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Getting Back Together: A Look At Post-Cancellation Reunion Shows
Post-series reunion projects are nothing new. As an example, Gilligan's Island famously had several projects following the show's cancellation from prime time, including two different Filmation cartoons (the second took the castaways to outer space!), and several reunion telefilms including one showing them getting rescued and then re-stranded on the SAME island, another where they get rescued again and turn the island into a resort, and a third with evil scientists (Martin Landau & Barbara Bain) threatening the island resort, and the Harlem Globetrotters have to compete against robot basketball players to save the day.
Wow, post-series reunion efforts have come a long way!
Actually, I'm a bit fond of the aforementioned Gilligan productions, in a cheesy, nostalgic kind of way. But these days there are many reasons (including the internet community's watchful eye) for these projects to stick closer to the concepts which made the original franchise popular in the first place.
Not that Gilligan didn't try to stick close to home, in a way. Wacky plots were always a staple of the show, after all. Plus there's always the very real fact that the writers are expected to crank things up a notch somehow, to justify the reunion and to regain the interest of fans who may have wandered off (leading to lower ratings that resulted in the show's cancellation in the first place). It's easy to crank things up when the new project is on the silver screen: Star Trek films (and Firefly's film, Serenity) begin with higher production values including very polished special effects, more detailed models, grittier plots, etc. Sometimes you can simply do something in the theater that you couldn't do on TV, like the Get Smart big-screen effort The Nude Bomb (not that there ended up being much actual nudity in that film, but the whole plot was a tad more suggestive that you could get on the tube back in those days).
Then again, other shows had post-series reunion telefilms that stuck much closer to the heart of what fans were looking for: Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Little House on the Prairie, Columbo, Alien Nation, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Spenser: For Hire and even The Dukes of Hazzard.
More recently the cable/satellite and DVD markets have opened up new vistas for these post-series reunions. In some cases there are direct-to-DVD features, like last week's fun release of Futurama: Bender's Big Score. There's a great sequence at the beginning where Prof. Farnsworth informs the staff of Planet Express that they've all been fired...for two years now, because they had been canceled by the "morons at the delivery service" that is slyly referred to in the feature as "The Box Network" (note the defective sign that turns the "B" into an "F"). Before anyone has a chance to clean out their desks, though, Farnsworth gets a call saying that they were "back on the air" (he indicates their spaceship) because the "idiots" who had canceled the crew of Planet Express were, themselves, fired. And then beaten up ("and pretty badly, too"). And then...well, find out for yourself! Futurama fans will love the DVD; my entire family enjoyed it together the other day. It's the first of four planned direct-to-DVD Futurama features, inspired by the huge success of the TV-DVDs of the four seasons which aired on Fox. Next up is Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, and tentative titles for the other two are Bender's Game and The Wild Green Yonder. When all four are complete, they will be "chopped up" into television episodes, to air on Comedy Central as a "fifth season" of the show.
Another recent program to get some direct-to-DVD releases will be Stargate SG-1, which left viewers hanging when the show stopped production after 10 seasons. The arc of stories featuring the aliens known as The Ori was never finished, but fans will get their conclusion with the March 11th DVD release of Stargate SG-1 - The Ark of Truth. And if that's not enough for you, then be prepared for the Fall 2008 release of Stargate SG-1 - Continuum on DVD, featuring the return of a long-running villain: the Goa'uld System Lord Ba'al. He's plotting to use time travel to prevent the SG-1 team from ever being formed, thereby restoring the Goa'uld to their glory. Sure it sounds like a rather familiar plot, but we'll have to see how well they carry it off.
Adrian Paul's role of Highlander Duncan MacLeod continues to get a workout on his quest to be "the one". After the syndicated series ended in '98, Duncan appeared with Conner MacLeod (Christopher Lambert; no relation to this writer) in the 2000 feature film Highlander: Endgame. But things didn't end there for Duncan; he's gotten back together with series characters Methos and Joe Dawson on a new quest: Sci-Fi Channel's airing last September of Highlander: The Source. Originally planned as the fifth theatrical movie, it has instead become the first of three planned new cable films continuing Duncan MacLeod's story. Just the other day it was announced that Highlander: The Source would come to DVD on February 26th.
It's this sort of climate that encourages producers to keep on doing "just one more" for the fans. Ricky Gervais created (and starred in) the U.K. version of The Office, which led to the USA version of the show. Although the British program was quite successful, Gervais and co-creator Stephen Merchant ended it after two seasons (well, in the U.K. they use the word "series" to indicate what we call a "season"). Why so soon? Gervais has been quoted as saying that he feels that his shows shouldn't go on longer than that, because "more would dilute the quality". He's applied that same philosophy to his recent HBO/BBC production Extras, concluding it after two seasons as well. However, he kept having ideas for more, but rather than do a third season, he's decided to instead opt for a Christmas Special they are calling Extras - Extra Special Series Finale. The 80-minute (some sources say 90-minute) production guest stars David Tennant (rumored to be "in costume" as Doctor Who), Clive Owen (Sin City) and singer George Michael, among others. HBO airs it on December 16th (in the U.K. the BBC broadcasts it Christmas Day), and then it comes to DVD on January 15th as part of the Extras - The Complete Series Gift Set.
Yes, we've come a long way since The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island. Or...have we? Tell us what YOU think!
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Dec 6, 2007 7:22 AM
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Can't wait for the Extra's special finale. In fact, that's what's keeping me from buying the individual season sets (especially at such a good price now on Amazon)-I want the series set with the special.
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Dec 6, 2007 11:57 AM
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I guess it depends on what you want from a reunion project as to whether the new ones are any better or worse than the early ones.
As an example, I found the recent Highlander movie on Sci-Fi to be an interesting take on the ideas of the franchise and I'm hoping they do make the other two movies in the planned trilogy. Most Highlander fans, however, seem to hate the movie, and consider it the worst Highlander project ever made since the second movie, which is raising some questions as to whether the other two planned movies will be made.
Unfortunately, the producers have to walk a fine line with these projects. They have to balance what the fans want while still finding ways to tell a new story instead of just making the reunion a stale rehash of the original.
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Dec 6, 2007 6:34 PM
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Alien Nation had quite a few good TV movie follow-ups and Pretender was, I believe, one short of what they were supposed to get.
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Dec 21, 2007 8:44 PM
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I disagree with the notion of ending it too soon because you are AFRAID you might mess it up. This seems to me to be a bit of cowardice masked behind an arrogant stance by several British TV series creators and some fans. It is one thing to come in with a plan for its completion within a short timeframe, I respect the original plan for The Prisoner as a short series but when some fans come along hoping Doctor Who will end I get upset. I respect going a long time and keeping the quality up, fighting adversity and learning from some mistakes. I love Life on Mars, I think the ending seemed rushed and one more series would have helped it but it will be further explored in Ashes to Ashes so I will accept that.
I am in favor of TV reunion movies where the characters are coming together again not the actors reminiscing. The only problem with the Gilligan's Island films were lack of real Ginger Tina Louise but it was still fun to see the rest again and the story continued. I enjoyed seeing the then surviving castmembers on Alf, the Brady Bunch on Day by Day (please bring this to DVD!!!) and the Jeffersons on Fresh Prince. The cartoons were better than some say, I think they stayed true to the show and get a bad rep.
For this matter I want DVDs of the animated versions of Gilligan, Dukes, Happy Days, Brady Bunch, Laverne & Shirley in th Army with the Fonz, Mork & Mindy, Gidget, That Girl, Patridge Family, Ed Grimly, Baggy Pants & the Nitwits (Laugh-In's Gladys and Tyrone) and whatever else there is including a spinoff special of Rhoda called Carlton Your Doorman.
I think successful TV movie sequels include Pretender, Incredible Hulk, Bionic Woman / Six Million Dollar Man, growing Pains and Dukes of Hazard. I don't really recall well the Green Acres reunion. I have seen others, I enjoyed the sequel series of Kung-Fu and Burke's Law.
We need telefilms to wrap up canceled shows with strong fanbases or continue the story. I think the actors in Brisco County Jr. could still pull it off and many fans want to see John Doe concluded. I would not mind a Sledge Hammer film.
How about a NewsRadio one? I know Phil Hartman's absence was felt but that show was more than him, it was the chemistry amongst everyone. I could take a NewsRadio live action film or an animated series. Even if they can't get the owners to go along with it, someone should just make a films with all of the actors in it in similar personality roles, treat them as a comedy team like the Carry On Gang or the Marx Brothers. They could play it like those season finales in different periods perhaps do the superhero story they never got to make or a murder mystery.
Bring back the Night Court gang in film but set it amongst the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court.
Reunite the surviving Soap members with the cast of Benson for Benson and Jessica to marry. I know major Soap players are dead but these two are still alive in reality, they could wrap up loose ends of Soap through story.
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Dec 29, 2007 6:41 PM
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