SciFi/Fantasy TV shows made after first being a movie?

[Dream]

The original Buffy movie was a cheesefest, only the first Highlander movie is any good, and The Stargate director simply stopped after the first movie for some reason.

What do Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1, and Highlander: The Series have in common?

They all were created as sequels or spinoffs of movies, each show was able to surpass their movie versions in certain ways. They got more time to develop their characters and more world building. The version of the actors from the shows have even replaced the movie actors in some fans eyes. The only fault I can think of these shows is that each went on a season or two too long. Funnily enough, each of the shows also managed spinoffs.

Are there any more shows created from movies? Why isn't this done more often?

 

[J.T.B.]

Logan's Run, Beyond Westworld, Blue Thunder and Alien Nation are a few that come immediately to mind. I don't really remember much about the first two, but my impression is they weren't that great. But the percentage of TV series that go on to be successful is pretty small anyway, no matter the genre.

 

[MacLeod]

Planet of the Apes also had a TV series after first being a movie.

And I think in the case of Stargate in order to get fianance to make the movie they had to sign over rights to MGM. MGM then decided it would be more profitable as a TV series.

 

[Dream]

Logan's Run, Beyond Westworld, Blue Thunder and Alien Nation are a few that come immediately to mind.

Planet of the Apes also had a TV series after first being a movie.

Just checked wikipedia and saw all those shows only last one season, though Alien Nation was reasonably successful because it had 5 tv movies each year after it end. I think the first three show might have just had a hard time attracting audiences back then, they seemed like a reaction to how big of a hit Star Wars was in theaters.

And I think in the case of Stargate in order to get fianance to make the movie they had to sign over rights to MGM. MGM then decided it would be more profitable as a TV series.

The Stargate movie was very interesting. It sort of works well as a pilot to Stargate SGI, the two different lead actors aside. I love how cinematic it is and how great the visual effects are.

But SG1 is better in terms of the writing, and how it explored the Stargate world much more.

 

[MacLeod]

Of course wikipedia is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_programs_based_on_films

Of course the link to the movie is somewhat tenious on some of them, and some are animated based on a live action movie.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Coming up, we have a series based on the movie Legion (called Dominion, IIRC) that sounds like a sequel storyline and right now we're in between seasons of Hannibal, based on the Lecter movies and novels.

There was also Tremors (briefly) and Total Recall 2070 (also briefly).

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Terminator was another fairly recent one.

The hard part is that a TV series is that it can't generally keep all the qualities of the source and so tends not to be as visceral and hard-hitting as their source material and you risk alienating fans of the source if you don't get it right.

I liked Blade: The Series but Blade himself was peripheral for much of it and it didn't have the same pulse-pounding action. Spike actually killed it because it was picking up too much female demographics.

I never could get into the Conan or Crow series because they were so watered down. Granted, as I get older that bothers me less and less and I can accept these as their own things on their own merits.

And not every movie is really suitable for translation. I haven't seen Gravity yet but it doesn't seem ideal for a series, or say Oblivion. Like that Total Recall series or Friday the 13th, they didn't seem to have much to do with their namesakes.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

"Godzilla: The Series" was a continuation of (and much better than) the Emmerich movie. The Hannah/Barbera cartoon was, I think, not a continuation of the Toho films, but they never adressed this on the show.

There also was the "Beetlejuice" cartoon, but I can't remember whether that was a sequel to the movie or a reboot.
Speaking of animated shows, one obviously can't escape the "Ghostbusters" franchise.

Then there are several SW animated shows, "James Bond, jr.", and the "Never-Ending Story" cartoon (don't know story-wise, but at least the designs of the characters were based on the movies).

 

[Mr Light]

The big one that comes to mind is Star Wars Clone Wars

 

[Greg Cox]

There was also the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. And, going back a ways, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

 

[Lonemagpie]

The Odd Couple and MASH spring immediately to mind. In the UK, Dixon Of Dock Green was a spinoff from The Blue Lamp, and ran for many years.

None of those are SF/F though.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

Starman had a tv series back in 1986 that was a sequel to the movie. I actually really enjoyed it for what it was, which was a "The Fugitive/ Incredible Hulk" type of show. It was also kind of clever how they got around not having Jeff Bridges as the lead.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

There also was the "Beetlejuice" cartoon, but I can't remember whether that was a sequel to the movie or a reboot.

It was an alternate take on the movie, Lydia and Beetlejuice were friends and Lydia's parents weren't aware of Beetlejuice.

 

[Gaith]

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off also got a brief TV spinoff, with Jennifer Aniston in the Jennifer Grey role.

 

[Greg Cox]

There was also a short-lived Witches of Eastwick TV series . . . .

And I suppose MTV's new TEEN WOLF series counts, although it's completely different from the original comedy film.

 

[Owain Taggart]

If we're counting cartoons, there there are likely too many to name, though a few do come to mind, such as Men in Black, Robocop, and of course, the big one, Ghostbusters.

 

[Greg Cox]

If we're counting cartoons, there there are likely too many to name, though a few do come to mind, such as Men in Black, Robocop, and of course, the big one, Ghostbusters.

Heck, there was a Fantastic Voyage cartoon series back in the sixties.

 

[Gaith]

Why isn't this done more often?

Why would it? First, you need a concept that is popular enough to get a series greenlit even without the original cast, in most cases. Not to mention said concept has to support a whole show, and not be so complex that those who missed the movie are wary to join in. And the production budget has to be feasible. And the movie probably can't have any sequels or reboot already in the works.

That's a lot of hurdles.

 

[Greg Cox]

Why isn't this done more often?

Why would it? First, you need a concept that is popular enough to get a series greenlit even without the original cast, in most cases. Not to mention said concept has to support a whole show, and not be so complex that those who missed the movie are wary to join in. And the production budget has to be feasible. And the movie probably can't have any sequels or reboot already in the works.

That's a lot of hurdles.

I suspect that the biggest impediment is the desire to do more movie sequels. Why do, say, a RESIDENT EVIL or UNDERWORLD tv series when the movies are still making money?

 

[Dream]

How can I forget the Disney cartoons?

Five Disney Renaissance movies got their own shows! We had TV shows of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Timon & Pumbaa, Hercules and Tarzan.

The Little Mermaid prequel series lasted 31 episodes, Timon & Pumbaa lasted 85, and Hercules lasted 65, The Legend of Tarzan ran for 39. Thank you Wikipedia!

Aladdin was the best and most successful and lasting 86 episodes. I love how they turned Jasmine into a badass in it, and how Iago was the antihero. I quickly grew to become even more attached to the characters because of the weekly episodes.