Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith and media:
Rebootmania! I’m taking a little break from my list of TV’s all-time most inspiring series for this. The pandemic may be slowing down TV and movie production but not the industry’s penchant for revisiting successful franchises of the past. According to the New York Post, there are at least 15 reboots (i.e. remakes, reimaginings or sequels) headed for the movies and 17 for television.
On the movie side, Dirty Dancing, Twister, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead and Scarface seem unimaginative and pointless. Pirates of the Caribbean, Legally Blonde and Wolfman would probably be more interesting if developed as TV series following the characters over the course of several adventure. The Scream title could work as a TV suspense anthology series. The TV series Knight Rider is being developed as an action film and that makes sense to me. Otherwise, there could be some potential in film remakes of Peter Pan, Tron, Pinocchio (especially with Tom Hanks as Geppetto) and Bill & Ted Face the Music (with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprising their iconic teen comedy roles as middle-aged adults). This Just In: The just-announced plan to remake the near-percent classic Steve Martin-John Candy road comedy Planes, Trains & Automobiles seems doomed to disappoint.
On the TV side, A League of their Own (based on the classic film) has potential. A Who’s the Boss? series update, not so much. Also spare me from revisiting The Weakest Link (a tad nasty and annoying even in its original run), Saved by the Bell, Chucky (based on the horror film Child’s Play). Goosebumps (new stories inspired by the R.L Stine suspense series for kids), on the other hand, could be terrific. I like taking The Wonder Years concept and applying it to an African-American family’s experiences in the sixties – though that could be its own thing and doesn’t really need to be called The Wonder Years. Elsewhere, series versions of The Mighty Ducks and Three Men and a Baby are worth a try. Taking the concept of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and turning it into a drama called Bel-Air could possibly work (especially if it doesn’t completely jettison a sense of humor). I have zero interest in new versions of Gossip Girl or The Little Mermaid (now apparently trapped in a loveless marriage).
Anyway, unlike many critics, I have no inherent problem with reboots and remakes. I just think it’s helpful to think a bit out of the box and not keep revisiting the usual suspects. With that said, I’d like to play. Here are 31 original ideas for TV reboots and sequels that I’d like to see. Since this is Beliefnet – and I am who I am – several feature faith themes. All present opportunities for positive, inspirational and, importantly, fun and/or gripping storytelling. I think they stack up pretty well against what’s actually in development out there. These ideas also represent the uplifting mass audience/bring people together type of programming I think the country could use right now. What do you think?
So, here goes.
- Adventures in Undertown
As I’ve written before, for six years I was employed by Cartoon Network Enterprises tasked with writing over 100 novelization and comic books based on the Ben 10 franchise, as well as some other network properties. One of the brilliant ongoing storylines in the series involved Undertown, a subterranean community of diverse space refugees living secretly beneath the Earth’s surface. It would make a great potential backdrop for a live-action series that could explore all sorts on contemporary themes in a unique sci-fi setting. - AESOP
When I worked in Hollywood, I actually managed to get a pilot presentation made of this ingenious Dave Pisani/Tod Pleasant graphic novel creation that garnered something of a cult following when it was serialized in Lee’s Toy Review magazine back in the nineties. The premise involves a trio of reluctant commandos who owe their lives to a secret organization called AESOP (the acronym’s mysterious meaning not revealed) who are employed by the group to carry out extremely dangerous assignments to protect freedom around the world. If the show were to move forward (and Dave and Tod would like to see a live-action version), each episode would have the title of an Aesop’s Fable (i.e. The Wolf & the Crane) and move toward the moral of the original story being ironically presented though the updated action-adventure scenario. AESOP‘s 0verall tone would be sort of The A-Team meets The X-Files. Honestly, along with Photo Finish, it’s among the best concepts for a TV series I ever had pitched to me. - All for One
In 2015 UP TV premiered Ties That Bind, its first scripted drama series. The show, which ran a single season, followed the story of Allison McLean (Kelli Williams), a police detective and married mother of a teen-aged boy and girl. Her life becomes more complicated when her ne’er-do-well brother (the late Luke Perry) is arrested for aggravated assault and sentenced to two years in prison – forcing Allison and her husband to take in his two teenagers. Their mother, meanwhile, is undergoing drug rehab. At the time, I expressed hope that the show would find its footing and succeed. It had a solid cast and a premise that was interesting – but just a little off. The problem was the stakes weren’t high enough. The brother should have been convicted of murder (not aggravated assault) and facing the death penalty. Allison, convinced of his innocence, would then have been on a crusade to find the real killer and clear her brother before his execution. The mission would have involved the whole family. It could have been riveting drama about a family coming together in common purpose. I think this one’s worth trying again. - Anna & the King
This book-turned-Broadway musical-turned-movie-turned (failed) TV sitcom-turned movie remake about an Anglo woman school teacher hired by the King of Siam in the late 19th century warrants another spin, this time as an hour-long TV dramedy. It’s got fantasy, adventure, romance and built-in cultural diversity. - Apu
Some South Asians are understandably miffed that the cancel culture has, basically, silenced Apu on The Simpsons. I say give the guy a spin-off where he creates a bio-degradable plastic straw and parleys his newfound fortune to become the richest man in America. - Backstairs at the White House
Based on the memoir of Lillian Rogers Parks, an African-American maid and seamstress who (along with her mother) spent several years employed by the White House. The book became the subject of a nine-hour NBC miniseries in 1979. A lengthier full-series treatment (ala Downton Abbey) would be even more relevant now. - Baldwin Jones
Last season someone had the very bad idea of an NYPD Blue sequel series that would follow Andy Sipowicz’s detective son as he unraveled his father’s murder. This was a terrible idea for two reasons. First, NYPD Blue had a nearly-perfect 12-season run. Any revisiting amid the same setting is almost doomed to fail. Second, anyone who is a fan of the show definitely does not want to see Andy murdered. Still, besides Andy (perhaps series TV’s all-time most-compelling character), there several really good supporting characters who it would be interesting to catch up on in a new setting. First among those, I think, is Detective Baldwin Jones (played to perfection by Henry Simmons). He could be a New York City private eye now. Think a modern update of The Rockford Files with an African-American lead. - The Big Valley
The original series ran on ABC from 1965 to 1969. It was groundbreaking in that it was a western about the strong woman matriarch (played by Barbara Stanwyck) of a wealthy Barkley family in California in the mid-1800s. A push to turn the show into a feature film collapsed about a decade ago due to financial and legal reasons. Just as well. The Barkley saga (sort of Downton Abbey meets Bonanza) is truly a made-for-TV concept and would be a great way to deal with current issues while rebooting the entire western genre. - Broken Arrow
Airing for two seasons on ABC during the 1950s, this second potential western reboot follows the relationship between Indian agent Tom Jeffords and Apache Chief Cochise. If executed with the appropriate sensibilities, this could be a very relevant show. - The Edge of Night
Former P&G Productions Syndication Manager Barbara Brady and I actually pitched a weekly episodic version of the classic P&G-produced daytime drama about a Perry Mason-esque attorney and his crime reporter wife. Law & Order meets Murder, She Wrote meets The Thin Man.
It could still work. - Everything Sacred
A reworking and update on the tragically mistitled ABC TV drama Nothing Sacred of the nineties. The show, created by Jesuit priest Bill Cain, realistically and respectfully dealt with the lives of Catholic clergy working at a Chicago parish. It was intelligent and moving – and, unfortunately, ran afoul of conservative Catholics who might have applauded the show had they looked past its unfortunately edgy title. - Fireball XL5
I could definitely see this 1962 puppet show reimagined as a sort of Moonlighting set in outer space. If could just be a lot of fun – something, I think, we could all use these days. Take the first 30 seconds of this and you have a great opening theme. - The Frasier Crane Mysteries
I actually had the opportunity to pitch the idea of a dramedy in which Frasier Crane moved to Chicago and became a forensic psychiatrist for Chicago PD to Chris Maul of Grammnet Productions around the time Frasier the sitcom was ending its original run back in 2004. The idea was very well received but I was told that the decision had been made to retire the character. Now, of course, Kelsey Grammer is on the hunt for an idea to revive his most beloved role. I’d like to repropose this one. BTW, all these years later, the concept could be updated to have his son Frederick following in his late grandfather’s footsteps as a cop. - The Hiding Place
In 2014, the faith-themed film Return to the Hiding Place told the true story of a group of Dutch young people who risked their lives in covert operations aimed at saving Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland. At the time, I praised the film and asked filmmakers Peter Spencer and Petra Spencer Pearce if they ever thought of making it into a TV series. They said they had. It would still be a great idea – and a timeless reminder of the value of freedom and the importance of opposing evil. - It’s a Small World
TLC has been airing its popular series The Little Couple – chronicling the relationship of businessman Bill Klein and Dr. Jennifer Arnold, two humorous and intelligent tiny people as they get married and raise a family. It’s an extremely likeable reality show that I think could form the basis for a likable, and groundbreaking, TV sitcom. - Jetson, P.I.
Elroy Jetson grows up to be a private detective. Magnum, P.I. in the future! - J.J. Evans, P.I.
Not to become fixated on turning old TV characters into private eyes but I’ve always kind of liked Jimmie Walker and have thought for some time that it would be interesting if his Good Times TV character went on to become a Chicago P.I. His sister Thelma (Bernadette Stanis) could be his secretary. Walker, of course, is 73 now. So, I guess that would make him kind of a black urban Barnaby Jones.
- Joy
Joy is an aspiring singer and the daughter of a civil rights-era black pastor who runs the inner-city church’s music program while also following for the church’s newly hired – and more politically-conservative – young minister/youth counselor. She also as an atheist brother with a popular podcast. Though this idea could certainly stand on its own, it could also be viewed sort of an hour-long reboot of the old NBC sitcom Amen. It also has some elements of God Friended Me which may have worked a lot better if it were just about the characters and producers had let go of the disjointed Facebook angle. - Land of the Giants
An updated version of this vintage Irwin Allen series (featuring a more complex exploration of the dystopian giant society could be TV’s next Game of Thrones.
- L’Chaim (To Life)
A couple of seasons back Johnny Galecky (The Big Bang Theory) executive produced a sitcom based on the bestselling book The Year of Living Biblically. It was an ill-conceived concept but I found the character of Rabbi Gil Ableman (played by David Krumholtz of Numbers) to be somewhat interesting. Recently, as Homeland was coming to a close on Showtime, Mandy Patinkin (perhaps my favorite TV actor) said in a TV review that he’s looking for a good comedy. He’s also known to take his Hebrew faith to heart. What if we created a sitcom in which Rabbi Ableman’s managed a Jewish congregation with his rabbi father (played by Patinkin)? I think the concept has the potential to be funny (ala Frasier), inclusive (when was the last time the Jewish faith was the center of a TV series) and, hopefully, at times even profound. - Life with Tucker
In 2013 I reviewed a Hallmark Channel TV movie called Christmas with Tucker. It was the story of a 13-year-old boy who, while coping with the sudden death of his father, befriends and is befriended by a dog. Simple as can be. Who doesn’t love a good boy and his dog story? Lassie for a new generation. It would be a huge hit. - Moonrocking: The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Mysteries
A bit of the flipside Jetson P.I., imagine Moonlighting meets The Flintstones with sexy young adult versions of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm doing the private investigating. - Magnus, Robot Fighter
In the 1960s, Gold Key Comics debuted a series about a war between humans and totalitarian robots programmed to enforce global conformity. Talk about an idea that is relevant today! - Murder, She Wrote Too
In 2014, NBCUniversal made plans to reboot Murder, She Wrote via a show that would star Octavia Spencer as “a hospital administrator and amateur sleuth who self-publishes her first mystery novel. Set in a day where sensational headlines inundate the news, this woman’s avid fascination with true crime leads her to become an active participant in the investigations.” The idea died when original star Angela Lansbury labeled it “a mistake,” correctly arguing that “Murder, She Wrote will always be about Cabot Cove and this wonderful group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person.” Basically, the problem was that the concept had no legitimate connection to the iconic classic. I think Ms. Lansbury might have looked more kindly on an actual sequel in which Jessica’s young grandniece (we all know she had a million relatives) shared both her talent for mystery writing and crime solving – and lived in her grandaunt’s house (who, of course, is having a great time touring the world). There even could be a highly-promoted episode in which Jessica returns to town and they solve a mystery together. That would be a hit! - Nanny and the Professor
This 1970s ABC family sitcom followed the life of a widowed college professor (Richard Long) and his three young children after the arrival of pleasant but mysterious British nanny (Juliet Mills) with apparent ESP. Reimagining this as a fun family-oriented mystery series, what if the professor was a criminologist/police consultant and paranormal skeptic who, nonetheless, had a hard time explaining how his nanny’s “feelings” could so often lead him to the clues that solve the crime? I think it could be fun – and popular. - Night Gallery with M. Night Shyamalan
SYFY reportedly is considering reviving this anthology from The Twilight Zone‘s Rod Serling. If they do, they’ll need a host/creative force of his caliber. My suggestion is in the title. - Our Family
I’ve floated this idea in 2015 as a TV reboot I’d watch. Basically, it was for a more diverse take on the 1980s family drama Our House starring which starred the recently-deceased Wilford Brimley. In this rendition, John Amos would star as a black Vietnam War vet who takes in his white daughter-in-law and his grandkids after his son is killed in Afghanistan. His best friend would be a Vietnamese immigrant who saved his life during the war. - Ryan’s Hope
Like The Edge of Night, this is another classic daytime drama that would work as a weekly prime time drama. The concept is simple: A family-owned bar in New York City is located across the street from a hospital. If could go on for years. - Tales of Paladin
In 2012, CBS put into development a reboot the classic late fifties-early sixties western Have Gun – Will Travel about a mysterious but good-hearted soldier-of-fortune of the 1870’s named Paladin whose calling card was also the show’s title. Paladin’s adventures took him throughout the west but his home base was a San Francisco hotel where his best friend was a Chinese bellhop referred to by everyone as “Hey Boy.” It was to be written by the celebrated playwright/screenwriter David Mamet but, inexplicably, the pilot never got made. I think, with a few tweaks, the concept would work great today. First, name the show after the character, not his gun. Second, make Paladin an African-American hero. Third, update and rename “Hey Boy” Kam Tong (as a tribute to the actor who originally played him). It would be a big hit – and a great way to reintroduce the western genre to modern television viewers. - Urban Legends
The Daredevil comic book, movie and TV series all feature versions of a newspaper columnist character named Ben Urich. In disappointing 2003 film (starring Ben Affleck) the column was identified as Urban Legends and had the character investigating weird ones in and around New York City. The film stunk but the character and the concept around him would make a great TV series. Sort of Kolchak: The Night Stalker meets the Marvel Universe (though I think it would be wise to keep the superheroes out of it and keep it grounded in the, otherwise, real world). - You Are There
I can’t take credit for this one but Simon Applebaum, host of the Tomorrow Will Be Televised podcast, has suggested the old CBS News historical reenactment series (hosted by Walter Cronkite) get the reboot treatment. I couldn’t agree more. My personal choice for host would be Jeff Glor, the underrated former CBS Evening News anchor and current co-host of CBS This Morning Saturday. Glor has just the right combination of gravitas, warmth and a non-condescending delivery.
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