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Retool: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Everything can be changed! Done for a variety of reasons, ranging from poor [[Ratings]] to [[Real Life Writes the Plot|someone leaving the show]] to [[Executive Meddling|network fiat]], but basically means everything (premise, casting, setting, tone, writing, general emphasis) can be "tweaked" to take the show in a different direction. Not everything changes; some retools are subtle, some not so much. Drastic retooling runs the risk of alienating the current viewership ("[[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|change is bad!]]"), if any.
Many examples of retooling come between when a show's pilot and the episodes made after the series is picked up. Others happen when a show isn't really getting off the ground or is in decline and the creators want to shake things up. When done out of nowhere in the middle of the show, then you've got yourself a [[Wham Episode]]. A retool may also be the result of a [[Post Script Season]]; the series ends up going in a strange new direction because all the prior conflicts were already resolved, and new ones need to be invented.
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See also: [[Retcon]], [[Revision]], [[Rewrite]].
{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
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** During ''[[Dark Reign (Comic Book)|Dark Reign]]'' most of the hero hunter team became the [[Dark Avengers]] and the Thunderbolts became Norman Osborn's personal hit squad.
** Finally, after ''Dark Reign'' and at the onset of Marvel's ''[[Heroic Age (Comic Book)|Heroic Age]]'' the Thunderbolts are now the super villain prison known as The Raft's rehabilitation program for super criminals (this time including [[Man-Thing]], Juggernaut, and Ghost among others) under the supervision of [[Luke Cage Hero for Hire]].
** It has been announced that with issue 175, the book is being [[Market
* In the pages of ''[[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]]'' during 1971, an experimental "Kryptonite-Engine" made to provide cheap electrical power malfunctions, causing all the Kryptonite on the planet to become ordinary iron. Meanwhile, Clark Kent became a TV news reporter while an [[Evil Twin]] of Superman made of sand drained him of some of his powers. [http://superman.nu/tales4/sand/1/?page=-1 You can read the full saga here.] After the entire story is resolved, the series's new direction was quickly lost and more Kryptonite arrives from space, the only holdover from the storyline (until ''[[Crisis On Infinite Earths]]'') being that Clark works at a television news station.
* By 1968, the [[Metal Men]] were among the [[Denser and Wackier]] of [[DC Comics]]' output. That all changed in Metal Men #33, which began a [[Story Arc]] where the team could not control their increased powers and find themselves hunted by humans, who turned against them. It came to a head in #37, where the Metal Men were finally apprehended and left for dead in a junkyard. Mister Conan salvaged them and [[They Look Like Us Now|gave them human identities]] so they could continue to help the world in secret.
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* Throughout the three series of ''Chef!'', only three actors remained constant, although this was explained in the first episode (Le Chateau Anglais had a high turnover rate), but the third season seemed a real departure from the previous tone, as Gareth's wife left him, a man from [[Oop North]] bought the restaurant off of him, an [[Cultural Translation|American was added to the primary cast]] (although one had previously appeared in the first season), the soundtrack got a bit worse, and the ''entire'' kitchen staff started to develop personalities. Nevertheless, managed to be an example of a successful retool.
* ''[[Coach]]'' had Hayden Fox leave Minnesota State University to coach a pro team in Orlando in Season 8.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' introduced several new characters and a college setting, leaving most of the background characters from high school behind, after Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley left Sunnydale in the third season finale to create a [[Spin
** ''[[Angel]]'' was retooled after the first season, which was heavily [[Film Noir]] [[Occult Detective|supernatural detective]] style and became much more modern fantasy oriented. The fifth season showed a dramatic change with the main characters becoming the operators of their enemies' law firm at Wolfram and Hart, including near limitless resources.
* The original series of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' thrived on this. The most comprehensive and obvious retool was between the 6th and 7th seasons when all three regulars decided to leave at the same time, the show changed to colour from black and white, and the Doctor was given a whole new backstory and exiled to Earth. The [[Last of His Kind|wiping-out-from-all-of-existence of the Time Lords]] between the show's 1989 cancellation and its 2005 resurrection might also be considered a retool. (Actually, the introduction of the Time Lords counts as a bit of re-tool in itself. Originally the Doctor simply came from a mysterious alien civilization, with no more details offered.)
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** It seems you get the best series when [[The Powers That Be]] think it's ending. ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' was also supposed to be the last season.
* ''[[The Naked Truth]]'', a 90's sitcom starring Tea Leoni as a newspaper photographer, was drastically retooled and almost entirely recast each season. In season 1 Nora (Leoni) works at a sleazy celebrity tabloid and had Tim Curry and Amy Ryan for co-stars. Season 2 de-tabloided the paper she worked for and de-zanified the format; only Nora and Camilla (Holland Taylor) remained of the original cast. Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal were added as Leoni's parents. Season 3 saw Nora and Camilla jump ship to another paper with a staff that included Chris Elliot.
* ''[[Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?]]'' has gone through countless retools over time on the American version. This includes changing the host from Regis Philbin to Meredith Vieira, adding a clock, changing several of the [[Lifelines]], omitting the "Fastest Finger" round, etc. The 2010-11 season ''completely'' overhauled the game even further, adding a new payout structure and randomizing both the question difficulty and payouts.
* For its fourth and final season ''[[Hannah Montana]]'' [[Demoted to Extra|removed Mitchell Musso from the main cast]], moved the Stewart family into a bigger house, had Lilly come to live with them, and replaced the series' most-used outdoor set (a generic beach) with a [[Fictional Counterpart|mock-up of Santa Monica Pier]]. Along with these sweeping changes, the show was renamed ''Hannah Montana Forever''.
* In a very strange example, Goodson-Todman's 1967-69 [[Game Show]] ''Snap Judgment'' was changed for its last three months from a contrived word-association game to a direct clone of ''[[Password]]''.
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* ''[[Sonny With a Chance]]'' is about small town girl Sonny who joins the cast of her favorite sketch comedy show ''[[Show Within a Show|So Random!]]''. [[Demi Lovato]] (who played the titular character) ended up quitting the show and taking a temporary break from acting after season two, to deal with some personal problems and also focus on her music career. Disney retooled it by [[Defictionalization|defictionalizing]] ''[[So Random (TV)|So Random]]''. Yep, the show within the show became the actual show!
* ''Shining Time Station'' was retooled twice at the end of its life. First, while keeping its title, the show became a prime time series that aired in spurts as a series of specials. Unlike the child-pleasing daytime series, this version added elements of teen drama (such as the addition of a juvenile delinquent from an abusive household), and featured extensive location shooting, breaking free of the prior version's omnipresent train station interior. (The new-found sense of maturity was actually referenced on the show, as Mr. Conductor appeared as usual to relate an Island of Sodor story to the kids, only to be told that they had outgrown Thomas stories). After a handful of these episodes, the show returned to daytime under the new title of ''Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales,'' which scrapped the entire cast except for George Carlin as Mr. Conductor, and focused almost entirely on Sodor segments.
* ''[[Human Target]]'' got retooled for its second season, with several changes: the cliffhanger of the first season was resolved immediately and then forgotten, the sets got a new, shinier look, and two new female characters were introduced, one of whom was [[Ms. Fanservice]] who contributed little, and the other did nothing but [[Arson, Murder, and Admiration|question Chance's methods but grudgingly admit they worked]] ''every single episode'' and provide a forced romance. Also, the music went from [[Bear McCreary]] sweeping orchestral to generic action music.
* ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' got retooled several times of the course of its run:
** Season 2: Cory, Topanga, and Shawn start going to John Adams High. Mr. Feeny follows them. Eric has a much larger role, and begins to take on traits of his "modern" persona. Topanga abandons her [[Granola Girl]] roots and becomes a [[Hollywood Nerd]]. Mr. Turner, "the bullies," and [[Local Hangout|Chubbie's]] are introduced. Also, the show loses [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|Minkus]], and abandons the old theme song and credits sequence.
** Season 5: At the start of their senior year, Shawn reunites with his [[Long Lost Sibling]] Jack, who joins the main cast. Shawn, Jack and Eric (now attending college) move in together in an apartment, and Jack becomes Eric's best friend and comedy sidekick. Heretofore [[Kidanova]] Shawn gets a steady girlfriend Angela, who becomes a recurring character. Mr. Turner falls victim to [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]] and main high school set is changed to the senior hallway. The show gains an increased focus on running storylines, something it had already been experimenting with. Finally, the classic [[Theme Tune]] (with lyrics!) is introduced.
** Season 6: Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Angela graduate and go to [[California University|Pennbrook University]]. [[Running Gag|Mr. Feeny follows them]]. Angela becomes a member of the main cast. Cory and Topanga get engaged, but don't exactly make a mad dash for the altar. Rachel joins the cast and moves in with Eric (now a full-on [[Cloudcuckoolander]]) and Jack, setting up a [[Love Triangle]]. Alan, Amy, and Morgan are reduced to [[Commuting On a Bus]].
* ''[[Space: 1999]]'' : Season 1 was rather thoughtful and existential with an atmosphere of both genuine danger and epic grandeur and could almost have been shot in black and white. It featured a huge, multi-level main set, awesome space battles, and a sweeping orchestral score. Season 2 was far more simplistic, fast-moving and colourful, with loads more monsters, comedy robots and running around. Several main characters were ditched without explanation, a shape-shifting alien hottie was introduced, there was more focus on the characters personal relationships, the sets were smaller and more intimate and the score was largely replaced by funky guitar. Even the heroes uniforms were changed, with jackets, mission patches and ID badges added for extra colour and interest.
* 90s NBC sitcom ''Jesse'' (starring Christina Applegate) was, quite typical for its era, about a single woman in her twenties with a major [[Will They or Won't They?]] plot, but distinguished itself somewhat by originally featuring the main character's family (wacky brothers and gruff father) in major roles, as all of them worked at the dad's bar together. However, that family [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|vanished]] in the second season as Jesse got a new job at a hospital with young and attractive colleagues, while her girlfriends got more screentime than in the first season. The producers were obviously trying to make the show more similar to [[Friends|a certain other show of theirs]].
* ''[[Twenty Four|24]]'' did a soft [[Retool]] in season 4, putting Jack Bauer in a new job (albeit one that still gets him involved in the main action) and ditching most of the main characters from previous seasons in favour of a new [[Big Good]], [[Voice With an Internet Connection]], etc. Unfortunately the writers lost their nerve: by about halfway through the season, Jack was working for CTU again and most of the old cast had returned anyway.
** Season 7 is where they did the [[Retool]] ''right''. The action is moved to the opposite side of the country, Jack is neither a federal agent or a federal fugitive, he's teamed up with a [[Distaff Counterpart]], [[Government Agency of Fiction|CTU]] has been disbanded (its role is mostly filled by the FBI), and the few returning characters either having gone underground or {{spoiler|[[Face Heel Turn|Face Heel Turned]]}}.
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** [[Old Shame|And then]] came CNReal. It wasn't successful, though.
* An In-Universe example in ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Whale Whores". When Stan Marsh overtakes ''[[Whale Wars (TV)|Whale Wars]]'' reality show, he begins some radical actions to save whales and dolphins, but everybody sees it just a retool of the show.
* ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' was retooled into ''[[Pinky Elmyra and The Brain]]'' after [[Executive Meddling]] forced [[
* ''[[Ka Blam]]'' got slightly re-tooled in it's second season, giving new personalities to Henry and June, changing the overall look of the characters, and [[Art Evolution]] and new theme tunes for some of the shorts. Also, the jokes were less "random" than the first season.
** The show was also briefly retooled in the fourth season. The comic book-setting was pretty much abandoned (with the exception of "turning the page", though they really couldn't get rid of that, as well as the opening and ending themes), the show's TV studio setting was more apparent, the jokes in the Henry and June segments became less random and more "mature", and most of the "classic" shorts skipped a few episodes.
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