Thursday, November 8, 2012
Earlier this week, news broke that the Disney Channel would
be revitalizing the sitcom ‘Boy Meets World.’
Children of the 1990s will remember that ‘Boy Meets World’
was about best friends Corey (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Rider Strong) and the
family members and friends that wafted in and out of their lives.
The new show, called ‘Girl Meets World’ will revolve around
Corey’s daughter (with wife Topanga) as she maneuvers the same difficulties her
father did 15 years ago (she is now 13).
The announcement did a couple of things for me.
First, it made me feel old. Thinking of Corey and Topanga as
parents of a teenager is all kinds of creepy. The show went off the air in 2000
– and there was no baby at the time – so I’m guessing a little soap opera rapid
aging is going to be involved here.
Second, it made me realize that this is a cast of actors
that largely faded into the unknown. Strong had an appearance in one of my
favorite horror movies – ‘Cabin Fever’ – but the rest of the cast has been
largely absent from the screen (I’m talking about the younger cast, the older
cast – like William Russ and William Daniels -- has still been relevant).
The third thing I immediately thought of was what other old
sitcoms can we dust off and pass on to the next generation?
It’s not that I didn’t like ‘Boy Meets World.’ I did like
it. I didn’t love it, though. Still, I’m insisting that Will Friedle’s Eric
Matthews be a regular. I used to have a huge crush on him back in the day.
Back to the question at hand, though. What older sitcoms
could be updated for a modern audience?
A Different World – I think it would be fun to follow Dwayne
and Whitley’s kids as they go to Hillman College. Both Dwayne and Whitley could
be busybody professors. Who doesn’t want to see what kind of head case would be
raised by these two high strung individuals? Plus, you just know that “Uncle
Ron” is around giving these kids horrendous ideas – and hitting on their
friends. The BET should get on this. It’s definitely better than the revamp of ‘The
Game.’
The Facts of Life – All four actresses need work. How about
their kids go to boarding school together? Or, better yet, Natalie was the best
character from the original. Why not have her be the new Mrs. Garrett to
another group of girls? I'm betting the problems tackled in this show would be a little more hard-edged than the problems handled in the older show, though.
Full House – D.J.’s husband dies and Stephanie and Michelle
move in to help raise her children. I have no idea how the Olsen twins will
split up the role as adults, but I suggest they cede it to their ultra-talented
younger sister Elizabeth Olsen. Even sharing the role they’re not talented
enough to make it endearing. Watching two stick-figure adults wander around saying "You got it dude" is going to get old pretty quickly.
Growing Pains – We can follow the suddenly ultra-religious
Mike and his gaggle of kids as they go on missions to help those less
fortunate across the world – offering them food for their conversion to
Christianity. Then, when the Rapture comes, we can watch his family struggle in
a post-apocalyptic world where they decided which kid to eat first.
My Two Dads – An adult Nicole can go to a judge’s office and
get told that her old boyfriend left her half of something . . . a 13-year-old
boy, and she may or may not be the mother. Whoops, that doesn’t work.
That 70’s Show – In the 1980s, we find out that Fez has been
deported, Jackie and Hyde have reunited, Eric and Donna are struggling to raise
a family and Kelso thinks he’s on a constant episode of ‘Miami Vice.’ Okay, you
caught me, I just hated the ending of ‘That 70’s Show.’
Family Ties – Alex P. Keaton is the new Rush Limbaugh. He
has a radio show where he spews right-wing rantings that are aimed at all those
liberal-leaning people that are ruining this country – like his parents.
Mallory and Nick are married – and Alex points out that Nick is one of those
people that expects the government to finance his lifestyle as part of an
entitlement society. Jen has become a nun. And Andy? He joined the young
Republicans and is a closeted homosexual that is going to gay correction school
but is obsessed with Barbara Streisand for some reason.
Roseanne -- Roseanne and Dan are still living in the same house (I'm pretending that awful final season didn't happen). They're struggling to hold on to what they have in another down economy. D.J. is back home living with them. Jackie is still dating losers. Darlene was down-sized. Becky and Mark have divorced (I don't want to see Mark recast and Glenn Quinn has died). They can all move into the house together and raise Becky's sarcastic kids. Or, better yet, just move everyone to Roseanne's nut farm and see what happens.
What do you think? What old sitcoms do you want to see
resurrected?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home