Rebooting Franchises

Lately many people have been up in arms about all of the new Reboots of old series' we used to love as kids. Star Trek, Transformers, G.I. Joe etc... To be honest I don't see what the big deal is. There are some things in life that can't be redone because the first time was and always be the best. When it comes to Star Trek I agree that it's hard to imagine someone else playing Captain Kirk but when you really sit down and watch the original series half the time the episodes are so hokey and silly it makes you wonder why it is so revered. The reason is that the original was an innovation when it came out. Gene Rodenberry had so much subtext in that show it was crazy. A multi racial crew flying around the galaxy? Seriously?! The man had balls and was a visionary.

So what does the new Star Trek have to do to be considered in the same light? A lot! Does it have to try to be what the first series was? No! If JJ Abrams tried and half succeeds I think we can give the man some credit. So far it seems like he is getting the nod from everybody and I think the new Trek will be very successful. It looks like what we will get is a visually arresting and action packed movie with some story thrown in for shits sake. They want to build a new following first then start throwing cool trekkie storylines at them once they are hooked. I am fine with that.

However I must say that I am very worried about the new G.I. Joe movie. At first it looked cool with just the tidbits they were releasing but now that I have seen a full trailer I am scared shitless. I know that the original show was pretty out there but damn. They are going all out with the secret lairs and crazy vehicles which is cool when its a cartoon but when its a live action movie it just seems sooo outlandish that I think I am going to have a hard time believing something I am not supposed to believe anyways. They could have done just fine stickign with the basics that were in place. Cool laser guns. Soldiers who could take out entire armies by themselves. Crazy Cobra Commander. Thats all you really need.

What bothers me is when people whine and complain about the lack of creativity from Hollywood and how they are ruining their favorite shows from childhood. Listen to me when I say this! Half of you idiots don't remember 10% of the crap that happened in those shows anyway. I love when someone says to me Star Trek the Next Generation was the best of all the Star Treks but never saw any of the others. While that statement is pretty much true. TNG was pretty much awesome in every way shape and form but it wouldn't exist if the original trek didn't; so you have to show some respect for the people who laid the groundwork.

The reason people do these re imaginings is because they loved those shows too! They think it would be cool to reintroduce the new generation to the types of stories that they grew up loving. They just have to up the anti because today's audiences are used to a whole different type of spectacle when it comes to film and tv. So sometimes massive blunders like Superman Returns happen. Shit at least he tried something different instead of giving us a verbatim superman story. If Bryan Singer had succeeded the new Superman could have been as good as the new batmans have been. Another monumental failure lately was Knight Rider. What a flop. Would it have worked without the Hoff? I doubt it, but it was at least worth a shot no? It could have been cool right? Maybe not. The Hoff. He was a God amongst men at one point huh?

The latest big reboot I have heard about is Predator. Robert Rodriguez is heading that one up and I think he can do a good job. I like the Predator series alot so I hope it works out. What other reboots have you heard about? Leave a comment...