# Which old movies need a TV reboot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306 "2019-12-03T12:23:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/1 "2019-12-03T12:23:32Z")
It seems to be a fad lately to take old movies and to reboot or spin them off into TV series. For instance, this year we saw Jim Henson’s _The Dark Crystal_ get an eponymous TV prequel. Reportedly there are new TV series based on 1978’s _Grease_, 1984’s _Gremlins_, 1995’s _Clueless_, 1998’s _Practical Magic_, and 2000’s _High Fidelity_ in the works. What other _old_ movies (say, made about 20+ years ago) would you like to see remade into modern-day TV series, either as a reimagining or extension of the original plot, or as a sequel/prequel series with completely new stories? Myself, I wouldn’t mind seeing a series based on [_Krull_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krull_%28film%29), the 1983 heroic fantasy film. The original had some rather dull and uninspired writing, but what it lacked in plot and characterization it more than made up for in atmosphere, thanks to some great cinematography and costuming. A latter-day reboot could build on this great visual style, fixing its predecessor’s story and dialogue problems and bringing the scenery and special effects up to modern cinematic standards. I think the producers of such an enterprise would find a built-in audience: there will be plenty of old-timers like me who fondly recall the original movie (despite its many flaws), as well as lots of younger folk who are eager for more _Star Wars_/_Lord of the Rings_-style offerings. (There haven’t been many major films or TV series lately that meld science fiction and fantasy the way _Krull_ does, have there?) What do y’all think of my _Krull_ series idea? Love it? Hate it? Got a better idea of your own? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/2 "2019-12-03T13:50:15Z")
Use some Robert E. Howard stories in a Krull series, and I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/3 "2019-12-03T13:54:31Z")
None. Seriously, we don’t need to endlessly recycle old ideas. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/4 "2019-12-03T13:58:02Z")
[Clueless](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115137/)had a TV show oddly enough. Quite a few of the best 80s movies got shows. Ghostbusters had a cartoon or maybe 2, Highlander had a show, even Spaceballs had a cartoon. How about **Willow** , there is a world ready for exploration. Fills the Fantasy niche very nicely. In a weird move, **The Untouchables** , TV to Movie and back to TV. BTW: There is a Middle-Earth show coming to Amazon. They hope to give it 4+ seasons. Suppose to take place in the 2nd age. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/5 "2019-12-03T14:20:57Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > None. Seriously, we don’t need to endlessly recycle old ideas. You must not read a lot of literature published after, oh, 450 B.C.E… ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/6 "2019-12-03T14:24:14Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > [Clueless](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115137/)had a TV show oddly enough. > > Quite a few of the best 80s movies got shows. Ghostbusters had a cartoon or maybe 2, Highlander had a show, even Spaceballs had a cartoon. Yeah, but those shows all came out within a few years of the movie. I’m asking about TV series spun off of much, much older material. > [@](#): > > How about **Willow** , there is a world ready for exploration. Fills the Fantasy niche very nicely. Yeah, I might watch that if someone were to make it. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/7 "2019-12-03T14:41:46Z")
The OK Stallone movie Copland would probably make one hell of a miniseries ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/8 "2019-12-03T14:53:38Z")
**Ground Hog Day** , different person though I would think, would have some possibilities. \*\*Clerks \*\*had a cartoon, probably wouldn’t work but could. quirky work-com. Does Stranger Things count as a Goonies TV Show? Back to the Future had a cartoon series. Live action probably not worth it. Ferris Bueller had a failed show and a more successful knockoff. Weird Science had a show even. Maybe Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, a Time Travel comedy. Maybe they can make The Neverending Story truthful and make it never ending. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/9 "2019-12-03T14:58:48Z")
I saw the unsold pilot for LA Confidential the Series. That might have been OK. Same, I saw the pilot of Zero Effect - I don’t think it would have worked without the movie cast, but you never know. Lethal Weapon worked, more or less. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/10 "2019-12-03T15:07:51Z")
I never saw the TV series _Conan_, so I don’t know if they were any more faithful to the Robert E. Howard stories than the three movies were, but I could get into a series that really did adapt Howard’s material, rather than writing a script that was what they _thought_ Conan ought to be. Give me The Tower of the Elephant and Rogues in the House and Red Nails and I’ll watch. You can even rewrite some of Howard’s non-Conan stories as L. Sprague de Camp and Marvel comics did, as long as you do it right. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the Walt Disney comics did a short-lived series of The Adventures of Captain Nemo that was pretty good. It was, of course, based on their 1954 movie, with a very James Mason Captain Nemo, but I’d like a TV series built around him. It ought to be possible to do 1950s-quality effects on a TV budget these days (and, make no mistake, most of the effects were pretty good in that movie). All you have to do is to keep it from becoming like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea or SeaQuest, or those other submarine-based TV shows. Keep it Steampunk and Verne-based. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/11 "2019-12-03T15:18:42Z")
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - the series. A rock-n-roll detective solves crimes in Hollywood every week. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/12 "2019-12-03T15:22:48Z")
**Forbidden Planet** – You could have ladies’ man captain J. J. Adams and the crew of the saucer-shaped FTL starship C47D cruising around the galaxy meeting alien civilizations. Adams and his first officer and doctor would make a three-man team that would go down to the surface every week and have a new adventure. What? It’s been done? ---
**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:** [December 3, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/13 "2019-12-03T15:49:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Forbidden Planet** – You could have ladies’ man captain J. J. Adams and the crew of the saucer-shaped FTL starship C47D cruising around the galaxy meeting alien civilizations. Adams and his first officer and doctor would make a three-man team that would go down to the surface every week and have a new adventure. > What? It’s been done? You could change it a little. Make it about a 19th century sailing ship of the line (…all I ask is a tall ship…you could feel the wind…and the ship was yours). With no instant communications, the captain has to make decisions on his own that can have far-reaching consequences. What? it’s been done, too? Geeze. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/14 "2019-12-03T19:05:21Z")
If HBO did it, I’d like to see a _Metropolis_(1927) series. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/15 "2019-12-03T19:53:38Z")
How about **Barbarella**? I’m cheating a bit – I don’t want to redo the Roger Vadim movie, but make a new series based on the same source material - Jean-Claude Forest’s original R-rated space adventure comic strip. HBO could do it with the necessary effects work and tell the stories from the strips in an extended arc, instead of trying to cram it all into an hour and a half movie. The nudity and sex, as with _Game of Thrones_, would be an added plus. > **[Barbarella (character)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarella_(comics))** > > Mike Carey > Kenan Yarar > Barbarella is a fictional heroine in a French science fiction comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest. > Jean-Claude Forest created the character of Barbarella for serialization in the French V Magazine in spring 1962, and in 1964 Éric Losfeld published these strips as a stand-alone book titled Barbarella. The book caused a scandal and became known as the first "adult" (erotic) comic book, though American pornographic comic books known as "Tijuana bibles" had long predate... Hey! Someone else thinks so, too! From the above link: > [@](#): > > A Barbarella TV series is in development with writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, and Martha De Laurentiis, widow of the film’s producer Dino De Laurentiis, are all involved.[5] In May 2013, Refn said to Vulture that they’re still writing and are going back to the original comics. As of May 2013, no one has been cast for the series yet.[ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/16 "2019-12-03T20:03:44Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Ground Hog Day** , different person though I would think, would have some possibilities. I thought something like this would make a good anthology show. Someone in the big city has every day repeat on them so they realize they can go out and do whatever they want every day. They’ll meet people, help them, have rapid romances, quick little adventures, always learning a new lesson about life every day. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/17 "2019-12-03T20:30:44Z")
I’d think the _Mad Max_ movies could be a very fertile ground for a modern cable series. (I’m including them as ‘old’, because with the exception of “Fury Road”, they’re all 30+ years old) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/18 "2019-12-03T21:01:08Z")
I think the right team could make an excellent series based on Coppola’s _The Conversation_. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/19 "2019-12-03T21:10:08Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’d think the _Mad Max_ movies could be a very fertile ground for a modern cable series. (I’m including them as ‘old’, because with the exception of “Fury Road”, they’re all 30+ years old) They could do a _Walking Dead_ sort of series. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306/20 "2019-12-03T21:24:24Z")
I would like to see some of the old matinee serials get an update. _Flash Gordon_ or _Buck Rogers_, with a _Game of Thrones_ budget. _Dick Tracy_ or _The Shadow_, with a _Boardwalk Empire budget_. _Doc Savage_, this time with a decent budget. (And, more importantly, decent writers.) Fu Manchu, humble agent of the Ch’ing Dynasty, protecting China from the diabolical imperialist mastermind, Nayland Smith. 🙂 The adventures of Tonto and his faithful white companion, the Lone Ranger. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-old-movies-need-a-tv-reboot/844306.md?page=2)