"I can't watch it, it'll ruin the memories for me"

Not sure it is just me, but I've never accepted that a poor come-back TV series (or film) should impact your love for that show as a whole.

Take Porridge and Red Dwarf for instance. How can years of enjoyment of these shows, suddenly be ruined by a below-par revival?

There is no way Porridge (S 1-4 + Specials) will ever be ruined. This comeback series is almost like another series in itself anyway. Whether that is a good or bad thing. I just can't understand why a comedy fan would be that precious about a come-back that much, that they'd let it spoil their original enjoyment.

"I switched over because I just couldn't take anymore and it would have made me hate the series forever".

Yeah, yeah...

There must be other comedy fans out there that accept a bad revival, but still enjoy the originals?

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 27th October 2017, 8:43 AM

How can years of enjoyment of these shows, suddenly be ruined by a below-par revival?

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I think a lot of people who grow to love a show will build up a trust for it, and will then be more forgiving of any unevenness in future episodes. However, if the show takes a nosedive, they feel their trust has been betrayed, and so they will start to doubt the trust they originally invested in it.

Remakes that don't get the original tone of the material are soul destroying (the fab Avengers TV series and the terrible movie spring to mind). However, when a show as trashy as The A Team begets a movie as dumb as its TV series, it produces something worth watching (it may not be high art, but good fun).

A shitty remake just makes the original all the better. Like the awful Shane Richie Minder remake.
It's a shitty, needless sequel with the same actors that can be damaging, such as Blues Brothers 2000 perhaps the worst offender.

Sgt Bilko- Steve Martin

Red Dwarf feels like a completely different show now. Rimmer no longer has that scathing dislike towards Lister and the Cat is more pally with Rimmer. They are more like team mates now instead of a motley crew forced together, always being irksome to each other like the first few series and it was that hostility that gave all the great gags. The storylines have gone downhill and the gags are weaker to a point where it sometimes feels like pity laughs and the days of constant belly laughs at the dialogue are long gone.

I know if The Office had made more series I would view Series 1 and 2 differently because it's no longer down to my imagination to think what everyone went on to do. If The Young Ones had made more series it would have contradicted the anarchic theme and ruined the memory of when it was unleased in the 80s. Fawlty Towers could be an exception as I could see a few more series in that. Blackadder stopped at the right time.

Films are different though and if there is a crap sequel I wont watch it again but it doesn't spoil watching the original. I've never seen Robocop 3, Robocop 2 was avarage but not a patch on the raw cinematography of the original. I've not seen the recent remake but it's probably worse than Robocop 3 and that's blooody well saying something when I've not even seen Robocop 3.

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 27th October 2017, 8:43 AM

Not sure it is just me, but I've never accepted that a poor come-back TV series (or film) should impact your love for that show as a whole.

Take Porridge and Red Dwarf for instance. How can years of enjoyment of these shows, suddenly be ruined by a below-par revival?

There is no way Porridge (S 1-4 + Specials) will ever be ruined. This comeback series is almost like another series in itself anyway. Whether that is a good or bad thing. I just can't understand why a comedy fan would be that precious about a come-back that much, that they'd let it spoil their original enjoyment.

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Yes I get your point about good material not being affected by later poorer material, that has to be logically right, I'd think. But I'm not too sure there are many who really give up on the early good series of a favourite show rather than hate what the newer poorer series do to the reputation of that show, especially if it's a classic like Porridge, or OFAH etc. Fans have an individual ownership of a favourite thing, and do not want the top quality they believe it once had, sullied by opportunists who cannot keep anywhere near to that high quality, for the sake of more monetary gain for them. See the fans' fury on reviews of the Dad's Army film last year for an example.

I rewatched Last Of The Summer Wine and wasn't disappointed. I thought it was shit at first too.

Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 30th October 2017, 6:41 PM

I rewatched Last Of The Summer Wine and wasn't disappointed. I thought it was shit at first too.

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I thought they only made one episode. My own personal Groundhog Day

The Young Ones definitely stopped at the right time. Those last two episodes really are firing on all cylinders and they couldn't possibly top them. Future attempts to continue the style (Filthy... and even the much-adored Bottom) never hit it in the same way; Happy Families was great but a very different style. I may be misremembering but I think they killed the characters off at the end partly cos it was their cruel style of humour, partly to make it hard to do another series when they hit middle-age and fancied a bit of dough.
After the show went ballistic Rik said his next project would be radically different and enter new fields. Hence:
Young Ones, manic, ingratiating but gross Rik.
FRC: manic, ingratiating but gross Richie.
Bot: manic, ingratiating but gross Richie.
Apparently there was talk of a second series of Happy Families but it's so perfectly wound up at the end I've no idea how this would have worked.
The Office finishes beautifully to total satisfaction. The only way is down.
Fawlty Towers would have got worse too - they always do, even Porridge and A Bit of Fry and Laurie. I always thought there was huge dip in Hitchhiker's Guide after the second bout (second radio series i.e. first part of the second book) and I'm surprised no one else seemed to notice.
Blackadder should have finished in 1985.
Last Of The Summer Wine should have gone on much longer. There was so much more mileage in those characters.

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 27th October 2017, 8:43 AM

"I switched over because I just couldn't take any more and it would have made me hate the series forever".

View original

A revival wouldn't make me hate a series forever just because I didn't rate the new breed compared to the original.

But in some cases, I do wonder why they bother at all.

Ok so its not comedy but Tales of The Gold Monkey was must watch TV when I was younger. Not sure it would stand a repeat viewing.

Returning to comedy I've toyed with buying some Skyes DVDs and while the odd one I've seen on BBC Four were interesting I'm not sure a whole DVD would hold my attention.

Possibly a little bit obscure but there was a US comedy called Night Court which I really enjoyed as a teenager. Less so 30 years later when I bought the DVD.

Quote: Sixty3closure @ 24th November 2017, 12:11 AM

Returning to comedy I've toyed with buying some Skyes DVDs and while the odd one i;ve seen on BBC Four were interesting I'm not sure a whole DVD would hold my attention.

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Do you mean Sykes?

doh! Yep.

An example for me is that revived episode of Are You Being Served? I know it was awful, but for me it doesn't affect the original in any way. The original was fantastic, and in my mind, I just pretend that revival never happened.