# Remakes of TV shows/movies that actually worked **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213 "2005-08-01T22:22:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/21 "2005-08-02T03:52:01Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > I haven’t seen the new Manchurian Candidate. What was right/wrong with it? I just thought it was a very solidly-made thriller, smart, creepy, and very plausible and possible in today’s world. The changes they made from the original made a lot of sense in context, and it just worked really well as a whole. I liked it enough to see it twice in the theater during its run last year, and I saw the original within the same week as the remake. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/22 "2005-08-02T03:53:50Z")
[complete heretic] Burton’s _Planet of the Apes_. It certainly wasn’t _worse_ than the original. [/complete heretic] ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/23 "2005-08-02T03:59:45Z")
The recent _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_, while it had plenty of flaws, was far superior to _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/24 "2005-08-02T06:42:35Z")
I thought the American movie **The Ring** was vastly better than the original Japanese film **Ringu**. (I haven’t read the book, so I can’t tell you how that compares to the movies. And I think I’m going to stay away from “Ring 2”) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/25 "2005-08-02T08:12:59Z")
I can’t believe you all are missing the biggest one – Peter Jackson’s _Lord of the Rings_ absolutely blew away the original Bakshi cartoon. Too early to say anything about the upcoming version of _The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe_ but compared to the cartoon and the BBC production, it’s gonna have an easy time of it. 🙂 > [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > At 10 minutes long, [the 1910 version of The Wizard of Oz] can hardly be counted as the original film. The first time any of Baum’s work had been set on celluloid, sure, but not even close to a feature film, IMO. Shit man, we’re talking about 1910 here. The average “feature” length was about 10 to 15 minutes back then! ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/26 "2005-08-02T09:06:38Z")
The 1938 version of The Dawn Patrol was far better than the 1930 version. It can be argued that the 1941 version of The Ghost Train was better than the 1931 version. \ ---
**Author:** ![lhovis73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@lhovis73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lhovis73)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/27 "2005-08-02T09:30:17Z")
In my opinion, the original versions of _The Thomas Crown Affair_ and \*Ocean’s 11 \*were completely uninteresting. The new versions aren’t exactly great cinema, but they’re a lot more fun than the originals for me. I prefer the 60s version of _The Killers_ (the only movie I can think of in which Ronald Reagan actually gives a great performance) to the 40s version. Lee Marvin rules. The 60s and 90s versions of _Cape Fear_ are, IMO, about equally sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/28 "2005-08-02T12:25:54Z")
The musical “Little Shop of Horrors” was better than the original black-and-white film. The non-musical movie “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was as good as the stage musical, but in a different way (and they both deserve kudos for making such a good vehicle out of such an unreadable book). The TV movie of “The Shining” was as good as, if not better than, the original film. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/29 "2005-08-02T12:32:43Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > How about **Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan** over the “Space Seed” episode from the original series? > > \*\*M_A_S\*H \*\* the TV series may have overstayed its welcome, but overall it was better than the movie. Star Trek 2 was a movie sequel to a tv episode, so it’s not a remake in any sense of the word. And I beg to differ with the second – the movie of MASH ruled, and was far superior to the silly tv series! IMO, of course :). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/30 "2005-08-02T15:31:33Z")
I enjoyed The Thomas Crowne Affair remake more than the original. ---
**Author:** ![souroranges](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@souroranges](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/souroranges)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/31 "2005-08-02T15:42:34Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > And I beg to differ with the second – the movie of MASH ruled, and was far superior to the silly tv series! IMO, of course :). But, of course, the movie came BEFORE the TV series… :wally ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/32 "2005-08-02T18:09:35Z")
How about the original _Battlestar Galactica_ vs. the new one? I think the current one is much better. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/33 "2005-08-02T18:20:55Z")
> [@souroranges](#): > > But, of course, the movie came BEFORE the TV series… :wally Your point? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/34 "2005-08-02T18:28:35Z")
I happen to like Savini’s remake of **Night of the Living Dead** more than Romero’s original. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/35 "2005-08-02T18:28:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Tim Burton’s **Batman** was certainly better than Batman TV show and movies. > > . Not really. Batman the TV series succeeded greatly as \*camp. \* The current Battlestart Galactica is an insult to the original- and the producers, directors and writers should all be shot at dawn. It was deliberately made as an insult and an affrotn to the original. I admit the original wasn’t Emmy material, but when you re-make a TV show, then don’t insult the source material. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/36 "2005-08-02T18:42:29Z")
I thought The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford was an excellent movie. I never saw the TV series, so I’m not comparing it to that, but instead to the other movies based on old TV shows. Along the same vein, I thought the Addams Family movies had a lot of style. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213/37 "2005-08-02T23:50:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not really. Batman the TV series succeeded greatly as \*camp. > \* > > The current Battlestart Galactica is an insult to the original- and the producers, directors and writers should all be shot at dawn. It was deliberately made as an insult and an affrotn to the original. I admit the original wasn’t Emmy material, but when you re-make a TV show, then don’t insult the source material. I was an avid fan of the original BSG, and I mourned when it was cancelled after one season. But I have avidly followed every episode of the new Battlestar Galactica and it is one of the tightest, well written and suspenseful stories I have ever seen. It is definitely Emmy material, and it is a shining, no I take that back, it is a _gritty_ honor to the source material. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-of-tv-shows-movies-that-actually-worked/315213.md?page=1)