Summer of 1977 was a turning point for Hollywood. A movie hit the screens with such force that it would stay running for over a year. Star Wars was an instant hit, getting fans to keep returning to the theatres to watch it over and over. George Lucas tied together his love for the old serials played in cinemas when he was a young child and his love for the movies of Akira Kurosawa and created an almost timeless story with cutting edge effects. The story in Star Wars followed a young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, as he got caught up in the Galactic Civil War after buying two droids, R2-D2 and C-3P0, and finding a hologram of Princess Leia in Artoo's memory banks. In a classic moment of sneaking into a hidden fortress cleverly disguised as a small moon, Luke rescues the princess, escapes with the help of the mercenary Han Solo and partner Chewbacca, winds up in a hidden Rebel base. Luke flies out with several squadrons of starfighters to meet the Death Star and exploit its weakness and returns a hero.
In a re-release in 1979, the title expanded to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Two more movies followed, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983. Both of the sequels dominated their respective summers and pushed the art of special effects to the limit.
Just as the movie influenced the direction of summer blockbusters, it also influenced merchandising tie-ins. Action figures, lunch boxes, trading cards, Pez dispensers, board games, role-playing games, computer games, all successful. An action figure of Boba Fett, a character not seen in the original movie, was offered through a promotion through Kenner, giving fans the first look of the bounty hunter before his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. It is safe to say that Star Wars was a huge success for George Lucas.
In 1999, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released. Line ups started days in advance of the opening. There were more ads for tie-ins than there were for the actual movie itself. The Phantom Menace was to delve into the background of the main villain, Darth Vader. The state of the art in special effects had jumped light years since 1977 with CGI replacing stop- and go-motion miniatures. The Phantom Menace showed a shinier past to the shop-worn original trilogy. Ships didn't look like they were a missed maintenace away from falling apart. The Empire's overwhelming presence wasn't to be felt; the Republic had a bright future in store. Air speeders had fins!
The Phantom Menace wasn't well received by longtime fans. Various factors, from Jar-Jar Binks to disjointed scenes to heavy use of CGI, weighed in their disappointment. However, younger fans not familiar with the previous movies were amazed. One problem can be traced to a change in the definition of the PG rating by the MPAA. After parental uproar over the Lucas co-helmed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom getting a PG rating despite violent scenes, the MPAA changed the requirements for the rating and added PG-13 to handle cases like Indiana Jones. (The gratuitous topless woman jiggling in Airplane, formerly rated PG, would also not be allowed under the new guidelines.)
Jar-Jar Binks, the designated comic relief, annoyed many fans. Instead of the classic stylings of Artoo and Threepio, styled after comedy duos such as Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello, Jar-Jar was closer to a Jim Carrey solo act. Jar-Jar also didn't seem to have a purpose beyond comic relief once the Jedi left Theed, at least until the droid attack on Naboo. Where Artoo carried a plot critical Macguffin (the Death Star plans) during A New Hope, gave Luke someone to talk to in Empire, and kept Threepio from getting too big an ego in Jedi, Jar-Jar was there for sight gags and didn't contribute in any other way.
The big action piece in the middle, the Pod Race, looked amazing on screen. It also slowed the plot. One of the plots, at least. The race was meant to showcase Anakin's piloting skills. No human had won the race, yet here was this slave boy entering a field filled with the most skilled and the most devious drivers. Formula 1 meets demolition derby meets Wacky Races. (Sebulba fits as Dick Dastardly, complete with mustache twirling.) There was an eye to detail as each pod racer had a different sound. The music fit. The story paused. The elected Queen of Naboo had to get to Coruscant to get help repelling the droid invasion, yet her Jedi escort stopped to deal with a slave boy on a backwater planet. (Of course, the story is about Anakin, not Padme.)
Being the first of a planned trilogy also didn't help the movie. A lot of time was spent setting up Anakin's later losses, showing and sowing the hints of his downfall. It's a tricky line to walk, making sure that the movie can stand alone while also contributing to the overall plot.
However, this was a Star Wars movie. Ships blew up. Light sabres flashed. the climax was split four ways – the Jedi battle against the Sith, Padme retaking her throne, the Gungans fighting the battle droids, and the starship battle in orbit. Each part of the climax held the tension tight, cutting away from one fight to focus on another at the perfect cliffhanger. Anakin's piloting ability (with an assist from Artoo) helped him get into the perfect spot to help the Gungans. The Gungans held their own until overwhelmed. The Jedi suffered a loss but still triumphed. The Queen took back her planet. A celebration was held, with an ominous threat that would continue into the next two movies.
The Phantom Menace shows us that having the original talent return doesn't necessarily help a reboot. Advances in special effects can't help a movie when problem characters turn the audience off. But, having key elements that make the heart of a property be the feature of the remake does help. The Phantom Menace was still Star Wars at its heart, and that makes problems found along the way more forgivable.
Next time, a videogame gets lost in translation
In 1963, a new science-fiction television series was being shopped around in the UK. It found a home in the Children's Programming department of the British Broadcasting Corporation, an unusual spot to be sure. With the requirement that the series include educational content, Doctor Who aired. The first broadcast ran into an unavoidable problem: pre-emption due to the John F. Kennedy assassination. However, the first episode was rescheduled and aired properly.
Doctor Who ran on the BBC continuously from 1963 until 1989. BBC executives were seldom confortable with the show. One of the original directives for the series was no bug-eyed monsters. (The first season's second arc introduced the Daleks. So much for the directive.) Despite allegedly being for children, writers seldom pulled their punches. Many a young Brit watched the show from behind the couch. But, they watched.
The mythos of the series grew as the show continued. When William Hartnell, the first Doctor, grew too ill to continue, the writers introduced a mechanism to ensure that the main character could remain: regeneration. Memorable characters, from Doctors and companions to adversaries, came and went over the show's long run. Even without modern special effects such as CGI, many adversaries, including the Daleks and the Cybermen, were fierce and memorable opponents.
However, the long run could not continue. The BBC eventually pulled funding for the series in 1989. Still, books and audio plays continued to be made during the interregnum. In 1996, Fox aired a made-for-TV Doctor Who movie. The movie was not well received, mainly for making the Doctor half human. Some of the Fox movie's influence did continue, though.
In 2005, Russell T. Davies brought back Doctor Who as a regular TV series. Working through BBC Wales, the new Who introduced the Ninth Doctor and gave him a dark, dread reputation throughout Earth's history. The Doctor's new companion, Rose, had more familial ties than previous companions, but still travelled in the TARDIS, meeting historical figures and running into one of the Doctor's oldest foes. Time had changed, though. No longer was the Doctor a renegade Time Lord. Now, he was the last Time Lord, with details revealed through the 2005 season. The season began with an episodic approach, but events grew together to form the plot arc. New characters were met and became popular in their own right. One, Captain Jack Harkness, managed to not only seduce two robots and the in-universe viewing audience but seduce Doctor Who viewers as well.
The following season saw Christopher Eccleston leave to be replaced by David Tennant. Although viewers were disappointed with Eccleston's departure, Tennant proved capable of keeping their attention. Old adversaries were brought back and, with the help of modern special effects, their fearsomeness was revealed. In 2008, Russell Davies stepped down as showrunner, letting Stephen Moffat take over. Doctor Who took a different direction but is still airing and is still popular, having produced two spin-off series (Torchwood, a darker series based on events of the second new season, and The Sarah Jane Chronicles, a lighter series aimed at a younger audience.)
Doctor Who's 2005 reboot is a definite success story. The show is being watched by fans both new and old. Like Star Trek: The Next Generation, part of its success comes from the long drought between 1989 and the return in 2005. Also helping is having a showrunner who enjoyed the earlier series and understood why it had a fan base. The reboot felt more of an update, and bringing back classic opponents of the Doctor, beginning with the Daleks, helped keep fan interest. The Doctor of the new series was an amalgamation of the previous eight, and the TARDIS kept its familiar look, at least on the outside. Inside, the TARDIS resembled its counterpart in the Fox TV movie, looking both organic and technological at the same time. Still, the key feature – being bigger on the inside than the outside – was kept. The Doctor's desire to keep the peace was contrasted by his actions in "Dalek", an episode that managed to make one of the most monstrous beings in the Doctor Who setting sympathetic. The writing team for new Who is capable and manages to keep the show fresh while still respecting what has happened before. New adversaries, such as the stone angels, were dangerous without being unstoppable except for an impossible Achilles' heel.
The new Doctor Who's main point of failure was being a relative unknown in 2005. The show wasn't seen as often in syndication, unlike the original Star Trek. The fans who did remember could very easily remember just the parts they enjoyed. The Fox TV movie was not remembered fondly, and misgivings could abound from that. Episodic storytelling had also evolved since the Doctor's first appearance; audiences expected more out of a TV show.
Fortunately, fans were willing to give the reboot a try, even if some watched to be able to complain later. Characterization, well, with each incarnation, there was always a new take on the Doctor by both the writers and actors; a case of previously established continuity working for the reboot. The writers and showrunner took care to make sure that anything from previous seasons weren't dismissed out of hand. Even the TV movie has been absorbed into canon. The storytelling reflected a more modern expectation, but still harked back to classic episodes. Once again, a creative team that cares about keeping the best of an original prevented massive problems.
The new series has had a few misteps but, overall, holds well as an example of a reboot that respects its previous incarnations. Like the Doctor himself, the new Doctor Who series regenerated. Sure, there were a few quirks, but a Doctor without quirks wouldn't be the same. The new Who shows that respecting the original series while creating new twists makes for a new series that keeps gaining fans. (And having an influential fan never hurts. What BBC executive is going to cancel Her Majesty's favourite TV show?)
Next time, prequels fifteen years later.
The first reboot to look at is a venerable series that has had its ups and downs over the years. First aired in 1966, Star Trek was originally proposed to NBC as Wagon Train to the Stars, taking advantage of the popularity of Westerns at the time to sell the show. The show would be an science-fiction anthology as the crew of the USS Enterprise explored "new worlds and civilizations". The ratings weren't as high as executives wanted, but the demographics strongly favoured educated men 18-30. Letter writing campaigns saved the show once, but could not rescue the series after its third season.
Star Trek then fell into syndication, airing on local stations to fill in time slots. Its popularity grew, drawing in more fans, some of who started writing fanfiction for self-published fan magazines ('zines). A certain type of fanfic received its name from the pairings involved: Kirk-slash-Spock. (Yes, Star Trek spawned the name for homoerotic fanfiction.) The fandom spread despite the lack of Internet. Conventions popped up throughout North America. Fanfiction spread around through the 'zines. Star Trek inspired a good number of people to get into science and space exploration. The series broke down social barriers and examined social taboos; Star Trek was the first show on television to have an interracial kiss. And, in lesser influences, where would cell phones and tablet PCs be without Star Trek? (Am I the only person disappointed that my cell phone doesn't chirp when I open it?)
With the increasing popularity, Filmation created a Saturday morning cartoon, Star Trek: The Animated Series. Although stock footage recycling was heavily used (Filmation was well known for reuse of footage), the series brought in science-fiction authors including Larry Niven. The animated series lasted two seasons and only one episode of it ever was considered canon ("Yesteryear"). An attempt to reboot the series as live action came about in the late 1970s. The result of this became Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. However, the scripts for the reboot, Star Trek II, remained.
In 1987, Paramount brought back Star Trek, and this is the reboot being examined in this column. The new series advanced the timeline of the show about 100 years and brought in new actors. One of the bold moves with the new series was to introduce a Klingon Star Fleet officer serving on the Federation's flagship, the USS Enterprise. The scripts from the previous reboot attempt were recycled, with lines changed or swapped around to reflect the new characters. The series became popular, and, because it was syndicated, didn't have as much problem with network executives as the original series had.
There is no denying that Star Trek: The Next Generation was a successful reboot. The series had many things working in its favour: it was the first new weekly Star Trek series since the animated series; it had the same creative minds behind it as the original series; the cast was solid and grew into their characters as the show progressed. The first episode had DeForest Kelly reprising his role as Dr. McCoy as a way to hand off the Enterprise from one generation to the next. The cast, with Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard, came together and had on-screen chemistry. Once new scripts were filmed, the characters started looking less like Spock Jr and James T. Kirk XV and more like the Data and Riker fans enjoyed.
There were some bumpier parts to the show. One character, Wesley Crusher, was not well received by the fan base. Part of the character's problem was that the writers made him far more useful than the rest of the crew. Wesley was smart, but he didn't have the experience that LaForge did in engineering. However, too many writers made the leap from smart to knowledgeable and threatened to turn Wesley into a Mary Sue. Another problem came from the reuse of scripts for the Star Trek II series. Those scripts were written with Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Xon (who would replace Spock with Leonard Nimoy not available). The new cast, Picard, Crusher, LaForge, Riker, Yar, Worf, and Data, did not map one-to-one on the originals. There would be episodes where Riker fell into the Kirk role, which didn't fit the character.
The creative team behind Star Trek: The Next Generation managed to avoid many potential pitfalls. The big one was not having the original cast and crew from the Original Series. Would the audience accept the new cast? Coupled with the script reuse previously mentioned, it'd take some time for the characters to establish themselves. On top of this, the original cast could still be seen in feature films and in syndicated reruns of the original series; competition from within both new and old. Another potential problem was not having the backing of a network. Star Trek: The Next Generation was syndicated from Day 1, forcing it to be aired in non-standard time slots, such as Sunday afternoons or weekday evenings around 7:00.
Not having the original crew didn't seem to harm the series. Once the actors grew comfortable with their roles and the scripts reflected the actual characters instead of reskinning the previous incarnations, fans had accepted the new cast. The quality of stories, while a little hackneyed by recent storytelling techniques, were classic Star Trek, keeping the fans interest. Sydication helped the series; there were no network execs trying to meddle with the show. Fans who wanted to watch were able to, and individual stations could adapt their available schedule to accomodate the fanbase if they so wanted. Other than a few clunky episodes and a some aliens that weren't immediately appreciated (like the Ferengi), the show took off.
Overall, the heart of the original Star Trek remained; the Enterprise still explored "new worlds and civilizations" but became more recluse as it boldly went, "where no one has gone before." Even with the aliens and the android, the show remained focused on what it meant to be human. What we as a geek audience can get out of Star Trek: The Next Generation is that when the heart remains, when there's an audience hungering for more, when you have a good cast and good writers, then a successful reboot will happen. Star Trek: The Next Generation succeeded because it built on top of a good foundation and expanded.
Next time, a look at television's longest continuously running science fiction series.
On May 2, I wrote a guest column comparing reboots and remakes to translating from one language to another. This series of columns will look at specific examples to see what worked and what didn't. Each installment will look at a specific reboot, remake, or adaptation, whether it's television, movie, game, animated, or live action. By looking at the successes and the failures (and, yes, we can learn from failures), we can figure out how to avoid another GI Joe.
As many, many entries have pointed out, adaptations have become almost the default big-budget production, beating out sequelitis. Some have worked. Many, well, failed is accurate but not descriptive enough. Disappointments abound. Points of failure are easy to see in hindsight; is it possible to spot them before the finished product reaches the audience? This, hopefully, regular spot will look at adaptations, remakes, and reboots; the successes, the failures, and the oh-so-closes. After all, it's easy to look at an abject failure and find what went wrong. It's also easy to look at the successes and see what worked. But the ones that just missed the mark and didn't quite work? Those have lessons on both.
Even outside big budget movies, adaptations are popular. HBO has had successes with two series of novels, True Blood and A Game of Thrones. Popular movies have been brought over to the small screen as ongoing TV series. Comics have been a source for TV, both animated and live action. Even games of all sorts have been adapted or are slated for adaptation for a different medium.
The first three entries will cover the Big Three science fiction franchies, all of which have received reboots. Afterwards, I'll examine works that are geek-friendly or well-known. Generally, I'll stick to subjects I'm familiar with, just to avoid writing about something I know nothing about. However, I can take suggestions, and will investigate anything that looks interesting.
Next time: Boldly going where no reboot has gone before.
– Scott Delahunt
