Play It Again, Sam

It's summer—time for reruns on TV and sequels and reboots on the big screen.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of revisiting/reworking a story or characters, just as there is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of leftovers. If the original idea (or dish) was compelling enough the first time, it makes sense to want another helping.

When you go to see a stage production of Hamlet, you don't mind that it ends exactly the same way each and every time. Instead, you enjoy the nuanced choices made by different directors and actors that make each performance unique. When you hear a band play live, you want the music to sound different from, fresher than, the studio recording. Being familiar with the original, core work allows us to appreciate the artistic choices made by the "players."

Re-imagining and revisiting a work of art allows us to see it in a different light and appreciate it even more deeply. How much the poorer would our home entertainment centers be if Gene Roddenberry had given up after the original Star Trek series was canceled, if Robert Altman's brilliant film M*A*S*H hadn't spun off into the equally compelling series, or if George Lucas had retired to a low-orbit floating space mansion after the success of the first Star Wars film?

While there are, without doubt, some truly regrettable sequels, prequels and reboots floating around out there in Netflixland, that doesn't mean that the idea itself is inherently flawed. As with the pre-historic storyteller spinning campfire tales for the tribe, it's not just the story, but how you tell it. 

Random Bonus Thoughts:

• Film that must never be remade: Casablanca*
• Film that deserves to be remade: Gone With the Wind (now with real Southern accents!)
• Remake I'm trepidatious to watch even though my mom told me to: City of Angels (remake of Wings of Desire**)
• Remake that surpasses the original: the Adrian Lyne Lolita (Yes, it is better than Kubrick's. Jeremy Irons = Genius)
• There is room in the world for both the movie*** and TV series versions of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
• Browncoats forever!

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*I dare you to watch it and not fall in love with Ingrid Bergman. (Paul Henreid isn't too hard on the eyes, either.)

**Bruno Ganz! Nick Cave! Peter Falk, fer cryin' out loud! (Extra credit if you were ever pierced at Rings of Desire in New Orleans.)

***Hate on, haters. Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens together on the big screen. What's not to love?