Television Series Revivals: Sequels or Remakes of Cancelled Shows

by Lee Goldberg

From Adam-12 to Ultraman , the series here were all ended but later returned. To be included a show must have been cancelled, with no new episodes produced, for longer than one full year. Each entry shows the original series title, the network, and the years they were broadcast. Also given are an overview of how the characters changed between first-run and revival, plot synopses, and production information on the remake.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Lee Goldberg is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over forty novels, including Malibu Burning, Calico, Lost Hills (the first novel in his acclaimed "Eve Ronin" series), 15 "Monk" mysteries, five "Fox & O'Hare" adventures (co-written with Janet Evanovich), and the new thriller Ashes Never Lie, the second in his "Sharpe & Walker" series.. He's written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk and he co-created the Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Television Fast Forward by Lee Goldberg is a 2015 Adventures in Television publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was originally published in 1992, so if you missed it back then, which I did, now is your chance to check out a comprehensive look at all the television revivals, reboots, remakes, or movies based on television shows up to the year 1992.

While I was a huge television junkie at one time, I never gave much thought to how many shows were brought back after long absences, made into major motion pictures or were given a complete reboot. I was totally surprised by how many there were, and it seems this trend will continue for a long time to come.

There is a short synopsis of the plot, a cast listing, and commentary in regards to each show discussed, which is interesting, plus I had a lot of fun skipping down memory lane remembering these classic shows and the actors made famous by them.

Many will notice that this book is an updated version, and yes, there is new information in the appendix which covers the remakes and revivals from 1992- 2015. This addition to the original book is just a list, with the dates included, but does not give any specific details, which is my only complaint about this book.

It's obvious the author lovingly researched and spent a great deal of time on the older material, so, it would be nice to see that same attention to detail added for the post 1992 material as well.

The beginning of this trend, for all intents and purposes started with “Rescue from Gilligan's Island” and went on to break into feature films with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and many old shows were brought back to life, by showcasing them in made for TV movie specials such as Columbo, and Perry Mason, eventually leading to revivals like The New Adam -12 which is basically the same show, but with different actors.

Revivals such as Arrested Development – picked up by Netflix, reboots like Hawaii 5-O, and big screen adaptations such a Sex and the City are just a few examples of the more recent material.

I spent my Sunday afternoon combing through this book, which can be used like a reference book, or read all at one time. My husband and I enjoyed looking back and had a few good laughs along the way, plus we found some shows we were not familiar with and hope to look them up sometime.

Overall this is an interesting television 'list' style book, something the die hard TV fan will want to add to their library, for sure. But, if you are a pop culture enthusiast, enjoy trivia, history, or nostalgia, you will enjoy this book as well.

Overall 3.5 rounded to 4

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC for review from NetGalley

For some reason I thought this might be an imaginative "then what happened" fictional look at some of our favorite shows, but it's just a catalog of shows that had sequels, and only up through 1992 - it says its an updated edition, but only the index is updated after 1992. Only for television fiends.

[Diana Belchase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wonder what TV executives were thinking when they relaunched so many TV shows instead of giving a new writer a break? Not only does Lee Goldberg provide an entertaining look at programs that rose from their graves more times than Dracula, he provides an in-depth history, complete with credits, and the rationale behind these executive's decisions. I learned a lot about TV in this book while thoroughly enjoying the trip down memory lane.

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference book

I liked learning about the shows that were used for sequels. I did see the Brady bunch sequels and liked them. I would like to see some of them

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.75 of 5

Although I love to read, and I read a lot, I grew up a child of the television age. As one of those first generation 'latch-key' kid, the television was my nanny. And when I moved to Hollywood, it was television that I had hoped to break in to. I am also one of those individuals who has a number of somewhat obscure television references books (and have had for probably thirty years now). And so, this is precisely the sort of book that I really, really like.

Television Fast Forward is a reference book about the "Sequels and Remakes of Cancelled Series" from 1955 to 1992.

We all know, and probably comment on the fact that Hollywood doesn't ever come up with anything new, but instead just resurrects old shows.. But do you have any idea just how many old series' really are brought back to life on the screen? This is the book to fill you in. I'm fairly savvy about television, even if it's a show I've never watched myself, I often know about it and all its incarnations (thank you obscure reference books!). But even so, I picked up on a few things that were new to me here. (For instance [just one of many], I never knew that there was an un-aired pilot made from The Greatest American Hero, called The Greatest American Heroine.)

Because I am a little strange and will even read a reference book cover to cover, I also picked up on some small tidbits. For instance...I never knew that Warren Zevon did music for a television show (a 1993 remake of Route 66) or that Sandra Bullock appeared in a 1989 movie called The Bionic Showdown - a sequel to The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman (one of four sequels).

There are a couple of things that I didn't like about this book.

1) This book was originally released in 1992 and all the sequel/remake information only is complete to that point. At the end of the book there is an appendix of "Television Series Revivals 1992-2015" which lists the television shows, but doesn't give any of the fantastic background information that Goldberg provides for the older shows. There is also an appendix "Television Series Remakes 1992-2015" which is the same - just a list with no background. Although the Star Trek section does include the J.J. Abrams first 'reboot' movie

2) I recognize that what I have is an Advanced Reader Copy, but the number of spelling, typography, and simple proof-reading errors was disappointing. One would hope that if this was published in 1992, any errors from that publication would have been corrected and that there should not be new errors in the old copy. But we have, about Star Trek, the sentence that it was "just about arty story could be told" (sic) and its creator was Gene Rodden berry (sic).

But still, this is precisely the sort of book that I want on my bookshelf (not on my kindle) so that I can refer to it periodically. If you are a fan of television, you'll want this, too!

Looking for a good book? Television Fast Forward is a fantastic reference book on the subject of sequels and remakes of television shows.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to read an electronic copy of Television Fast Forward via NetGalley and Adventures in Television. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Television Fast Forward is a compilation of television shows with a common tie: the series had either previously been cancelled and/or out of production for at least two years, in order for the new movie or series to be considered a revival. Exceptions were made, as this anthology could only include so much, but I enjoyed the trip down memory lane that Television Fast Forward provided.

Many shows were revived through the barter system, whereas the new station for viewing played the show for free, with several minutes of advertising given to the distributor in exchange. Barter syndication is responsible for bring back to life Fame and Too Close for Comfort. Many of the revitalization of series took place in the form of television movies, such as Bonanza: The Next Generation as a continuation of the popular television show.

This book is really only useful as a guide, or a way to help readers figure out how long their favorite shows were on the air and the spin offs or shows that they sparked. I do appreciate all of the time the author took to research each show, but there was really nothing here that I could not find out on my own. Readers who are big fans of television might find Television Fast Forward to their liking, but I was not blown away by it.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, unfortunately, in Australia I did not get to see lot of the "fast forward" series sequels from the television series. Not sure whether that was due to that they were not to sold to Australia or whether I missed them. I was really nice to read about how the writers managed the storylines of the revival of series.
I am old enough to remember a good deal of the original series, and I did love them as most people did. But I loved them because of the actors in them, not so much the storyline. I love the characters, but mainly because the actors bought them alive. Lets face it if they didn't the series would not have been winners originally. It seems that whilst nostalgia is good, taking us back to the good times, we certainly don't want to shatter our perception of past by showing us that these heroes are the same as us. It also seems that a lot depends on the actors who took these series into the fast forward.
It was interesting to understand how the studio system worked and what actually did work for awhile and what completely bombed. Great book for anyone that is a movie buff and wants a little insight into how series work.
This book was provided in return for a honest and unbiased review

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a TV junkie like I am, this is such a fun book and I knew I had to read it. I love looking back on the classic old TV shows. Some I watched, some I didn’t. Some I never heard of and some I wondered why the old shows were ever resurrected. This book explains the whole process and reasons behind each revival or sequel. Still, sometimes it’s best not to bring back old favorites as the originals will always be the best. Not all the time, but most times. This book explains the successes and failures.

The author is a writer and has written many popular TV shows. He is obviously very knowledgeable about the television industry and it shines throughout this book. There is also a complete list of TV revivals and sequels. It’s an interesting book and told in an informative, enjoyable way. I just wish more of my favorites were featured.





FTC Disclosure: NetGalley provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd have thought there was very little need for this book in the era of Kickstarter, even if it is clever, interesting and useful. It's also heinously close to being a straight reprint of something that's over 20 years out of date, and so seems to be in print again now solely to raise a few shekels for the second edition. There's been no end of TV franchise reinventions, in one form or another, before and since the distant cut-off point of this book, and so a lot of new material is promised, but what we have here is just a nostalgic wallow. I'd hope for it to be in a new format next time round, too, for I really didn't gel with how the info was presented – choppily discussing what has gone on on-screen since the original incarnation finished, then giving us details about what was once new. Still, the author knows his stuff, and if the remake is of the same quality then this is a series to watch. Ooh, how meta.

[Terri E Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Lee Goldberg when I read “The Fox and O’Hare Novels” where he writes with Janet Evanovich. I enjoyed the writing in that series and wanted to see what Goldberg was like on his own.

“Television Fast Forward” is a non-fiction work, so his style here is understandably different.
I would categorize “Television Fast Forward” as a reference book. Goldberg summarizes sequels and remakes of cancelled TV series from 1955 to 1992. The book is set up so that the reader can easily pick and choose which shows to read about. I enjoyed reading about the shows I watched, and skipped those that I didn’t.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While badly outdated, this is still a fun book to dip into in. I uncovered three programs that I would like to track down: the Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary show, Showtime's revival of The Paper Chase, and the attempted remake of The Bionic Woman starring Sandra Bullock.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even as a huge TV nerd like myself, I found this book a little bit light on meat. It covered many things that a good Google search or Wikepedia dive could just as quickly reveal. Only recommended for huge TV fanatics who like to devour things like this.

[Jamie Rosen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, very shallow entries. I suppose it's a good place to start.

[Robert Greenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great reference source that deserves updating and proofreading.