First, it was The X-Files.
Then came Full House.
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| This man desperately needs to be on TV. Desperately. |
Gilmore Girls, Will and Grace, and Roseanne all followed, with rumors of The Office joining the gang. In 2018, the fact that you were once canceled doesn't mean you can't have a healthy second life to kick-resume your fledgling career (which should be good news for David Schwimmer).
Of course, now that the rules no longer apply, the big question is: What's next? Anything can happen! Such as...
Frasier: Still Listening
Premise: Fourteen years after Frasier left Seattle to follow a girl he liked to Chicago, he returns to his hometown to care for a geriatric Eddie, who is now much older than any Jack Russell Terrier in history. Niles and Daphne’s teenage son David is a popular jock who isn’t interested in the ballet, symphony, or even—gasp!—the opera. And he’s gay. Because it’s 2018 and it’s about time this show refused to revel in stereotypes, darn it. Roz is still the station manager at KACL, where Gil is still the restaurant critic and they still don’t know what to do with Bulldog.
Sample Episode: Niles and Frasier host a dinner party at Niles and Daphne’s for their swanky opera pals. The opera board president has his teenage daughter with him and she
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This is from the days when they'd literally just zip down
to the nearest Sears to shoot the publicity photos. |
falls for David. Niles and Frasier convince David to pretend to be straight so they can each have a chance at getting coveted opera board seats. Hilarity ensues. Meanwhile, to prove how woke they are in the wake of #metoo, Roz literally emasculates the misogynistic Bulldog while Gil Chesterton makes pithy wisecracks.
Prognosis: Like Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Frasier's return would have to deal with the death of one of its main cast members, as John Mahoney (Martin) recently retired to that ugly La-Z-Boy in the sky. It’s difficult to imagine the show working without the dynamic that Martin brought to the show. No, not even with an elderly little dog to be grumpy instead. Or—hold on. Do you think anyone would notice if Eddie was suddenly voiced by Hugh Laurie?
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David Hyde Pierce performed alone for Hello, Dolly! at the 2017
Tonys since Bette Middler refused to do it on location. |
Much of the cast has stayed pretty busy since Frasier went off the air. Kelsey Grammar (Frasier) and David Hyde Pierce (Niles) have both enjoyed their work in the theatre, with the former appearing in Finding Neverland and Big Fish, and the latter starring in Spamalot, Curtain, and Hello, Dolly! Jane Leeves (Daphne) did six seasons of Hot in Cleveland on TV Land, although she seems less busy right now. Peri Gilpin (Roz) did the ABC Family series Make It or Break It shortly after Frasier ended, and has kept herself busy with guest spots since then. So she should be available! Someone get on that. You’d have to coax the Crane brothers back, though. No show without them!
Firefly: Serenity Later
Premise: In a move that fans have been loudly begging for ever since the Internet was created (which is impressive since the show was only canceled in 2003), Firefly comes back to chronicle the ongoing adventures of Captain Mal Reynolds, Zoe, Wash, Inara, Jayne, Kaylee, Simon, River, and Shepherd Book (only Joss Whedon could manage to kill off 22% of his main cast within about twelve hours of screen time). Whedon managed to provide some closure to the River Tam mystery and revealed the origins of the Reavers during the Serenity film, so there’s a lot of
freedom over where to take the show from here. Expect Mal and crew to swear in
Chinese, ruffle feathers everywhere they go, and to fight to prevent the sky
from being taken away. I’m also thinking there could be a musical episode. And
maybe a Shakespeare one.
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| Shepherd Book dying in the film Serenity. |
Sample Episode: Mal and Zoe get an urgent message from a former comrade they had once fought alongside during the Unification War. It quickly becomes obvious, however, that their old friend is into some shady stuff, and is only getting in touch to try to con the Serenity crew. They have no interest in being taken advantage of, but discover that the con is much bigger than they originally realized when the former friend delivers them to a crimelord who’s been looking for Kalyee, of all people. It’s all very exciting. And funny. And heartwarming. MY GOSH THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING WHY WAS IT EVER CANCELED!?
Prognosis: Well, Fox was so thoroughly convinced that they had made a grave error in canceling Firefly so quickly that they approved a feature film sequel, and canceled sci-fi series never get successful feature film sequels. Unfortunately, the movie was considered a flop, only pulling in $38.9 million worldwide. However, there are countless rumors (I literally can’t count a single one) that Disney’s main interest in the acquisition of the entertainment arms of 21st Century Fox is so they can bring back Firefly. I mean, it could happen, right? At least, if I change this article to heavily imply that in the headline, this is guaranteed to go viral, right?
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Rumor is that Whedon had to kill off Wash so that
Disney could have full custody of Alan Tudyk. |
Much of the Firefly crew has had no shortage of success since the show went off the air, most notably creator Joss Whedon, who directed The Avengers and its first robot James Spader sequel; Nathan Fillion (Mal), who starred for eight seasons on ABC’s Castle (which dropped numerous Firefly references); Alan Tudyk (Wash), who Whedon killed off anyway but who’s become a Disney voice actor darling, appearing as K-2SO in Rogue One, Heihei in Moana, Duke Weaselton in Zootopia, Alistair in Big Hero 6, the Duke of Weselton in Frozen, AND King Candy in Wreck-it Ralph—in addition to a crapload of other projects; Adam Baldwin (Jayne), who did five seasons of Chuck and is currently appearing in TNT’s The Last Ship, which is also up to five seasons now; Morena Baccarin (Inara) who did Homeland and Deadpool and is currently on Gotham and holy crap everyone who ever stepped foot on the Firefly set is crazy successful! That being said, most of them have said for years that they’d be game for a continuation series or movie if someone ponies up for it. So, yeah, Disney’s on it. Wait and see.
The Golden Girls: Rose’s Revenge
Premise: Although her golden years were supposed to be relaxing, Betty White’s Rose Nylund has to acknowledge that they’ve been anything but. Things were fine back when she was living in a house with her friends Blanche, Sophia, and Dorothy—but then she, Blanche, and Sophia all bought this weird hotel together and all of a sudden she’s working
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Look at how Rose's smile doesn't quite touch her eyes.
She's plotting her revenge already. |
her butt off instead of enjoying retirement. Then Sophia goes off to live in a retirement home, leaving Blanche and Rose to run The Golden Palace hotel into the ground all by themselves. That was twenty-five years ago, and Rose has buried each of her old friends since then. Well, she’s had enough. In this gritty black comedy, the ditzy Rose has decided to take revenge against the world that’s cruelly laughed at her for so long. She joins a group of hacktivist terrorists in the pilot and gets deeper in with each passing episode. The others find her to be a dangerous liability, especially as it becomes clear she’s not the brightest bulb in the box, but don’t have the heart to kick her out. In nearly every episode, someone tries to let her go gently, but can’t bring themselves to do it—much to the roaring live audience’s delight.
Sample Episode: A Florida congressman puts forth a bill that many fear will dramatically reduce social security benefits. Rose convinces her partners in crime that a little intimidation is exactly what’s required. Vyper, the group leader, isn’t in favor of taking on the mission at first, but eventually agrees to get Rose to stop telling him stories about intimidating cows in her hometown of St. Olaf, Minnesota by threatening to toss them off Mt. Losenbauden. Like with most of their missions, things go comically wrong as the team hacks through security and maneuvers past armed guards, but eventually they get Rose and Vyper in a room alone with the congressman. The legislator refuses to relent
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The series finale will feature poor dim Rose accidentally
aiming the gun the wrong way and shooting herself to death.
Finally, the character will get some rest! |
when Vyper applies various torture techniques, so Rose begins to offer suggestions from her days in St. Olaf. Her stories are so banal and insipid that the congressman vows to back off on his bill if only she’ll stop talking. Gosh, the comedy just writes itself!
Prognosis: Betty White turned 96 in 2018, so I doubt she has much going on. She was a regular on Hot in Cleveland (yes, with Jane Leeves) until three years ago, but hasn’t done much since. And we all know how much the world loves Betty White. It’s a foregone conclusion that Rose’s Revenge would be a smash hit! Plus, with Walter White himself, Bryan Cranston, co-starring as Vyper, I see Emmys galore!
Saturday Night Live: Not Dead Yet
Premise: Saturday night on NBC was once host to sketch comedy that pushed the limits even as it tickled the funny bone. The original show launched the careers of such comedy legends as Bill Murray, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Dan Aykroyd, Andy Samberg, and Chris
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There was a time when SNL was a huge part of the cultural lexicon!
Oh, for you youngsters, SNL stands for Saturday Night Live. |
Rock. If it worked once, it can work again! And let’s face it: the potential for cutting edge political humor is greater now than perhaps ever before. Assemble a quality cast and crew of funny actors and writers and let them play!
Sample Episode: The show is opened by special guest host Kate McKinnon, who was easily the funniest part of Girl Ghostbusters. She’ll appear in many skits throughout the night with the less famous main cast, and portray characters such as Hillary Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Maybe there’s a musical guest, someone I’ve never heard of, probably. Maybe Ashlee Simpson can lip sync and do an awkward little dance. There are so many possibilities!
Prognosis: A sketch comedy show full of unknowns is likely to be pretty easy on the budget. I figure we can pitch this to NBC, maybe get Lorne Michaels to even come back and—oh. Oh wait. Apparently, SNL is still on the air, and is even enjoying a bit of a ratings renaissance. Something to do with an orange Alec Baldwin. My mistake.
Even Stranger Things
Premise: Hey, Netflix has been at the forefront of this whole revival/continuation thing, so you know they’ll want to get in on the next big entertainment trend: Bringing back hit shows while they’re still on the air. First, we’ll get Even Stranger Things, which features grown-up versions of Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Eleven (I mean Jane) and their own kids fighting the weird and horrific in 2018 Hawkins, Indiana. Expect multiple references to modern pop culture. Plus, it works on another level, since the Duffer Brothers love their Stephen King and this is basically how It reads, going back and forth between the kids in
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We can agree that we need Millie Bobby Brown
in both shows, right? |
the past and present.
Sample Episode: Mike and El host Will, Lucas, Dustin, and their families over for dinner, and try to interest their kids in a little Dungeons and Dragons. Of course, there’s lots of whining about how lame this all is and how the kids want to just go play video games. Dustin implores the kids to take the game seriously, but all they do is make fun of it. Then the light goes out. They all hear a low growling. “What is that?” asks Lucas’ daughter Maxine, fear in her voice. “The Demogorgon,” Dustin whispers back. The kids are terrified but these adults know what they’re doing. Between Will and El, they’re able to lead their families safely through the Upside Down and to a point of temporary safety: Hawkins Lab, now overgrown after years of disuse. They always knew this day would come. The monsters are back and their kids are targets.
Prognosis: Oh, it’ll happen. Probably shooting right now. The season will drop unexpectedly after a commercial at the Tonys or something. And it’ll be marvelous.
What're your thoughts? What would you like to see come back, kicking and screaming from the grave in which it was buried? What would you hate to see come back but think will anyway? Sound off in the comments!
