From the Muppets to Miami Vice, familiar characters and story-lines continue to grace the big screen as the ongoing trend of adapting Television shows to movies proves to be successful. For the equally dedicated TV and Film watcher like myself, there is something exciting about seeing my favorite TV characters and story lines up on the big screen. To the self-proclaimed movie purists out in the world who believe a movie plot should be its own creation, here are 5 reasons why TV to movie adaptations are awesome:
1. TV ideas can stand on their own - To the person who claims there are no good TV shows that are worth making into movies, have you turned on the TV recently? Maybe in the past there was a clear divide between the complexity of a TV show’s plot and a movie plot but not today. TV shows have become so elaborate and well developed that I find that a lot of TV shows are actually better than some highly anticipated films. It would be a privilege if all the well-written and amazing TV shows we know and loved had an opportunity to conquer the big screen.
2. It’s Creative - If you’re under the impression that taking a TV show idea and turning it into a feature length film stems from laziness, you’re mistaken. Taking a concept that was originally developed for one type of medium and restructuring it for another medium is hard work. Think about the creativity involved in turning the popular minute long Saturday night live skit MacGruber in a feature length film. Most ideas or characters are adapted from comic books or novels. I don’t hear any complaints about Superman flying on the big screen.
3. It Gives Closure to the Fans - Just because the series ends doesn’t mean the fans stop caring about the fate of their beloved characters. If you believe that once a TV show is cancelled people are able to move on then explain to me the countless amount of Veronica Mars fans out there who raised money on kickstarter to see the cult classic come alive on the big screen. By adapting TV favorites to the big screen, emotionally invested fans are able to get some closure for unsettling TV finales. Plus, you would be lying to yourself if you weren’t excited to see what Vinny Chase and his boys have been up to in the up and coming Entourage movie.
4. Reinvention - What’s the point of making a bad TV show into a movie? Sometimes bad TV ideas can make for great movies. Before a TV show makes its way onto your local movie screen, it goes through a lot of script changes that can be very positive especially in the case of a weak TV show idea. Sometimes major things are reworked and characters are scrapped and only a basic resemblance of the plot remains and the movie ends up being a hit. Personally I was not a fan of the TV show 21 Jumpstreet but I loved the movie. Don’t rule the movie out just because the TV show was blah.
5. It introduces old characters to a new generation - If TV shows weren’t made into movies some of our favorite and iconic characters would be lost to the past. Recall that our beloved Muppets started off on the small screen before they became the timeless movie stars that they are today. If Kermit the frog had not made the leap from TV to film, we would be denying the younger generation the chance to get to know the lovable amphibian. Could you imagine a world without the song the rainbow connection? You can’t. Case closed.
