Redo times two – Flash Gordon, Earth Stood Still
by Doc on Apr.12, 2007, under General News
There are two remakes on the horizon. First, the SCI FI Channel is bringing back Flash Gordon to series TV, starring Eric Johnson (Smallville) in the title role. More surprising, and more daring, is a remake of the classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, and is is reported that Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) will direct for Fox.
April 13th, 2007 on 4:31 pm
A very bad sign indeed
>RHI Entertainment’s Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert
>Halmi Jr. (SCI FI ‘s Legend of Earthsea) are
>executive-producing
I was somewhat interested until I saw this. Legend of Earthsea was Horrible and pretty much ended my hopes of good things comming out of SciFi channel.
Dont get me wrong. I will watch FlashGordon. But Scifi uses the shotgun approach: throw enough lead out there and your bound to hit a Eurika or SG1. Adding the Halmis to the mix lowers the odds even further. Check out their works here) and tell me if there is a single thing that makes you say “Hey, that was pretty damned good”.
April 13th, 2007 on 10:03 pm
Re:A very bad sign indeed
It reads like a series of low budget remakes, mostly for TV, but some won awards. Some were remade again afterwards, several involve PAtrick Stewart. Here are some highlights:
The Phantom of the Opera (1983) (TV)
“Scarlett” (1994) (mini)
White Dwarf (1995) (TV) – Strange, bizarre show
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997/I) (TV)- Remade in 2002 again
The Odyssey (1997) (TV) – Not too bad I thought, but no interest in rewatching it
Robinson Crusoe (1997)
Harvey (1998) (TV) – Can you top Jimmy Stewart?
Moby Dick (1998) (TV) – This wasn’t bad – good role for Patrick Stewart and his over-the-topness
Merlin (1998/II) (TV) – Not bad…see below
Alice in Wonderland (1999) (TV)
A Christmas Carol (1999) (TV) – Version 5,000,001
The Land of Oz (2000) (TV)
The Prince and the Pauper (2000) (TV)
“The 10th Kingdom” (2000) (mini) – another bizarre one – didn’t watch all of it
Arabian Nights (2000) (TV)
Jason and the Argonauts (2000)(TV)
Snow White (2001) (TV)
“Dinotopia” (2002) (mini)
The Lion in Winter (2003) (TV) – I missed this – I heard it might have been good
A Christmas Carol (2004) (TV) – Version 5,000,002 – this time with Kelsey Grammar singing!
Earthsea (2004) (TV)
Merlin’s Apprentice (2006) (TV) – Sam Neill plays Merlin – that’s about all there was to relate it to the original, and not nearly as good.
The Ten Commandments (2006) (TV) – Isn’t it a sin to remake this?
I’m waiting for them to announce a remake of Ben-Hur…
April 16th, 2007 on 2:33 pm
Re:A very bad sign indeed
The miniseries that they did in the late 90s weren’t too bad: Merlin, Gulliver’s Travels, The 10th Kingdom. I’ll watch Flash Gordon, but only because I don’t have much memory of the original so there’s little to get corrupted.
April 20th, 2007 on 5:54 am
Re:A very bad sign indeed
Please let it be set in the future, and not as the 80s movie in present time!
April 14th, 2007 on 10:07 pm
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Wow. That will be hard to beat, as the original was so good. I wonder if they’re going to drastically change the plot in order to prevent duplicating the original.
April 25th, 2007 on 7:57 pm
Re:The Day the Earth Stood Still
Remake this! Arrogance!
— CHAS