Revival: Difference between revisions

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The [[Revival]] differs from other forms of remake and adaptation in that it remains (more or less) in continuity with its predecessor. The show may differ in some substantial ways (in fact, a [[Revival]] is often far ''more'' different from the original than a remake would be), particularly with regards to casting, but it is nonetheless a ''continuation'' of the original series, rather than a second attempt at visiting the same material.

Differs from a [[Transplant]] in scale and in the passage of real-world time. It is not strictly necessary for ''any'' of the original characters to return (though this depends on the nature of the show: shows set in the "real world" typically need a character (or family) to link the incarnations, while in [[Speculative Fiction]], the universe of the show can serve this purpose), but when they don't, you can usually count on one of them to return as a [[Special Guest]]. Often, a front-line character from the original series is now [[Older and Wiser]], and promoted to the position of [[The Obi Wan]].

Differs from a [[Transplant]] in scale and in the passage of real-world time. It is not strictly necessary for ''any'' of the original characters to return (though this depends on the nature of the show: shows set in the "real world" typically need a character (or family) to link the incarnations, while in [[Speculative Fiction]], the universe of the show can serve this purpose), but when they don't, you can usually count on one of them to return as a [[Special Guest]]. Often, a front-line character from the original series is now [[Older and Wiser]], and promoted to the position of [[The Obi-Wan]].

A [[Revival]] typically revisits the characters or their world some years later, and features occasional references back to events in the original series. (Ideally, these references are ''very'' occasional, as they tend to alienate new viewers. Referencing past continuity too often gives the new show the feel of [[Fan Wank]].)

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See also [[Un Canceled]], which is the restoration of the original, largely unchanged, as opposed to a new series based off the old. The differences are sometimes entirely behind-the-scenes.

== [[Anime]] ==

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* ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion (Film)|Rebuild of Evangelion]]'', for the original ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.

** Subverted. The first film closely follows the beginning of the anime, but the second quickly diverges and never looks back.

* [[Lupin III]] first aired on TV from 1971-1972. It got so popular in reruns, that it was brought back as ''The New Lupin III'' 1977. And again in the 1980s as ''Lupin III Part III''. The new Lupin series, ''[[Lupin III ~~the~~ Woman Called Fujiko Mine (Anime)|The Woman Called Fujiko Mine]]'', is a [[Prequel]].

* [[Lupin III]] first aired on TV from 1971-1972. It got so popular in reruns, that it was brought back as ''The New Lupin III'' 1977. And again in the 1980s as ''Lupin III Part III''. The new Lupin series, ''[[Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (Anime)|The Woman Called Fujiko Mine]]'', is a [[Prequel]].

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** And yes, there was even a [[Shout Out]] or two and a [[Special Guest]] from the first series from time to time; DeForrest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy) had a small guest appearance in the premiere episode, sparking a "send-off" tradition where a character from the previous ''Trek'' series would appear in the premiere of the next; Spock became a focal character for two-part episode and even his father Sarek had an episode revolving around him.

** Scotty also made an appearance, after being locked in transporter for decades. He managed to show his old school engineering beats the new engineer.

** This almost happened a few years earlier with ''Star Trek: Phase Two'' which was going to be the headliner for a new Paramount cable network. This eventually morphed into ''[[Star Trek ~~the~~ Motion Picture (Film)|Star Trek the Motion Picture]]'' while some of the scripts written for the show were used in ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' during a writer's strike.

** This almost happened a few years earlier with ''Star Trek: Phase Two'' which was going to be the headliner for a new Paramount cable network. This eventually morphed into ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film)|Star Trek the Motion Picture]]'' while some of the scripts written for the show were used in ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' during a writer's strike.

* Due in part to the success of ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', about the same time, ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'' was revived as ''The New WKRP In Cincinnati'', which returned to the titular radio station a decade later. Some of the original characters remained, some had departed, but most made guest appearances.

** Around the same time, the 70s sitcom ''What's Happening!'' was updated to ''What's Happening Now!'', starring nearly all of the original's surviving stars as older version of their characters.

* ''[[Get Smart (TV)|Get Smart]]'' was briefly revived with Maxwell Smart promoted to [[The Obi Wan|Chief of CONTROL]] over his own son Zach in the new ''Get Smart''.

* ''[[Get Smart (TV)|Get Smart]]'' was briefly revived with Maxwell Smart promoted to [[The Obi-Wan|Chief of CONTROL]] over his own son Zach in the new ''Get Smart''.

* Another of the rare successful examples is ''[[Kung Fu The Legend Continues]]'', in which David Carradine almost-reprised his original role, playing Caine's [[Identical Grandson]].

* In 1997, ''[[Knight Rider (TV)|Knight Rider]]'' was revived as ''[[Team Knight Rider (TV)|Team Knight Rider]]'' with a new cast and concept. It fell victim to a homicidally enraged fan-base.

** And in 2008, a new revival was spawned by a TV movie. The fan-base has proven substantially less homicidal this time.

* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' was briefly revived in the 1980s as ''The Bradys''. It violated the usual rule by transforming from a [[Half Hour Comedy]] to a [[Dramatic Hour Long]], and suffered in the ratings for it; in an attempt to rescue the show, the producers tried to turn it back into a comedy by arbitrarily inserting a [[Laugh Track]] into the existing dramatic plot line!

* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' was briefly revived in the 1980s as ''The Bradys''. It violated the usual rule by transforming from a [[Half-Hour Comedy]] to a [[Dramatic Hour Long]], and suffered in the ratings for it; in an attempt to rescue the show, the producers tried to turn it back into a comedy by arbitrarily inserting a [[Laugh Track]] into the existing dramatic plot line!

* On the other side of the pond, ''[[Are You Being Served (TV)|Are You Being Served]]'' was briefly revived, reuniting the department store clerks as the caretakers of an inn into which their pensions had been invested in ''Grace and Favor'' (aired in the US as ''Are You Being Served Again''. Many of the cast members have speculated that had the show originally aired under that title, it might have succeeded, as it appears that most of the audience did not realize the show was a revival).

* A revival of ''[[~~Blakes~~ Seven (TV)|Blakes Seven]] '' set years after the original with Avon as [[The Obi Wan]] was announced in 2003, but appears to have been scrapped.

* A revival of ''[[Blake's Seven (TV)|Blakes Seven]] '' set years after the original with Avon as [[The Obi-Wan]] was announced in 2003, but appears to have been scrapped.

* ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' Revived under the same title in 2005, it not only kept the old series in continuity, it * also* kept events from the made for TV movie that tried but didn't manage to revive the series a number of years earlier. It even put the long break in as a plot point. "During" the missing period (on the Doctor's personal timeline, anyway), the Last Great Time War happened, rendering the Doctor the [[Last of His Kind]] (and regenerating him offscreen into [[Christopher Eccleston]]). The show squeezes the mystery of what precisely happened for all the drama and suspense they can.

** The revival engaged in a few [[Retcon|retcons]] concerning the original series, but then ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' tended towards [[Broad Strokes]] continuity for much of its run.

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* ''[[Transformers]]'' does this constantly - in fact, whenever Hasbro feels like making more money. At first there was ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'', which took place in the same continuity as ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' and as such fully fits the defnition of a revival, but after that Hasbro decided to go the way of [[Alternate Universe|Alternate Universes]] with ''[[Transformers Robots in Disguise]]'', the [[Unicron Trilogy]], [[Michael Bay]]'s [[Transformers (Film)|movies]], and ''[[Transformers Animated]]''.

** This only applies to the Transformers fiction though. The toyline as a whole has never had a break from production at any time since it began in the 80s.

* Also from Hasbro are the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' cartoons. Less frequent than ''Transformers'', but nonetheless they've had three or four different cartoons. ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' has experienced a massive explosion in popularity, due in no small part to the fact that the creative director is [[Lauren Faust]] of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' and ''[[Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends]]'' fame<ref>Who apparently didn't particularly care for the original cartoons, and was a little skeptical when her bosses told her this is what they wanted her to be doing</ref>, who bent over backwards to make the show enjoyable for parents as well as the actual target demographic.

* Also from Hasbro are the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' cartoons. Less frequent than ''Transformers'', but nonetheless they've had three or four different cartoons. ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' has experienced a massive explosion in popularity, due in no small part to the fact that the creative director is [[Lauren Faust]] of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' and ''[[Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends]]'' fame<ref>Who apparently didn't particularly care for the original cartoons, and was a little skeptical when her bosses told her this is what they wanted her to be doing</ref>, who bent over backwards to make the show enjoyable for parents as well as the actual target demographic.

* ''[[Code Lyoko (Animation)|Code Lyoko]]'' is going to be revived soon, with Code Lyoko Evolution. Although, live-action will be in place of the original animation for Earth.

* ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' is going to be revived in the form of ''Xiaolin Chronicles'', starting Spring of 2013.