These 10 forgotten TV reboots of the 1980s prove Hollywood has always been into recycling

The Bradys and Bret Maverick both returned for brief runs in the Reagan Era.

The Everett Collection

Images: The Everett Collection

It seems as if we have reached the Peak Reboot era in pop culture. There are dozens to name as evidence, from Top Gun to The Addams Family. But this overlooks one key fact — Hollywood has always done this. What do Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, M*A*S*H, Batman and Wagon Train all have in common? They're all technically reboots, or at least TV adaptations of hits from other media. 

Classics can come from old ideas. That being said, nothing on this list likely qualifies as a classic. In the 1980s, networks repeatedly attempted to turn blockbuster movies and old shows into fresh television series. One reason for this was the debilitating Writers Guild of America strike in 1988. A lack of new content forced networks into reusing not just old concepts, but old scripts.

Some of the following shows became somewhat successful. Others washed away quickly. Did you watch any them?

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1. The Brady Brides

 

1981

The Bradys never truly went away. After the iconic sitcom ended, the cast transitioned to The Brady Bunch Hour variety show in the 1970s. The late 1980s would bring A Very Brady Christmas, which would lead into The Bradys, a reboot with the original cast in 1990s. Not long after, The Brady Bunch Movie came along and… well, you get the idea. Overlooked in all that is The Brady Brides, a sitcom spun out of the 1981 made-for-TV movie The Brady Girls Get Married. Most of the clan was missing, as the show centered around Marcia (Maureen McCormick) and Jan (Eve Plumb), and their new hubbies. Carol and Alice often popped in, but without the full family, this story of two lovely ladies only lasted a couple months.

Image: The Everett Collection

2. Bret Maverick

 

1981

James Garner slipped on his black suit once again to play the loveable Western rogue. This Maverick reboot in some ways was more of a Rockford Files reunion, as it featured that show's Stuart Margolin and Jack Garner (the star's brother) in recurring roles. Jack Kelly, who headlined half of the original Maverick episodes as Bart Maverick, briefly appeared at the end of the first season, as the producers intended to give him a larger role moving forward. But a second season never came.

Image: The Everett Collection

3. Stir Crazy

 

1985

The brilliant talents Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor made Stir Crazy one of the biggest blockbusters of 1980, as the comedy had earned ten times its budget. So why not turn it a TV show? Well, for starters, Larry Riley (pictured, top) and Joseph Guzaldo were not exactly Pryor and Wilder. Which is why this lasted a mere nine episodes.

Image: The Everett Collection

4. The Twilight Zone

 

1985

The biggest success story on this list, the Twilight Zone revival came to be even after Steven Spielberg's Twilight Zone: The Movie disappointed at the box office in 1983. Despite Rod Serling's death a decade earlier, the TV reboot featured an impressive pedigree. George R.R. Martin and Harlan Ellison wrote scripts, based on stories by giants like Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke. Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Joe Dante (Gremlins) and William Friedkin (The Exorcist) directed episodes. Guest stars included everyone from Bruce Willis to Martin Landau. And yet… Mr. Belvedere beat it in the ratings. "You have not known humiliation until you have been beaten by Mr. Belvedere," one contributor noted. Still, it lasted three seasons.

Image: The Everett Collection

5. Gung Ho

 

1986

Scott Bakula took on Michael Keaton's role in the TV adaptation of Ron Howard's blue-collar comedy. Gedde Watanabe, perhaps best known for his role in Sixteen Candles, did reprise his big-screen role. Clint Howard was also onboard, but without Ron at the helm and Keaton in the star's trailer, only nine episodes came off the production line.

Image: The Everett Collection

6. Starman

 

1981

Robert Hays of Airplane! took over Jeff Bridges' alien role in this sci-fi dramedy for ABC. Fun fact: Michael Douglas (yes, that Michael Douglas) served as executive producer on this one-season wonder.

Image: The Everett Collection

7. Dirty Dancing

 

1988

Viewers did not have the time of their lives with this quick cash-in that came a year after the smash Swayze flick. The only major thing of note is perhaps that the TV version starred Melora Hardin, who modern audiences know best as Jan on The Office. Oh, and Patrick Cassidy, who had the massive task of taking over for Patrick Swayze, is the son of The Partridge Family's Shirley Jones and brother of Shaun Cassidy.

Image: The Everett Collection

8. Mission: Impossible

 

1988

Before Tom Cruise turned the 1960s spy caper into a blockbuster franchise, CBS launched a moderately successful revival in 1988, in the midst of the writers' strike. Peter Graves returned as Jim Phelps, leading a young IMF squad. The show did spawn a solid Nintendo adaptation with the Mission: Impossible cartridge for the NES, one of the better Hollywood game adaptations of the era.

Image: The Everett Collection

9. Police Story

 

1981

The strike also led to this revival, which was pure recycling. ABC simply took four old Police Story scripts from the 1970s and refilmed them as fodder for the ABC Mystery Movie. That being said, those were solid scripts, and the casting was impressive, featuring unlikely duos such as Robert Conrad and Benjamin Bratt, seen here in "Gladiator School."

Image: The Everett Collection

10. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

 

1981

The Writers Guild strike affected comedy, too. Dick and Tom Smothers returned to the airwaves two decades after their original groundbreaking variety show. The guest list likewise blended the 1960s with the 1980s, featuring faces like Shelley Long, Victoria Jackson and Harry Anderson alongside the likes of Little Richard and Jack Lemmon.

Image: The Everett Collection

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59 Comments

bradyguy 2 months ago
A TV version of a movie is NOT a reboot.
PDCougar 4 months ago
The Smothers Brothers' variety program revival happened in 1987, 1988, and 1989, not in 1981. I met Dick Smothers prior to a performance he and Tom did in Spokane around 20 years ago, and Dick said he felt those late '80s CBS shows were some of the best stuff the brothers ever did and was hoping they could be put out on DVD. 1981 was actually the year they did a very short-lived detective show on NBC.
Moverfan PDCougar 1 month ago
Fitz &.Bones--Dick was a TV news reporter and Tommy was his cameraman. I would have watched it, but we didn't get it in the Detroit area...I've forgotten what they ran.instead. (We didn't get to see Rock.Hudson's show The Devlin Connection, either).
Scott76112 4 months ago
In other words, the current dearth of originality in Hollywood is nothing new. Not by a long shot.
IwatchingME 4 months ago
Who said the IMF came back on CBS? It was on ABC. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast.
Constantine 4 months ago
I remembered a good number of them...really liked Starman...in fact, rented the Carpenter movie cos liked the show so much
Kramden62 Constantine 4 months ago
I first saw the "Starman" movie at the cinema in January 1985 and liked it. Then when I heard about the series in 1988 I watched it and also enjoyed it. Shame the "Starman" series didn’t last very long.
Wiseguy70005 4 months ago
The Twilight Zone would have had only two seasons except that CBS wanted enough episodes for a syndication package. Indeed, the third season (full half-hour episodes only) originally appeared in syndication not on CBS.
DeannaT 4 months ago
1 3 7 8 I had no clue they were even aired. Spin offs are kinda dumb.
bradyguy DeannaT 2 months ago
Only #1 was really a spinoff. Movie -----> TV is not a spinoff. The new Mission Impossible was really a "reboot"...
Stoney 4 months ago
The 80s version of The Twilight Zone was pretty good, if a bit like a TZ/Night Gallery hybrid. It scared the mess out of 11 year old me, but I appreciate it more now.
ncadams27 4 months ago
I would like to see a reboot of My Mother, The Car and Mister Ed.

A guy buys a car that is his horse reincarnated. Jokes are made about a one horsepower car. Modern update - the car is electric and doesn’t like being charged because it tickles. The horse’s image appears on the in-dash touchscreen and trades insults with the navigation system voice.
Rob ncadams27 4 months ago
That's Gold! Gold, I tell you!
Coldnorth ncadams27 4 months ago
I would watch it. Please keep writing that .if Herbie had all the movies so could you. Or make a book sell it on Amazon. Not kidding I love it
Coldnorth ncadams27 4 months ago
Mr. Wiseguy. I have had the worst July ever so please cut me a break. I ended up with 2 concussions in a week in a half. Tanks
Ivan ncadams27 4 months ago
I am with you on that, I loved both of those shows.I downloaded the first few episodes of My mother the car, it was a shame it didn’t get extended. Mr Ed was a joy to watch also. Our U.K. tv is so bad that the only thing worth watching is 60/70 reruns of half hour comedy shows we had on our channels. I would pay double just to watch MeTV here in England.
ncadams27 4 months ago
Shows based on movies are not reboots. They are called “shows based on movies”.
bradyguy ncadams27 2 months ago
Nor are they "spinoffs", people.
CaptainDunsel 4 months ago
"Steven Spielberg's Twilight Zone: The Movie" ???

MeTV Staff, Joe Dante, John Landis, and George Miller would like a word with you...
bradyguy CaptainDunsel 2 months ago
Well, he WAS the producer. Do you think the word "Disney's" on every movie is wrong???
CaptainDunsel bradyguy 2 months ago
If you look at the credits, Spielberg was *A* producer (as was John Landis, BTW).
The "Spielberg" attribution isn't WRONG. It just misses the fact there were four directors.
seltaeb 4 months ago
Columbo seemed to be the best of the reboots. He wore the same wrinkled suit and overcoat, and drove that same old beat up car. Peter Falk really lived up to to his character. But only 24 episodes in the span of 14 years, from 1989 to 2003.
BenSobeleone seltaeb 4 months ago
I like the Columbo reboots. One of my favorite episodes is "Columbo Goes to College." He outsmarts those two college kids who murdered the college professor. Great episode!
scp seltaeb 4 months ago
I don't think the new Columbos can be called a reboot; they're just new episodes. The only time any of them really irked me was one where Columbo apparently didn't speak Italian, since Columbo in the 1970s spoke Italian fluently in "Murder Under Glass." The only way they didn't violate that episode would be if Columbo was feigning not knowing Italian, but since it was only an offhand mention and not important to the plot, I don't know why they'd throw that in.
sagafrat69 4 months ago
I remember about 7 of the 10 shows. Hours that I will never get back in my life unfortunately. Eve Plumb was smart enough to stay away from the variety show but not "Brides". What a disaster of a show. The one thing I remember about that show was the guy who played Marcia's husband was the PA announcer in the middle seasons of MASH. "Mission Impossible" deserves another chance. Paramount + wanted to do a show but douchebag Cruise owns the "Inpossible" universe and apparently wouldn't allow it. I guess you never know what will work until you put in it on air but really? Hopefully some t.v. suits got canned for putting that garbage in front of our eyes.
BenSobeleone sagafrat69 4 months ago
I enjoy the first Mission Impossible tv series. Classic! I only saw the first Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie from 1996. Didn't see any of the sequels. That one was good but the sequels just looked like some fast-paced action movies from what I can see from the movie trailers.
sagafrat69 BenSobeleone 4 months ago
I had a chance to watch the show during pandemic. One of the all time television greats. Maybe the greatest t.v.theme song of all time. Can't believe in first movie that they slandered the good name of Jim Phelps. Phelps would never betray the IMF team or his country. That whole plot line in the first movie left me with a bad taste in my mouth to this day. You haven't missed much with the sequels. They're like any other sequel to any other movie. You feel like you've been there before if you know what I mean. It's a shame Paramount + couldn't do a reboot. It's a show that really deserves a third chance and would be done the right way. Shame on you douchebag Cruise! Shame on you!
PDCougar sagafrat69 4 months ago
Jerry Houser ("Wally Logan" on "Brady Brides") acted in one episode of "M*A*S*H", but was never the voice of the P.A. announcer on that show. He's done a LOT of voice-overs on TV commercials for a lot of years.
sagafrat69 PDCougar 3 months ago
You're 100% correct. Sal Viscuso of "Dear Sigmund" was one of the PA announcers. Houser was in the episode talking to Klinger about Toledo. Lots of confusion on Facebook about both of them as PA announcers and I guess I am one of the confused. Good catch.
bradyguy sagafrat69 2 months ago
We're getting MORE correct as we go along. Viscuso was ONE of the P.A. Announcers. The MAIN one was an actor named Todd Susman. All THREE of these guys appeared in person on MASH. Finally got around to watching Houser (among others) in Slap Shot. Not good. LOL. And the made TWO sequels...YIKES!!
top_cat_james_1 4 months ago
Where's "The Black...uh, "The NEW Odd Couple" (1982-83, ABC-TV)?
Runeshaper 4 months ago
Some of these look pretty good!
bmoore4026 Runeshaper 4 months ago
I rather liked The Twilight Zone reboot.
Bapa1 4 months ago
Didn't The Grateful Dead do the theme for this Twilight Zone series?
sjbang88 Bapa1 4 months ago
In 1985, ‘The Twilight Zone’ television program was rebooted with theme music recorded by Merl Saunders and the Grateful Dead. Good call.
cperrynaples sjbang88 4 months ago
Yep, they even included a bit of the classic theme!
WordsmithWorks 4 months ago
There has always been television shows adapted from movies. My real issue with today's movies is the sheer number of sequels, prequels, and the like. It's often just a rehash of the previous film with very little new material added. One successful movie has to be milked to death. Of course, sequels are nothing new, but just the sheer volume they put out today, sometimes from movies that really stunk, is staggering.
bradyguy WordsmithWorks 2 months ago
I don't know about "always". In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with the FIRST TV show based on a movie... MASH comes to mind, of course...but technically, it's based on THE BOOK, and NOT the movie. If i had to (Knowledgeably) guess, I might say "Swiss Family Robinson" in the mid 70s?? (Although again, was it really based on the MOVIE (or ONE of the movies?) or was it based on the book?

How about "Harper Valley" in the early 80s?? (Which, coincidentally, aired the same night as The Brady Girls Get Married!). Blue Thunder in 1984?? By the mid 80s, we've got a whole bunch of bad ones like Fast Times, and then Ferris Beuller in the 90s...

Ooooh...okay. DELTA HOUSE - 1979. Along with both CBS' and NBC's Animal House ripoffs as well!
cperrynaples 4 months ago
A few comments: [1]Let's not forget A Very Brady Christmas made in 1988! [3] This show was horrible! It was basically a goofball reboot of The Fugitive! [4] This has been on MeTV as a summer replacement for classic Zone! [5] Bakula's first show before Quantum Leap! [6] Another horrible show! [7] I'm sure before reading the story, everyone said,"Boy, she looks like a young Jan"...LOL! And no they weren't think of Eve Plumb! patrick of course is Shawn's brother! [10] This show was 1988! The "usual gang of idiots" must have confused it with the Steve Allen reboot which was in 1981! If they knew SBCH 1.0 was 1967 and they did the math, it would be obvious!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 4 months ago
THINKING NOT THINK! And yes Patrick should have been capitolized!
justjeff cperrynaples 4 months ago
capitalized...LOL!
cperrynaples justjeff 4 months ago
Yep,I did it again...LOL!
justjeff Coldnorth 4 months ago
Hi, Stranger... where've you been?
bradyguy cperrynaples 2 months ago
Oops. They DIDN'T forget A Very Brady Christmas - it's mentioned in #1...
bradyguy cperrynaples 2 months ago
Oops. And "Shawn" should have been "Shaun".

I won't bother to mention they're also David's HALF-brothers. Every good TV experts knows that...

Dang.
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