Here's Karel!
The Karel Show is my favorite radio show, even though I can listen to it only through downloads (and days after the original broadcast). It’s hard for me to describe it in few words – let me just say it’s politics, it’s outrage, it’s comedy, it’s humanity, it’s life.
Karel is on KGO-AM 810 in San Francisco and on various markets during the week. You can listen to and download Karel here (KGO) and here (weekdays).
On the May 15th program, Karel brought up the topic of television shows that were so good the first time that it’s bad form to remake them. ABC is going to bring out a new set of Charlie’s Angels this fall, and Karel wasn’t jiggy with it. “They should just show the repeat of Farrah, and Kate, and Jaclyn,” he declared. Other listeners cited The Love Boat, Good Times, Sanford and Son, Three’s Company, and I Love Lucy.
Karel also brought up Gilligan’s Island. Now, I watched my fair share of Gilligan, mostly when my age was a single digit, but I can’t say it was one of my favorite shows. Still, it would be a hard one to remake. Can you imagine three single guys, two single gals, and one married couple stuck on an uncharted desert isle – and nobody’s having sex? Bring that premise to 2011, and having sex is all they’re going to do.
After thinking about it, my show that should not be remade is Batman. It’s pitch-perfect camp sensibility is a pure product of its debut year, 1966. Today’s showrunners would load down the camp with enough irony to suffocate the humor. That would not be a pretty sight.
(I wish I could encourage you to go out and buy the Batman series on DVD. Unfortunately, it’s not available on DVD – unlike lesser shows such as Punky Brewster and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne – because of various and sundry and tangled reasons. I can’t understand why these people are caging a golden goose – I know I’m not the only one who would run, not walk, to the store to get Batman. Let’s hope they can get together and put this series out, not just in my lifetime, but in Adam West’s – we need his commentary! At least we have a feature film which will show you the tenor of the series.)
Are there any other shows that you think the remakers should keep their greedy little paws off of? Feel free to comment below!
And thanks, Karel, for a great post idea!
This isn't exactly on topic, but I'm terrified what Seth McFarland is going to do with his new version of "The Flintstones." I loved that show and it was such a different time and a different spirit, I don't see how you could do it in 2011 and not have something completely different. But we'll see I guess!
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