After reading the thread to the Greek Wedding post, I got thinking about all the TV series' based on movies, and there were quite a few. Then I tried to think of those series' , based on films, that were actually good, there were even fewer still. Right off the bat, I thought of Dragnet, which if not terribly good, was long running, and has even spawned a new series. Probably, M*A*S*H was the best movie-based series in my lifetime(post 1975). I vaguely remember a series based on Walking Tall, though it may have been a TV movie, and it probably wasn't that good. Any one remember the tv series Serpico? How about Blue Thunder starring Bubba Smith and Dick Butkis(sp?)? The Dukes Of Hazzard was based on a b-movie called Moonrunners, although, again , there is some debate over whether the series was actually "good".
I guess in the end, the question of good or bad is irrelevant, and it comes down to whether the show is entertaining. I've heard good things about the Deadzone series, but I can't get past the Anthony Michael Hall thing, too much John Hughes damage from my childhood. What are some of the best, or at least most entertaining TV series' based on films?
* The brand of humor in the M*A*S*H TV series was a lot different than the movie . . . I preferred the movie.
* There was a VERY short-lived WALKING TALL television series starring Bo Svenson. I saw one episode. It was terrible. I think it only lasted 1/2 a season (at most). There was also a WALKING TALL television movie called A GREAT AMERICAN HERO, starring Brian Dennehy.
* The SERPICO series also did not last very long. The star was David Birney.
* There was a FUTUREWORLD televsion series that was terrible. The whole premise was that the robots were "living among us." Every show ended the same way . . . the robots eyes were vulnerable, so they used to spray foam or something into the eyes to defeat the robots.
* There was a fairly bad LOGAN'S RUN series.
* There was an ANIMAL HOUSE series called DELTA HOUSE that was gawd-awful.
*There was a PAPER CHASE series.
* There was a PAPER MOON series.
* There was a TOPPER series (I think there was even a series called THE RETURN OF TOPPER or something and I think Kate Jackson was in it).
* There was a cheesy PLANET OF THE APES series (now available on DVD).
Let me sit back & see if I can come up with any others.
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How could I have forgotten Logan's Run? I loved that show when I was a kid(hey, I WAS a kid) I remember it starred Gonzo from Trapper John, MD, which might also be called a movie-based tv show, since the character Trapper John is from MASH. I also vaguely remember the Paper Chase show, only because I was very young and found it very boring.
I also prefer the film version of MASH, but I also enjoyed the show. Possibly because I didn't know it was based on a movie until I was about 13. And what about Alice, wasn't it based(loosely) on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore?
Yes . . . I almost forgot about ALICE, which was based on ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (the Martin Scorsese film that everyone seems to forget about).
Additions to my previous list:
* HOGAN'S HEROES, which was partially based on STALAG 17 and partially based on THE GREAT ESCAPE.
* VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
* FANTASTIC VOYAGE (a cartoon series based on the movie)
* KING KONG (another cartoon series)
* JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (yet ANOTHER cartoon series)
* THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER
* THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR
* PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES
(Okay . . . now I'm starting to show my age . . . )
More to come!
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Buffy. Movie sucked, but the series is oddly addicting.
I find Stargate SG1 entertaining
It was not a good TV show by any stretch of the imagination, but "9 to 5" was made into a show (I think). Of course, the movie didn't really give it much to go from.
Hey, BACK TO THE FUTURE was made into a cartoon series...
Additional update . . .
* STARMAN (with Robert Hays in the Jeff Bridges role) - another series that had a very short life
* SHAFT (with Richard Roundtree reprising his role from the movies)
* THE WALTONS (which came from the movies SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN, and later, THE HOMECOMING)
More to come . . .
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-THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS cartoon
-EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS (although based more off of RGB than the movies, it did make references to the movies)
-MEN IN BLACK (surprisingly good cartoon)
-THE CROW: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
As for poor TV shows/cartoons made from movies...
-GODZILLA THE SERIES (based off Deanzilla)
-EVOLUTION (how the f**k did they manage to make a cartoon off of a movie with a definite ending?)
Even more . . .
* KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER came from the TV movies THE NIGHT STALKER and THE NIGH STRANGLER
* IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT was based on the Sidney Poitier/Rod Steiger movie of the same name
* NIGHT GALLERY was a movie as well as a TV series
I didn't realize there were so many of these. Thanks for bringing up this topic Deej.
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What about the "Ewoks" and "Droids" cartoons?
Holy Balls!! It's amazing what you come up with if you just ask the right people. I had forgotten about(or didn't even know about) so many of these shows. I was about 10 when Starman was on tv and I thought it was pretty cool. Interesting fact, the kid who played the half alien son in Starman, the tv show based on a movie, went on to play Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch movies, which were, of course, based on the tv show. I also forgot In the Heat Of the Night, I never really watched the show but the movie kicked ass.
I also just remembered The Odd Couple. Not only did it spawn the famous sit-com with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, but also The New Odd Couple, with Oscar and Felix played by Black actors. My downstairs neighbor informs me that Casablanca was adapted into a tv series in the fifties, that's pretty hard to picture.
Does anyone remember the weekly series that was based on the early life of Elvis? It was on in the late 80's or early 90's. It wasn't based on a movie, but since I was thinking of all these tv shows it just popped into my head.
What about HIGHLANDER? Not only did it spawn two TV shows but also a short-lived cartoon.
NOT saying they're good, just throwing in Friday the 13th & Nightmare on Elm Street for good measure.
Fast Time at Ridgemonth High -> Fast Times
Ferris Buellor's Day Off -> Ferris Buellor
Clueless -> Clueless
Parenthood -> Parenthood
Dirty Dancing -> Dirty Dancing
War of the Worlds -> War of the Worlds
Alien Nation -> Alien Nation
>Buffy. Movie sucked, but the series is oddly addicting.
I didn't think the movie was that great either, but I've found that if you watch it while imagining it as an episode of the TV show, it doesn't seem so bad.
And which came first, the Naked Gun movies, or the Police Squad! series?
Police Squad came first, I'm pretty sure.
The only two good movie-tv conversions I can think of right now are Stargate SG-1, which I quite like, and Weird Science, which started off really well. When it was first shown in the UK it started off being broadcast at like 12:30 on a Tuesday night, pretty much noone noticed it and it gained a little bit of cult status with fans of the film. BUt around the same time it started getting shown two or three times a day on Trouble (a channel thats pretty much filled with Fresh Prince/Hangin With Mr Cooper/Baywatch/Parkers/Steve Harvey repeats, among lots of other crap) it really went downhill, wasnt funny anymore. But I thought all the cast were really well chosen.
Pete
Does a TV miniseries count as a film? If so, then V: THE SERIES was based on the miniseries V and V: THE FINAL BATTLE.
Filmation produced a FLASH GORDON cartoon in the early 80's. It was based on the comic strip, but it's debut on TV was intended to capitalize on the feature film's release.
Well Bill and Ted had 2 shows on one a cartoon and one a live action on Fox that didn't last more than a week I think. Then Robocop had two shows a saturday morning cartoon, who's only episode I remember is when a reporter blames Robo Cop for pushing him in his version of a tape, but then another reporter played her tape with the volume up where Robo tells him to move because something was going to kill him. And then there was the Live action show hich was pretty funny.
O and I can't forget Mantis, Pointman, and Nightman. All based off of Tv movies
Hey... I wanted to THANK YOU guys for all these related posts for this topic. I run a radio prep service, and with the timely debut of My Big Fat Greek Life (which I smell a BIG stink bomb), your comments sparked the idea for me to create a list of movies and the TV series that were made/based on them. I went a step further to name the star of the movie and the star in the TV series that played them. Here's the list (for grins). They're not in any particular order:
MOVIE/STAR
TV SERIES/STAR
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore/Ellen Burstyn
Alice/Linda Lavin
M*A*S*H*/Donald Sutherland
M*A*S*H*/Alan Alda
The Courtship Of Eddie's Father/Glenn Ford
The Courtship Of Eddie's Father/Bill Bixby
Working Girl/Melanie Griffith
Working Girl/Sandra Bullock
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer/Kristy Swanson
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer/Sarah Michelle Gellar
9 To 5/Lilly Tomlin
9 To 5/Rita Moreno
Starman/Jeff Bridges
Starman/Robert Hays
The Odd Couple/Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
The Odd Couple/Tony Randall, Jack Klugman
Clueless/Alicia Silverstone
Clueless/Rachel Blanchard
Fast Times at Ridgemont High/Sean Penn
Fast Times/Dean Cameron
Ferris Bueller's Day Off/Matthew Broderick
Ferris Bueller/Charlie Schlatter
Parenthood/Steve Martin
Parenthood/Ed Begley, Jr.
Dirty Dancing/Patrick Swayze
Dirty Dancing/Patrick Cassidy
Serpico/Al Pacino
Serpico/David Birney
Logan's Run/Michael York
Logan's Run/Gregory Harrison
The Paper Chase/Timmothy Bottoms
The Paper Chase/James Stephens
Paper Moon/Ryan O'Neal
Paper Moon/Christopher Connelly
Private Benjamin/Goldie Hawn
Private Benjamin/Lorna Patterson
The Big Easy/Dennis Quaid
The Big Easy/Tony Crane
Harry and the Hendersons/John Lithgow
Harry and the Hendersons/Bruce Davison
The Net/Sandra Bullock
The Net/Brooke Langton
Party Girl/Parker Posey
Party Girl/Christine Taylor
The Client/Susan Sarandon
The Client/JoBeth Williams
Gidget/Sandra Dee
Gidget/Sally Field
Hotel/Rod Taylor
Hotel/James Brolin
Honey I Shrunk the Kids/Rick Moranis
Honey I Shrunk the Kids/Peter Scolari
Thanks again!
raj wrote:
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> And which came first, the Naked Gun movies, or the Police
> Squad! series?
Police Squad! came first.
I just thought of another one;
The Bad News Bears