Somewhere along the way, film studios thought it might be a good idea to take a tv show and reinvent it for the big screen. Generally these involved taking the existing format, taking a couple of (fairly) high profile comic actors and creating a spoof version. The first one that I can remember seeing was Dragnet, starring Tom Hanks and Dan Ackroyd. I enjoyed this film quite a bit back in 1987, but then I didn't recall the original TV series. Would I have liked it quite as much if I had been a fan of the original Dragnet? Judging by later films of the same ilk, probably not.
Starsky and Hutch falls into the above category, taking a well respected cop show and remaking a spoof, replacing Paul Michael Glasier and David Soul with the comedy duo of Ben Stiller and
For me, the film really shows it's faults at the end, when Glasier and Soul make a cameo. They showed more humour and style in two minutes of screen time than the rest of the film combined.
Another horrible attempt at making a film from a tv show is The Dukes Of Hazard. In an attempt to "modernise" the premise, the two Dukes are turned from good ole country boys to complete assholes. But why, Hollywood, why? Everyone used to love the Dukes Of Hazard - but they loved the characters (and the car chases, obviously). Taking the two main stars, and turning them into a couple of pretty unlikeable rogues did nothing.
Then again, sometimes, the film makers don't try and make a comedy out of a tv show, but rather try and emulate the original, such is the case with the Avengers. One of my favourite ever tv shows turned into one of my most hated films. Some bits they got right - Patrick McNee playing an invisible man springs to mind; some bits were on the right track, but just didn't work - the bad guys all dressed as teddy bears, for instance (the plot was about weather control - not bears!!); some bits were mildly annoying, such as Steed and Peel always drinking tea, when it should be champagne, dammit! But the worst of all, was the characters in the film beared no resemblance whatsoever to their tv counterparts, and even worse there was absolutely no chemistry between the two leads. Bah.
Let's not even start on Miami Vice, where all the fun was sucked out of the film version in a big way.
The film companies don't always get it wrong, mind. I recently saw Get Smart, the new film starring Steve Carrell, based on the 60's comedy tv show. Now this is a good film; ok, Agent Smart is a different character from tv to film, he's a much more believable and well rounded character in the film. But most importantly, it manages to be funny, partly through the situations, as the tv series, but it also brought along comedy deriving from the characters within the film. Very good stuff, two thumbs up from me.
Now if you examine all the films I've talked about above, and what works in some is always what goes wrong in others - it's called characters. It's important to have likeable lead characters that work within the context of the original tv show. But likewise, don't just spoof the source material, you'll alienate fans who liked the show, and there's a good chance that newcomers won't get all the references.
Now, I hope that the creators of the new A-Team film have already considered this; judging by the rumour mill and the possible cast, the film won't be going the spoof route; but also, if the cast rumour gossip is anything to go by, it would seem that portraying the original characters is something this film is not striving for either.
I can do without a homemade tank that fires cabbages, but please avoid the pitfalls:
1. The A-Team is FUN, and in no way realistic.
2. The A-Team are good guys and do not kill people. They're already wanted for a murder they didn't commit, they don't need to be hunted for murders they do commit as well.
3. I want to see Hannibal, BA, Face and Murdoch on the big screen; I don't want to see a bunch of known actors playing variations on their regular characters (I'm looking at you Willis)
4. I want to see a few in-jokes, but hope the film doesn't get carried away with these. They can be too distracting.
5. No spoofing the genre conventions - this is BAD.
So, if Hollywood bods read this (possible, but unlikely) then please take note, we want an A-Team film, not an A-Team spoof, or an action blockbuster with only the names from the A-Team.
So to finish here's an incomplete list of TV Shows to Films; please feel free to leave a comment with any missing! Maybe even let me know your favourites and most hated? Oh, and it doesn't include cartoons...
Dragnet
The Untouchables
The Brady Bunch
The Addams Family
The Avengers
Lost In Space
The Fugitive
Charlie's Angels
Mission Impossible
Starsky And Hutch
Miami Vice
The Dukes Of Hazard
Get Smart
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