Sometimes two hours just isn’t enough. In an age where binge watching basically turns every series into a super long film, having a story told in 90 minutes can be a novelty— or it can leave us feeling cheated. No one could have predicted how successful and well-done the This is England TV series would be, but it didn’t feel like a spin-off, it felt like a natural progression and was one of the rare cases of a successful film to TV transition. However, this isn’t always the case. Our endless search for something more at the end of the film is sometimes overkill, and in searching for endings we lose what made the film special.
The first on my list of shows dues for a TV remake was Clueless, naturally. There has never been, and probably never will be, a better high school drama. The outfits, the catchphrases, the slightly incestuous relationship between Cher and her stepbrother —it’s incredible and could easily be spun out for a couple of series. Turns out, I’m not the only one who thought this. The spin-off series ran for three seasons, with Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone were replaced by lookalikes. It’s a little jarring but it’s better than nothing. Stacey Dash as Dionne is still there, flying the flag for the original ‘Clueless’ cast and continuing to bless us all with her fabulous hats.
Deadpool was another popular choice for the TV treatment. I don’t necessarily agree with this one because, although it was fun for a few hours, the novelty of Deadpool being aware he’s in a cartoon might wear thin if he had his own TV show.
Having said that, he is an interesting superhero, and if his show is anything similar to the 1966 Batman series I would definitely watch it. The over the top acting and low-fi special effects would probably suit him and there are certainly enough stories to draw on from his comics.
Even Superman—arguably one of the most boring and goody-two-shoes superhero in the DC/Marvel universes—got his own show. Plus, think how happy it would make Ryan Reynolds!
And while we’re on the subject of unlikely heroes, why didn’t Legally Blonde get its own show? Elle Woods, for all her wealth and beautiful hair, was still an underdog, and I could certainly spend a series or two rooting for her to find different ways of linking hair-care to murder cases and using her extensive fashion knowledge to change the world.
Like Clueless’s Cher, Elle’s outfits are a joy to behold and Reese Witherspoon basically looks the same as she did in 2001—I don’t think it’s too late for a reprisal. Or they could take the This is England approach and purposely use the aging of the cast in the storyline. This way, characters can slip in and out of stories seamlessly with no need to hire lookalikes (I’m looking at you, Clueless TV show).
The best films have their stories encapsulated within them and leave us wanting more. At the end of This in England ‘90- the final series- we are still left with questions and a yearning for just one more series, and maybe that’s the way things are meant to be. No matter how many series we get of something, if it’s good it will probably never be enough. Maybe we should stop our quest for more and just accept that some things should be left as they are. I’m still rooting for Legally Blonde 3 though.
