By Tim Wilkins
I have mixed feelings about the new relaunches of “Melrose Place” and “V” coming up this fall. I had these same feelings last year with the remakes of “Knight Rider” and “90210.” I saw one episode of “Knight Rider” and couldn’t even finish it. As for “90210”, I lasted the first half of the season before I gave up. I wanted to like the new “90210” because I had fond memories of the original, but not even the return of “Donna Martin” could make me tune into that train wreck of a show again.
In the case of “90210,” the new characters weren’t established well in the beginning and I didn’t care about them. I liked “Silver” and that was because she was “Kelly’s” little sister. The other new characters were a bore or a stereotype. I knew I was in trouble when “Adrianna” was in the waiting room of a doctor’s office with “Kelly” and “Brenda” to get her HIV test results. The nurse just told her in the waiting room and I flipped out about patient rights, but the only point “Adrianna” was told with those vets was because we were suppose to care about this character. I’m sorry, but I found “Adrianna” a secondary character at best and she was barely shown the first of the season. When the character had an overdose, I thought the show should have killed her.
After “Adrianna” was then told she was pregnant, I turned off the television. I had enough. “90210” failed to engage me with the new characters. The only thing this show started out with was a zip code and a high school. From there, this new “90210” dropped the ball. I’ve since heard “90210” got better, but that show already alienated me and I’m not buying it or watching it again.
Now, the CW is redoing “Melrose Place” with the same premise of the “90210” mistake. This show has an apartment building and a zip code. I’m happy to hear Laura Leighton will be back as “Sydney” even if it’s limited. The original was great campy fun in its prime. This new show will fail or achieve based on the new characters bottom line. If I don’t care or like the characters, I am not invested in the show and I will not watch. I’ll watch for “Sydney,” “Michael,” “Jane,” and “Jo,” but the new characters are the future of the show.
CW President Dawn Ostroff was quoted as saying, “When you do a remake, you have a built-in fan base, and that’s a huge advantage for us.”
That’s the only reason I have tuned in to a remake. I watched or saw the original and am curious about the new one. In the case of “90210,” I didn’t like it. Now we have the CW doing “Melrose Place” and ABC doing “V” and I am looking forward to checking them out. I saw the originals and loved them, but just because a network puts a ‘name’ on a show isn’t enough. The show has to have engaging characters and story for us to come back week after week.
I want to like and watch the new “Melrose Place” and “V,” but the networks have better put their money in writing a well thought out show, not just a show with a ‘name’ and go from there. I hope these new shows don’t make the same “90210” mistake and give us a show with more hype than substance. I hope these new remakes prove me wrong. Until next time, Tim!
