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Post by Sayscalled on Aug 29, 2014 17:59:19 GMT -5
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Post by greenguy on Aug 29, 2014 19:58:33 GMT -5
What a joke.
I won't be watching.
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Post by MelMac on Aug 30, 2014 1:36:05 GMT -5
Personally, I don't mind remakes if they're done well and show respect for the show. "Doctor Who" has a bit more of a reboot feel since 2005, but I still thoroughly enjoy it. Also, the movie version of "The A-Team" was actually pretty good even if it was a bit darker than the original series. That said, this one has me disconcerted in a big way. These writers/producers made a farce out of "21 Jump Street" - seriously, I can't watch even part of that movie without changing the channel it's that bad IMHO. And I don't care if it's successor "22 Jump Street" has made $300 million, just watching the commercials made me want to jump into a vat of hand sanitizer from the filth. In this case, I feel they're going to make the series either PC or overly comedic - possibly both based on the summary they gave here. There are also some inaccuracies too - the guy "finds" the suit? Shows a lack of knowledge on the series, and not knowing the basic premise of how Ralph got the suit to begin with - or heck even how Holly gets it - is not good. The show was a dramady - comedy and drama. What made it work originally was you have William Katt, Connie Sellecca and Robert Culp playing the stories straight. Because they played it as "real life situations with a strange element" the show was funny when it needed to be, serious in other parts. Even the worst episodes in the original series (the three seasons) have this charm and work - even if the plot was bad. We saw what happened when you play the show straight up for laughs - "Greatest American Heroine." Mary Ellen Stuart is a good actress, but as Holly and playing the role more comedic than serious, it just made the episode a farce. I saw a good remake of the show a couple of years ago online, so it can be done. I just don't think these folks are going to treat the show properly. Hopefully this pilot if it's filmed as it's being described and who is writing/producing it will fall wayside like "Greatest American Heroine" did. Guess I think the only funny thing - in an ironic way - about this is I find about this is that it was announced on my birthday.  |
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Post by greenguy on Aug 30, 2014 6:53:14 GMT -5
Yep, Mel you hit on it head.
I believe they won't have respect for the original material, as shown with the Jump Street films. I can't deny those films made money, but they aren't for me.
While The A-Team film didn't have the "spark" that made the original series what it was, in my opinion it wasn't something that left me feeling like the makers had no idea what The A-Team was about.
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Post by MelMac on Aug 30, 2014 13:38:57 GMT -5
New article... And given again lack of understanding on show as well as claiming already a series when its been said a pilot only makes me worried: variety.com/2014/tv/news/greatest-american-hero-tv-remakes-remington-steele-twilight-zone-1201294479/Seriously I wish they had gotten Frank Zanca and Mitch Yapko instead. These two wrote and directed respectively the web series that featured a cloned second suit worn by a student. Now I wasn't fond of that part of the story but a. They cast a good cast who worked well together and had good chemistry and b. They understood the show quite well and made it modern day. I feel this pairing for the FOX show feels a bit like that failed "TGAH 2008- let's do a poor spinoff of GAHeroine" the more I read misunderstandings of the show. |
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Post by butterfingers on Aug 31, 2014 9:39:08 GMT -5
Okay, lets be honest about this ... we can sit here and assume all day and speculate, but at the end of the day ... they are remaking our favorite show. Will it be perfect .. no, BUT, they are remaking it. I would love to see the original premise be done with the new seizes and have what we all loved about it the same. But that is not how they do it in Hollywood anymore with reboots. You never know, they might surprise us and come up with something totally new and fresh with it. Best example ... the Star Trek reboot was one that JJ did and at first it was like, ok thats different, but heck, I must have seen it 25 times now. So I am going into this with an open mind and hope .... no, pray that they don't butcher it up too much. That being said, they really do need to rethink the name Isaac and keep Ralph. There are basics that need to be in place in order for the remake to be successful. The only reason for a remake is because people loved it the first time and want to catch lighting in a bottle again. In order to do that, they would need to look at the formula on what made it so likable to begin with. So, not everything has to be the same, but I do agree that they have to play it serious and not campy or too comedic. If they do that, it will flop. All that being said, I will watch, and lets face it green guy, you are going to watch it too  You will be too curious not to. |
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Post by MelMac on Aug 31, 2014 10:41:19 GMT -5
Okay, lets be honest about this ... we can sit here and assume all day and speculate, but at the end of the day ... they are remaking our favorite show. Will it be perfect .. no, BUT, they are remaking it. I would love to see the original premise be done with the new seizes and have what we all loved about it the same. But that is not how they do it in Hollywood anymore with reboots. You never know, they might surprise us and come up with something totally new and fresh with it. Best example ... the Star Trek reboot was one that JJ did and at first it was like, ok thats different, but heck, I must have seen it 25 times now. So I am going into this with an open mind and hope .... no, pray that they don't butcher it up too much. That being said, they really do need to rethink the name Isaac and keep Ralph. There are basics that need to be in place in order for the remake to be successful. The only reason for a remake is because people loved it the first time and want to catch lighting in a bottle again. In order to do that, they would need to look at the formula on what made it so likable to begin with. So, not everything has to be the same, but I do agree that they have to play it serious and not campy or too comedic. If they do that, it will flop. All that being said, I will watch, and lets face it green guy, you are going to watch it too You will be too curious not to. Oh I know its happening like GAHeroine did... I think folks are forgetting elsewhere it's just the pilot. I'm fine with remakes/continuation.... Doctor Who great example. I just don't think these guys should have crack at it knowing how poorly they treated 21 Jump Street. Odds are we'll see the same treatment of GAH - that's my concern. I can barely watch the movie "The Wild, Wild West" for the same reason. Really there the only thing same was the train and character names. The premise and history of the show was the baby thrown out with the bathwater. (Oh and I should mention I watch the movie to see the train and for the female performances which were Good. Seriously when the Loveless ladies are the better and more realistic characters there's a problem). I'd at least like to see someone who knows the show try it but the story teasers I see aren't showing that concept. Hope I'm wrong but I fear not. |
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Post by butterfingers on Aug 31, 2014 12:28:10 GMT -5
Okay, lets be honest about this ... we can sit here and assume all day and speculate, but at the end of the day ... they are remaking our favorite show. Will it be perfect .. no, BUT, they are remaking it. I would love to see the original premise be done with the new seizes and have what we all loved about it the same. But that is not how they do it in Hollywood anymore with reboots. You never know, they might surprise us and come up with something totally new and fresh with it. Best example ... the Star Trek reboot was one that JJ did and at first it was like, ok thats different, but heck, I must have seen it 25 times now. So I am going into this with an open mind and hope .... no, pray that they don't butcher it up too much. That being said, they really do need to rethink the name Isaac and keep Ralph. There are basics that need to be in place in order for the remake to be successful. The only reason for a remake is because people loved it the first time and want to catch lighting in a bottle again. In order to do that, they would need to look at the formula on what made it so likable to begin with. So, not everything has to be the same, but I do agree that they have to play it serious and not campy or too comedic. If they do that, it will flop. All that being said, I will watch, and lets face it green guy, you are going to watch it too You will be too curious not to. Oh I know its happening like GAHeroine did... I think folks are forgetting elsewhere it's just the pilot. I'm fine with remakes/continuation.... Doctor Who great example. I just don't think these guys should have crack at it knowing how poorly they treated 21 Jump Street. Odds are we'll see the same treatment of GAH - that's my concern. I can barely watch the movie "The Wild, Wild West" for the same reason. Really there the only thing same was the train and character names. The premise and history of the show was the baby thrown out with the bathwater. (Oh and I should mention I watch the movie to see the train and for the female performances which were Good. Seriously when the Loveless ladies are the better and more realistic characters there's a problem). I'd at least like to see someone who knows the show try it but the story teasers I see aren't showing that concept. Hope I'm wrong but I fear not. All true, but they do have someone working on it that is one of the executive producers, Stephen Cannels daughter. I hope she knows and understands what her father was trying to do with the show and hope she puts the project on track. |
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Post by Videofox on Aug 31, 2014 14:25:16 GMT -5
Oh well... Considering current Hollywood's tendency for getting a case of the vapors when anything "hero" paired with "American" is released (G.I. Joe becomes a "global" organization, "Captain America" is subtitled "The First Avenger" as an alternate title for America-hating countries to use) this is a wait-and-see project for me. Being on Fox, it might even go the way of "Firefly" and disappear in short order whether it's good or not. I won't stop working on my fanfilm scripts either, just in case. I have most of the pilot written and one other episode that I plan to be the third story just started writing itself in my head a couple of weeks ago and is practically finished. If this show is picked up and is a hit, then I doubt the studio would allow any fanfilm projects to be made. "Bad timing" is apparently my mantra, as I've wanted to make my own GAH for almost two decades but didn't have the resources to do it.  Before more details of this show are revealed, I wanted to document what I had in mind and compare to whatever this new series plans to do: My characters are not clones of Ralph and Bill. The hero grew up on superheroes and comics and is initially thrilled at the idea until it starts mucking up his life. The FBI agent sees himself more of a mentor than a partner, and isn't interested in exploiting the suit. In fact, he plans to only call on the hero when he can't handle a situation himself, which becomes more and more frequent, much to his chagrin. Unlike Ralph and Bill, my team already knew each other long before they get the suit. The reason these two are specifically paired up is a major part of the first episode. My hero doesn't lose his book. To keep with tradition of keeping the suit's powers mysterious, he has an accident in the first episode that renders him scared to death to read it, reluctant to actually find out what he can do. Despite his partner's continuous pleas to read the effin' book, the hero will only consult it when he can't figure out another way out of a situation. My team is not aware of Ralph and Bill's activities, just as the originals didn't know about Beck and Dunn. Being FBI, the agent knew and worked with Maxwell--and even attended his funeral. In my version, Ralph had the suit for twenty years and voluntarily retired it, now living a peaceful life with Pam and their family. The aliens remain just as mysterious as they were in the original series. I hope to make them look the same, but I am sure that in the FOX series, the aliens *will* be redesigned, no doubt about it. So that's my take. Be interesting to see if we end up on any of the same pages. |
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Post by MelMac on Sept 1, 2014 0:50:55 GMT -5
Oh well... Considering current Hollywood's tendency for getting a case of the vapors when anything "hero" paired with "American" is released (G.I. Joe becomes a "global" organization, "Captain America" is subtitled "The First Avenger" as an alternate title for America-hating countries to use) this is a wait-and-see project for me. Being on Fox, it might even go the way of "Firefly" and disappear in short order whether it's good or not. I won't stop working on my fanfilm scripts either, just in case. I have most of the pilot written and one other episode that I plan to be the third story just started writing itself in my head a couple of weeks ago and is practically finished. If this show is picked up and is a hit, then I doubt the studio would allow any fanfilm projects to be made. "Bad timing" is apparently my mantra, as I've wanted to make my own GAH for almost two decades but didn't have the resources to do it. Before more details of this show are revealed, I wanted to document what I had in mind and compare to whatever this new series plans to do: My characters are not clones of Ralph and Bill. The hero grew up on superheroes and comics and is initially thrilled at the idea until it starts mucking up his life. The FBI agent sees himself more of a mentor than a partner, and isn't interested in exploiting the suit. In fact, he plans to only call on the hero when he can't handle a situation himself, which becomes more and more frequent, much to his chagrin. Unlike Ralph and Bill, my team already knew each other long before they get the suit. The reason these two are specifically paired up is a major part of the first episode. My hero doesn't lose his book. To keep with tradition of keeping the suit's powers mysterious, he has an accident in the first episode that renders him scared to death to read it, reluctant to actually find out what he can do. Despite his partner's continuous pleas to read the effin' book, the hero will only consult it when he can't figure out another way out of a situation. My team is not aware of Ralph and Bill's activities, just as the originals didn't know about Beck and Dunn. Being FBI, the agent knew and worked with Maxwell--and even attended his funeral. In my version, Ralph had the suit for twenty years and voluntarily retired it, now living a peaceful life with Pam and their family. The aliens remain just as mysterious as they were in the original series. I hope to make them look the same, but I am sure that in the FOX series, the aliens *will* be redesigned, no doubt about it. So that's my take. Be interesting to see if we end up on any of the same pages. I agree on the aliens - they will indeed most likely be redesigned. That would be a shame because even though they're green - they have a bit of a human look to them which would show the parallels they had in "Divorce, Venusian Style." (Then again - that makes it ripe for them to do a "Save the Whales" type story... though I think Culp wrote a story like that.) I like the premise you have here Vid - but it and say the StayTunedTV version (even with Ashley "I'm Miss Perky Cheerleader all the time" Rizzo) feel like the show, or at least have the original premise. That's why I don't get about the whole shebang - they CAN do say a continuation of the story, or at least keep the same premise and say have maybe Ralph come and make an appearance at least once or twice during the show run (and yes they could ignore Holly completely or explain it her off as say a "final warning" to not use the suit for gain and Ralph had retired it as you said). The premise of the show is timeless, and we've seen proof of it in fandom. Yes, they'd have to update some of the more dated issues, such as no more Soviet Union, but the basics and the team dealing with real life situations with just the suit thrown in the mix could stay the same. When I read or hear reboot, I envision say "The Wild, Wild West" movie (one of the biggest mistakes in re-envisioning a series - for many reasons) or just about every remake of old shows they've done on NBC that failed - Bionic Woman, Ironside, Wonder Woman (didn't even make it past the pilot)... Then again, I sometimes feel Chicago FD is a more serious take on "Emergency" - a show they did make there - especially when they are located in Station 51. It's just a bigger station and in Chicago - well a few other things too but I can't keep from making the correlation. (Or it could also be that I know they used an old clip from an episode of "Emergency!" in one of "The Greatest American Hero" episodes). |
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Post by greenguy on Sept 1, 2014 15:05:56 GMT -5
and and lets face it green guy, you are going to watch it too You will be too curious not to. If the promos look anything like the theatrical previews of the 21 Jump Street movie I won't be watching. You mentioned the new Trek films, I'm a huge fan of TOS and after seeing both sets of previews for those films I had and still have zero interest in seeing those. Same with the film remakes of Starsky and Hutch, I Spy, and The Wild Wild West. I grew up watching all of them, and the previews of all three left such a bad taste with me I've never watched them. I did try a season and a half of the new Battlestar Galactica until I could stand it no longer. I can't deny it was very popular, but just not with me. I wish the new team luck, but I find it doubtful they will be able to accomplish the same balance of comedy with the action/adventure. They will go too far one way or another, or completely miss the point all together and have the new hero fighting mutants, and aliens, or other beings with superpowers as if it's a Smallville meets TGAH. If I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it. In this case I'd like to be wrong. At least I will be able to stop reading crap such as "Will Ferrell should play Ralph, and Bryan Cranston should play Bill" |
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Post by MelMac on Sept 1, 2014 17:42:11 GMT -5
Yes, thankfully Will Ferrell is far too old to play Ralph or this new character or however they do it.
That said I'm kind of worried about who they would cast too. Odds are they'd be eye candy. Not to say William Katt isn't handsome... He was and still is (and I'm glad he cut his hair shorter - looks younger than real age). But most would want to cast folks in a stereotypical hero look.
That *may* explain why I like Michael Chicklis so much as The Thing even when he wasn't stone in The Fantastic Four. He didn't fit that mold. Or why my favorite of the duo in WWW is Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon (well that and he was a very gifted actor. Spoke volumes he was nominated for best actor in the role the last season of show in spite of the fact he missed half of it due to a heart attack.)
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Post by Videofox on Sept 2, 2014 22:38:03 GMT -5
There are very few of TV-show remakes I actually liked. "Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values" spring to mind (though they had less to do with the TV show and more to do with the original comic strips), as well as Mel Gibson's "Maverick". I saw the new "Star Trek" four times in theaters despite the flaws, but "Into Darkness" only once, which says a lot considering I am a Trekker, but the sequel lost me when it blatantly ripped off "Wrath of Khan". And Heaven help me, I even liked "The Dukes of Hazzard" though I know it wasn't the Dukes of my youth. However, if you turn your head and squint, and visualize it as what the Dukes must have been like in that same mirror universe where Spock had a beard, it kinda made sense. Most other remakes just seem to lack that certain...something...a certain charm, I suppose, that made the originals popular. What will be interesting to see is what direction the GAH series takes. Will it be a straight-up spoof of itself like "I Spy" and "Starsky & Hutch", or take a dark turn like "Fantasy Island" and 2012's Munsters movie, "Mockingbird Lane"? As was said, GAH was played straight and the comedy came from the ridiculousness of their situation and the personalities of the characters. For the most part, the plots were no different than any other buddy-cop action/adventure series of the time, it's just one of the buddies happened to have super powers. The suit was a tool, not an alter-ego. This production team does have a successful track record, no denying that, but will they realize these basic tenets or will studio intervention get in the way? I made my fanfilm characters intentionally different from Ralph and Bill in many ways because I envisioned this as a sequel to the original. If the article's synopsis is correct, then we have a hero named "Isaac" who also just happens to be a schoolteacher and who also just happens to lose the instruction book. His government handler struggles with the personal gain issue, just as Bill did. Curious now if this means that this show will ignore Ralph and Bill and recreate the characters with a name change; otherwise it's just rehashing elements that wouldn't make any sense if Ralph and Bill existed in this universe. Guess we'll find out soon enough. |
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Post by 1robc on Sept 3, 2014 1:17:38 GMT -5
I really hope that it's a continuation (or at least can be viewed as one), rather than a remake--especially if it's actually good.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 3, 2014 8:54:01 GMT -5
There are very few of TV-show remakes I actually liked. "Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values" spring to mind (though they had less to do with the TV show and more to do with the original comic strips), as well as Mel Gibson's "Maverick". I saw the new "Star Trek" four times in theaters despite the flaws, but "Into Darkness" only once, which says a lot considering I am a Trekker, but the sequel lost me when it blatantly ripped off "Wrath of Khan". And Heaven help me, I even liked "The Dukes of Hazzard" though I know it wasn't the Dukes of my youth. However, if you turn your head and squint, and visualize it as what the Dukes must have been like in that same mirror universe where Spock had a beard, it kinda made sense. Maverick worked because they honored all the original elements in the shows and while there were minor strays from the original, they were fitting for the looser restrictions of today (i.e. language, mild innuendos). The fact too they kept the humor of having old western actors and singers cameo as gamblers themselves (Robert Fuller of Laramie, Denver Pyle are two who quickly comes to mind), also helped. And yes, reading the synopsis of the second "Star Trek" I could tell it was blatant "Wrath of Khan" and "Space Seed." Little wonder they haven't done a new one - at least that I can tell so far. If they spoof this show like people did "I, Spy" and "S&H" I think it will bomb faster than Palicki's first Wonder Woman costume. That said, I do think it'll be played a little bit darker as far as the action scenes given some of the modern day issues we face now, but with the comedy. This would work better - fit modern day viewing and yet still keep the charm of the original show. Well... as long as they keep the real life aspect in there and their struggles. I have no problem with them having a teacher and the teacher loses the instruction book. I DO wish they would make at least losing the book constructive, i.e. blowing it up accidentally or wreaking it because the duo have a fight to control it for example. But like you said I guess we'll find out soon enough - well, if the pilot is picked up. Fox isn't well-known for releasing pilots that fail. |
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Post by Videofox on Sept 3, 2014 11:35:56 GMT -5
If they find a way to get rid of the book without just losing it ("Butterfingers!") that would be alright, otherwise it just seems like the greenguys need to screen their heroes better. HA! I would expect plot themes to be a little darker, as even with the threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads back in the 80s, the world today does seem darker than it was back then. If they can balance that out with lightheartedness and fun then it should work out.
Of course, the producers could very well be lurking this board right now and are either laughing at us or taking notes. Hopefully the latter!
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Post by MelMac on Sept 3, 2014 12:45:44 GMT -5
If they find a way to get rid of the book without just losing it ("Butterfingers!") that would be alright, otherwise it just seems like the greenguys need to screen their heroes better. HA! I would expect plot themes to be a little darker, as even with the threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads back in the 80s, the world today does seem darker than it was back then. If they can balance that out with lightheartedness and fun then it should work out. Of course, the producers could very well be lurking this board right now and are either laughing at us or taking notes. Hopefully the latter! I hope the latter too - and they do a brushing up on what can happen when something is not done well that is "GAH" tied ("GAHeroine" the "TGAH 2008" fiasco attempt and the bad PR they did on it). In fairness - Holly didn't lose the instruction book, though she did try to lose her own version when she wanted to move to Louisiana I think and when Bill couldn't go she was going to do it anyway (the full script for said pilot). |
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Post by The J-Man on Sept 13, 2014 8:43:50 GMT -5
The brilliance of the series is that it took a completely outlandish concept, but presented it in a completely straightforward way. It was a superhero dropped into a "Rockford Files" world.
Conversely, "The A-Team" was a totally straightforward concept presented in a totally outlandish way.
Absolute brilliance. It was a golden age of television.
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Post by tgahpodcast on Sept 27, 2014 20:08:26 GMT -5
The reboot will most likely be terrible. Even if it is somewhat watchable it will be cancelled quickly since it's on the Fox network.
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Post by Videofox on Sept 28, 2014 7:00:35 GMT -5
I don't like being pessimistic about the idea of a GAH return, but we've seen so many revivals and reimaginings downright fail, more so than the number that I feel succeeded. The Battlestar Galactica remake was a well-made show and was considered a success by the studio, but still, it wasn't "my" Galactica. As with most "updates", the production teams like to screw around with what came before just to put their own stamp on the franchise. "Bionic Woman" made no mention of Steve Austin (which had to do with copyright, as they had no rights to the original "Cyborg" novel), and "Knight Rider" made it out that KARR never existed before, though that series was supposed to be a sequel.
So, just for fun, let's play a little prediction game while we wait for more information about this Hero show. What could they possibly do to intentionally alienate the fans that made the show they want to bring back a hit in the first place? Here's mine:
- There will be no aliens. The suit is a top-secret government experiment that is stolen and accidentally ends up with this "Isaac" character. He decides to wear it to a costume party and when it bonds to his DNA, he is forced to become a government operative against his will. (Think "Chuck" or "Jake 2.0") If there is any alien connection, the suit would be engineered from technology recovered from Roswell/Area 51.
Just for fun, people! :-) We can still hope for the best.
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You will be too curious not to. 
