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The TV-to-Theater Tie-in Game
On December 18th, two big-screen versions of popular television shows come to home video: DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of The Simpsons Movie and Underdog. Not long after, on January 13th, Fox debuts the small-screen version of a big-time film franchise: Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (starring Lena Headey of 300 and Thomas Dekker of Heroes as Sarah and John Conner).
When TV first caught on, it originally caused a huge decline in film box office. So much so that theaters started inventing new technologies to get viewer back in the cinemas: 3-D didn't catch on so much, but widescreen certainly became a standard of the theatrical experience. So much so that TVs are now widescreen, too.
But the TV-to-Theater connection has always been strong. Episodes of I Love Lucy were strung together with new scenes to form a film...one that's been lost for decades, but now can be gotten on the new "complete series" DVD collection. Popular films of yesteryear like Peyton Place spun off into classic television shows. And the Adam West version of Batman may not be on DVD yet, but the film release - featuring the Caped Crusaders against united villians like The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman - has been sitting on fans' shelves for years.
For the boob-tube-to-box-office connection, there seem to be five main categories: 1) Films that spun off into television shows, like M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate. 2) Popular TV shows that ended but continued in cinematic forms, like Star Trek, Firefly and the Police Squad/Naked Gun franchise. 3) Some shows were popular enough to have theatrical versions that appeared while the series was still running, like X-Files: Fight The Future, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut or the original animated Transformers: The Movie. 4) Out-and-out film remakes of classic programs, such as the recent big screen versions of Dukes of Hazzard, Mission: Impossible and Fat Albert. 5) Then, of course, are stories that started in a different media, which eventually inspired both television and theatrical versions of the story. These include legends like Robin Hood and comic books like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and The Hulk. For our purposes, let's leave this last category out.
I've given a handful of examples for each. I can think of a ton more...in fact, I've got a list going! But now it's YOUR turn. Which ones can you think of that fall into the first four categories? What are your favorites? Which ones worked better on the small screen? The big screen? Let's have some fun this weekend and think of the best and worst of these!!
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Nov 16, 2007 8:38 PM
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I enjoyed the tv series "Magnificent Seven" based on the movie of the same name. I also remember watching "Walking Tall" with Bo Svenson when I was a kid. It was based on, I think, a trilogy of movies. I also remember an absolutely horrible series based on the movie "Westworld". I think it was called "Beyond Westworld" and was cancelled after only a few airings.
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Nov 17, 2007 3:19 AM
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Well, I've got a few that I know of, though you've covered one of them already. Most were actually 80's cartoons, but they're also the ones I'm most aware of, being of the right age to have watched them when they first aired.
Transformers: This should actually fall under categories 3 and 5 for both movies. After all, they started off as a toy line and spun off into comics and TV, then had the movies, and the comics and TV shows are still being made. This definitely worked best on TV, with the first three series easily being the best liked. The live-action movie this year may have done well financially, but in my opinion as a fan, it didn't deserve the name Transformers as the robots were little more than guest stars and got less character development than they did in even the worst of the TV incarnations.
Highlander: Started out as a movie in the mid 80's, ended up with 5 more movies and 3 TV series, one of them animated. The first live-action series probably handled things better than any other version of Highlander. Unfortunately, things started to fall apart with the end of the fifth season, and they never quite managed to fix things in the spin-off. The cartoon version was really toned down from what I've heard, and none of the sequel movies have generated the same kind of reaction as the first movie or the first TV series.
GoBots: The Transformers competitors made an appearance in movie theaters in the 80's as well with "Battle of the Rock Lords." I'd be hard pressed to call either version better than the other as the movie was an extension of the TV series, and they were both done, as near as I know, by the same people.
He-Man/She-Ra: Like the Transformers and GoBots, they had a theatrical release, and He-Man even made the leap to live-action. The cartoon movie served to bridge the gap between the two series and was produced by the same people who made the cartoons, so like the GoBots, I'd be hard pressed to say which was better there, but the cartoons, far exceeded the live-action move in terms of quality.
Ghostbusters: Live-action movie to 80's Saturday morning cartoon. I'd say both worked equally well, neither really having an edge on the other.
Voltron: Not quite there yet, but a live-action movie is in the works.
And the last one is debatable, Dungeons & Dragons. Like Transformers, it started out in another format, but the characters in the cartoon and the movie are not even close to being connected. The only thing they have in common is the title. Still, I'd have to say the cartoon was better than the live-action movie. The made-for-TV sequel to the movie was also better than the theatrical version, so I'd have to give the TV incarnations the nod on this one.
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Nov 17, 2007 7:51 AM
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re: "And the last one is debatable, Dungeons & Dragons. Like Transformers, it started out in another format, but the characters in the cartoon and the movie are not even close to being connected. The only thing they have in common is the title."
And THIS is exactly why I think category 5 isn't good to include!
On the other hand, it's a fine line to walk. The Adam West Batman series certainly connects with the Adam West Batman film, but not with the Michael Keaton film. Then again, one could argue that the Michael Keaton Batman film lead to Batman: The Animated Series. But none of it happens without comic books.
He-Man/She-Ra and Transformers, among others, could be said to be toy lines that inspired the TV shows, true. And I put the live-action Masters of the Universe film with Dolph Lundgren firmly into category 4.
Shodan, I'm surprised you didn't also bring up the Rambo cartoons, especially since the 4th film, John Rambo, is in the works. The cartoons (all on DVD and about to be re-released/re-promoted in January) came about after the success of the second film. But the first film was based on a book, First Blood, so is that a category 5 as well?
Poloboy, a couple of good ones there!
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Nov 17, 2007 8:12 AM
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How about Alien Nation? It started out as a movie, became a TV series and then a series of 5 TV movies. Or Starman? It was a movie that became a one season TV show.
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Nov 17, 2007 8:24 AM
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Good ones, Cajun!
How about Planet of the Apes? It was a series of 5 films (the first one remade in recent years) that became both a live-action TV show and a cartoon. Of course, the whole thing was based on Pierre Boulle's novel.
But then again, M*A*S*H was ultimately based on Richard Hooker's novel.
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Nov 17, 2007 9:22 AM
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Here's an additional list:
The Adventures of Bullwinkle Moose and Rocky the Squirrel
Battlestar Galactica & Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (both pilots debuted in movie theaters before running on TV)
Car 54 Where Are You
Dragnet
The Flintstones
The Fugitive
The Green Hornet
Inspector Gadget
Logan's Run
McHale's Navy
Miami Vice
The Mod Squad
The Saint
Starsky & Hutch
SWAT
The Twilight Zone
The Untouchables
The Wild Wild West
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Nov 17, 2007 10:13 AM
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Firefly and Serenity
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Nov 17, 2007 10:16 AM
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One of my favorite TV comedies growing up was "The Odd Couple". This was originally a Neil Simon PLAY, then a movie, next the well loved TV show, and is now a play again (both in original version and a VERY funny all female cast version).
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Nov 17, 2007 11:58 AM
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ddayoub, the main viewing of Galactica on the big screen was actually in Europe, but it counts. Rocky & Bullwinkle's film remake was called Boris & Natasha. Right after The Flintstones ended there was a film The Man Called Flintstone, which I actually have a copy of it on the recalled-just-as- it-streeted DVD (licensing issues).
I was wondering when someone would mention that Logan's Run got made into a brief TV series starring Gregory Harrison ("Gonzo" of Trapper John, MD).
Twilight Zone: The Movie just hit home video, finally, and is among the many modern remakes you list (I can't believe you remembered recent films for Car 54, and I admit I didn't even know about a 2006 Green Hornet remake until I just checked it on IMDB...very good!).
Leah, I mentioned Firefly in my original post. What else ya' got?
Leeman, there was actually a 1982 New Odd Couple series as well, with Ron Glass (Barney Miller, Firefly/Serenity) and Demond Wilson (Sandford & Son as Felix and Oscar. The female version of the play started in 1985 with Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno!
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Nov 17, 2007 12:00 PM
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sorry, i just skimmed. I;ll think of something.
But, it never hurts to mention it again, because it's so awesome.
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Nov 17, 2007 12:06 PM
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They made some crappy brady bunch movies.
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Nov 17, 2007 12:07 PM
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Hey, I liked the first couple of those "crappy" Brady Bunch movies! :P
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Nov 17, 2007 12:10 PM
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I thought the movie version of "The Mod Squad" was a real insult to a great show. I also didnt like the movie S.W.A.T. compared to show. Will Smith in Wild Wild West was also an insult to the show.I thought the Untouchables movie was good. I thought The odd couple was a great movie to tv conversion. The magnificent Seven was a good show. I did not like the movie version of Starsky and Hutch, I hated making it a dumb comedy. One show I did enjoy coming from movie to Tv was Fame. I am really glad that the movie version of six million dollar man with jim carey never came to be, I was scared of how they would ruin the show.
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Nov 17, 2007 3:30 PM
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There was Dark Shadows, long running TV show that spawned two movies, one pretty much a recap ofthe first couple storylines in a "what if" sort of setting, House of Dark Shadows, as well as a second movie which didn't seem to have much to do with the series, Night of Dark Shadows.
Fire, Walk With Me would probably fall into these categories as well, being a prequel film to Twin Peaks, though it was filmed afterwards.
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Nov 17, 2007 4:04 PM
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