# TV shows BEGGING to be remade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105 "2012-01-20T04:45:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/1 "2012-01-20T04:45:47Z")
Obviously inspired by [the movie thread of the same name](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638750). My first and foremost is _Quantum Leap_. I’m watching the reruns on G4 and think that this can be remade easily, relatively cheaply, and can still be just as poignant with episodes regarding the Afghan war, Sept 11, and things such as school shootings and treatment of prisoners or something. Not to mention the other episodes that are simply there to be there. I would also, if I was creating the show, try to get Scott Bakula to play the Al role instead of Sam and not mention it for a long time until later in the series where it’s revealed that it actually IS Sam and this is just a second go of the system. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/2 "2012-01-20T04:48:17Z")
I often wonder if M_A_S\*H could be remade successfully. Probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/3 "2012-01-20T04:49:41Z")
At the moment, no show seems aimed at lonely elderly women. _Murder She Wrote Beauty and the Beast_ probably something else I am forgetting. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/4 "2012-01-20T04:58:00Z")
_The Time Tunnel_ The best part of it is once it’s remade, you take the tapes back in time, broadcast those in place of the original and eliminate the need for a remake. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/5 "2012-01-20T05:00:10Z")
Highlander seems like it would be fantastic if half the writers were history majors. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/6 "2012-01-20T05:59:12Z")
Not remade, but returned: _Terriers_ _Human Target_ _Kidnapped_ ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/7 "2012-01-20T09:11:24Z")
_Knight Rider!_ Oh wait… _The Bionic Woman!_ Oh wait… _Charlie’s Angels!_ Oh wait… _Sapphire and Steel_. It was sort of like if Scully and Mulder were Observers from _Fringe_. _Small Wonder_, only not as twee or outright creepy. A family with a robot servant seems ripe for some updated sitcom or dramatic storytelling. _The Man From Atlantis_. Underwater adventure! Almost, but not quite, as exciting as _Aquaman_ or _Seaquest DSV_! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/8 "2012-01-20T12:44:30Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > I often wonder if M_A_S\*H could be remade successfully. Probably not. Make it in 2032 (to play on the “two decades ago nostalgia”) and call it “Theater”. Have it follow several Army doctors and nurses through their roations in Afghanistand and Iraq. Show life deployed and back home. Lighten the seriousness with episodes like: the enlisted men (and women) making a Lady Gaga (go full Glee on that one), the day DADT was repealed, etc. The keys are great writing, and the US being involved in an endless, pointless war that makes the audience long for the simplicity of the historic events in the show. So all you’ll need is good writers. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/9 "2012-01-20T14:27:43Z")
I posted this in the other thread, but I’ll post it here as well: _Sliders_. Make it less goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/10 "2012-01-20T14:59:06Z")
Babylon 5 is a definite candidate. Incredibly ambitious plots, undermined by ropey acting, dodgy sets and indecisive studio execs. Would be great to see it done again with a decent budget ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/11 "2012-01-20T15:05:17Z")
I remember someone reviewing the 1970s anthology series “Whatever happened to the class of 1965” (based on the book which was based on a magazine article) as “turning sirloin into hamburger”. Perhaps it could be done better, this time covering the almost half century since instead of a mere decade. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/12 "2012-01-20T15:11:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Knight Rider!_ > > Oh wait… > > _The Bionic Woman!_ > > Oh wait… > > _Charlie’s Angels!_ > > Oh wait… I know! What about _The Love Bo–_ Dammit! Um… _Fantasy Isla–_ um… _Dragne–_ um… Oh, fuck it. Let’s just get some Playmates and do _Baywatch_. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/13 "2012-01-20T15:12:55Z")
The Abrams remake of ‘Star Trek’ gives us a really good platform for a new TV series. I expect it to happen. 2014, maybe. Goodness, when I wrote that and saw the date I thought, “Holy crap this IS the future” Babylon 5 was the best TV SF ever done up to its time. (I am told BSG was superior). Imagine how great it would be now with better CGI. The actors were remarkable, so if only they had the kind of stuff anybody with a dualcore processor can do on their laptop, the show would have looked even more realistic. And before anyone bothers to correct me, feel assured that the above statement was mere hyperbole. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/14 "2012-01-20T15:26:29Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > My first and foremost is _Quantum Leap_. I’m watching the reruns on G4 and think that this can be remade easily, relatively cheaply, and can still be just as poignant with episodes regarding the Afghan war, Sept 11, and things such as school shootings and treatment of prisoners or something. They tried [Journeyman](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948538/) during the same 12-month period that saw (a) debuts by the already-mentioned failed reboots of Bionic Woman and Knight Rider, plus (b) the failed attempt to do an all-American fish-out-of-temporal-water action-drama-with-light-comedy in Life On Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/15 "2012-01-20T15:28:04Z")
Rat Patrol and Combat. There is a shortage of WWII action/drama these days. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/16 "2012-01-20T15:50:51Z")
I would like to see _Babylon 5_. This time, make all of the actors sign on for five-year contracts, so they don’t have to re-write major story arcs because the actor playing the pivotal character suddenly had to be replaced. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/17 "2012-01-20T16:21:59Z")
_Lost_. They could set it on Alcatraz and have time traveling prisoners returning at random, and some mysterious guy who seems to be pulling the strings behind it all. Maybe use one of the original cast members, like Jorge Garcia. On a serious note… I’m thinking _Star Trek_, too. Maybe using the most recent film as a jumping off point. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/18 "2012-01-20T16:30:59Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > **Rat Patrol** and Combat. There is a shortage of WWII action/drama these days. (bolding mine) Have you watched _Rat Patrol_ recently ? It didn’t age well and it was really stupid in some places. They couldn’t decide if they wanted to do a show about the Western Desert before El Alamein or one set after Torch in Tunisia. If they want to do a show about raiders in the desert, they should do one about the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group) or Popski’s private army (but there would only be British and Commonwealth actors in it, it wouldn’t sell well in the US :D). ---
**Author:** ![conway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/19 "2012-01-20T16:43:59Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > _Beauty and the Beast_ [This one is happening…](http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-cw-remaking-the-1980s-beauty-and-the-beast,61846/) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105/20 "2012-01-20T16:45:11Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Oh, fuck it. Let’s just get some Playmates and do _Baywatch_. Eliminate the talking, the plots and David Hasselhoff’s chest and greatly expand the slo-mo running on the beach and you have a low-cost, guaranteed winner that will have a run that will rival _The Simpsons_ or _Gunsmoke_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-begging-to-be-remade/610105.md?page=2)