Merely reinventing the 80’s on the small screen

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I was watching TV last week, procrastinating doing homework, when I saw a commercial for the upcoming Magnum P.I. remake. It stars Jay Hernandez as the lead role and kicked-off this past Monday.

I have two problems with this. First, Jay Hernandez can’t even grow a moustache. In the preview he has a little bit of scruff, but Tom Selleck’s hall of fame lip toupee would immediately put that to shame. Second, haven’t we had enough remakes of TV shows from the 80s already?

Just in the last two years, there’ve been remakes of Lethal Weapon, MacGyver and now Magnum P.I. I do not understand what it is about Hollywood’s nostalgia with action shows and movies from the 80s.

The thing with remakes these days is that it’s either the prequel to the original series, or a full-on redo of the original show. But to me, it seems lacking.

It doesn’t really show much creativity to redo something that someone has done before that was successful. Back in the 80s, shows like MacGyver and Magnum P.I. would get massive followings and became popular because they were original ideas. The shows, at the time, were fresh and had some new hook or angle.

Remakes today are just taking the same characters, with new actors and new stories. It’s not a new idea. And most of the time, it’s not as good as the original.

On IMDB, the new MacGyver with Lucas Till is rated at a 5.1/10 while the original 1985 version with Richard Dean Anderson is rated at a 7.7/10 and has become a cult classic for 80s shows.

While there are some who believe that a fresh modern take on an old classic show is a good idea, it really doesn’t show much originality and is kind of lazy.

Also, if shows that are remakes are supposed to be prequels, like MacGyver, there are some storylines and character aspects that do not match up with the original show. Like the changing of Pete Thornton from male to female or that MacGyver was always a secret agent.

For good television, it is much better to come up with new ideas and shows. Look at the Emmys this year: all of the nominees for best drama or comedy series were all original shows. The Americans, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, This is Us, Atlanta, Black-ish and Curb Your Enthusiasm just to name a few.

Even in Canada, some shows that have cult followings were original. Letterkenny and Trailer Park Boys being two of the most popular.

While there are some who believe that a fresh modern take on an old classic show is a good idea, it really doesn’t show much originality and is kind of lazy.

As a writer, I love making up new stories with characters and giving them their own story, traits and relationships.

The process of coming up with these things is fun and exciting. And if the story is good enough, it will become a cult classic.

It is much better to create something from scratch than to recreate something that was already great and done once.

Plus, it wouldn’t kill Jay Hernandez to at least try to grow a moustache.

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