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Hollywood: TV Shows to Movies It has already been proven by the huge success of Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation that the conversion from “TV series to big screen movie” is not only possible but also very popular. They may not exactly be Oscar nomination material, but, after the huge box office takings generated by both series of movies, was it really a surprise when other TV series started to make their way to the big screen? Possibly the reason why other TV conversions seem to have a mixed reaction from the ticket paying public is that some see the movie adaptations as an evolutionary process from TV to big screen (certainly this was the opinion of most Star Trek fans), whereas others simply see it as an opportunity to flog a dead horse, to see how much money you can make out of something which has passed its sell by date. In recent years we’ve seen several old TV series converted to the big screen, some with good results, some not so good. Either way these strictly popcorn munching affairs have spawned an alternate angle in the Hollywood rumour mill… which TV shows could end up becoming a good movie conversion? The latest rumoured titles to be filtering through the rumour mill seem to be titles such as CHiPs, The A-Team, and Knight Rider. At Cinemas Online, we take this as an opportunity to look at which conversions have already been done, what’s been rumoured, and also, which have the potential to be converted without it being dropped to the status of “TV Movie”.
A selection of what's been done... (Not all of them or we'll be here all day)
Charlie's Angels
	The Series (1976-1981) Starred: Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, Shelly Hack, Tanya Roberts, David Doyle This series was based on the adventures of three female detectives who worked for the Charles Townsend Detective Agency. Charlie, who was their anonymous boss, gave them assignments via a speaker phone.
	The Movies (2000 & 2003) Starred: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray Of course there have already been two movies based on the TV series of the 1970’s. The first one being about the owner of high tech firm, Knox Technologies, being kidnapped, with the Angels are sent in to rescue him. The second film centred on the Angels having to protect the imminent release of the names of every person in the federal Witness Protection Program. Both films ended up with ridiculous stunts, martial arts and amazingly skin-tight outfits… because of course, every female crime fighter has to look good when fighting crime.
The Dukes of Hazzard
	The Series (1979-1985) Starred: Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, James Best, Sorrell Booke The Duke Family - cousins Bo and Luke (and later Coy and Vance), assisted by their cousin Daisy and their uncle, Jesse - fight the system and root out the corrupt practices of Hazzard County Commissioner Boss Hogg and his bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.
	The Movie (2005) Starred: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds Due to the fact that it was pretty much impossible to take the original series seriously (and I’m not sure we were supposed to), Hollywood decided the only way to convert The Dukes of Hazzard to the big screen was to make it in to a full blown comedy. Although I am yet to see the movie, I believe it was Ok in parts but could have been better.
The X-Files
	The Series (1993-2002) Starred: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, William B Davis, Nicholas Lea This long running Fox drama lasted nine seasons and focused on the exploits of FBI Agents Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, John Doggett and Monica Reyes, and their investigations into the paranormal. From genetic mutants and killer insects, to a global conspiracy concerning the colonisation of Earth by an alien species, this mind-boggling, humourous and occasionally frightening series created by Chris Carter has been one of the world's most popular sci-fi/drama shows since its humble beginnings in 1993. Although there was uproar amongst fans that the Mulder character was replaced with the John Doggett character (because Duchovny was away filming Evolution, as he didn’t want to by typecast), I actually quite liked the Doggett character, it was a breath of fresh air on a series that was starting to tire on the conspiracy storyline. Having said this, I am still waiting with baited breath for an episode where Doggett approached someone, held up a Polaroid and said “Have you seen this boy?” – Alas, the writers didn’t fulfil my wish!
	The Movie (1998) Starred: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Martin Landau, William B Davis Using the “conspiracy” angle seen so often in the series, Mulder and Scully latch on to the governments latest attempts to help colonise the earth with the use of alien DNA in the “alien black oil” which was to be distributed via the use of genetically enhanced bees. When I first heard that a full blown X-Files movie was being made, I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, after seeing the film, along with hearing that a sixth season was about to start, I realised that the movie was basically a high budget, extra long episode that was most likely produced in order to try and attract a new audience to the series. For me, it took the shine off what I thought was a good movie and the start of some big budget storylines.
Mission Impossible
	The Series (1966-1973) Starred: Steven Hill, Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, Leonard Nimoy This 7-year series chronicled the adventures of the Impossible Mission Taskforce (IMF), a team of government spies and specialists who were assigned "impossible missions" by the unseen "Secretary". Although the cast varied over the years, the main characters included The Team Leader (Dan Briggs in the first season, then Jim Phelps for the other six), The Techno-Wizard (Barney Collier), The Strongman (Willy Armitage), The Master of Disguise (first Rollin Hand, then The Amazing Paris), and The Femme Fatale (Cinnamon Carter, Casey, Dana Lambert, Mimi Rogers)
	The Movies (1996, 2000, 2006) Starred: Tom Cruise, John Voight, Ving Rhames, Jean Reno, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott Much the same as the TV series, we find the lead character, Ethan Hunt, given difficult situations to get out of with the usual Hollywood flair for dramatics, but of course, “This is not Mission Difficult, it’s Mission Impossible, so difficult is a walk in the park” for Mr Hunt over the 3 films. Yes, that’s right folks, 5th May 2006 sees the third instalment of the Mission Impossible movies released in the cinemas. The teaser trailer for “MI:3” has just been released on the Internet and, personally, I think it looks superb. I am a fan of the franchise as a whole, but this is one series of films that we can safely say was a successful conversion from TV series to movie. Mission Impossible 3 is covered in our 2006 preview article which also provides a link to the teaser trailer. – Click here.
Starsky & Hutch
	The Series (1975-1979) Starred: Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul, Bernie Hamilton, Antonio Fargas Screeching onto television screens in 1975, 'Starsky & Hutch' brought much of the streetwise grit, violence, and sheer excitement of hit movies such as 'Dirty Harry' to the small screen. There had been police series’ virtually since the beginning of television, but 'Starsky & Hutch' had something else – this series was undoubtedly "hip". A huge hit at the time, it now stands as one of the iconic cop shows of the 1970s, particularly thanks to the fashions and infamous car chases that went with it.
	The Movie (2004) Starred: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughan Although there are plenty of people who really liked this film, a vast number of them were either Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson fans. As a person who quite liked the series I thought this film was awful! I know that we were never really supposed to take the series seriously but I thought that this film rather than being made as a homage to the original series, was more of a mockery of it. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the one-liners were funny, but that’s about it… as a whole, it might as well have been called The Ben Stiller Show.
Miami Vice
	The Series (1984-1989) Starred: Don Johnson, Phillip Michael Thomas, Edward James Olmos Focusing on the Miami Metro-Dade Police "Vice" Department and its continued battle against the illicit drug, prostitution, and firearms crime underworld of the city of Miami. It used fashion, colour, and a varied musical selection in order to accentuate and amplify the emotional undercurrent of the drama it portrayed. For it’s time, Miami Vice was considered to be an extremely hard hitting police drama. The first series on DVD in the UK has an 18 certificate and this just exemplifies its tough image.
	The Movie (2006) Stars: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx Not much is known at this time about the new Miami Vice movie except for the fact that it is due for release in Summer 2006. The teaser trailer has just this week been posted on the Internet in shockwave flash format and initial glimpses suggest it is to be just as hard hitting as the series. After all, being directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral), it’s bound to be pretty gritty stuff.
OK, that’s about it for previously produced conversions. I know I didn’t mention I-Spy or Bewitched or Addams Family or The Saint etc (or anything else you want to mention), but I could go on all day. With such a varied mix of TV to movie conversions, it’s easy to see why there are so many mixed opinions regarding whether these conversions should be done. Especially when you consider that the Starsky & Hutch and Charlie’s Angels movies potentially ruined their respective series’ and Mission Impossible re-imagined the franchise. So what is to come? We already know that in the next year we can expect to see the 3rd Mission Impossible film and also the new re-imagining of Miami Vice, but what else is potentially in the pipeline? A selection of what is rumoured to come… (Although it all might change)
	CHiPs Original series ran: 1977-1983 Actor Wilmer Valderrama has signed up to star in a remake of the classic TV show CHiPS. Valderrama, ex-boyfriend of Lindsay Lohan and Mandy Moore, will play the role of Francis Llewellyn Poncherello, originally portrayed by Erik Estrada on the show, which followed the pursuits of California Highway Patrol officers and ran from 1977 to 1983. The role of Poncherello's patrol partner Jon Baker, originally played by Larry Wilcox, has yet to be cast. Valderrama's resemblance to Estrada has often been noted, with TLC star Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas recently describing him as "the little guy who looks like the dude from CHiPS." – What’s the betting on Owen Wilson being given the part of Jon Baker?
	The A-Team Original series ran: 1983-1987 An A-Team movie has been rumoured for a while now, but the reason it seems to be dragging its heels is likely due to the casting dilemma faced by the studio investors. If you go for big name actors for the four main parts, it’s likely that the movie will end up costing so much to make (what with A-List wages [get it? – A-List] ) that it won’t make a profit. If you go for one main actor and three smaller actors it tends more to be centred on the A-List actor. If, on the other hand, you just go for lesser known actors in the various roles, you run the risk of it ending up more of a TV washout movie than a big screen blockbuster that will make loads of money. There are various forums on the Internet regarding who should be cast in the main roles and just to fit in with the various discussions on the subject, here are my suggestions for the cast: John “Hannibal” Smith : George Clooney Templeton “Face” Peck: Matt Damon Howling Mad Murdock: Sean William Scott B.A. Baracus: Ving Rhames As a side issue: Col Decker: Willem Defoe / Tommy Lee Jones Amy Allen: Kate Beckinsale
	Knight Rider Original series ran: 1982-1986 After much to-ing and fro-ing on the subject of a big screen movie of my favourite childhood TV show, it finally seems the green light has been given and the Knight Rider movie has gone in to pre-production. I’m sorry to have to say that, this is the point where the good news stops! From initial rumours of Ben Affleck being wanted by casting people to play the main role of Michael Knight, and talks of their being a “supercar” being specially made for the movie (like the Batmobile in Batman Begins), everything seems to be going wrong and this movie is once again heading for the abyss of doom, known as the “another TV movie” category! I was a lot like most 8/9 year olds when Knight Rider was in full swing… I grew up with the knowledge that when I get old enough to drive, I AM going to have a Knight Rider Trans Am of my own, with the full dashboard and front scanner light on the front (I’ve no doubt that when I get to my mid-life crisis; I will be thinking the same again). In the meantime, it’s such a disappointment to see that once again, instead of casting well known faces to try and get its big screen outing to re-invigorate the Knight Rider franchise, they’ve used the cast off’s from Baywatch and other “not known” shows in order to make it on the cheap. The director has been changed 3 times now (I think… after all, I have lost count by now) which is usually another sign that things are not looking good! It looks like another TV conversion is going to go badly wrong and will probably end up going straight to DVD release.
What else could be converted? So with the films that have already been made, coupled with the ones that have been rumoured, here are my top 5 TV series that I think should be converted to the big screen.
	The Six Million Dollar Man Did Star: Lee Majors Could Star: Tom Cruise Will Probably Star: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Based solely on the concept of inflation, it maybe better to re-do this series by calling the film The Six Billion Dollar Man, but either way, with today’s capabilities in special effects, this could have a massive potential for today’s audience - You’re lying if you say that you never did slow motion effect running as a kid whilst going; “Na, na, na, na, na, na”…. Ok maybe it was just me!!
	Airwolf Did Star: Jan Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, Jean Bruce-Scott Could Star: Ewan McGregor, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Charlize Theron Will Probably Star: Paul Walker, Malcolm McDowell, David Duchovny, Carmen Elektra Every generation needs a super vehicle to remember in their old age, and if we can’t do a decent big screen adaptation on Knight Rider, then there’s always the king helicopter of the skies, and my 2nd favourite series as a youngster. An armour plated helicopter gunship, armed to the teeth with nuclear tipper shrike missiles and 30mm cannons, and capable of disengaging it’s rotor system and boosting up to Mach 1… Oh come on… every house should have one! “We could re-create Top Gun but with one super helicopter against a whole air force” said the Hollywood producer.
	24 Did Star: Keifer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Bernard, Elisha Cuthbert Could Star: Keifer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Bernard, Elisha Cuthbert, Kevin Spacey (as a special “supervillian”) Will probably star: Keifer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Bernard, Elisha Cuthbert, Ice Cube (as a special “not-so-supervillian”) Due to the fact that some are saying that the 24 series is running out of ideas, or has gone from realistic and gripping to ridiculous and predictable, maybe it’s time we saw a big screen version of the popular series. It has already made its name as a gripping thriller/action show, surely it’s time to give it the full treatment it deserves?! It is likely that Hollywood Producers will want to keep the “real time” element to the series, however, this would limit options for storyline, unless it was something like a 3 hour hostage stand off, where only Jack Bauer can find a way to solve it. Otherwise, due to the fact that the characters are already established, why can’t we now drop the “real time” element in favour of a “semi-real time” element which allows us to cram 8 hours in to 2 and a half by showing the highlights of what happened in that time - after all, you’ll only get the super geeks telling us that it takes 6 minutes to drive down Hollywood Boulevard instead of the 4 that was in the film!
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Did star: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Paul Guilfoyle Could star: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Paul Guilfoyle Will probably star: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Paul Guilfoyle A bit of a cop out on the proposed cast there (sorry) but in a similar way to 24, I don’t feel that this conversion from TV to movie needs a cast change. I think the people already in the series have established themselves well. I just think that, given the style and uniqueness of the series, they should be given a chance on the big screen. Perhaps their big screen debut should see one of the main characters murdered and the CSI forensics team have to deal with the investigation as well as coming to terms with the death of one of their own.
	Sliders Did Star: Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, John Ryhs-Davies, Sabrina Lloyd Could Star: Ben Affleck, Eddie Murphy, Patrick Stewart, Kirsten Dunst Will probably star: Vin Diesel, Martin Lawrence, Bob Hoskins, Paris Hilton Even to this day, I still can’t believe that there are so many people who never used to watch this series. In my opinion, it is one of the most grossly overlooked Sci-Fi series’ ever done! Most people ask… What was it about? - In his basement in San Francisco, boy-genius Quinn Mallory unlocks the doorway to an infinite number of Earths. During a test run, Quinn invites co-worker Wade Wells and his teacher Professor Maximillian Arturo to see his new invention. But an increase in power and an early departure leave all three, plus a washed-up soul singer named Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown, lost in a parallel world. Now they must "slide" from world to world, not only adapting to their changing surroundings, but also trying to get back to their world. Will they ever make it home? Why was it so good? Well, because of the fact that there are just an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to the theory of parallel universes, it led to some very interesting and exciting premises regarding the storylines. – Ok, it was completely ridiculous in concept, but aren’t all Sci-Fi series’?
In conclusion, it would appear that the process of converting TV shows to movies is here to stay. Perhaps the secret to a good conversion is to make sure that it is taken seriously, has enough money invested in it to make it worthwhile, but most of all, make sure it is done in a way that is respectful to it’s predecessor and it’s fan base. I’ve no doubt that there will be people out there who disagree with me on some of my opinions, but if you’d like to put forward some suggestions of your own, feel free to visit our forums and voice your own opinions.