ABC will try to bring back Charlie's Angels. Will it be campy goodness like the 1970s phenomenon, making superstars of its leading ladies like the original did for Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, and, um, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts? Or will it be a tongue-in-cheek homage like McG's movie reimaginings starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu? The Alphabet Network recently cancelled Eastwick, another remake starring three attractive women. Hasn't it learned its lesson? Especially since this new Charlie's Angels show will be helmed by the guy who brought us the failed Terminator remake The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
CBS will remake Hawaii Five-O. "Book 'em, Dano!" TV Guide reports that actor Alex O'Loughlin, who has headlined two recent series that have faced the ax, Moonlight and Three Rivers, is the guy who might star as Detective Steve McGarrett, or a similar character. Even though they tried and failed to revive this series in 1997 with Gary Busey, CBS is trying again. At least it's more imaginative than the Eye Network dipping into its procedural franchise pool yet again with CSI: Hawaii -- but I bet they considered it!
NBC needs some hits, so it is turning to not one but two old favorites to try to make it happen. Get ready for the return of The Rockford Files, and the Peacock Network is laying its hopes on the maker of House MD, praying for the best. If that doesn't work, they also have a remake of the British favorite Prime Suspect, which has also drawn huge ratings on PBS over the years. And hey, if that doesn't work either, maybe they can movie Jay Leno back again to the 10 o'clock spot once he fails with his return to The Tonight Show. (Hey, Conan O'Brien still hasn't signed on to another gig, there might still be a chance to bring him back. Oh, poor NBC.)
FOX is letting Simon Cowell leave its blockbuster American Idol in order to recreate his other United Kingdom hit, The X Factor. Will this be a pop culture hit like the other British cross-overs? Or will American audiences ignore its overseas success and view it as yet another version of America's Got Talent and Star Search? You'll have to wait until early 2011 to find out.
No word yet on whether the CW will jump on the remake bandwagon, but the way things are going, don't be shocked if they do. You never know -- some remakes have worked, like Battlestar Galactica. Will any of these manage to find a big audience?
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KC Redding-Gonzalez
Donna Snyder
Valerie Atherton
Jamie Hart
Mike Calahan
Tim Fox
Salon.com
Comments
And you mentioned "procedural" shows. I'm really tired of them. It's too bad that the NCIS franchise was set in LA. San Diego, where I live is a military area with something like 150,000 active and retired Navy and Marines, dozens of ships, Camp Pendleton, Tijuana, etc. Could have been a lot more fun than LA.
Nick, sorry I got going but this was a post which brought out some of the thoughts I've had on the sorry state of TV.
I always enjoy your posts. Thanks.
But a "period" show would be nice - even a remake. Wagon Train and Rawhide would be rather interesting, especially if they shoot on location - and not in the same old places in Southern California. I'll pitch a brick through the TV set if I see California live oaks or eucalyptus in the background of a scene taking place east of the Mississippi. Or those weird round rocks and chaparral ... or the lagoon and the little Victorian cottage at the county arboretum which always stood in for Africa, or sometimes the South Pacific.
(No, really, I do!)
[cough] FIREFLY [cough]
NBC and ABC has some great shows, Life, Southland, and the Unusual and instead of allowing them to find an audience, they cancelled them. Truth be known shows like Hill Street Blues, St Elsewhere, and LA Law did not do well their first year, but networks were willing to give great shows a chance and once they found their audience became big hits. This lack of commitment to creatives from network accountants is the reason for the lower numbers. Of course the network accountants would run biggest looser or dancing with the stars 24/7 if it meant more profit.
Maybe this is why people are willing to pay 10 bucks a month for HBO or Showtime, who have been developing better programing; and it is not because they can show nudity or say the F word. These shows are developed and well written which seems to be almost impossible to do on network TV anymore. GE makes great light bulbs, but suck when it comes to TV.