Movies To TV Shows
This week we flip the category from TV shows that were made into movies to movies that became TV shows. As you might expect, this is a hit and miss category.
I’ll start with the unquestioned king of this category. M*A*S*H (1970) was a terrific dark comedy about surgeons stationed in South Korea. It easily transitioned into an equally terrific TV show with the same name but only one holdover actor. The television series ran for eleven seasons (1972-83) and topped the charts in most years. Alan Alda (Hawkeye), Wayne Rogers (Trapper John), Loretta Swit (Hot Lips) charmed and entertained us week after week. BTW, the one holdover actor was Gary Burghoff, retained as Radar O’Reilly.
Fargo (1996) was nominated for seven Oscars and won two. It introduced winner Frances McDormand as the pregnant police chief of a small Minnesota town. The film’s screen writers also won Oscar. The chief is investigating a kidnaping gone horribly wrong. She is underestimated by about everyone, including the bad guy. The wood-chipper is a scene you don’t readily forget. The TV show it birthed has run for ten years (2014-24) and may chalk up a sixth season. Other than the locale, it bears little resemblance to the film, but has been hugely popular.
Friday Night Lights (2004), about a small Texas town obsessed with high school football, had moderate success. The TV series it sired was actually more popular and generally better. But the movie had the marvelous Billy Bob Thornton and the TV show did not. The TV show ran for five seasons, ending in 2011. The series dived into more contemporary issues. It was nearly cancelled several times but its fans kept saving it.
Westworld (1973) is a sci-fi western with the improbably cast Yul Brynner as an android dressed up like a gunslinging cowboy. People can pay to enter Westworld and play at cowboys and cowboys. Then things go terribly wrong. What a surprise! The TV show ran for three seasons, ending in 2020. The stories feature the same locale, which gets a little repetitive. It does have more A-list actors: Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Evan Rachel Wood, etc. Somehow, there is still talk of another season.
Fame (1980) is a reasonably good film about young talents trying to make it big in show biz via the NY High School of Performing Arts. . Irene Cara was the star and quite a good one. The movie was well-liked though Cara didn’t break out after it. The TV series ran for six seasons and was much loved by young people. The stories are uneven but generally good quality.
Two I don’t have room for: Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and About A Boy.
All of the movies and TV series in this article are available for streaming somewhere, if you look hard and are willing to pay. All are for grown-ups.
