Would a 6 million dollar man (Bionic Man-type) reboot work now?)

I don't see why this couldn't work now - Jake 2.0 practically was it already

 

^and didn't work apparently.

 

What's 6 million in 1974 dollars worth now?

 

^ Just under $28m, according to the US Inflation Calculator. That seems very cheap.

 

^Inflation calculator be damned, if it's back, it'll be The Six Billion Dollar Man, I reckon.

 

^ I like Kevin Smith's $6m dollars per day idea. That works out at about $6.6bn over three years.

 

For a TV series based on the original... no... it's not something i can see working... the TV series had it's time in the 70's and 80's, ideas and media have moved on from then...

there have been a few attempts to resussitate 70's and 80's TV shows into new series with more 'flair' and design... even ignoring the Bionic Woman disaster....

Anyone remember the horrendous 2008 version of Knight Rider? With KITT voiced by Val Kilmer and looking like he'd been designed by Pimp My Ride? Or how about last years completely disastrous remake of the Charlies Angels TV series... So abysmal that even an hours worth of watching hot women in scantily clad clothing couldn't save it...

The time for these 70's and 80's shows is over, let them rest in piece... for the premise, they could just as easily do an Iron Man TV series, basic writing and ideas are the same, and i'm sure it would do better than a remake of the million dollar man idea...

M

 

^pssst, Hawaii-50.

The problem with an Ironman show isiy would be scads more expensive to film. All that CGI for the armor. The "strength" in the SMDM concept is that most of the time it's just an actor with some post effects. Much more cost effective to film.

 

I agree times have changed. Despite Watergate cynicism in regard to government and government agencies hadn't yet affected all of television program yet when the SMDM was made, It was therefore easy for the audience at large to still accept the idea of a good guy doing work for a benevolent (so to speak) government agency. Today I think that would be harder to sell because many have become quite cynical.

That isn't to say a revamped version of the SMDM couldn't be done. I think the short lived series Now And Again came close, but they chose to focus on the hero's family connections and strayed away from the action-adventure and intrigue aspects of the story.

Again it all comes down to execution. If you set it up right and deliver it in just the right way then you could still make it work. It's too easy to say "this won't work because no one will buy that anymore." There are too many examples of that being said until someone comes along to successfully challenge the assumption.

Westerns don't sell, but then we get Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven and quite a few other good westerns since. Pirates don't sell anymore and then we get Pirates Of The Caribbean. Superheroes are strictly for comic books and Saturday morning programming. Really...

 

We've had successful tv reboots/ remakes of BSG, Hawaii 5-0 and Doctor Who while Mission: Impossible and others have been successfully remade for the big screen. What was the name of that space show that JJ Abrams remade a couple of years ago? The name's on the tip of my tongue...If only it had a BBS of its own...

Of course, no-one expects TSMDM to be remade exactly as it was and yes, tastes have changed since then. But just because other shows have been done badly, it doesn't mean that this one can't be done well.

 

My idea for a Six Million Dollar Man reboot, from another thread:

Dear Hollywood: You officially have my permission to use this idea without paying me or giving me credit. I just really, really, want to see it.

 

We've had a DW re-boot news to me, I thought we had a continuation of the show (after it was uncancelled). Just with a budget more fit for the 21st century.

 

If we count overseas material, one could argue "Ghost in the Shell" falls under this conceptual umbrella. Major Motoko Kusanagi is a full conversion cyborg; little more than her brain and part of her spinal column remains. Sometimes she has existential doubts if there is even that much left since she can't exactly examine those tissues first hand. She too works for an agency that handles covert missions. And while we don't see her throwing around cars (though she once "anchored" an escaping helicopter), she is often depicted leaping about, obtaining altitudes that would make Steve Austin envious.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

Oh for God's sake. Reboot, revival, remake, reimagining, whatever. The term reboot is used so widely as to mean any new take on an existing property. Of course it's a continuation of the old show, but it's done in a different style to that of the 1970s and 1960s (shorter episodes, standalone stories as oppose to multiple-parters, different tone etc). The point is to show that old shows can be revived for a modern audience.

 

Agreed! If they did it that way I would watch.

 

There are several issues to brining back shows (not that I am disagreeing with your point that then can be brought back)

1.>Executives want the instant ratings hit

2.>Audiances can be rather fickle, and aren't generally willing to give shows a chance to become success.

3.>Due to Executies cancelling shows, a part of the audiance is unwilling to invest time in a show that will likely be cancelled. Thus leading to that shows cancellation.

4.>Some Executives appear to believe that shows should be written for the lowest common denominator.

5.>Executives don't always look at the long term profit margin for a show. Sure a show could lose money initally or not make a huge amount. Reality TV show can be great for the instant profit, but do you really think that "America's got talent 2010" will still be being shown in reruns (and thus generating money) in 2050?

 

^ I'm not sure why you think I haven't grasped any of this. I acknowledged in my original post that some shows have been revived unsuccessfully. I'm merely pointing out that some have been revived successfully, on both the big and small screens. I didn't say that this guaranteed that any revival of any show or indeed that any revival of TSMDM was guaranteed to be a hit. Merely that it was possible to successfully reboot or revive it.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

Too bad they've signed Josh Holloway for what sounds like a $6m man rip off. He would have made a great Steve Austin in a proper remake.

 

the G-man, that's a good idea.

Steve's whole body needs to be bionic, (just to clarify, in case it hasn't already been made clear enough) because an un-augmented human frame could not adequately provide leverage to utilize the strength of the bionic limbs. He'd be breaking his own back all the time. That was painfully obvious during the original series.