10 Movies and TV Shows That Need to Be Rebooted Right Now
While we should all be anti-remake, and keep hoping and praying Hollywood will one day come up with some new ideas for a change, the reboot conveyor belt isn’t going to stop anytime soon. But there are actually some old movies and TV shows that definitely could use a redo. Here are 10 Movies and TV Shows That Need to Be Rebooted Now . . .
'The Six Million Dollar Man'
Fans have been clamoring for this one for a long time, and cyborg Steve Austin has been a big touchstone for a lot of kids growing up who are now pushing middle age. Of course the title will have to be adjusted for inflation, otherwise people will laugh at it, much like they did at Doctor Evil trying to hold the world hostage for a million bucks. If a reboot plays it for laughs, they could also have Austin battle a shaggy Sasquatch (see above photo).
'Logan's Run'
In the future, society is dedicated to complete pleasure, but you have to die when you hit the big 3-0, which sends many thirtysomethings fleeing for their lives. When you watch the original 1976 incarnation of 'Logan’s Run,' the same thing keeps coming to mind: great idea but the execution’s flimsy, especially the special effects, which weren’t exactly cutting edge. With a better director at the helm, and today’s special FX technology, 'Logan’s Run' definitely has a shot.
'Howard the Duck'
Still pissed off that George Lucas ruined 'Star Wars'? We should also be furious he screwed up 'Howard the Duck,' which was one of Marvel’s hottest titles when it was hatched in 1976. Like 'Batman and Robin,' 'Howard the Duck' is synonymous with bad comic-book movies, yet unlike Batman, who was successfully resurrected from the day-glo clutches of Joel Schumacher, the fall-out from this bomb may be too strong for anyone to attempt another version.
Terrible Horror Films That Have Potential
Why, why, why does Hollywood insist on turning good horror movies into s---? Why can’t they take horror movies that really missed the mark, like 'The Car,' which was hyped as 'Jaws' on wheels, or 'Fade to Black,' about a Tarantino-style film nerd who kills people while dressed as his favorite movie characters, and try to make good movies out of them? There’s plenty of B movies from the past that have good ideas at their core, but their execution was awful. We’d love to see Hollywood try to right these failures, instead of taking movies that didn’t need fixing and breaking them beyond repair.
'The Jetsons'
A reboot of 'The Jetsons' has been in the works for years, and after the show turned 50 a few years ago, many fans revisited the original animated show to see if any of its futuristic concepts came to pass. (We still don’t have flying cars, but we do have flat-screen TVs and video calls.) Unlike a lot of potential cartoon remakes, 'The Jetsons' is still a fun show to watch, and there’s good material to work with if you want to redo it. At one point, Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, the team behind 'Ed Wood' and 'The People Vs. Larry Flynt,' were writing a version that presented a Y2K scenario, where everything in the Jetsons’ world shuts down for a day.
'Frankenstein'
Sick and tired of zombies and vampires? So’s everyone else, and many are hoping another classic monster can be rebooted for the modern age. Frankenstein, like the Wolf Man, has been long overdue for ages, and 'I, Frankenstein' sure didn’t cut it. It’s more of a challenge to redo this one than a werewolf story, but come on, Hollywood! Apply some elbow grease here and figure it out. Before anyone says nobody could have done it better than Boris Karloff, let’s not forget the Brits did a great invention of the mad doctor and his creation with the Hammer films.
'Land of the Lost '
Many people loved the kooky magic of the Sid and Marty Krofft shows growing up, and the 'Land of the Lost' movie with Will Ferrell was a huge blown opportunity. When Hollywood remakes silly TV shows of the past, they usually make the humor too obvious and broad. The theory is today’s generation won’t know a title, and if the joke isn’t obvious, they just won’t get it. But if someone could redo this bargain-basement precursor to 'Jurassic Park' with just the right amount of humor and low-quality effects, we’d like to think audiences would get, and greatly enjoy, it. With stop-motion animation making a comeback, you wouldn’t have to go overboard on the CGI on this one either.
'Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot'
With the release of 'Pacific Rim,' there was great hope that more Japanese giant-robot titles could be rebooted, including 'Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot.' Many American fans saw this show on their local UHF stations or as the TV-movie compilation 'Voyage Into Space.' Sokko, a juvenile secret agent, controls a gigantic flying robot that shoots missiles from his fingertips, and keeps Tokyo safe from a slew of giant monsters, alien invaders and the insidious Gargoyle Gang, who dress like Japanese versions of Black Panthers. If 'Pacific Rim' gets a sequel, 'Sokko' would definitely make a very nice companion piece.
'The Incredible Shrinking Man'
This one’s been in the works for decades, and at one point it was even going to be a comedy with Eddie Murphy. Written by the late, great Richard Matheson -- who was also the veteran of many classic 'Twilight Zone' episodes, as well as the writer of 'I Am Legend' -- 'Shrinking Man' is a no-brainer to be remade, a high-concept idea about a man infected with radiation who ends up shrinking into nothing. It would also be amazing to see what could be done with modern effects technology on this one, especially the classic segment where he battles a giant spider.
'Firefly'
This one’s probably the most in demand for a return, even though there was already an attempt to revive Joss Whedon’s beloved space opera once before with the movie 'Serenity.' Except nobody went to see it, much like nobody watched 'Firefly' when it was first on the air. With 'Veronica Mars' revived by crowd-funding, many are hoping that the public's nickels and dimes would add up to a Browncoat resurrection. And maybe Whedon will get back to back to it one of these days when he finally gets the Avengers off his work schedule.