Have remakes/reboots ever worked?

[RomynPG]

Porridge "reboot"

[morganb]

Did you really watch it until 21:51? I lasted for less than 5 minutes. I didn't watch the pilot but I (stupidly) thought that if the BBC commissioned a whole series it must be good!

[Spinynorman]

Saw the clips when they were promoting it so didn't dare watch. The original was brilliant.

[RomynPG]

Did you really watch it until 21:51? I lasted for less than 5 minutes. I didn't watch the pilot but I (stupidly) thought that if the BBC commissioned a whole series it must be good!

I came in late

... it's possibly the worst thing I have ever seen.

[Latic]

Comedy-wise the original was an absolute Colossus. Pretty much flawless. No one will ever replace Ronnie Barker. The supporting cast, Clement & La Frenais as writers. The whole package was top notch.

The pilot was quite strong. Just watched episode 1. It was ok. Potential. Clement & La Frenais are legends, so will stick with it.

Going to watch Ep 2 now.

Saira Choudhry


Mods/Romyn: worth editing the title but keep the sentiment?

[RomynPG]

Mods/Romyn: worth editing the title but keep the sentiment?

changed to "Have remakes/reboots ever worked?" so we can expand our rage

It was looking at the current int-break movie thread that prompted this, plus being inflicted with the Porridge thing, and why I put years in my post there - they've remade Dr Zhivago and Arthur from my listings - and maybe more - they remade Get Carter, Alfie ffs ... #makesmemad.

[Latic]

Just watched Ep2 of Porridge - it's watchable. Better than Ep 1. Prison is probably the ultimate sit-com location.

The re-boot is a hard thing to pull off, as much as I really loved the original, Open All hours (despite it's strong cast) I could never get into that re-boot as much as I tried.

[RomynPG]

The re-boot is a hard thing to pull off, as much as I really loved the original, Open All hours (despite it's strong cast) I could never get into that re-boot as much as I tried.

While I don't think it really worked I can understand the attempt with Open All Hours - carrying on Granvilles story - but in general remakes/reboots, imo, are extremely lazy and underlines the moribund state of the "creative" industries.

...this is a moaning thread right

[forestfan]

Sitcoms are so difficult to get right anyway, they're so dependent on the magic formula of actors, characters and writing, and a remake of a classic has added expectation on it and is unlikely to hit the right notes with all of those factors.

Even something like a game show is tricky to remake successfully, the original host is often what made it what it was, and they tend to be very much "of their time". Often they just tinker too much and try and give them an artificial "space age" feel.

Movie franchises on the other hand do it regularly, Bond has successfully been rebooted around once a decade with not too many disasters, Star Wars lost its way a bit with the prequels but seems back on track now. So it seems to work better in cinema than on the small screen.

[bspittles]

The Dr Who reboot was longed-for but many fans, and has been very successful.

[murf]

I dreaded the reboot pilots the BBC did a year or so back BUT, it had to be said, the Porridge one was pretty good. The lad was a good character, having touches of his uncle(?) without trying to be Fletch II. It should have been cringingly awful but it wasn't.

I didn't know the series had even been made (knew it was commissioned) so can't comment on last night's yet but I'll watch it.

[morganb]

The lad was a good character, having touches of his uncle(?) without trying to be Fletch II.

In the 5 minutes I watched, Kevin Bishop (who I like) was doing what appeared to be a poor take off of Barker's Fletcher - Cockney accent, chewing gum. The first scene was a copy of a previous scene too!

[bluenosey]

Please, please, Aunty, don't touch Steptoe and Son or Fawlty Towers

I'm also mightily relieved Rising Damp was on ITV.

Porridge is sacred. I saw the last 15 minutes and was comparing characters like to like. It was tripe. How the hell do you fill the boots of Barker, Beckinsale and Mackay ? Didn't see a Lukewarm though ? Perhaps bring Biggins back ?

The best thing on tele at the moment is "People Just Do Nothing" and whilst it's the same "mockumentary" style as The Office, it shows new comedy can still be done.

Stick to the new stufff Aunty and leave the old classics alone !

[Zimmerman]

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

[bluenosey]

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

Don't tend to like American TV comedies as a whole. Exceptions being Police Squad! and the early series of Married with Children. The humour chasm between the two countries is bigger than "the pond"

[murf]

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

I tend to give American remakes a huge berth as they are generally appalling but it has to be said this and House of Cards have had good reviews (but I still haven't dared watch either)

Some mentioned Bond / Star Wars / Dr Who but these aren't really remakes, just a restart with a boot - not a 'reboot' either but a 'revitalising'. Many alleged 'reboots' are really 'remakes' and are generally awful. The recent Planet of the Apes films (remakes/reinventions that are wrongly labelled reboots) have been OK though.

[murf]

The lad was a good character, having touches of his uncle(?) without trying to be Fletch II.

In the 5 minutes I watched, Kevin Bishop (who I like) was doing what appeared to be a poor take off of Barker's Fletcher - Cockney accent, chewing gum. The first scene was a copy of a previous scene too!

Sounds like the new episode 1 wasn't as good as the pilot (which I was referencing). I can't comment on last night's as I haven't seen it!

[Zimmerman]

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

Don't tend to like American TV comedies as a whole. Exceptions being Police Squad! and the early series of Married with Children. The humour chasm between the two countries is bigger than "the pond"

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

I tend to give American remakes a huge berth as they are generally appalling but it has to be said this and House of Cards have had good reviews (but I still haven't dared watch either)

Some mentioned Bond / Star Wars / Dr Who but these aren't really remakes, just a restart with a boot - not a 'reboot' either but a 'revitalising'. Many alleged 'reboots' are really 'remakes' and are generally awful. The recent Planet of the Apes films (remakes/reinventions that are wrongly labelled reboots) have been OK though.

After you get over the initial like-for-like analysis it really is very good. So many excellent characters in it.

[forestfan]

The Office an American Workplace is/was absolutely sublime.

Don't tend to like American TV comedies as a whole. Exceptions being Police Squad! and the early series of Married with Children. The humour chasm between the two countries is bigger than "the pond"

I like Friends and Frasier, but none of the recent US comedies have grabbed me (though all the major animated ones are watchable for the occasional episode).