Do It Again

In one of my previous posts about originality, I said that one of the reasons remade content finds success despite being done before is simply because there's an entire generation that never witnessed it before.  There are several movies and TV shows from my childhood that have not aged well, productions that I would love to see redone, so I've decided to make a list here of what I want to see and why I think it could work.  I will avoid spoilers as best I can.

First off, to my surprise I have learned in 2010/11 Leonardo DiCaprio's Production company Appian Way Productions, alongside the Kennedy Marshall Company had planned to create a new movie based on the novel The Neverending Story.  The movie trilogy that adapted and extended the original novel by Michael Ende are some of my favourite movies from my childhood.  However the production that was planned wasn't to be a remake but was intended to create a new story based on the novel - I don't know how I feel about that.  I would like to see the original trilogy redone but only if they stay true to the story, I wouldn't want it to diverge significantly.  So the first three movies on my list are the original movie trilogy.  The reason I think it would work today is because the movies are still referenced in pop culture, despite it being 34 years now since the first was released.  The concepts and the story that the movies touch on I believe are just as relevant today as they were back then.  The only part of the whole production that hasn't aged well are the visuals.  It's hard to ignore the dated nature even with the nostalgia induced warmth they still inspire.

Next, one of my favourite TV shows when I was younger was Charmed.  A series that followed a coven of Witches, all sisters, set in modern day.  I loved this series so much as a kid but I have to say I have tried many times to go back and watch it again from start to finish and I just can't.  It hasn't aged well, the acting at times feels awkward, some plot points don't make sense anymore given how much the world has moved on.  I would like to see the series redone, but with a new cast.  Unlike the Neverending Story, I would actually prefer it if the story-lines of the new series were entirely new, rather than trying to retell the originals as I don't believe many of them would hold up to a modern audience, even with references updated and modern plot holes filled.

If I can't have a remake of Charmed, then perhaps a series based on The Craft - the 1996 film about 4 girls who explore their magical abilities as a newly formed coven.  The problem with this one is that a sequel was announced a few years ago but it was met with a tide of negative comments which I believe nixed the whole thing.  I believe the reason it was met with such hostility though is because a sequel attempts to follow on from the original, and without the original cast that can be difficult and generally proves to be a bad idea.  That, and most sequels unless part of a larger saga, prove to be disappointments.  A TV series might be different, if not featuring the original characters, then loosely based on the premise of the original movie.  The original cast would be unlikely to participate since they were among those that voiced objection to the sequel.  I do believe the premise could still work though, in fact there are many similarities between the Craft and Charmed to the point where many believe the latter to be a whitewashed imitation - the latter even uses the same track for its title sequence as was used for the former - How Soon Is Now performed by Love Spit Love.

Finally, a series I loved as a kid which, I have actually rewatched and I think still holds up both in production and story - Popular.  Its original run was from 1999 to 2001 and followed the lives of teenagers at High School and their struggle for or aversion to popularity with a particular focus on Brooke McQueen and Sam McPherson, one popular, and one not, who hate each other, whose parents meet and marry forcing the two together.  Popular covered a wide range of story lines that I believe are still relevant today, that, and the extent to which the world has changed in the last 20 years almost since it was first aired, I think opens up a whole new world of opportunity for writers to explore with the characters.  I would like to see the story retold in a more modern setting with references that are up to date.  Popular at its core was about social interaction and the complexities of it.  I think that is as relevant today as it ever was.