Remake Television: Reboot, Re-Use, Recycle

by Carlen Lavigne (editor), William Proctor (Contributor), Steven Gil (Contributor)

Remakes are pervasive in today's popular culture, whether they take the form of reboots, "re-imaginings," or overly familiar sequels. Television remakes have proven popular with producers and networks interested in building on the nostalgic capital of past successes (or giving a second chance to underused properties). Some TV remakes have been critical and commercial hits, and others haven't made it past the pilot stage; all have provided valuable material ripe for academic analysis.In Remake Reboot, Re-use, Recycle, edited by Carlen Lavigne, contributors from a variety of backgrounds offer multicultural, multidisciplinary perspectives on remake themes in popular television series, from classic cult favorites such as The Avengers (1961-69) and The X-Files (1993-2002) to current hits like Doctor Who (2005-present) and The Walking Dead (2010-present). Chapters examine what constitutes a remake, and what series changes might tell us about changing historical and cultural contexts--or about the medium of television itself.

363 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of academic essays that looks at television remakes using adaptation theory. Almost all of them are very, very strong, with some clear early chapters that give a good grounding in the theories and a lot of nice analyses, but the standouts for me were an enjoyable look at the Avengers' changing to meet a changing England, how the American remake of Jamie's School Dinners alters the understanding of the British original, and an excellent feminist reclamation of Charlie's Angels.