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Reboot. Remake. Re-imagining. Revival. Rebecca. That last one is me, here to discuss the avalanche of movies and television shows that are, in some form or another, reappearing on our screens.
The ongoing conversation has intensified following some major Hollywood announcements, including a remake of Ghostbusters with an all-female cast, a reboot of Point Break, and a third season revival of the 90s TV show Twin Peaks.
When you love a movie or a TV show, especially if it’s associated with your childhood, there is more than just enjoyment of the content itself at stake if it resurfaces. Nostalgia runs deeper than that, and so of course some people want the things they love to remain untouched, forever tied up in a neat little package. For me, it is easier to deal with movies that are remade. The original product still exists unscathed, and you can treat the two as completely separate entities.
For television shows that come back after a very long time, like Arrested Development did, or like X-Files might, it seems harder. As a fan of the show, you will obviously need to watch the new episodes. If the show isn’t as good for whatever reason, or takes the characters to places you don’t like, or places you don’t believe, it can impact how you remember the show overall. It is more likely to break your fragile heart.
But remakes and reboots of movies are safe in Hollywood, and with the advancement of TV series made for companies like Netflix or Amazon (and made for binge-watching); it’s not going to stop anytime soon. So it’s best to just let go of your anger and embrace it, like I have below, in imagining how the shows and movies we love will exist in current day.
Twin Peaks 2015
The body of high school student Maura Calmer is found near a riverbank, wrapped in biodegradable plastic. The local sheriff calls in FBI agent Cooper Dale to investigate, and together they begin to narrow down the suspects. Dale is just sitting down to his first cold-pressed coffee and gluten-free cherry pie at the local conglomerate coffee chain when the call comes in; the plastic has preserved all of the evidence perfectly. DNA technology enables them to identify the killer instantly. It was a man Maura swiped right to on Tinder. The show is one episode long.
Point Break 2015
Jenny Ohio is a rookie FBI agent who is investigating a string of robberies by a group called the ‘Ex-Presidents’; a gang that wears masks of former Presidents George Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama (close enough). Jenny only knows they wear masks because they sent her an email with a photo of themselves to taunt her. Nobody has ever seen them in the flesh because nobody robs banks anymore. The Ex-Presidents are skilled hackers, infiltrating the Cloud, government departments, and global banking corporations in order to wreak havoc on ‘the man’. Jenny zooms in on the photo and spots a serial number on the selfie stick the group used to take it. Using the number, she is able to track down the group. They turn out to be some really chill lumbersexual surfers who campaign for marriage equality in their spare time, so she lets them go.
GHOSTBUSTERS (US1984) L-R, BILL MURRAY, DAN ACKROYD, HAROLD RAMIS
Ghostbusters 2015
Misfit paranormal investigators/exterminators Peta Venkman, Raylene Stanz and Egono Spengler are called to the New York Public Library after displays of paranormal activity are reported. There they encounter a terrifying spirit, the ghost of a Stone Age caveman from the Paleolithic era, who is terrorising the kitchen and throwing away all of the carbs and grains. They quickly realise that it is not ‘paranormal’ activity they are confronting, but rather ‘paleonormal’ activity. This culminates in a fight with a shape-shifting God of destruction named Arrowroot Flour Gyoza. The Gyoza is eventually beaten back and disappears, but warns that in its place will arrive the “destructor”, taking the shape of something chosen by the Ghostbusters. It descends in the form of a giant Marshmallow Man, a mascot from their childhood. They prepare for the fight, but the destructor immediately begins tearing at itself with its own marshmallow fingers, unable to stand experiencing sugar. The monster destroys itself. The group go on to star in a reality show to find their next member, called ‘Who You Gonna Text’.
