so that he lives up to the show’s title.  He never had that chance in the original.

 

Wonder Woman – right now, they’re unable to get the movie off the ground and the never aired David E. Kelley pilot (which should remained unaired) was NOT true to the character or premise.  They should go back to her WW2 origins and have Amazon Diana Prince be sent to help stop the Nazi hordes.  When the war is won, they could update it – but I always thought the 70s series was best when it took place in the 40s.

 

The Avengers – I loved this series (the Diana Rigg years IMO were the most fun) and I’d love to see it again – as long as it’s still set in swinging 60s London.  Maybe it could be an alt universe in which it’s the 60s but has modern tech (a “retro universe”) with Diana Rigg playing “Mother” occasionally.

 

Buck Rogers – I loved this show as a kid and it could still work today – just so that the future doesn’t look too 70s ;o)

 

The Rockford Files – this could work – especially with Tony Dennison as Rockford.  But you need a cracker jack team of writers.

 

In the “Thanks but No-Thanks” column:

 

The Flintstones – When Seth McFarland announced he was going to try it, the negative reaction was staggering!  I’m in that camp since most people know how raunchy McFarland can be.  Even though the show was revived in one format or another on TV over the years, most people don’t trust him or anyone to do it justice.

 

Little House – the original was OK, but became far too anachronistic as it went on.  It bore little resemblance to the books it was based on.  It might as well have been just another western/family show.  PBS aired a more faithful version in a mini series format which served the source material far better.

 

Golden Girls – Isn’t that was “Hot In Cleveland” was?

 

Love Boat – the premise was a bit fluffy – but it was the 70s.  Like Charlies Angels, I don’t think it could work anymore.

 

 

 

 

These I’d prefer a TV movie or minseries to close some loose ends:

 

Angel – WTF happened?

 

Quantum Leap – WTF happened?  Don’t give me that crap about Sam never going home again!  If they reboot it completely, then I wouldn’t mind seeing a miniseries to test the waters.

 

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. - I'd love to see what happened to Brisco after all these years.  If we go by real time (and bring back Bruce Campbell) it's set post WWI SF. 

I agree about  the Love Boat, while I think it would be fun to see modern actors taking on this premise.  (Why do I envision Sophia Vergara as a modern day Charo!)  I feel like most actors would play it for full on camp instead of semi serious. Which it is camp, but have fun but don't overdo it.  I don't think Fantasy Island could ever work again either.

 

And a big yes to all three of your shows that need to be answered.  I LOVED Brisco County Jr. and still harbor a huge crush on Bruce Campbell.  And Kelly Rutherford has always been a gem in my book.

[Kromm]

I agree about  the Love Boat, while I think it would be fun to see modern actors taking on this premise.  (Why do I envision Sophia Vergara as a modern day Charo!)  I feel like most actors would play it for full on camp instead of semi serious. Which it is camp, but have fun but don't overdo it.  I don't think Fantasy Island could ever work again either.

They not only tried a Fantasy Island reboot... it was actually arguably quite good. 

 

Even it's now almost 17 years in the past (vs. the original being yet another 20 years older than THAT), but the reboot proved that the concept had an unexpected bit of flexibility.  It was a failure ratings-wise, but creatively quite interesting. Malcolm McDowell took on the role of Mr. Roarke, and played a maniacally intense version who turned the premise of the original on it's ear--he was more The Devil teaching the visitors some often quite hard lessons, whereas Ricardo Montalban's Angel version gently coaxed his guests to a similar (if less dramatic and scary) end. Or actually, at times the show implied that Roarke was actually a third power--master not of Heaven nor Hell, but rather of that place in the middle ("Limbo"). 

 

The show was a ton darker than the original, and it actually kind of worked. Barry Sonnenfeld was the creative force behind it--so... it was a fairly well backed attempt and had a lot of that same swag/atmosphere/quirk as Pushing Daisies, and Sonnenfeld's movies.

 

To be clear though... as interesting as the 1998 Fantasy Island reboot was, you just can't try the same failure twice.

[Wax Lion]

They not only tried a Fantasy Island reboot... it was actually arguably quite good.

 

I thought the Fantasy Island reboot toyed with being really interesting by having Madchen Amick play a shapeshifter who helped make the fantasies happen. I think if it happened today, that aspect would have been explored more, it could have been interesting to ask how those fantasies are made instead of handwaving "Magic!" in the original.

 

It was one of the few times a darker and "more serious" take on a silly show actually worked. Unlike The Love Boat: The Next Wave.

[ganesh]

Yes, I'm splitting hairs, but most reboots barely wink at continuity, and BSG did one of the better jobs including both versions of the show in the same universe. I don't know any other reboots that include the original property universe in the new one. 

[callmebetty]

They not only tried a Fantasy Island reboot... it was actually arguably quite good

I had no idea they did one. Thanks for the recap of it. It does sound like it was good. But yeah you don't need to go back to the well twice.

[Kromm]

I thought the Fantasy Island reboot toyed with being really interesting by having Madchen Amick play a shapeshifter who helped make the fantasies happen. I think if it happened today, that aspect would have been explored more, it could have been interesting to ask how those fantasies are made instead of handwaving "Magic!" in the original.

 

It was one of the few times a darker and "more serious" take on a silly show actually worked. Unlike The Love Boat: The Next Wave.

it was also no accident the character was named "Ariel" either. Knowing they couldn't recreate the little-person assistant thing anyway (without it being cheesy), Sonnenfeld instead arguably paralleled The Tempest.

The less said about The Love Boat: The Next Wave the better, by the way.

[MarkHB]

I didn't watch the new BSG series (but I remember the original premiere being interrupted by President Carter announcing the Camp David Accords), and this is the first time I've heard that it actually tried to acknowledge the original.

 

After seeing the link to possible rebooted shows, I have to say Ike the idea of rebooting:

 

Greatest American Hero – as with the original, part of the fun was watching Ralph Hinkley try to master the suit’s powers on the fly (literally!).  However, eventually, he should be better at using them as the series continues so that he lives up to the show’s title.  He never had that chance in the original.

 

Wonder Woman – right now, they’re unable to get the movie off the ground and the never aired David E. Kelley pilot (which should remained unaired) was NOT true to the character or premise.  They should go back to her WW2 origins and have Amazon Diana Prince be sent to help stop the Nazi hordes.  When the war is won, they could update it – but I always thought the 70s series was best when it took place in the 40s.

 

The Rockford Files – this could work – especially with Tony Dennison as Rockford.  But you need a cracker jack team of writers.

 

The pilot of the attempted reboot of GAH - "The Greatest American Heroine" - is on the GAH Season 1 DVD set.  It's OK, but it continued the "no instruction book" trope from the original by having the aliens say they didn't have another one.  I'd love to see the show come back, but I don't know how you could have the hero start by not knowing anything about the suit and then have a way to discover it gradually.

 

AFAIK, Patty Jenkins (the director) is in London doing pre-production for the Wonder Woman movie, and it's scheduled to shoot this fall.  ITA with everything else you said about the DEK disaster (he didn't understand the character at all) and the Lynda Carter series.

 

Re: Rockford, I don't know Tony Dennison, but even if he has the same wink-and-a-nod charm as James Garner, I have doubts that a team of writers could be assembled today who could recreate the feel of the show.  H50 works because the original was a typical hard-core police procedural of its time, and the new version is a typical hard-core police procedural of our time.  Rockford was different, it wasn't a Mannix or Cannon, and it all hinged on Garner.

 

Similarly, I doubt M*A*S*H could be redone.  The evolution of the show, as more-comic characters like Henry and Frank were replaced by deeper characters like Col. Potter and Charles, couldn't be replicated, and what was groundbreaking about the original now represents already-broken ground.  Abyssinia, Henry.

[magicdog]

The pilot of the attempted reboot of GAH - "The Greatest American Heroine" - is on the GAH Season 1 DVD set.  It's OK, but it continued the "no instruction book" trope from the original by having the aliens say they didn't have another one.

 

I had heard about it but I refuse to watch the "Heroine" episode.  The fact that the premise includes the aliens not having another instruction book? 

 

B.S.!! 

 

Double B.S.!!!

 

They invented spaceships, some sort of advanced civilization light years beyond our own and they just don't have a spare manual to the suit???  Triple B.S.!!!

 

I'd sooner believe the manual was in the wrong language!

 

The show might work if he does get the manual but has to master each ability individually (perhaps the suit could literally judge if he mastered something properly - and it refuses to go the next ability) until he reaches the pinnacle.

[ganesh]

Given how many languages have been on earth the manual could be in Aramaic.

[Raja]

 

 

 

 

Re: Rockford, I don't know Tony Dennison, but even if he has the same wink-and-a-nod charm as James Garner, I have doubts that a team of writers could be assembled today who could recreate the feel of the show.  H50 works because the original was a typical hard-core police procedural of its time, and the new version is a typical hard-core police procedural of our time.  Rockford was different, it wasn't a Mannix or Cannon, and it all hinged on Garner.

 

 

Right now he is Lieutenant Flynn on The Closer/Major Crimes, And was probably best known for playing the antagonist Ray Luca on Crime Story in the mid 80s I think he is probably a generation too old to play Jim Rockford who while he didn't want to fight was a big man and combat vet twenty years before the Files were on the air putting Rockford in his 40s not his 60s and still potentially dangerous should a fight happen..

[MarkHB]

Right now he is Lieutenant Flynn on The Closer/Major Crimes, And was probably best known for playing the antagonist Ray Luca on Crime Story in the mid 80s I think he is probably a generation too old to play Jim Rockford who while he didn't want to fight was a big man and combat vet twenty years before the Files were on the air putting Rockford in his 40s not his 60s and still potentially dangerous should a fight happen..

 

Thanks; Ray Luca I definitely remember.

[magicdog]

Tony Dennison's name popped up in the reboot article link - Dennison himself suggested reviving Rockford and casting himself.  If he's too old for the role, maybe have him play his dad, "Rocky" (played by Noah Beery, Jr. in the original series).

[Kromm]

Y'all are aware there have been not one but SEVERAL Rockford Files reboots in the works for the past half decade or so that fell through, right?

 

There was one around 2009-2010 that was supposed to star Dermot Mulroney and there was another about a year and a half ago for Vince Vaughn.  Neither attempt worked out. 

 

The Mulroney one actually shot a pilot and was very hyped.  It was produced by the odd-couple of producers, Steve Carell and David Shore (a very strange combo). Apparently the pilot TV movie stank SO bad it just scared NBC away totally from a series (or even airing the pilot). Here's the IMDB entry with the cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582460/ -- Beau Bridges was Rocky. Alan Tudyk was Lt. Becker. It all sounds like it SHOULD have worked, right?  But it didn't.

 

The Vaughn one was supposed to be a theatrical movie, not a TV show.  For all I know that one could still be endlessly being rewritten, but there's been no news about it in 16 months or so.  Here's the super-vague IMDB on it (not even a projected date attached): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2369425/ and an old Deadline article with a few more facts than that totally blank IMDB: http://deadline.com/2014/04/chuck-hogan-on-the-case-for-vince-vaughn-and-the-rockford-files-709427/

Edited August 19, 2015 by Kromm

[proserpina65]

The Mulroney one actually shot a pilot and was very hyped.  It was produced by the odd-couple of producers, Steve Carell and David Shore (a very strange combo). Apparently the pilot TV movie stank SO bad it just scared NBC away totally from a series (or even airing the pilot). Here's the IMDB entry with the cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582460/-- Beau Bridges was Rocky. Alan Tudyk was Lt. Becker. It all sounds like it SHOULD have worked, right?  But it didn't.

Two words to explain why it doesn't, imo, sound like it would ever have worked: Dermot Mulroney

 

He's a decent actor, but no way could he ever be Jim Rockford.  No way, no how.

[Irlandesa]

Speaking of reboots or continuations or whatever that would be welcome [to me] is this:

 

Flight of Conchords movie being written.

 

They say that it's not written yet and they don't know if it'll get made but I would bet HBO would be willing to back it.

[Wax Lion]

Coach follow-up series cancelled. Apparently the pilot wasn't good.

[Irlandesa]

"Dated" being one of the descriptors--well duh.  And honestly, this is why networks do pilots. 

 

I hope the pilot leaks somehow, though.  Now I'm curious.  I'm only disappointed for anyone who was actually looking forward to the series. I know there were a few. 

[opus]

Gay HART TO HART in development at NBC:

http://deadline.com/2015/09/hart-to-hart-remake-gay-couple-nbc-carol-mendelsohn-producing-1201528906/

[Kromm]

Gay HART TO HART in development at NBC:

http://deadline.com/2015/09/hart-to-hart-remake-gay-couple-nbc-carol-mendelsohn-producing-1201528906/

Anyone wanna bet Max gets gender flipped to be a woman?

[DollEyes]

And Freeway becomes a cat?

[legaleagle53]

Gay HART TO HART in development at NBC:

http://deadline.com/2015/09/hart-to-hart-remake-gay-couple-nbc-carol-mendelsohn-producing-1201528906/

 

Um, yay?

[Crim]

Not really a reboot, since it's originally a book, but "The Mist" will be a TV show: http://www.thewrap.com/stephen-kings-the-mist-in-the-works-as-tv-series/

Known players so far: “Scream” producer Dimension Television and writer Christian Torpe. I'm highly skeptical of this because Frank Darabont's movie is a hard act to follow.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Crim

[roamyn]

I'm waiting for a Starsky and Hutch remake. Huggy Bear will be played by Chris Rock, Jensen Ackles as Hutch (hey Supernatural has to end sometime), and David Schwimmer as Starsky.

NO NO NO!!!!

As a long time member of the fandom (I do the works: conventions, fanfic, games), 90% of us HATED that stupid Stiller movie, with a corrupt pseudo Hutch & pimp Snoop Huggy!

I just heard they're remaking Hart to Hart as a gay couple. Why? Just make it a new damn show. Why hijack the name?

[roamyn]

For the record, I hated the BSG reboot.

Female Starbuck & Boomer? No, thanks. I liked the cheesy 70s version.

They should remake a western. Not Bonanza, Little House, or Gunsmoke though.

Westerns haven't been done in awhile. There's a dearth of law enforcement, medical, and suoernatural shows out there right now.

[Trini]

Just make it a new damn show. Why hijack the name?

 

Seriously! At least that way, they wouldn't have to try and pretend to connect it to the original. I know they want brand recognition, but sometimes that might be a detriment and/or hindrance.

[ganesh]

Hijacking the name is the fundamental motivation for the reboots. You're cashing in on a known property but actually just making whatever show you want. 

[roamyn]

But honestly, how many 20-40 are going to have name recognition on Hart to Hart ? That's my theory why the re-boot of BSGworked. Very few in that crucial demographic remembered the original.

HI 5-0, yes, because the theme's iconic.

[kassygreene]

A re-boot is legal fan fiction, which is intended to make a profit and not generate C&D.  Sometimes it's not as good as some of the fan fic out there.

 

I like the possibilities of the new Hart to Hart, but I have zero confidence in the ability of NBC to commit to the relationship.

[BW Manilowe]

A re-boot is legal fan fiction, which is intended to make a profit and not generate C&D. Sometimes it's not as good as some of the fan fic out there.

I like the possibilities of the new Hart to Hart, but I have zero confidence in the ability of NBC to commit to the relationship.

Plus, half of the couple is named "Hartman", not "Hart"--unless they write in a wedding & Hartman takes his husband's name. I don't mind the couple being gay, but I do hope NBC's prepared to commit to the relationship & not water it down--like I think Thirtysomething ended up doing, & like NBC did with Tony Randall's show Love, Sidney (& yes I realize that both aired a couple decades, or so, ago now).

I haven't even heard if there's gonna be counterparts for their houseman/assistant, Max, or their dog Freeway (from the series) or Freeway Jr., aka "Junior" (from the reunion movies... I think the original dog died between the series & the first movie). You might be able to replace the dog, but Lionel Stander is pretty irreplaceable--& I don't remember the last few reunion movies even trying to replace him/Max after he died.

Guess we'll see what happens. Maybe it'll end up like the Coach reboot & get cancelled "for creative differences" at the eleventh hour (shrugs). I didn't mind the idea of the Coach reboot either, except for the fact Hayden's daughter from the original suddenly became a son (& didn't sound like he was Hayden & Christine's) in the reboot, just so they'd have a plot.

[bmasters9]

I haven't even heard if there's gonna be counterparts for their houseman/assistant, Max, or their dog Freeway (from the series) or Freeway Jr., aka "Junior" (from the reunion movies... I think the original dog died between the series & the first movie). You might be able to replace the dog, but Lionel Stander is pretty irreplaceable--& I don't remember the last few reunion movies even trying to replace him/Max after he died.

IIRC, the last three of the Hart to Hart films simply had Jonathan and Jennifer in new adventures without Max; the films ended in 1996 with Till Death Do Us Hart, and Lionel's final appearance was in Secrets of the Hart, which aired in March 1995.

Edited September 18, 2015 by bmasters9

[blueray]

 

All that being said, if anyone knows of a movement to reboot Dead Like Me, I am so there!

I would never want a reboot of Dead Like Me. I would like them to continue with the story and make new seasons/ mini series. That movie (which I actually didn't hate) ended in a cliffhanger. But in the meanwhile I love the show the way it was and would never want to watch someone reset the story.

 

To me a reboot is ignoring almost all of the original material and changing it. They start back at the beginning and are generally crappy. (Adam's "star trek" movies, probably the new "heroes".

 

A spin off is a show that takes place in the original universe and build from there. The Star trek (the tv series) are examples of this as is Stargate.

 

A contination as I get it would be a show like arrested development that was cancelled for years but came back for a new season.

Edited September 20, 2015 by blueray

[BW Manilowe]

CBS is developing a The Island of Dr. Moreau reboot, with the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow creator scripting & a female Dr. Moreau.

http://tvnewsroom.org/newslines/entertainment/cbs-developing-moreau-adaptation-with-a-female-doctor-as-its-lead-139244/

[Wax Lion]

 

I'd be up for a Dead Like Me revival though, if Bryan Fuller was involved.

 

That's where I am with pretty much everything Bryan Fuller created. I'd love more but that Dead LIke Me movie warned me against going without him. I know he quit the show, but the second season of DLM still felt like DLM, unlike that movie.

[DollEyes]

  Re the rumored gay Hat To Hart reboot, as long as they do it right, I don't mind. The scripts, the acting and the direction all must be on-point. And one of the Harts should be played by Matt Bomer.  

[UYI]

 

But when it comes to shows like Coach, who I don't think airs reruns anymore, I am more baffled.

 

 

 

It has actually had a pretty good life in reruns. It's probably been two years since it was rerun nationally, but still. And it's been on Netflix for years. And as someone who has loved the show since I was a kid, I was really sad when the reboot got scrapped, even if it was for the best, because I've never really been into sci-fi/superhero shows. Something like Coach is more in my lane, even if it's a random choice. So I'm kind of sad it didn't work out. :(

 

And it would have been a continuation, not a reboot.

Edited September 21, 2015 by UYI

[UYI]

Norman Lear talks One Day at a Time, Good Times reboots:

http://deadline.com/2015/08/norman-lear-one-day-at-a-time-good-times-reboot-tca-1201489178/

 

Now ODAAT--THAT'S a show that actually is a bit more obscure. Even with the popularity of Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips, that show actually hasn't been rerun since the mid 90's when E! used to show it.

 

I'd be the first person to applaud a Norman Lear/Norman Lear-style sitcom, though. I personally think we need more sitcoms that mix comedy and drama like AITF and Maude did back in the day.

 

And for the record, I'm 26, and I LOVED watching those shows on Nick at Nite and TV Land back in the day. Some of us young'uns love the older shows, too. ;)

Really?  I thought he was dead.

 

Honestly, if someone thinks you're dead and can't think of one nice thing to say about your shows, then maybe they shouldn't be rebooted.

 

YMMV, of course, but I knew he was alive and I have a LOT of nice things to say about his shows, while also recognizing their flaws. :)

 

That said, it would be better for him to just create a new show. I wouldn't mind one more new one from him that both entertains us and makes us think. :)

Edited September 21, 2015 by UYI