I’m probably a lot more tolerant of TV show reboots and revivals than most. In fact, I generally welcome the idea, for the slight chance that something I once loved would be coming back.
TV networks and studios seem to like them, too, as they mean instant brand recognition. Even this year, using the title “Ironside” is a lot stronger of a marketing tool than “Guy In A Wheelchair.” That doesn’t necessarily mean it should have happened, though.
Recent weeks have brought us news that CBS is looking into reviving Charmed and NBC has Octavia Spencer lined up to star in a modern “reboot” of Murder, She Wrote. The initial response is that there are no more good ideas in the world, but I understand why these studios want that brand recognition, which could also have the extra advantage of added value to their library of classics. But, I do have a request to the producers of both of these projects: Instead of Piper, Prue, and Phoebe, and instead of Jessica Fletcher, how about some new characters to keep that brand alive while still respecting what came before?
Thanks to DVD and in some cases Netflix, or our respective memories, we’ve had eight seasons to get to know the best Halliwell sisters there could possibly be. What could new actresses bring to the roles that the originals didn’t? Same thing goes for Murder, She Wrote. Is there any better Jessica Fletcher than Angela Lansbury? And more importantly, do you picture anyone but Angela Lansbury when someone mentions the show to you? Nope.
Very few details are known about the Charmed reboot, but in the case of Murder, She Wrote, the background of Spencer’s character is different to begin with, so it might not be a ridiculous idea to think they should start fresh. As long as everyone Octavia Spencer ever meets or ever has met in her past ends up murdered in the opening minutes, we know what we’re getting into from the title.
The past decade has given us many remakes that have bombed using the same characters in a new setting, and that usually encourages possibly unfair comparisons. How could anyone come to love Michelle Ryan’s Jamie Sommers character in The Bionic Woman when Lindsay Wagner did it so iconically? Did NBC really try to do The Rockford Files with someone that, no matter how good of an actor they are, doesn’t have the charm that James Garner could ever have? What is Adrianne Palicki doing in satin tights, fighting for her rights, when Lynda Carter is the face that people immediately think of when they think of Wonder Woman? Heck, even when a show does go with new characters in the same universe it’s not always a sure thing. NBC’s Knight Rider was off to a good start, but having next-generation characters called “Michael Knight” and “KITT” doesn’t go very far when they don’t have a fraction of the chemistry that David Hasselhoff and William Daniels did. V, I think, was smart in going with totally new characters, although a “30 years after the 1980’s invasion” series ultimately may have been a lot more interesting.
Occasionally, it works, but I think that’s usually when you’re dealing with a show long since past, or a show where the set pieces are more memorable than the original series themselves. Hawaii Five-0 has done decently for CBS, but for anyone under 40, the most we remember from the original series is the opening credits and the theme song — and both of those things are still there, regardless of who is playing McGarrett. Battlestar Galactica did well, but there, too, the original was known to many people as “that spaceship show that came to ride Star Wars’ coattails.” In many ways, the new BSG had a lot more focus and direction than the original incarnation, and making the new characters into icons very different from the original series’ intention, even with the same character names, seemed to work for them. Even so, it’s safe to say that studios need to be careful with properties that are even that old. I wouldn’t care to see Columbo with anyone that’s not Peter Falk and The Night Stalker didn’t really work with a character so drastically different from Darren McGavin, despite being a VERY well done show. Ironside, the change of race for the character wasn’t so weird to me as just the notion that even having never seen the original show, I associate Raymond Burr with the role.
Ultimately, I think we’ll have to get used to the idea that almost everything we liked as a kid will get remade eventually, so studios can continue to cash in on decades-old ideas. And with that, we’ll see a lot of failed shows. Some things like I Love Lucy will be sacred enough not to touch, but we can be assured we’ll have new TV versions of The X-Files, Dragnet, The Six Million Dollar Man, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer on our TV screens someday, whether we’ll like it or not. We’ll probably see a Facts of Life remake where the new Blair and Jo finally do get together, or Nickelodeon trying to do a Clarissa Explains It All for a new generation. Someone will probably even try to do M*A*S*H, and we’ll just have to take it, even though that is most likely a horrible idea. Rob Thomas will probably try to pitch Veronica Mars again, but without Kristen Bell, would there be a point? Me? I’m still waiting for The Golden Girls remake with four gay guys, which you just know someone in development has thought of already, or to see someone seriously try to do 21 Jump Street again. In the cases of these two recently announced projects, though, I do REALLY hope that they don’t screw it up.
