We’ve all said it. “Hollywood has run out of ideas”, “Hollywood is too scared to try something original”, “I don’t care what you say, insert name of celebrity will ALWAYS be insert name of character celebrity once played to me.”
Hollywood hasn’t listened.
Two trailers were released this past week for two upcoming reboots. One, a reboot of the ’80’s animated series Thundercats called ThunderCats Roar; the other, a reboot of the 90’s series Charmed. Neither one have pleased fans of the originals.
THUNDERCATS to BLUNDERCATS
First, the intro to the original series:
Thundercats to Blundercats.
ThunderCats was an animated series that made it’s debut in syndication in 1985, and was on the air until 1989. The series featured cat like humanoids, surviving members of the doomed planet Thundera, who are setting up a new life on the planet, New Earth. While they are starting their new life, they are forced to deal with the evil Mum-Rah and his henchmen. The series was produced by Rankin Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar Productions until Warner Brothers purchased the company.
There was a reboot of this series on Cartoon Network already in 2011, trying to capture the tone of the original of which it’s based, which unfortunately only lasted for a season.
Coming in 2019, is the latest reboot from Cartoon Network, ThunderCats Roar. Ummmmm……
Staying true to the premise of the original series, Lion-O and the ThunderCats – Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykat, and Wilykit – barely escape the sudden destruction of their home world, Thundera, only to crash land on the mysterious and exotic planet of Third Earth, Lion-O, the newly appointed Lord of the ThunderCats, attempts to lead the team as they make this planet their new home. A bizarre host of creatures and villains stand in their way, including the evil Mumm-Ra, Third Earth’s wicked ruler who will let nothing, including the ThunderCats, stop his tyrannical reign over the planet.
“Staying true to the premise of the original series.” Yeah, not so much. The reaction of the public has been pretty much overwhelmingly negative. The new show seems to base itself on the “flying blobs and loud noises” school of animation, i.e., it doesn’t matter what’s in motion so long as everything is moving and makes a ruckus. It appears aimed at four year olds, and looks like what happens when you mark off checkboxes on what should be in a production instead of trusting the material to stand on its own.
So far, this particular video has less than 300 likes and over 2.5k dislikes. It has been called “Thundercats Go!”, a riff on “Teen Titans Go!” Best guess as to why they would do this? Probably cheaper doing the animation in this style, as opposed to how the original or the 2011 reboot were animated. Will it work? Well, it is too early to tell, it just may surprise us.
Watches the video again
Nevermind …
Charmed, You Haven’t Charmed The Fans Yet
For nostalgia’s sake, season one intro of the original.
Charmed, the original, aired on the WB beginning in 1998, and was on the air for eight seasons. The series was about the Halliwell sisters, who discovered that they were powerful witches, or The Charmed Ones, who used their powers to protect lives from evil, while also trying to live normal lives. The first two seasons featured Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell, Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell, and Shannon Doherty as Pru Halliwell. In the third season, after Pru’s death, a half sister was introduced, Paige Matthews, played by Rose McGowan. The series was created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling
A reboot was in the works in 2013 for CBS, but plans were scrapped
This fall, the CW brings us a new version of Charmed.
After the tragic death of their mother, three sisters in a college town are stunned to discover they are witches. Soon this powerful threesome must stand together to fight the everyday and supernatural battles that all modern witches must face: from vanquishing powerful demons to toppling the patriarchy.
YouTube likes: 12K. Dislikes: 6.2K (as of this writing). Of course, fans of the original are not happy with this reboot. It was the original that they loved, and, like all shows that get rebooted that are loved by fans, should remain untouched. Unfortunately, the rights are owned by others.
Actually, I’m finding it a little hard to be harsh on this one, and I may actually give this show a chance. On the plus side, the actresses in this new series are not playing the characters from the original. Melonie Diaz plays Mel, Sarah Jeffrey plays Maggie, and Madeline Mantock plays their half sister, Macy. Names begin with M, instead of P. On the negative side, beside it being a reboot and not original, acting featured in the trailer is a little on the bad side.
The new series was developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, creator of Jane The Virgin. Nobody from the original series are involved in the reboot. Holly Marie Combs had expressed her displeasure with this reboot, stating that the series belongs to her, her co-stars, the many people who worked on that series, and, of course, the fans.
In the end, it’s all a “Wait And See” game.
Charmed debuts on the CW Sunday nights this fall.
ThunderCats Roar debuts on Cartoon Network in 2019.
You know, although it’s not in our genre of expertise, the new Magnum P.I. reboot looks pretty good. But, I don’t care what you say, Tom Selleck will always be Thomas Magnum to me. (See what I did there?)
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Gary DaBaum, SCIFI.radio DJ, writer, and all around nice guy, can be heard on SCIFI.radio. When not on the air, he can be found in the virtual world of Second Life, or spoiling his grand nephew.
