But exactly.

[scarfman]

So some people want to say, "Look at the original Star Trek. Look at the characters, and the performances, and the stories. Look at the iconage that's developed over forty years. Look at all that, and tell me how recasting it, recreating it is doable, let alone wise."

I say, "Look at all that, and tell me successive generations won't want to bring that into their time, and be a part of it themselves."

The classics remain the classics, but legends live and breathe on.

Comments

[valsadie.livejournal.com]

I almost hate to agree, but you're right.

What if there had only been the one Doctor Who, all those years ago--? Would it have anywhere near the same impact?

[dave-iii.livejournal.com]

I dunno... if you tell the story, and you tell it right, then retelling it more or less the exact same way, just with different ephemera (more impressive special effects, different actors, different story techniques that basically hinge on a personal opinion: more "edgy", "darker", "with attitude") then I really have to ask why bother. If you're not A> adding something new or B> telling a new story related to the old one, then I have trouble understanding the point.

AKOTAS is a good example: It's the Arthurian legends seen through the lens of modern pop culture: Star Trek/ Doctor Who, M*A*S*H, teen drama, Westerns, etc. The Harry Potter movies too: They tell the same story but in a completely different way: instead of as a book, it's as a motion picture.

On the other hand, one performance does not lock things in stone. I won't decline to watch Hamlet ever again, just 'cause Lawrence Olivier isn't playing the lead. If, say, Jason Alexander played the part, it'd be an interpretation I'd never have considered otherwise.

A recent tailer I saw was for the live action Speed Racer movie. I want to not like this based solely on curmudgeonly grounds, but it looks like they got the one important part right: It looks fun. It was a silly, violent cartoon with a good story and lotsa action. This looks like a silly, violent movie with more or less the same story and lotsa action. I dunno, the jury's still out.