Series That Should Be Rebooted

So, I’ve told you why a series should come back. Now, for a harder question – which ones?

Someone – maybe it was Gene Siskel – that it’s not the classic movies that should be remade, it’s the ones that didn’t quite work. There’s no need to remake perfection, but the flawed series or the ones that were ahead of their time, they’re the ones deserving of being remade. I can only think of one time where this has actually happened. In 1998, Rob Thomas developed a series called Cupid  in which Jeremy Piven played a psychiatric case who believed he was the Greek God of love who had been banished from Olympus, and needed to match a hundred couples before he could return. Paula Marshall played the psychiatrist assigned to his case, who found himself intrigued by the patient, and tried to help/cure him. In 2011, Thomas remade the series with Bobby Canavale and Sarah Paulson playing the lead roles. Both series were fascinating to watch, but neither could even run half a season.

So, with this as our keystone , here are some series I think should either be rebooted or returned to.

American Gothic

Two of the series on this list were developed by Shaun Cassidy. By far the more interesting one dealt with a small town in Iowa run by one of the most evil sheriffs you might ever see, played by Gary Cole in one of his best roles. The series dealt with Caleb, a young boy who might be the sheriffs illegitimate son, and who also was haunted by the ghost of his murdered sister. While other characters, including a reporter and a deputy tried to figure out just how deep the roots were, one could clearly see that the Sheriff as a precursor to so many of the antiheroes that now dwell in the television landscape. It was ahead of it’s time, and I really want to know who it was at the door.

Brotherhood

In my mind, this is Showtime’s first true masterpiece. Set in Rhode Island, the story focused on the Caffee brothers – Michael (Jason Isaacs) a member of the Irish Mob, and Tommy (Jason Clarke) a representative in the Rhode Island House. The series dealt with their struggles both on either side of the law, as well as their relationship with their family, particularly the matriarch Rose (Finanoula Flannagan). Given the fact that the ratings were microscopic even by Showtime’s standards, it’s remarkable that the series managed to last three seasons. But I still think that the series, like Deadwood,  had one more year to run to wrap up all it’s stories. It might be hard to get the cast together, but wouldn’t it be something if Amazon or Hulu picked up the ball?

Invasion

After Lost became a hit, ABC made numerous attempts to try and come up with a serialized drama with a sci-fi format. By far, the one that came the closest to working was their first series. Set in Florida, after a hurricane, Invasion  slowly told the story of two families, linked by a sheriff (William Fichtner) who seems to be hiding more than his share of secrets about what might be happening, who starts out as the villain, and becomes more complex as the series unfolds. It was relatively successful, but was inexplicably canceled. Considering that one of the main leads was a brother who was a conspiracy blogger a few years before we knew the term, its hard to argue that it still might resonate.

Joan of Arcadia

One of the last truly original series that CBS has done, the series focused on Joan (Amber Tamblyn in her star-making role), a high-school student living in Maine, who starts having conversations with God, who takes the form of senior citizens, grade schoolers, telling her to do certain things without any real reason. The series lasted two years, and was canceled just when it was at the point of giving a clear mission statement.

Compared to many formulaic CBS series, which are basically cut in paste, this was a rare drama that took faith seriously, and yet had a dry wit that so many high school dramas often don’t. It also managed to work by having Joan have a real interesting family, including a police lieutenant (Joe Mantegna) , an older brother who had been in an accident and was now in a wheelchair (Jason Ritter), and an artist mother (Mary Steenburgen). Considering the success of God Friended Me,  a series that has a similar blueprint, I think the market for it is still out there. It would have to be better than the next NCIS spinoff we’ll inevitably get.

Profit

                        We say the phrase ‘ahead of its time’ so much these days that the phrase has become a cliché. But there’s little other way to try and describe this 1996 series that featured Adrian Padsar in one of his greatest roles. As Jim Profit, a fast rising corporate executive, Profit is determined to do anything in his power to take control of a company – anything. Who was he? Why was he so obsessed with this company that he rented his apartment directly across from him? And why in God’s name did he sleep naked in a cardboard box? These questions were sadly never answered, because while critics loved it, it wasn’t what viewers wanted to see after Melrose Place.   David Greenwalt has gone on great success, but few series were as ambitious as this show that, to quote one critics, “played like an FX drama that time-traveled from 2007”. Jim Profit wasn’t nearly as reprehensible as Walter White or Frank Underwood, but maybe that’s just cause he never got the chance. I think the world’s ready for him now.

                        Sports Night

                        It’s been nearly two decades since ABC canceled Aaron Sorkin’s quintessential dramedy, but I’m still pissed at whatever network executive chose to do it. You had Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman, Josh Charles, Joshua Malina and Sabrina Lloyd doing Sorkin’s material, and you killed it even though the ratings improved.  It’s not as short-sighted as whichever NBC executive killed off Freaks and Geeks, but it’s close. They’ve all said that they’d be willing to get together again. And it’s gotta be simpler than trying to reboot The West Wing.  You’ve already brought back Roseanne. Why not bring back another 90s gem?

                        Wiseguy

                        This was TV legend Stephen J. Cannell most ambitious and daring series. Featuring  an undercover agent who infiltrated crime rings with some of the most memorable villains in the history of the medium (even with the cloud Kevin Spacey is under now, there’s no way to forget just how magnificent his work as Mel Profit was), and arcs that would go one for more than a third of the season.  Cable now makes it a rule to spend a season following a single storyline, but not even Damages or Justified  was daring enough to follow two or three. Think of it as 24 but moving at a much more relaxed pace. And considering how different the world of organized crime is these days, there are far more opportunities than there were in its original incarnation. Ken Wahl eventually left the series at the end of the third season to pursue a movie career, and they tried to carry on without him. I think one might be inclined to see that as less of an obstacle  - you could even do a different season with a different mole. It might be seen as behind the curve now, but I still think there might be room for it.

Well, these are my ideas. They might not be as imaginative as the geniuses who are thinking of bringing back Mad About You and Alias, but I present them just the same.