We all have TV shows we hated to see end. I'm going to be very specific here, and ask, "What TV shows do you wish they could bring back with exactly the type of episodes the originals had?" Or, to put it another way, What TV shows do you NOT want to see a remake of, but a complete resurrection of the TV show as it was in its original run?
Got it?
Okay.
My list:
1. Star Trek
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, ever topped the original Kirk, Spock, and McCoy characters and the actors who played them. Kirk would rather punch out an alien than negotiate with him. McCoy could let fly with a rant at the drop of a hat. Spock could even get homicidally pissed off for someone who's not supposed to show their emotions. As a result, the interaction between these characters was a perfect example of interpersonal chemistry that has yet to be even touched, much less duplicated, in any subsequent Star Trek effort.
2. The Night Stalker
Karl Kolchak was a twitchy loner of a reporter, more often than not the butt of derisive comments by his hard-ass boss who wishes he would just report normal news. The X Files did a good job in the early years of duplicating the creepy atmosphere of "something is going to try to eat me in this episode", but for sheer originality nothing could quite duplicate the underlying uneasiness so expertly conveyed by Darren McGavin in each episode of The Night Stalker.
3. Jericho
It was a very short-lived post-apocalyptic series, but the basic premise was both frightening and not a bit preposterous. The buildup of an obviously complicated story arc became ever more suspenseful as the series progressed. The writers were so successful at weaving their storyline, in fact, that when the show was canceled, fan protests succeeded in getting a handful of episodes produced that "sort of" wrapped up the show while leaving it open for continuation. Unfortunately, that never happened.
4. 24
The early seasons were white-knuckle, nail-biting action-adventure tales with enough suspense to keep even a jaded TV viewer watching. Too bad that as the years wore on, the show became more and more predictable and politically correct, with less and less of the plausibility that made the early years great. Remember the episode where the guy had been fatally exposed to radiation and decided to sacrifice himself by flying an armed nuke to detonate harmlessly in the desert? THAT is the '24' we need back.
5. Dragnet
"Just the Facts, Ma'am." Sgt. Joe Friday used to tell interviewees. "Just the Dragnet we knew" is what we want back. The show was praised by law enforcement for portraying police work as the purview of intelligent, thoughtful professionals. Even though it has been criticized by some as being propaganda, in my opinion Dragnet did more to give birth to the modern forensic-based shows than any other TV cop show. Quincy, Cops, the CSI shows, Forensic Files, and even the complete I.D. cable channel would never have existed without the matter-of-fact realism portrayed by Dragnet.
What's your list?
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Originally Posted by Todd.K
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