Re-Imaginings, Spin Offs, and Franchises
Some people call them "Re-imaginings" others "Franchises" for most Cult TV fans they are just classic shows.
In today's entertainment world there are more and more remakes, re-imaginings and movie spin offs from some of our favourite shows of the sixties, seventies and eighties.
This is not in fact a new phenomenon, Star Trek- Next Generation is a spin off of the original, Frazier is a spin off from Cheers, The Rockford Files was planned as an update of the hit 60's series Maverick and Alias Smith & Jones owes a great deal to the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Often the franchise takes the leap from TV to the big screen, as is the case of Kojak, Batman, Miami Vice, Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch and most recently The Incredible Hulk.
Sometimes the movies are so strong and so good we can hardly remember the TV series, how many of us remember the Spiderman TV series, it seems only the theme tune lingers on.
Of all the shows that have been "re-imagined" for TV, Battlestar Galactica is probably the most successful.
Currently in it's fourth season the show has enjoyed incredible success, winning awards and taking the science fiction genre to new and darker places.
Other shows, like Bionic Woman released on DVD this year, and the updated Knight Rider '08 which will be seen on US screens later this year, show that re-imaginings are here to stay.
What do you think of this trend? Do you think that the originals should be left alone? Should The A Team be remade or would audiences now reject all that gunfire? Is Quantum Leap a good idea for a Movie? And is there a place for Jim Rockford in the 21st century, Mel Gibson played the young Maverick in the movie, with James Garner as his dad? Should Mel play Jim Rockford and James Garner, Rocky? Check out our Playback Forum [http://www.
universal-playback.
com/forums/13] and tell us what you think, what would you like to see re-imagined.
In today's entertainment world there are more and more remakes, re-imaginings and movie spin offs from some of our favourite shows of the sixties, seventies and eighties.
This is not in fact a new phenomenon, Star Trek- Next Generation is a spin off of the original, Frazier is a spin off from Cheers, The Rockford Files was planned as an update of the hit 60's series Maverick and Alias Smith & Jones owes a great deal to the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Often the franchise takes the leap from TV to the big screen, as is the case of Kojak, Batman, Miami Vice, Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch and most recently The Incredible Hulk.
Sometimes the movies are so strong and so good we can hardly remember the TV series, how many of us remember the Spiderman TV series, it seems only the theme tune lingers on.
Of all the shows that have been "re-imagined" for TV, Battlestar Galactica is probably the most successful.
Currently in it's fourth season the show has enjoyed incredible success, winning awards and taking the science fiction genre to new and darker places.
Other shows, like Bionic Woman released on DVD this year, and the updated Knight Rider '08 which will be seen on US screens later this year, show that re-imaginings are here to stay.
What do you think of this trend? Do you think that the originals should be left alone? Should The A Team be remade or would audiences now reject all that gunfire? Is Quantum Leap a good idea for a Movie? And is there a place for Jim Rockford in the 21st century, Mel Gibson played the young Maverick in the movie, with James Garner as his dad? Should Mel play Jim Rockford and James Garner, Rocky? Check out our Playback Forum [http://www.
universal-playback.
com/forums/13] and tell us what you think, what would you like to see re-imagined.
