When Sitcoms Come Back: the 10 Best TV Show Reunion Movies

The Beverly Hillbillies

Original Run: 1962-1971

In 1981, CBS had a good idea with horrible results in presenting a reunion movie of the Clampet family in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies. Though it was written by the series creator, Paul Henning, it barely resembled the famous show. It only starred three of the main stars, Buddy Ebsen, Donna Douglas and Nancy Culp reprising their roles as Jed Clampett, Elly May Clampett and Jane Hathaway. The biggest missing piece of course was Granny, but Irene Ryan has passed away years earlier. Max Baer who played Jethro in the series refused to participate. The spirit of the original show was lost. In fact, they couldn't even film at the original mansion as it was unavailable at the time.

However, in 1993, CBS tried it again with The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies and was the fourth-watched program. Baer decided to join Ebsen and Douglas for the special that ignored the former movie storyline. Jethro had grown into a L.A. Physician, his sister Elly May lived with a bunch of animals and Jed had moved back into the hills after his fortune was stolen from Mr. Drysdale.

Gilligan's Island

Original Run: 1964-1967

Though the original series only lived on TV for three years, the re-runs of the series continued on non-stop. In the show's original run, Gilligan and his friends never made it off the island. An idea was drummed up 15 years after the show went of the air to revisit the group and have them rescued. The movie featured all of the original stars with the exception of Tina Louise, who refused to play the role of Ginger as she felt that role ruined her acting career. In this movie, not only do the characters get saved, but they realize how different the world became during their absence and discovered how they actually missed their lives on the island. The group reunites near the end of the movie and naturally, but accidentally, windup back on the island.

The TV movie was so popular, that two more reunion movies were created with the hopes or creating a new series, but it was not meant to be.

Leave It to Beaver

Original Run: 1957-1963

Twenty years after Beaver went off the air, the Beav and his friends came back to the small screen in the form on Still the Beaver, which brought us up-to-date on the lives of Theadore, Wally and June Cleaver. Ward, the family patriarch, has passed away, but June continued to live in the same house. The Beaver had recently gotten divorced and needed a place for him and his children to stay. Wally on the other hand was happily married. Many of the brother's friends continued to live the area. Though, the movie somewhat portrayed the Beaver as a loser, it did very well in the ratings and the Disney Channel bought the rights to create a new series based on the movie. The TV show of Still the Beaver lasted only one year but was then purchased by TBS in 1986 and renamed, The New Leave it to Beaver which also went into syndication and lasted until 1989. Both shows mostly focused of the Beaver's and Wally's kids, but the original cast members showed up often.

The Brady Bunch

Original Run: 1969-1974

The Brady family had a second chance of life in the 1981 sitcom, The Brady Brides, which focused on the double wedding of sisters Marcia and Jan and their new husbands. It only lasted for six weeks. Then in 1988, the TV movie, A Very Brady Christmas which featured all of the original cast members except for Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady) who was on her honeymoon during the movie's filming. More of a comedy-drama, the movie tried to give an update on each of the sibling's lives and new families. A favorite of true fans, the film is still during the Christmas holiday season on various TV stations. The movie itself provided a basis for a new series, The Bradys in 1990 which DID include Olsen, but lost Mareen McCormick who played Marcia. The comedy/drama wasn't as well received and was canceled after just five weeks.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Original Run: 1961-1966

Of all the shows to receive a reunion, The Dick Van Dyke Show had the longest time frame between the two. Dick Van Dyke Revisited aired in 2004 – 36 years after the original show went off the air! Instead of a “movie” Carl Reiner, who wrote the special, considered it just another episode of the original show. By then, of course, some of the originals stars had passed away, but the special made due to Van Dyke, Reiner, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Anne Guilbert, Jerry Van Dyke (who only appeared twice in the original) and Larry Mazzeo, who played Ritchie in the series. He was given a short scene at the very beginning. Some critics hated the special while others appreciated seeing their old friends again. Some of the problems with the special was over-explaining who everyone is and taking time out to show things about the characters that were not relevant to the story.