# Shows That Need a Reboot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [August 8, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242 "2021-08-08T17:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/61 "2021-08-10T20:50:44Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > It was in Ed’s last episode. Thanks. I usually avoid that one. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/62 "2021-08-10T20:51:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Thanks. I usually avoid that one. They did him dirty. ---
**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 10, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/63 "2021-08-10T21:01:55Z")
The sitcom Outsourced was based on a movie of the same name. The movie was much better. (For one thing, it was actually filmed in India but the TV show faked it.) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/64 "2021-08-10T21:55:33Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > do you mean his fashion sense? I **specifically** said that. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I always expected Roland to, at the very least, make fun of him for what he was wearing. > [@salinqmind1](#): > > ‘HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A LIFESTYLE’. NOW YOU’RE JUST NITPICKING THE TERMINOLOGY I HAPPENED TO USE. In which case you’re incorrect, he’s not homosexual, he’s pansexual, openly and proudly. We’ve seen him have romantic encounters with Stevie, Patrick, Jake and in his wine speech he references a transsexual man as well as someone else, though I’m not exactly sure what the rosé was in that analogy. But, yes, I used “lifestyle” as a catchall word to mean everything that makes David Schitt David Schitt. His style of clothes (like wearing a leather sweater in the dead of summer), his sexuality, his sibling rivalry with Alexis, his various relationships with other members of the town, even something like Patrick’s (female) fiance showing up at the motel. It’s all things that a character like Roland (or the people one might associate with a small town in the middle of nowhere) would have given him hard time about, even if he was just joking. But, in any case, the point I was making is that Dan Levy wrote the script in such a way that those type of people, people that would make his life more difficult, simply don’t exist in the Schitt’s Creek Universe. Similarly, if someone wanted to do an updated version of Green Acres, it could easily be made apolitical. Just because someone might associate farmers with being right wing gun toting assholes, doesn’t mean it’s required to be that way in a show you create. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/65 "2021-08-10T22:02:46Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > That sort of fish out of water comedy could be good, but you’d have to be careful that the portrayal of the foreign characters doesn’t come across as racist You would’ve have to use his cluelessness to punch up, not down. “What do you mean I have to _pay_ the doctor?” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/66 "2021-08-10T22:34:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > But, yes, I used “lifestyle” as a catchall word to mean everything that makes David Schitt David Schitt. … Psst … it’s David _Rose_. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/67 "2021-08-10T22:40:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Psst … it’s David _Rose_ . Is that really the joke? I never caught that. Every time I watch that scene and he says “And I’ve been known to sample the occasional rosé” I assume he’s talking about a transsexual, but then he says “And a couple summers back, I tried a Merlot that used to be a Chardonnay”, which would be a transsexual man, which then makes the rosé line not make sense, and then the part about the wine and not the label and by then I’ve forgotten about it and we’re on to the next scene. But yeah, that makes more sense. I never would have put that together. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/68 "2021-08-11T00:09:15Z")
I mentioned “Friday the 13th-The Series” in the “Forgotten shows” thread. I’ll mention it here too. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/69 "2021-08-11T02:27:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I never would have put that together. I sure didn’t. It’s been a while, but as I recall my own reaction to that episode, it was more “David doesn’t know his wines, but is trying to sound like he does.” If there was anything else there, it went over my head. The only joke involving names that I’m aware of involves the Schitt family There’s Roland Schitt (“roll in shit”), Jocelyn Schitt (“jostle in shit”), and Mutt Schitt (obvious). I did appreciate that when Johnny _Rose_ and Stevie _Budd_ joined forces to run the motel, they called it “Rosebud Motel.” But that’s not a joke; I have a feeling that that motel name was planned from the beginning, and that’s why the characters got those surnames. Including all of Johnny’s family. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/70 "2021-08-11T05:37:03Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Perfect Strangers [Your wish is (possibly) granted.](https://deadline.com/2021/06/perfect-strangers-robin-thede-london-hughes-reboot-80s-comedy-hbo-max-1234774772/) London Hughes is English, so that’s the foreigner angle covered. Doubtful that a broad caricature like Balki would work anymore. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/71 "2021-08-11T11:49:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > It’s been a while, but as I recall my own reaction to that episode, it was more “David doesn’t know his wines, but is trying to sound like he does.” If there was anything else there, it went over my head. Then you missed Stevie’s question to David in the wine store that led to David’s wine analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/72 "2021-08-11T12:50:37Z")
I’ve occasionally wondered if someone could do a serious reboot of _Bewitched_ or _I Dream of Jeannie_, or any of the other high-concept sitcoms of the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/73 "2021-08-11T12:53:27Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve occasionally wondered if someone could do a serious reboot of _Bewitched_ or _I Dream of Jeannie_ , There was a movie version of _Bewitched_, from 2005, with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, in which the premise was they were making a reboot of the TV show, and the actress playing Samantha turned out to be an actual witch. (It was pretty bad, IMO.) > **[Bewitched (2005 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched_(2005_film))** > > Bewitched is a 2005 American fantasy romantic comedy film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell alongside an ensemble cast featuring Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Kristin Chenoweth (in her film debut), Heather Burns, Jim Turner, Stephen Colbert, David Alan Grier, Michael Badalucco, Carole Shelley, and Steve Carell. The film follows an actor (Ferrell) who discovers, while filming the remake of Bewitched, that his c... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/74 "2021-08-11T12:59:29Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve occasionally wondered if someone could do a serious reboot of _Bewitched_ or _I Dream of Jeannie_ , or any of the other high-concept sitcoms of the '60s. They could do some version of _Bewitched i_n which Sam practices seriously evil witchcraft, like in that National Lampoon parody from way back in the 1970s. Bernie Wrightson drew i, and it ends up with Sam, Endora, and Darren tied to a stake about to be burned: > **[Bernie Wrightson’s “Bewitched”](https://mannysbookofshadows.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/bernie-wrightsons-bewitched/)** > > Around 1982 famed horror comic artist Bernie Wrightson drew the artwork for a spoof of  Bewitched, which was run in the January issue of National Lampoon magazine. I had a subscription at the time … Well. OK, maybe that’s a little too dark. But a little edginess would help. Have a look at the 1942 film **I Married a Witch** , probably the inspiration for _Bewitched_ > **[I Married a Witch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Married_a_Witch)** > > I Married a Witch is a 1942 American romantic comedy fantasy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway. The screenplay by Robert Pirosh and Marc Connelly and uncredited other writers, including Dalton Trumbo, is based on the 1941 novel The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith, who died before he could finish it; it was complet... ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/75 "2021-08-11T13:30:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There was a movie version of _Bewitched_ , from 2005, with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, I remember that one, but haven’t seen it. It was still a comedy, as I recall. I was thinking of a serious reboot, in the same way that the rebooted _Battlestar Galactica_ took its source material seriously. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Well. OK, maybe that’s a little too dark. But a little edginess would help. Have a look at the 1942 film **I Married a Witch** , probably the inspiration for _Bewitched_ That one I have seen; managed to be a comedy without becoming a complete farce. The problem with _IDoJ_ and _Bewitched_ was that they relied so heavily on Tony and Darren going to such ridiculous lengths to keep things a secret. A reboot should turn that around. Make it Sam (or Jeannie) that will do anything to keep their secret, and Darren knows that if he tells anyone they won’t believe him anyway. Maybe there is still a way to do that as a comedy, but it wouldn’t be easy to strike the right balance. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/76 "2021-08-11T13:38:16Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > nly if it a true reboot and not a sequel. I don’t want anything to do with alien black oil, super soldiers, and Mulder and Scullys Notalienmiraclebaby ever again. I agree, and I think it has been a mistake they’ve made in the past. How about this? “X-Files” is a deep cover, special unit. Our two new, young stars have a powerful extraterrestrial experience, and they are deemed as excellent candidates to be read into and become part of this special unit. That means more than just two people, constantly. It will involve a team, a la “NCIS”. This will provide more variety and plot opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/77 "2021-08-11T15:00:27Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > Then you missed Stevie’s question to David in the wine store that led to David’s wine analogy. Yeah, that part was pretty clear. And done really well IMO. In fact, the phrase “I like the wine and not the label” almost instantly started showing up everywhere after that episode. T-shirts, posters, framed pictures, decals etc etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/78 "2021-08-11T16:56:09Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > become part of this special unit. In general I like that idea, but if too many people know, I think it loses its edge. A comparison would be season 1 vs season 2 of The Invaders. Having someone in government be on the ball and “believe” is good, but if everyone does, then you have no “mystery”. I don’t know where the balance point would be but I’d hope the writers would find it. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/79 "2021-08-11T17:58:30Z")
For a re-boot of _X-Files_, just get rid of the Grand Conspiracy plot-lines. Just stick with the _Night Stalker_-style, stand-alone episodes, where they would be investigating a crime, and the criminal would turn out to be a monster. Those episodes were great. (It’s too bad that Darren McGavin refused to play Kolchak when he did a guest shot.) ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242/80 "2021-08-11T18:14:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > For a re-boot of _X-Files_ , just get rid of the Grand Conspiracy plot-lines. Just stick with the _Night Stalker_ -style, stand-alone episodes Agree 100%. In the revival, the conspiracy episodes were absolute crap, with the exception of the one that started out like a monster-of-the-week and eventually revealed the MotW was the ScullyMuldarWonderBabyAllGrownUp - that one kind of worked. But, in the second (11th?) season, I really enjoyed almost all of the monster-of-the-week episodes. Alternately, work out in advance what the conspiracy is and where the story is going. The first run arc was intriguing up until about Season 4, then it got too unwieldy with the “simultaneously reveal one answer and introduce two new questions because our ratings are still good and we got renewed again so we can’t wrap anything up yet and have to keep making up shit” nonsense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-need-a-reboot/948242.md?page=5)