De-Generation of Mel and Sue
WHY remake The Generation Game with Mel & Sue?
The format needs warmth, wit and spontaneity, so that’s three strikes before we start.
The BBC’s re-animation of the zombie corpse of Brucie’s smash hit people show is the latest in a long list of unwelcome TV revivals.
We’ve had Bullseye without Jim Bowen, Celebrity Squares without celebs, a dated Crystal Maze, a cut-price Blind Date… 3-2-1 hosted by Clare Balding may be just a hangover or two away.
The line between laziness and sacrilege has never been thinner. Last year’s Steptoe & Son abomination wasn’t worth the scrap in their yard.
Yet US TV takes great British dramas like House Of Cards and Criminal Justice and rejigs them with vision and flair. Why can’t we?
Here are 10 classics that could be revamped, Netflix style: Sharpe. The stirring adventures of the
95th Rifles battling Bonaparte. Granitejawed Richard Sharpe, led his “chosen men” to victories for the best part of two decades.
I, Claudius. Outrageously sexy in the 70s, the original seems slow and claustrophobic today. It’s ripe for revival. Just lose the dodgy syrups.
1990. A saga set in a future bankrupt Britain ruled by an oppressive “socialist” bureaucracy. Martial law is imposed and civil liberties go down the khazi… a perfect morality tale for the Corbyn age.
Robin Hood. England’s most enduring folk hero is crying out for a modern revamp in the gritty spirit of Robin Of Sherwood.
Danger Man. Patrick McGoohan played tough, principled secret service fixer John Drake. A spy with a conscience is just as relevant in today’s world as the turbulent Sixties.
The Fear. A firm of young, sharp North London villains take on gangland’s old guard.
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot. Loyalty, courage, chivalry, love, the Knights of the Round Table… what more do you want? Hornblower. A bold, swashbuckling naval hero in the Napoleonic wars. Ioan Gruffudd’s solid version never quite hit Master & Commander heights. Sexton Blake. Victorian detective tackling fiendish villains with his sidekick Tinker. As sharp as Sherlock but more two-fisted.
Scum. Who’s the Daddy? A film, yes, but this brutal borstal saga could potentially be Britain’s answer to Orange Is The New Black.
Stress potentially. Let’s not forget how irritating (Minder), disappointing (Prison Break), or useless (The Prisoner) revamps can turn out.
But surely more worth a shot at reviving than Crosswords was?