With the Michael Bay produced reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – due to hit the big screens in August of this year – already dividing fans of the 80’s cartoon and films, we take a quick look at some of the best and worst TV reboots of recent years:
Best:
Battlestar Galactica
The original Battlestar Galactica series ran for one season only between 1978 and 1979 before it was cancelled and completed the following year with the series Galactica 1980. The series focuses on the survivors of a war between the 12 colonies of man and the Cylons, a robotic race intent on wiping out the humans, who travelled in a convey of spaceships to find the lost colony of Earth. They were protected by the last remaining warship, the titular Battlestar Galactica.
2003 saw a reboot of the series with a mini-series, then four full series’ and two web series providing a more modern version outlook on the human-Cylon war. The series had a much grittier edge to it than the original series and won vast amounts of awards between 2003 and its ending in 2009. It is certainly one of the best reboots, TV or film, in history and has spawned comics, books, video games, board games, a Battlestar Galactica online slot game and a prequel series detailing the birth of the Cylon race to add to it’s legacy.
V
Another science fiction series rebooted that makes our top list is the two season series V that ran from 2009 to 2011. The origins of the show came from the early 1980’s when V ran between 1983 and the following year. Both versions of the series feature a technologically advanced race of aliens who visit Earth claiming to come in peace, but they are found to have ulterior motives.
The newer version of the series saw 12 nominations, but just one award win, in its two year run but, despite this, there have been numerous petitions and campaigns from fans, producers and actors of the show to get it returned to our screens. Will these campaigners see V return to the small screen for the third time though?
Worst:
Charlie’s Angels
Having had a long history with the 1976-1981 series and the pair of movies in 2000 and 2003, the Charlie’s Angels universe was prime for a reboot and it got one in 2011. However, it was one of the poorest reboots of all time having been cancelled after just four episodes. It received a poor reception with the acting, plot and poor action scenes coming in for the most criticism. Due to its such short run Charlie’s Angels takes first place in the worst reboots list by far.
Kojak
Who loves ya, baby? Certainly not the many critics of the 2005 reboot of the Kojak series that ran between 1973 and 1978 with Telly Savalas bringing the bald, lollipop loving detective to life. Ving Rhames was tasked with portraying Kojak more than a decade after the passing of Savalas, but it lasted just two months and ten episodes before failing to be renewed for a second season. This is another show that would have been better off left back in the 70’s.
The Prisoner
The 1960’s version of The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan was a 17 episode series that detailed the story of an unnamed British spy who resigns from his job and then finds himself awakening in ‘The Village’ with a new name of Number Six. The series details Six’s attempts to escape and was one of the most groundbreaking series’ of its time.
It was remade in 2009 with Jim Caviezel taking on the mantle of Number Six over six hour long episodes. Although the story was similar in many respects to its source material, the reboot of The Prisoner was a bland affair that missed many of the points that made the original version must watch TV at the time and still to this day.