If you have been watching television the past few years, you’ve noticed a trend of rebooting old shows and giving them a new spin or writing a sequel.  While this has happened before in the history of television—think After M*A*S*H and Trapper John MD or Dragnet—there has now been an influx of remade shows.  Just the past few years we have two that seem to have done well in Fuller House and Hawaii 50.  However, some didn’t last as long such as The Muppets, which I happened to enjoy.  How many of you remember watching the reboots of Ironside, Charlie’s Angels, Get Smart, Dallas, or Wonder Woman?  And for extra credit, who can name all the sequels of Star Trek over the past few decades?  I’m not sure if this fad is playing on the nostalgia of the baby boomers or just a lack of creativity in Hollywood.

I thought it might be fun to consider what the sequel or reboot of some of my favorite shows from the past might look like.

thirtysomething—In this sequel, sixtysomething, Janie, Leo, Brittany, and Ethan try to deal with their parents who still act like they are 30.   Ellen has had to fight for her job due to city cuts, Melissa is now the wealthiest friend after getting into photography for the internet, Elliott and Nancy are separated, again, and she is an artist while he is doing advertising for the Philadelphia Eagles and trying to date the cheerleaders.  Hope and Michael are still married.  Michael has replaced Miles Drentell upon retirement, and Hope is still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

 

That Girl – In the reboot, That Guy, Ann Marie would be Donald’s boss, a high powered CEO, and he is the reporter trying to get the scoop and stand up for his important stories like global warming when the magazine wants him to write about famous stars and the latest catfights.

 

My Three Sons—In the sequel, My Twelve Granddaughters, Steve has become a reality star talking about life with 12 granddaughters in the house and the lack of bathrooms and privacy.

 

Happy Days—the sequel, Hippy Days, explores the life of Richie and Lori Beth’s kids as they grow up in the late sixties and early seventies.

 

Gray’s Anatomy—the reboot, Gray’s Monotony looks at the life of a hospital where the nurses spend 75% of their time updating computer files and doctors rush around seeing patients and work part-time jobs to pay for their malpractice insurance.  No one has time for affairs or personal relationships.

 

The Brady Bunch—the sequel combines The Brady Bunch and Alice and stars Ann B. Davis who became a restaurant owner once the Brady kids grew up.  They and their kids still stop in to get advice from Alice.  Alice is single but engaged to Sam the Butcher.

 

The Andy Griffith Show—the network started making new episodes of the iconic series but realized that life in small town America has not really changed so, part way through the year, they begin showing reruns and no one notices.

Take some time and think about what your favorite shows might look like.  And if you see any of the above shows in the next few years, remember you read about them here first.