Let’s Embrace Remake Madness

I watched Dragnet with Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd a few days ago, and once I was done trying to figure out why Christopher Plummer would so thoroughly humiliate himself in a nothing role, I began to really think; What TV shows from my conscious lifetime (I am 23, so let’s stick to 90’s and 00’s) will most likely be remade into movies 20 or so years from now? It’s a strange thought. I can completely accept the Dragnet, Get Smart, or upcoming A-Team movies because the only knowledge of the shows I really have is what’s been passed down into pop culture. That ignorance, due to not existing, is actually a huge help in limiting the mental baggage I take into the movie with me. I don’t fully understand what life was life back then, and how each show’s little eccentricities reflected that. They are essentially just ported to fit into the way today’s culture runs.

But what about shows I was actually around to watch and experience? The preconceived notions I have of this era’s shows will make for a huge hurdle in my presumed enjoyment of such a remake, much as I expect the remakes previously named were tough for older generations to really get into. When all is said and done though, remakes are going to happen, and here are the top 5 remakes I expect to see between the years 2020 and 2040:

5. Law and Order – The 1995-ish Law and Orders are probably the most remake-able of all the cop dramas of the era. It had strong, archetypal characters and a big-city backdrop. You really can’t beat that title either. As much as I dislike the bubble gum garbage the Disney Channel produces, if everything goes right in Zac Efron’s career, he’d be great to take over the role of Sam Waterston’s Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy.

4. The Simpsons – All this one needs is time. There was a live action Flintstones movie 35 years after the show and I think that time frame would suit the Simpsons well too. I just shudder at the thought of a CGI Bart teaching a shut-in played by 2040’s equivalent of Breckin Meyer how to live life to the fullest like Garfield or Alvin and the Chipmunks.

3. Dexter – The easiest of all the pay-cable shows to craft a condensed two hour movie around. The concept of a crime scene investigator using his knowledge and skill to murder serial killers will resonate until we live in a Utopian society (i.e. forever).

2. Baywatch – There’s probably always going to be a market for movies about pretty people doing things in pretty places. Throw in a semi-threatening situation like the largest jellyfish invasion any beach has ever seen or some pirate ghosts and the studio would have a hit on their hands.

1. Power Rangers – I would put all my money on this being a big-budget blockbuster by 2030, when people my age have 10 year old kids to take and see what was essentially our generation’s Transformers. Good vs. Evil? Check. Attractive, multi-racial teens? Check. Giant F****** Robots? Check. Can we make toys? Check. All it needs now is some time to pass for us to forget how horribly cheesy it all was.

This post is part of our User Showcase series. You can find Daniel as espin39 on Flickchart. If you’re interested to submit your own story or article describing your thoughts about movies and Flickchart, read our original post for how to become a guest writer here on the Flickchart Blog.