Ever in a quest for fantastic new T.V. ideas, Hollywood occasionally goes “screw it” and just rehashes something that’s been done before. Reviving shows, remaking shows, remixing shows, spinning off of shows…and, occasionally, spinning off of movies.

When a movie gains a following, you’ve got a built-in audience for a spinoff show. Seems like a no-brainer, right? It’s led to a lot of shows, some of which were highly successful, while others…weren’t. Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This one is my personal favorite. The movie, starring Kristy Swanson, had milt cult success, but writer Joss Whedon was pissed. They had taken his clever script and completely butchered it, making it into a bubblegum comedy that wasn’t anything like his original creation. Most writers would have just rolled over and taken it, but Joss was too much in love with the idea of Buffy. So, he reclaimed her. A few years later, he put together the television series. And he got his due: barely anyone remembers the original film, and nobody connects it to the series or to Joss. Buffy is the T.V. Buffy, and that’s the way it should be.

M*A*S*H
This is another great example of a show that completely eclipsed the film it was based on. Does anyone remember the movie? Does anyone want to bet that less than 10% of today’s youth even have a concept that it might have existed? This is somewhat sad, as the film was well-recieved and even Oscar-nominated in its time. The lyrics to the theme song, “Suicide is Painless,” were written by director Robert Altman’s fourteen-year-old son. The film was itself based on a novel, which Altman called “pretty terrible” and “probably racist,” but that didn’t stop people from seeing it…nor CBS from airing the show for an incredible eleven seasons. Robert Altman’s got to be proud of that.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
I’m not sure what to make of this one. According to what I’ve read, serious talks of a fourth Terminator movie didn’t begin until well after the rights to a T.V. series had been negotiated. It was a little odd that both projects ended up being officially announced at around the same time, but I’m not sure that Chronicles was intended to be a marketing ploy for the movie. Although that would explain the shoddy writing and acting in the pilot. In any case, given how legendary the film franchise already is, I see no possible way for this to eclipse any of the films. But they sure gave it their goshdarnedest, I guess…?

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