Out With the Old, In With the Old Made New [Things I'm Still Bitter About]

Larry Hagman aka J.R. Ewing (via Wikipedia.com)

TV remakes and reboots – I’m not going to say that I’m enraged about this but I am a bit bitter. I have the same feelings towards remakes and reboots when films do it; I’m very skeptical. Well, depending on the subject,  I could be somewhat hopeful. When Conan was remade, I was hopeful and actually enjoyed the film. The same can be said for the Star Trek and Batman reboots.

But when it comes to television reboots and remakes, I become very skeptical. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem like networks invest too much time, money, and effort into their recreations. Wonder Woman was quite lackluster and Knight Rider didn’t have the same appeal without the Hoff and Mr. Feeney voicing Kit (not even Val Kilmer’s silky, majestic voice could help it). But there are some prospective shows on the horizon.

I don’t know why I’m excited about this, but Dallas is returning to television, and I’m thinking this might be a good thing. Might. Granted, TNT is just updating it for a newer, younger audience, which means it’s probably going to be filled with even more melodrama than before, but it still might be good. I haven’t watched the show since I was much younger, but it’ll be good to see the Ewings back in action again. And it’s nice to see that Larry Hagman is alive and well. Makes me want to watch old episodes of I Dream of Jeannie.

The Munster Mansion redesign (via EW.com)

I won’t dwell on Dallas though. There are some other remakes/reboots that have peaked my attention. Seth Macfarlane is planning to bring back The Flinstones next year (hopefully) and Bryan Fuller (creator of Pushing Daisies) is reviving The Munsters (no pun intended) with Mockingbird Lane. Don’t get me wrong, I am worried. Although Macfarlane is a big fan of the original series, I’m afraid he might make it less Flinstones and more stone-age Family Guy. Fred and Barney may have been cavemen, but they were at least classy enough to be humorous with out fart jokes and obscenities. I’m going to have faith in Macfarlane and see how this plays out, but I won’t get my hopes to high.

Now with Bryan Fuller, that’s a whole ‘nother story. I am getting my hopes up for this. Once I heard that Fuller was creating it and Bryan Singer was producing, I got excited. And now, since NBC has announced that Eddie Izzard will be playing Grandpa, I’m even more amped. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for them to announce the rest of the cast. Honestly, it’s going to be difficult to top Fred Gwynne’s Herman Munster. Don’t let me down on this one, Fuller.

"You eye-ballin' me?" (via Collider.com)

I also want to add that I’m pretty interested in the Incredible Hulk TV reboot that is potentially happening, but that’s only because Guillermo del Toro is spearheading it. That should be geek-tastic!

I’m not going to delve into the realm of film remakes and reboots, that another article for another day (maybe?). So for now, let me just say that while it may not seem as though I am too bitter about all of this, I am. Remakes and reboots show a lack of creativity and drive to come up with new and original material. Networks are relying on the security of the established fan-bases from the originals to get their shows off the ground. While it is possibly a good idea financially to take this route because it assures you’ll have previous fans (and the generations they’ve passed their TV knowledge onto) watching, it also runs the risk of angering those fans (and then newer ones as well) by ruining the wonderful memories they have from the original with your crappy sub-par replacement. This is where my bitterness lies. I’m looking at you, Bionic Woman.

Not everyone can be as lucky as CBS has been with Hawaii Five-0 (seriously, the show is good) but I guess it all depends on the talent they get to recreate the shows. I’m hoping that, with three incredibly creative people (Macfarlane, Fuller, and del Toro) at the helm of each recreation, we won’t be let down and have our memories of once great television destroyed by pointless, Xerox copies of the classics.