Reboots are all the rage at the moment. I’m not sure whether it’s because we’ve run out of original ideas or the guaranteed bucks from reviving a previously successful show. Either way, there’s plenty of them out there at the moment, from recent iterations of Charmed and Roswell to Macgyver and Hawaii Five-0 and people seem to be enjoying them.
What’s great about a reboot over a revival (which just sees the same characters returning almost from the point they left) is the chance to breathe new life into the story. A reboot can introduce character changes and come at things from a different angle whilst still retaining the thing that made it great in the first place. A successful reboot makes you fall in love with the characters all over again, even when played by different actors.
To celebrate the popularity of the reboot, here are five shows that I think deserve a reboot:
The show had a great concept: A man wakes up on an island with no memories of who he is, but retains the knowledge of pretty much everything else (from obscure facts and country populations to expert computer know-how, he has it all). He uses that knowledge to help solve crimes whilst also investigating his own mystery. John Doe lasted only one season from 2002-2003 leaving so many questions unanswered and so much potential for a reboot.
Launching Jessica Alba’s career, Dark Angel ran from 2000 – 2002. In the dystopian world of 2019 (That was futuristic back in 2000) Alba plays Max, a genetically advanced super soldier who, as a child, escapes from the facility she was made in, and now lives in a decrepit and grungy Seattle. Desperate to find her fellow escapees, she has government agents chasing her down and a love interest who ropes her into using her skills for good. Whilst season two was a little wacky, the show had some great fight scenes, an engaging story and plenty of kick-ass girl power moments. This show is just begging for a remake.
One of my favourite classic sci-fi shows from the 90’s. SeaQuest DSV was about a futuristic super high-tech submarine that went on all sorts of adventures each week, from time travel to aliens and strange deep-sea monsters. The show debuted in 1994 and ran for two seasons (Plus a third renamed SeaQuest 2032). The cheesy special effects of the 90’s have not stood the test of time unfortunately and it would be great to see how great the show could be now with today’s technology.
Another show with a simple but great premise. Georgia ‘George’ Lass dies (tragically by being hit on the head from a space station toilet seat that falls to earth) Instead of going wherever one goes after dying, George is recruited as a grim reaper and has to reap the souls of people about to die. It lasted for two seasons (2003-2004) and also managed a TV movie but the show’s unique premise definitely left more room to grow. With shows like The Good Place and Russian Doll popularising stories about death and the afterlife, now would be a perfect time to bring it back.
The longest-running show from my selection, Alias had a five-year run from 2001-2006. Starring Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper before they were A-listers, the spy drama had nail-biting action scenes, intrigue, subterfuge and plenty of shocking twists and turns. Whilst you weren’t a hundred per cent sure who you could trust, you could trust that each episode would be entertaining. A reboot nearly fifteen years since it was last on air would give enough new material to make it fresh and a badass like Sydney Bristow back on our screens would never be a bad thing.
I’d love to see Dark Angel come back! And Alias!