"Yes, it is very impressive, but that's not why we're here."
In 1982, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, collectively known as ZAZ, brought their brand of humour to the small screeen. Police Squad!, a parody of classic Quinn-Martin police procedural series, starred Leslie Nielsen as Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective-Lieutenant, Police Squad. The show was a torrent of jokes and gags subtle and blatant, from the opening titles to the freeze frame of the closing credits. Alas, the series lasted just six episodes. The network (ABC) claimed that the show required people to pay attention; their studies showed that most households used the TV as background noise, paying attention only time to time. The network may have had a point; in the first episode, if you missed Drebin's opening narration mentioning a rash of assaults of models that left them nude in laundromats on the west side of town that wasn't his assignment, seeing the laundry basket in his back seat in a later act would be confusing.
ZAZ continued making feature films. In 1988, they released The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, with Nielsen returning as Drebin. This time, ZAZ didn't have to worry about people not paying attention; at the theatre, people are paying to watch the movie. The jokes could get a little racier as well, though the Naked Gun series is relatively clean. With a larger budget, ZAZ got Ricardo Montalban to play the conniving villain who schemed to cause an international incident by killing the Queen of England, and Reggie Jackson, who was paid half a million for just three days of work. (I'd say Jackson was very convincing in his role as an outfielder for the Angels.)
Several running gags from the TV series were brought back for the movie, including having the guest star killed in an unusual manner. However, instead of killing Montalban in the opening credits, his character was killed at the climax of the movie in one of the more unusual deaths in cinematic history. (Fell off the upper deck of the stadium, run over by a bus, run over by a steamroller, and run over by the USC Trojan Marching Band playing "Louie, Louie". Heck of a way to go.) The sequels followed the pattern. Robert Goulet was the lucky actor to be killed both in the TV series (executed by firing squad) and Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear (knocked off the roof of a tall building, bounced off an awning to land safely on his feet, then mauled by a lion).
One of the main problems in bringing a TV series, especially a half-hour comedy, to the big screen is fleshing out the plot to last ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes. Fortunately, the ZAZ team had several movies already under their belt by the time Police Squad! aired, including Airplane! and Top Secret. On top, the entire purpose of Police Squad! was to spoof police procedurals, throwing in as many gags as possible during the running time. Extending both the plot and the number of gags was simple enough; adding a romantic subplot and a plot-relevant baseball game helped with both.
The adaptation to the movies benefited Police Squad!. The reputation ZAZ gained through their previous works brought in new viewers while the audience that had seen the show on TV could finally get more. Movie audiences would pay attention to what was on screen; the distraction of a busy home would not be a factor. Restrictions imposed by the network's Broadcast Standards and Practices could be ignored to a greater degree.
The Naked Gun is an unusual case in terms of movie adaptations. It was more finding the right format for Police Squad! than remaking it for the silver screen. Ultimately, the change of format was the best thing that could happen.
Next time, a twist for the column.
n 1953, a former British spy, on the eve of his wedding day, worked out his apprehension over his marriage by writing a story and, in the process, created one of the best known secret agents, James Bond. Ian Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale gained popularity, leading to twelve novels and two collections short stories. In 1954, Casino Royale was made into its first adaptation as a CBS TV movie featuring the agent "Jimmie Bond". Later, in 1962, Cubby Broccoli, working with Fleming, adapted Dr. No as a theatrical release starring Sean Connery.
With the success of Dr. No, other 007 novels were adapted. The follow up, From Russia With Love, also remained faithful to the original novel. The third movie, Goldfinger, kept close to the original until the titular villain's plans were revealed. Goldfinger also marked the start of the success formula used in most of the 007 movies that followed, with car chases, gadgets, and beautiful women. Parodies, including the 1967 Casino Royale with Woody Allen, the 1966 Our Man Flint with James Coburn, and the 1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery with Mike Myers came out, all inspired by the 007 movies. As a franchise, 007 was only recently topped by Harry Potter in terms of revenue.
In 2006, the James Bond franchise received a reboot, going back to the beginning to show how Bond became 007 in Casino Royale. Daniel Craig took over the role of Bond and brought the spy back to his roots in the novels as a newly appointed 00 agent. The movie followed the plot of the original novel closely. The changes made were more to account for viewers' knowledge and for dramatic effect; for example, baccarat, a game that turns on the draw of a card, was replaced with Texas Hold'em poker, which had gained a large following through televised games. Gone was the suave spy as portrayed by Roger Moore. Craig's 007 was more a blunt instrument, leaving a swath of disruption in his first mission. Bond was more human, dealing with insecurities and inexperience while trying to penetrate Quantum (replacing SMERSH from the original novel).
The new Casino Royale counts as both a reboot of the 007 franchise and an adaptation of the original novel. The risks were that fans wouldn't accept Daniel Craig as Bond, that the reboot would feel like a step backward after decades of a sophisticated and experienced 007, that too many changes were made. Keeping close to the original story helped; with Casino Royale the first 007 novel, the expectations of Bond as a new 00 agent were kept reasonable. The movie still had elements from previous movies that worked; a car chase that ended in a record number of rolls, gambling in the high society of Monte Carlo, and the beautiful foil Vesper. Events from Casino Royale continued into the following movie, Quantum of Solace, showing both Bond's human side and his evolving into the 007 of previous movies.
Once again, having a production team that cared for the property beyond the revenue generated helped. It would have been easy to use the title and created a plot out of random elements in the book, as had happened with Moonraker. Instead, EON continued its work in treating 007 with respect.
Next time, an adaptation finds its audience, in colour!
One of the biggest movie franchises wrapped up with the release of the second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The movie adaptation of the young wizard's tale definitely deserves a look.
What started as a children's story of a young orphan who discovers that his parents were wizards turned into an engrossing epic of good and evil mixed with a coming of age. JK Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, came out in 1997 and took the publishing industry by storm. Each book in the series took place each year at the fabled Hogwarts, the story growing more intricate as Harry matured and learned more about magic, Voldemort, and himself.
Naturally, when a book becomes a phenomenom, Hollywood wants to get in on the act. Warner Brothers picked up the movie license and, in 2001, released the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The adaptation to the silver screen carried risks. At the time the first movie came out, only four of the planned seven books had been released. This added a complication to the adaptation of what could be safely removed from the movie without losing potential plot elements. At the same time, the time limitations of a movie required the removal of scenes. Casting would also be critical. Actors would have to be found to portray the characters as they grew. The potential for disaster looms; a child actor could decide that an acting career isn't what he or she wants during the teenage years. The child actor could also hit puberty early, growing out of the part. Worse, the first movie could bomb at the box office, killing the series.
Once again, like in previous installments of Lost in Translation, directors and writers cared about the property. Casting brought in talented actors, both young and old. Helping the younger actors were a supporting cast of experienced talent that could be used as tutors and role models during filming. Many of the young actors grew into the roles, especially James and Oliver Phelps, who played the Weasely twins, Fred and George. The length of the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was dealt with by spltting it into two movies instead of cutting out critical elements.
Overall, the Harry Potter franchise was treated well. Warner Brothers saw the value of the series and didn't use it to turn a fast dollar. Again, as previously mentioned, taking care to properly adapt a title is critical to ensuring the final result isn't reviled by fans.
Next time, a cold war icon gets a reboot.
This entry is going to veer away from the visual medium. Reboots don't just happen on screen. Adaptations can still be informative even when in a different genre. In the case of this entry's subject, a reboot can be polarizing.
In 1974, Tactical Studies Rules, a small company in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, released what would become a culture-changing phenomenom. The original release of Dungeons & Dragons was a three-booklet boxed set, adapting the company's previous Chainmail fantasy miniatures rules for fantasy role-playing. As the game's popularity grew, the rules were revised and expanded. The expansion resulted in a split as Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were released. The former kept to the previous rules; non-human characters were classes in and of themselves. AD&D, however, allowed non-humans to take on roles such as fighter, thief, magic-user, or cleric.
The game exploded in the 80s. Ads for the game appeared in comics, in magazines, even on TV. AD&D entered the cultural subconscious. To be fair, it was never a smooth ride. People looking for a scapegoat latched on to the "D&D is Satanic" bandwagon. (Oddly, that didn't hurt sales. Something about forbidden fruit being the most tantalizing.) Sure, the game got tagged as a nerd pastime, but those who played enjoyed it.
After about a decade of rules revisions published through various supplements and through Dragon Magazine (TSR's own house publication), a new edition was released. The second edition brought together the various rules updates and cleaned up some of the problem spots. Around this time, TSR's licensing included computer and video games, cashing in on the new trend that was inspired by AD&D. The 90s, though, saw a boom in the number of RPG publishers competing with TSR for the top spot. Although none really came close, several companies, including White Wolf (Vampire: the Masquerade) and Steve Jackson Games (GURPS), rose up with their own systems and gained their own followings.
During the 90s, where various activist groups such as Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons failed, upper management succeeded in the destruction of TSR. As a result of some poor decisions by upper management, the company declared bankruptcy. Its assets were sold off; the biggest asset being the D&D trademark. The game was picked up by Wizards of the Coast, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. A new edition came out, called Dungeons & Dragons. The system changed the mechanics drastically, switching to a pure d20 plus modifier core mechanic, but kept the key ideas (classes and levels, Vancian magic) intact. Overall, D&D 3rd Edition was successful; the game was still the 800 pound gorilla of the industry. WotC also released the rules as part of an Open Gaming License, letting other companies use the core rules for their own settings. The 90s saw many small companies releasing settings that used the d20 rule set.
With the very brief history of D&D out of the way, we come to the subject of this entry - Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. As with the previous editions, the third edition rules gained a lot of cruft, adding to the complexity to an already complex game. In 2000, a fourth edition was released. The d20 mechanics were kept, but characters' abilities had undergone a massive change. Vancian magic, that is, magic where the caster forgets the spell after casting, was gone. Instead, characters of all classes gained powers at each level. Wizards no longer were a one-shot wands of Magic Missile at first level, nor did hostile cats pose a lethal threat to them. Fighters saw their abilities with swords improve with each level; no longer were they the meatshield at lower levels and cannon fodder at higher ones.
The potential drawbacks were vast. Would the new rules be accepted as D&D? Internet flame wars still rage over that very question. The new mechanics also saw a return to D&D's miniatures heritage. The new edition almost required minitures on a battle map. Gone was the exploration aspect of previous versions; the fourth edition changed abilities to an encounter-based economy. A good DM could bring in exploration, but the core mechanics didn't allow for a random encounter. With the new rules, a wizard could take a hit from an orc with a longsword and still fight; whether this is good or bad depends on the player.
Not all the changes were accepted by players. One common criticism is that the game feels more like a collectable card game (CCG), not a role playing game. Each power, whether a wizard's arcane spell, a priest's divine miracle, or a fighter's martial exploit, had a set of rules of its own. With the character builder, software to assist in character creation, players could print the power cards and play them like a CCG. Various players' books have been released, with some players and DMs feeling that they need to get each one to stay current. And, yet, D&D is still the 800 pound gorilla of the RPG industry. The game continues to evolve with the release of the Essentials line, a streamlined version of the fourth edition rules.
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition shows that there is a limit to how many changes a fanbase will expect. A too large change of focus can alienate fans. Yet, the current version of the game is successful. New players keep coming in, partially through the efforts of WotC's Encounters series of games which play to the strengths of the new rules. It is possible to overcome a gap an adaptation creates by supporting the new fans. And sometimes, it is impossible to avoid alienating a portion of the existing fanbase, no matter what is done.
Next time, a young boy and his hero's adaptation.
