The 7 worst films based on TV shows

With the upcoming release of The A-Team and the recent arrival of its trailer online, I thought it might be timely to take a look back at films that were adapted from classic television programmes but didn’t do the original show justice.

Okay, one could easily argue that none of the films based on television shows do the original counterparts justice– but of all those films (and there are many!), I find these to be the worst offenders:

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#7 – The Flintsones (1994)

This makes so much sense, right? I mean, the cartoon was a huge 60s animated sitcom hit, and the 90′s were just starving for conceptual advances in the real of television on the cinema screen (wasn’t it??). The casting of John Goodman as Fred Flintstone was pretty clever, as was Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble. But the idea was never going to completely translate well. Even as a kid I found it boring. Still, they squeezed out a sequel in another attempt to strike gold. Calling it ’Viva Rock Vegas‘ was probably not the best idea, though.

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#6 – Wild, Wild West (1999)

Not even box-office-sure-thing Will Smith himself could save this monumental pile of rubbish co-starring Kevin Kline the gorgeous Salma Hayek. Okay I must admit that I didn’t even realise Wild, Wild West was a classic 60s television show when this film was released – which goes to show how remaking old TV shows can sneak up on a generation of filmmgoers who don’t know any different. In this case, they could have gone with a completely different title, plot and characters and probably come up with a better result. Writer/Director/Geek Kevin Smith talks about the producer of this movie (Jon Peters) when he almost wrote a Superman reboot screenplay back in the mid-90s. If you have the time, check it out on YouTube and you’ll come to realise how some movies are destined to bomb from the very early stages.

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#5 – Inspector Gadget (1999)

Poor Matthew Broderick. I probably would have signed on for the paycheck, too — but damn I bet he wishes he could wipe this one from his resume. I watched Inspector Gadget every damn day as a kid. Thankfully by the time they tried to shoot this one past me I knew better. I wasn’t interested in the slightest. At the time it was geared toward kids who had no idea who Inspector Gadget was. Those who watched him were into their twenties and a live-action kids flick adaptation just wouldn’t stick. Didn’t stop ‘em making an even worse sequel, though.

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#4 - Scooby Doo (2002)

I’ll admit to you straight away that I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah Michelle Gellar’s outfit in this lacklustre film. I had to screen it several times when I worked at a cinema and without a doubt she was the only worthwhiel thing projecting onto that screen. Not even Freddie Prinze Jr. or ‘that guy from Scream‘ Matthew Lillard could get through it unscathed. The kids absolutely loved this, though– and why wouldn’t they? The silly CGI animated dog, the campy comedy– it’s all there just for them. Just don’t tell any actual fans of the Scooby-Doo television cartoon that it exists and all will remain well. It profited enough for a horrendous sequel in 2004 and there’s talk of another possibly beginning production in 2010.

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#3 – Bewitched (2005)

I can just imagine the call to Nicole Kidman: “Can you wriggle your nose? Did you watched Bewitched? Great, you’re in!”. Producers were likely hoping this would be a ‘hit’ on Will Ferrell’s very hit and miss history of films. Unfortunately not even the premise that they weren’t actually remaking it — more telling a story about Bewitched – couldn’t save it from being just plain wrong and unfortunately predictable. Audiences and critics gave it a hiding.

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#2 – Dukes of Hazzard (2006)

There was only one good reason to watch the Dukes of Hazzard film adaptation but not even that (or those) made it worthwhile. Everything about this sorry attempt at a refreshing take on a classic TV show was damn excruciating. Let’s just leave it at that, can we?

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#1 – Lost In Space (1998)

Take a reasonably well-know television star and cast him in a film that is an adaptation of an older television show from the 60s. “Danger!, Danger!” Poor Matty LeBlanc probably thought this would help seriously launch (pardon the pun) his film career. He had a pretty solid six more years full-time playing Joey on Friends after this film. Then his own spinoff sitcom Joey. He did make appearances in both Charlie’s Angels film adaptations, though. I guess the guy was always destined for TV. Probably a lesson for everyone in that. The Lost In Space film took what the original TV show did and completely flipped it, removing the campy sets and cheap costumes and ramping things up big-budget-style with kickass CGI effects and an (attempt at) a dark, gritty plot. It probably sounded good on paper, but unfortunately the outcome was abysmal. Considering the fact that this might have worked as a science-fiction film unto itself yet attempted to ride on the name of Lost In Space without any real foundation, this was an embarrassing misfire.