Horror is difficult to do well on TV. Many horror shows have been canceled, including this year’s The River, despite relatively positive reviews.
But sci-fi has been on TV since the beginning, and there are many great sci-fi shows throughout history we all love. Star Trek of course first comes to mind, Ron Moore’s new model Battlestar Galactica, Lost in Space, and many, many more.
So when I went to a site I dig, GiantFreakinRobot.com, they clearly weren’t happy about the news that Barbarella is in the works for a series. I think it could actually be cool as a series if it’s done right, but the site listed “Seven Movies That Should Be TV Shows Before Barbarella.”
And indeed, there’s a lot of sci-fi flicks that could make good series if they’re done right, but first things first… who’s on Giant Freakin Robot’s list?
In alphabetical order, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai came up first, and having a rabid fan following, there’s definitely a small cluster of geeks that will tune in if Buckaroo makes his comeback. Next up, a sci-fi flick I’ve always liked, A Boy and His Dog, which was written by Harlan Ellison.
In a post apocalyptic world, Don Johnson is wandering around with his telepathic dog, Blood, who communicates with his master through his thoughts. It’s much better than it sounds, and Robot tells us Ellison even tried to get a series made of the story back in the ’70s.
Also on the list is The Rocketeer, the big Disney franchise that wasn’t, an old school style sci-fi story, much like they tried later with the disastrous Sky Captain, and as a lover of old school retro stuff, a trip back to the days of the original Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials in a modern context could be a lot of fun.
And then there is Galaxy Quest, which has a great cult following today, and the fans would love to see life imitating art with this movie becoming an actual TV show. Galaxy Quest was of course about a group of actors forever type-cast in a show that’s very similar to Star Trek, and having the gang come back to TV facing their fanatical fans that know everything about the show backwards and forwards, while also fighting a real alien invasion, could be a lot of fun.
Rounding out the list is Idiocracy, which could absolutely be reinvented as a TV show and draw in the faithful to the movie, as well as the uninitiated, and a facetious entry, Serenity. The site joked about how great the movie is, and what a great series it would make. Sadly, neither the series or the movie found big enough of an audience for big success, but the browncoat fans are very loyal to this day.
There’s plenty of other entries that could be series, Damnation Alley was a sub-par sci-fi flick that could make a good series with today’s effects and a long story arc, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the sci-fi vaults getting plumbed in the future like we and Giant Freakin Robot suggest.
After all, look at how one of the most sub-par sci-fi series of the 70’s, Battlestar Galactica, become one of the best sci-fi shows of the millennium, as ridiculous the idea initially seemed.
