Ah yes, one of the powerful trends these days in movies is the TV Show to Big Screen adaptations. There have more of them in the last couple of years than you can shake an A-Team at. However, lest we forget that the transition has also been made the other way. And like TV Shows that have jumped to the big screen, some have been good, and some have been very NOT good. Heck, even George Lucas has been talking about a Star Wars TV shows once the Revenge of the Sith is done and out of the way with. I think the reason a “Movie to TV Show” is more rare is because it’s a lot easier to make a single 2 hour movie from YEARS worth of Tv shows than it is to come up with years of TV shows from one single 2 hour moive. Just not as much source material to work with.
Some of the films that made for a good show are:
M*A*S*H* – I had totally forgotten this one was ever a movie. It was on TBS the other night. I had never seen it before (It’s a little before my time). But wow… it was amazing.
Stargate – I’ve never really watched Stargate SG-1 (even though my old company did a couple of effects shots for the show) until this year. Good show.
The Highlander – Ok, now before you get too excited, I’m not talking about any of the Craptastic sequels. I’m talking about the original Highlander that was made into the TV show. I know a lot of people slam the show, but honestly I thought it was pretty fun.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Much like M*A*S*H, this in one where a lot of people forget there was a movie first. And no, Sarah Michelle was not in it.
How about some of the Horrible ones:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – This was just an awesome movie that is still probably my favorite “sleeper” hit of the last 5 years. But WOW did the TV show SUCK! I was so disappointed. It was really terrible… and I don’t even know if it made it to it’s 5th episode or not.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Truly classic movie turned into a truly horrible show. Yuck.
Clueless – I was so surprised by this movie. It’s actually really funny and quite charming. The show on the other hand was quite annoying and I just wanted to punch it in the face.
Ok, so that’s my little list off the top of my head. Are there any really good ones I’m missing? Any really bad ones? And one more thing… what movie do you think would make a good tv show? Personally I think The Shawshank Redemption would make a great “Fugitive” kind of show.
so, you didn’t like my highlander comment, you dirty bastard? well……i also highlyi enjoy xena
Remember “Gung Ho” the TV Show? While I liked the movie….it didnt make a ton of money…why do a show?
Remember “Gung Ho” the TV Show? While I liked the movie….it didnt make a ton of money…why do a show?
I’m just watching The Dead Zone TV show. Starts off interestingly enough and is following the book quite well, so my personal jury is out on that one.
You guys over the water will already have seen it no doubt so you could probably let me know if I need to keep watching!
Speaking of Turner and Hootch, I seem to vaguely recall that another Hanks movie was turned into a series: Big. I can’t remember the details of that one.
Turner and Hootch was turned into TV show as well, IIRC. Add Uncle Buck to that as well. Neither broke any records.
La Femme Nikita got turned into a relatively decent TV show.
– Doug
Okay, here’s an odd one…
Beastmaster the TV series!
Looks like it ran for about three years…I really can’t believe that.
John Grisham’s The Client. I never saw it, but it was on for either a full or half season.
Baby Boom (the Diane Keaton movie from 1987) was also turned into a series.
What’s even more interesting are the movies which were developed into pilots that either never aired, or were aired only once:
L.A. Confidential – HBO passed on this. It was to star Kiefer Sutherland. It aired on the Bravo Network.
Fargo – NBC passed on this. It starred Soprano’s Edie Falco as Marge. It also aired on the Bravo Network. Not sure, but I think this may have been a continuation of the original movie.
Steel Magnolias – This was a continuation of the original movie. Starred Cindy Williams in the role that Sally Field played. CBS passed on this and aired the pilot.
Adventures in Babysitting – Yep, believe it or not. CBS passed on this and aired only the pilot. But the idea behind this series was way ahead of its time: Each episode of this half-hour comedy was to depict a half-hour in the 11 late-night hours of the kids’ adventure throughout Chicago.
Fame was also a TV show after a film wasn’t it? I seem to remember that there might have been a 1-season of a Dirty Dancing show.
Isn’t legally blond becoming a series?
True. The logevity of M*A*S*H* as a television show does tend to make one forget it ever was a film. And an excellent film for its era.
The only other Film to TV series I can think of off the top of my head was the horrible Bad News Bears series.
Here’s a list I found on the net. Some of them I totally had forgotten about:
http://www.listology.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.9517
I just remembered another The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Could you say that the Superman films spawned Louis and Clarke and Smallville? Then again I suppose the films came from the Original TV series.
Here are some other ones (really bad):
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Actually, they shortened it to just “Fast Times” and it was on CBS and it was truly bad. Starred Courtney Thorne Smith and Patrick Dempsey. On a bright note, Mr. Hand (Ray Walston) did reprise his role for the series.
Planet of The Apes: A disgusting and humiliating end to a truly great movie franchise.
The Outsiders: In the early years of FOX, they tried this one out and struck out big time. This one had the future Mr. Courtney Cox aka David Arquette.
Working Girl: Remember this one? I didn’t think so. I believe Sandra Bullock was in this one.
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose I think was unofficially based on Ferris Buller. It was pretty good, but did not last long.
Lock Stock was made into a TV series, which wasnt too bad. May only have been shown in the UK. Wasnt there a Robocop series also?