by Gregory Johnson

Created on: May 02, 2009

Are there too many TV-to-movie remakes made in Hollywood? That depends on the movie. As a fan of "Star Trek", I can't wait to see the new movie. My favorite film so far is "The Wrath of Khan". Yet I have to admit that not all the "Star Trek" pictures were great. The first one and "The Final Frontier", in my opinion, were bad. Most of the ones starring the cast of "The Next Generation" were OK. I hope this new cast can bring back some excitement to the series.

Some shows should have stayed on television. Lets start with "The Beverly Hillbillies". The show captured the"fish out of water" scenario perfectly. It was made in a time when it was easy to believe that people like the Clampetts could actually exist. Now, in our high tech world, it would be hard to find anyone that out of touch with the rest of the country. The movie version just did not capture the innocence that was an essential element in the show.

Other films, such as "Bewitched" and "Starsky and Hutch" did not attempt to recapture the original spirit of their counterparts on TV. The makers of these two pictures told their stories that departed from what we saw on the small screen. "Bewitched" on the silver screen was not about Samantha and Darrin, but about an actor trying to play in an updated version of the show on TV. The original "Starsky and Hutch" was a police drama, the movie was a comedy.

Remember "McHale's Navy"? I think the producers of that film were betting that you did. Or maybe not?

Then there are the ones made with the original cast. The 1960's campy version of "Batman" spawned a theactrical release. It starred Adam West in the title role. He played it in the movie the same way he played it on television. It was not the same standard as "The Dark Knight". The cast of "The Munsters" also starred on the big screen effort, "Munsters Go Home". I think both shows played better on the small screen.

When "Lost in Space" came out, I was disappointed. Somehow, it got lost in translation. I never realized that the space family Robinson was that dysfunctional. As Dr. Smith would say, "Oh the pain, the pain..."

And now we are awaiting the opening of a new "Star Trek" and the new "Land of the Lost" pictures. I hope Hollywood is not contemplating "Gilligan's Island - The Motion Picture". Or "Leave it to Beaver - The Revenge of the Beav". Can we see "Three's Company" coming to our nearest multiplex. If Hollywood can't come up with anything better than "Charlie's Angels", then we might.

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