CBS, David Mamet developing "Have Gun - Will Travel" reboot

[Rush Limborg]

Indeed, Gunsmoke and Bonanza and all the rest--they were not supposed to be historical docudramas. They were supposed to be dang good stories, with all the elements that made Westerns...Westerns. The great shows delivered the goods, and had a power of their own. Those that didn't...faded into history.

David Mamet is not one for fading into history. And if his books are any indication--if there's anything he's not, it's politically correct.


(BTW...side note: it would be interesting if he were to do a movie version of his play November....)

 

[sidious618]

CBS already aired the Mamet-created series The Unit for four seasons. I only ever saw the pilot, but judging from that, I'd say there's a good chance that this will both be dull and conservative.

Which, come to think of it, will make it like most television Westerns from the 1950s and 60s. Heh.

Pretty much. I am not a fan of Mamet at all which will prevent me from watching this. If it wasn't him doing it then I'd probably check it out but he's such a gaping asshole in real life that I can't stomach watching something written by him.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

CBS' fault is not that its politically correct but that it's too formulaic, conservative and unadventurous, even by network standards. Just look at Person of Interest. The topic could be the basis of a great series, but in CBS's hands, its a snoozefest. Mamet will be fighting an uphill battle if he wants to create something with an original and personal voice. CBS is McTV.

 

[flandry84]

Perhaps the political correctness itself has become formulaic.
There will be *the fiesty female sherrif*and *the all-wise indian shaman*and so many other boxes to tick that the actual story becomes the last consideration.And so premature cancellation looms (as it constantly does in modern tv).So as another thread on this board asks.. why bother?

 

[sidious618]

Perhaps the political correctness itself has become formulaic.
There will be *the fiesty female sherrif*and *the all-wise indian shaman*and so many other boxes to tick that the actual story becomes the last consideration.And so premature cancellation looms (as it constantly does in modern tv).So as another thread on this board asks.. why bother?

As with most posts about political correctness, this bares little resemblance to reality and says more about the poster than it does about the current state of TV.

 

[flandry84]

Please elaborate.

Or perhaps don't.Maybe I'm just another "gaping asshole".

 

[Captaindemotion]

Perhaps the political correctness itself has become formulaic.
There will be *the fiesty female sherrif*and *the all-wise indian shaman*and so many other boxes to tick that the actual story becomes the last consideration

Oh, you've already seen it, have you?

 

[sidious618]

Please elaborate.

Or perhaps don't.Maybe I'm just another "gaping asshole".

Well, I don't know you so I can't speak to that. However, it seems from your posting that you want shows to go back to when men were the tough guys and women were the helpless victims. Having a tough woman on a show isn't political correctness- it's realistic. If shows were "politically correct" then we wouldn't have female characters on them that are only there to show off their bodies. We wouldn't have shows where the black guy is always in the background and gets nothing to do. How many shows have a black lead? Not many. How about a Hispanic lead? Not many. How about a woman lead? Not many.

Need I go on about how television is by no means "political correct?"

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It would be interesting to see how they'd deal with "Hey Boy" (the hotel's Chinese bellhop). Would they try to update or keep as a sign of the attitudes of that time?

 

[propita]

/\Agreed,Richard Boone was most effective when playing the baddieIMO.I'm struggling to remember the title of the late-era John Wayne western in which Boone was a pretty unrepentent kidnapper/killer...was it Big Jake?

GREAT lines in that film!

"Dog!"

"I thought you was dead."
"Not hardly."

"Your fault; my fault; nobody's fault...."

 

[gblews]

The original was (is) a fantastic show, quite different from most of its ilk, it'll be interesting to see how this goes.

Definitely different especially for the time period it was on. Palladin was a gentleman who could get low down and dirty when he accepted a job in which that was required.

I will certainly be interested in this one. In addition to the theme song, I hope they keep Palladin's logo too.

Someone mentioned Wanted Dead or Alive. Steve McQueen was so large a part of what made that show special, I just don't know if they could find an actor who could pull off what McQueen made look so easy.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^It was me who mentioned DOA. And yes, you are right. The remake of The Getaway from 1994 is a good movie, but Alec Baldwin, fine actor that he is, is no McQueen. Daniel Craig, Jeremy Renner and Damian Lewis all have a little of McQueen's look about them but I don't think that they have the charisma of this most charismatic of movie stars.

 

[flandry84]

Please elaborate.

Or perhaps don't.Maybe I'm just another "gaping asshole".

Well, I don't know you so I can't speak to that. However, it seems from your posting that you want shows to go back to when men were the tough guys and women were the helpless victims. Having a tough woman on a show isn't political correctness- it's realistic. If shows were "politically correct" then we wouldn't have female characters on them that are only there to show off their bodies. We wouldn't have shows where the black guy is always in the background and gets nothing to do. How many shows have a black lead? Not many. How about a Hispanic lead? Not many. How about a woman lead? Not many.

Need I go on about how television is by no means "political correct?"

With respect,I never said anything about the objectification of women or the denigration of minorities.(BTW we are all a minority of sorts).Please be fair to me on that score.
When I said political correctness perhaps I should have said anachronistic or indeed gimmicky.

When I think of the old shows,particularly "The virginian" these were shows where the story rather than the milieu took precedence where the "tough guy"stars of the show weren't always the focus of the story,indeed sometimes they only had a cameo in their own show.
Story first,gimmicky nonesense last.

 

[Captaindemotion]

When I said political correctness perhaps I should have said anachronistic or indeed gimmicky.

Well, you're talking about two totally separate things. And I think that had you said anachronisms or gimmicks in the first place, you would probably have found a lot more people agreeing with you (myself included).

Again, whatever else you say about Mamet, he's not into 'gimmicky nonsense.' That's not to say I liked all of his stuff (I got bored with The Unit several episodes in) but we should actually wait to see what this show is like before passing judgment on it.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Perhaps the political correctness itself has become formulaic.
There will be *the fiesty female sherrif*and *the all-wise indian shaman*

The latter, in particular, is now such a cliche (it's known as the "magic negro") that it should actually be considered un-PC...

 

[sidious618]

When I said political correctness perhaps I should have said anachronistic or indeed gimmicky.

Well, you're talking about two totally separate things. And I think that had you said anachronisms or gimmicks in the first place, you would probably have found a lot more people agreeing with you (myself included).

Exactly. It has nothing at all to do with political correctness; now we're talking about cliches and gimmicks which are found in most network shows and in many cable shows, too.