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When Will The Networks Learn?

M

Mark_Giardina

Guest
How many times will the major networks attempt to remake classic TV series, only to have those shows cancelled within a few weeks? The latest example is the cancellation of ABC’s “The Night Stalker.”

Other remakes that have bit the dust include:

The Fugitive
Fantasy Island
Dragnet

Get the hint network folks; people are not watching these ill-conceived retreads. Here is a word that network executives may want to put in their mental dictionary: Originality
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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>
 
Don't forget these ill-fated revivals:

The Twilight Zone
Family Affair
Love Boat(The Next Wave)

Besides even if they revive "Babes" or "Search For Tomorrow" I don't see any of the networks(including the cable channels) pulling the plug on remakes/revivals anytime soon.
 
Hi everyone:

> Get the hint network folks; people are not watching these
> ill-conceived retreads. Here is a word that network
> executives may want to put in their mental dictionary:
> Originality

That and the word FANTASY as that's exactly what the so-called "Reality" TV shows really are.

In other words, for shows like "Survivor", call it what it is - FANTASY TV. For a show like "COPS", call it what it is - REALITY TV.

Believe it or not, there's a GIGANTIC difference between "Survivor" and "COPS".

Just my opinion :)

Cheers for now :)

Pat
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http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio? Uhh.....What's THAT?? :)</P>
 
I actually thought these were pretty good remakes.
The last two however had some sick twits.
Mr. Rorke was a Jerk in the remake of Fantasy Island.
And having Al Bundy in the lead role of Dragnet just did not instill confidnece.

The Fugitive was good, but wasn't that on Fox, or was it ABC. I think it just had a bad time slot, and was not given a fair chance.

I never saw Night Stalker, so I couldn't tell you the difference.

> How many times will the major networks attempt to remake
> classic TV series, only to have those shows cancelled within
> a few weeks? The latest example is the cancellation of ABC’s
> “The Night Stalker.”
>
> Other remakes that have bit the dust include:
>
> The Fugitive
> Fantasy Island
> Dragnet
>
> Get the hint network folks; people are not watching these
> ill-conceived retreads. Here is a word that network
> executives may want to put in their mental dictionary:
> Originality
>
 
> Other shows that have been revived and failed.
>
> Hunter
> Let's Make A Deal(only 3 episodes aired)
> Get Smart
>
Here's a few more:
The Munsters Again(syndication)
The New WKRP In Cincinatti(syndication, although it actually survived two seasons)
Galactica:1980(ABC realized their blunder a year later, but put it in a terrible time slot)
The New Monkees(syndication)
Adam-12(syndication)
CHIPS '99(TV movie which aired on TNT)
The New Odd Couple(with Ron Glass & Demond Wilson)
The Greatest American Heroine(the pilot was offered to NBC in 1986, but Brandon Tartikoff felt that even with appearences by William Katt & Connie Sellica, didn't have the same spirit as the original and turned it down)<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> > Other shows that have been revived and failed.
> >
> > Hunter
> > Let's Make A Deal(only 3 episodes aired)
> > Get Smart
> >
> Here's a few more:
> The Munsters Again(syndication)
> The New WKRP In Cincinatti(syndication, although it actually
> survived two seasons)
> Galactica:1980(ABC realized their blunder a year later, but
> put it in a terrible time slot)
> The New Monkees(syndication)
> Adam-12(syndication)
> CHIPS '99(TV movie which aired on TNT)
> The New Odd Couple(with Ron Glass & Demond Wilson)
> The Greatest American Heroine(the pilot was offered to NBC
> in 1986, but Brandon Tartikoff felt that even with
> appearences by William Katt & Connie Sellica, didn't have
> the same spirit as the original and turned it down)
>

Adam-12 was paired along with the New Dragnet for an hour on weekends if I remember right. Actually those two re makes weren't that bad. They had some action in them. The recent Dragnet with Al Bundy and Nick Pappageorgio blew.
 
> Don't forget these ill-fated revivals:
>
> The Twilight Zone
> Family Affair
> Love Boat(The Next Wave)
>
> Besides even if they revive "Babes" or "Search For Tomorrow"
> I don't see any of the networks(including the cable
> channels) pulling the plug on remakes/revivals anytime soon.
>

I thought the remakes of the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits were pretty good. Maybe because neither show had a central character or theme to judge against. Each episode was independent of the others so there was variety to them.
 
Point taken, but I'm not that sure the networks/studios can totally be blamed for trying. There's a generation of people who remember the originals, and a younger, more advertiser-friendly audience who isn't familiar with them at all. It's the latter group they're really looking to attract--if they think they can make a past premise work in the present, of course they'll give it a go.

Not all of these 'dead remakes' have been bad. I remember the revived version of "The Fugitive" on CBS. It lasted a full season, and it wasn't a bad show...just didn't garner the big audience.

Personally, I don't think ABC should've pulled the plug on 'Night Stalker' so quickly. Yes, I was mostly watching for Gabby Union, but it wasn't a bad show either. And EVERYTHING they've tried to put up in that slot in the last five to six seasons has gotten slaughtered by NBC or CBS anyway. I say they should have at least given the show one full season to develop a 'counter-programming' audience. If ratings didn't grow, then axe it in the spring and make the production costs money back on DVD sales.


> How many times will the major networks attempt to remake
> classic TV series, only to have those shows cancelled within
> a few weeks? The latest example is the cancellation of ABC’s
> “The Night Stalker.”
>
> Other remakes that have bit the dust include:
>
> The Fugitive
> Fantasy Island
> Dragnet
>
> Get the hint network folks; people are not watching these
> ill-conceived retreads. Here is a word that network
> executives may want to put in their mental dictionary:
> Originality
>
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"Not fixing [New Orleans'] levees before Katrina struck will now cost us untold billions. Not resolving the nation's issues of race and class has and will cost us so much more."
--Wynton Marsalis
</P>
 
> How many times will the major networks attempt to remake
> classic TV series, only to have those shows cancelled within
> a few weeks? The latest example is the cancellation of ABC’s
> “The Night Stalker.”
>
> Other remakes that have bit the dust include:
>
> The Fugitive
> Fantasy Island
> Dragnet
>
> Get the hint network folks; people are not watching these
> ill-conceived retreads. Here is a word that network
> executives may want to put in their mental dictionary:
> Originality
>
(Full disclosure: I was a big fan of the last version of Dragnet and watched every episode faithfully. I also enjoyed the "New" WKRP.)

Let's be honest--many of the "original" concepts fail just as quickly. Some of the revivals--like WKRP and Love Boat--made it to second seasons, which is more than can be said for any number of non-remakes.

Sure, there are the standouts, like My Name is Earl or Lost, et al, but the graveyard of new shows that didn't work is every bit as packed as remakes.
 
The recent
> Dragnet with Al Bundy and Nick Pappageorgio blew.
>
Uh, folks, his name is Ed O'Neill.

The main problem is that it wasn't Dragnet; it was L&O: Los Angeles. None of the Dragnet trademarks.
 
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