Summer is in full swing, and theaters are packed with eager moviegoers looking for the next best experience. Strangely, a good majority of these movies are all remakes of older films or continuations of other stories. Fantastic Four and Hitman: Agent 47 are both examples of movie studios trying to improve upon their failures…I mean, original products. Other movies like Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation are big screen adaptations of successful TV shows targeting a younger generation.
Another of these older shows, the Guy Ritchie-directed version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. will be making the jump to the silver screen on August 14. This Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer joint will be the second of two TV-based films released this summer. This turn of events brings back memories of the 1990’s, when movie studios were releasing pretty terrible film adaptations of popular TV shows. For most people, the crappy movies destroyed any appeal of the originals, which is quite sad considering the quality of those shows. Luckily, I was raised in a loving household that had access to TV Land—back when it played F Troop—and other classic channels, so I can use my knowledge and experience to recommend some older shows. Obviously, many of these shows are kind of dated and corny, but that doesn’t stop them from being entertaining.
Without further ado, I present my list of the best TV Series upon which (mostly) awful movies were based.
The Avengers (1961)
In 1998, Sean Connery, Uma Thurman, and Ralph Fiennes starred in a mostly terrible movie called The Avengers—no, not that one. This movie followed British super spy John Steed and his partner Emma Peel during their mission to thwart the evil Sir August De Wynter (possibly related to Milady from The Three Musketeers). De Wynter created a weather device with which to destroy the world, sending the spy duo on a race to save the world using a variety of gadgets and witty banter. The Avengers had the potential to be fantastic based on the acting talent and Connery’s villainous plan, but the end result was severely lacking.
Luckily, I found the original show to be pretty entertaining when I was growing up, and I still believe that it’s worth watching today. I do have to say that The Avengers is a fairly dated series, based partially on half of the series being in black and white. Oh, and the suave Steed was actually fairly sexist when you watched certain episodes. The show’s writers did save face by pairing him with strong female counterparts that didn’t take any guff.
The Avengers could be a normal spy show, but it was one of the first to include quirkier gadgets like guns hidden in canes. Plus, The Avengers had some of the weirder enemies. Some of the more prevalent enemies in The Avengers were killer robots, telepaths, and carnivorous plants. James Bond never dealt with anything this deadly.
Despite the entertainment, The Avengers does occasionally become hard to watch because of jokes that fall flat and varying film quality. Some of the older episodes, in the time before Emma Peel, weren’t filmed with the highest quality equipment, and the editors neglected to remove some issues before releasing the episodes.
Look, The Avengers isn’t the most amazing show ever created, but it still partially holds up after 54 years.
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)
Obviously, the Confederate flag is kind of a touchy subject at the moment, but let’s ignore that fact for a moment.
In 2005, Jay Chandrasekhar of Broken Lizard fame directed the big screen adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard. This version starred Sean William Scott and Johnny Knoxville in the title roles, which was fine, but the movie went off-the-rails when it cast a 5’11” skinny Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg and M.C. Gainey as a humorless version of Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. These choices didn’t make sense when you consider that the original Boss Hogg was 5’6″ and very fat. Granted, the choice of Willie Nelson as a stoner Uncle Jesse was even weirder, but I’m trying to forget his role in the movie.
Honestly, the only redeeming factors of this pile were the car chases courtesy of Tanner Foust and the almost perfect recreation of Super Troopers opening sequence. All of the Broken Lizard cast members showed up in some variety, but Chandrasekhar and Erik Stolhanske actually reprised their roles as Rabbit and Thorny.
Now, back to the Confederate flag and the controversy surrounding it. I should probably mention The Dukes of Hazzard included a scene in which an Atlanta gang tries to get violent with the Duke boys over the flag on their Dodge Charger. Oops.
The big screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard may have been terrible, but the original show was pretty fun. Each week, the Duke boys drove around Hazzard County in an iconic ’69 Charger looking for attractive ladies and cold beer. Of course, nothing ever worked out quite like they imagined, so Bo and Luke had to fight villains and save nice country folks using only driving skills, bows and arrows, and occasional fisticuffs. When things got too rough, the Bo and Luke enlisted the aid of cousin Daisy, Uncle Jesse, and a mechanic named Cooter. Some circumstances even called for the bumbling police duo of Rosco and Enos. The plot may have been a little dumb, but there was something inherently appealing about the laid back lifestyle of Hazzard County. Not to mention, the show also used Waylon Jennings as the narrator.
If you want to turn your brain off for an hour and enjoy fast cars, a lot of “YEEEHAWWWWWW’s”, and some fist fights, simply watch an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. I mean, where else are you going to see a Basset Hound jump into a cop car and put on its own seat belt?
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Honestly, I have no idea if a new The Man from U.N.C.L.E. will be any good, but I have high hopes. The movie looks like a slightly goofy action film, which fits perfectly with the original series. Plus, Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer both fit the physical descriptions of agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryaken.
The original series of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. aired from 1964-1968, but don’t let the era dissuade you. This spy series was a fun take on the Cold War-era relations between America and the Soviet Union. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. combined an American agent with one from the Soviet Union in a mission to stop the evil organization T.H.R.U.S.H. These missions, also known as Affairs, took the duo all across the globe like any self-respecting spy show would. Of course, this was the 60’s, so exotic locations all resembled back lots of Culver City, California. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was definitely less serious than other shows of the era, but the humorous dialogue mixed well with science fiction elements and occasional action.
Fun fact: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. also featured the first on-screen team up of some little-known actors named William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
Another fun fact: Ian Fleming, the man known for James Bond, created The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s protagonist, Napoleon Solo.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a great show to watch, but I must warn you that the pacing changes drastically from season to season. In four seasons, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had six showrunners, all of which changed the style and tone. The show went from a more serious spy show to a campy spoof by the end of season three. Season four was closer in tone to the original than the others. To be fair, all of different styles are entertaining thanks to actors Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. The two leading men had great on screen chemistry, and they could both play the straight man during ridiculous scenarios. In fact, Vaughn and McCallum worked so well together that they were reunited in the late 80’s during one special TV show. Technically, Vaughn and McCallum didn’t reprise their roles of Solo and Kuryaken during this episode, but they still played former agents from America and the Soviet Union who had previously been partners. This episode was called “The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair.”
and speaking of that show…
The A-Team
In my opinion, The A-Team adaptation released in 2010 is one of the worst movies on this list, mostly because I couldn’t finish it. I tried watching the entire movie, but I just had to throw in the towel. The plot was stupid, the characters were unbearable, and the action was over-the-top even for The A-Team. The recreation starred Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharito Copley, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as modern day versions of the beloved team. Out of these choices, Rampage Jackson and Sharito Copley were the most faithful versions of the original characters. The other cast members were decent actors, but they didn’t seem to fit the property.
When you compare the original products with the big-screen adaptations, The A-Team makes the biggest change in quality. The movie was terrible, but the show was an absolute joy to watch. Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, and Dwight Schultz made the perfect team, and all four actors managed to toe the line between serious and goofy. Sure, George Peppard was a classically trained actor who despised the goofy tones of The A-Team, but he still managed to create one of the most iconic characters of all time. Besides, you could tell that Peppard did have some fun when he was singing random songs, dressing up like a lady, or chomping on a cigar. Actually, the entire cast looked like they are having a blast throughout the seasons, which made the show more entertaining. It also helped that Dwight Schultz constantly created weird characters for the sole purpose of irritating Mr. T’s character.
Captain Cab to the rescue!
Out of all the shows on this list, The A-Team by far holds up the best. The episodes are still very entertaining, and the special effects aren’t too bad. The dated references and guest appearances from Isaac Hayes, Boy George, and Rick James just fit the era. You also can’t forget that one episode was centered around Jim Brown, John Matuszak, and Joe Namath as they played football against the East German team. The whole premise is a little strange when you consider that the football game was a diversion for a rescue mission.
The A-Team combined a lot of humor, entertaining car chases, and harmless gunfights to create one of the more unique and fun shows of the last 50 years.
Get Smart
What happens when you combine the comedic genius of Mel Brooks with Don Adams (Inspector Gadget) and the ultra-secretive world of spies? Get Smart. This 1960’s TV show followed the bumbling spy Maxwell Smart during missions to stop the notorious agents of KAOS. Aiding Smart in his missions were the lovely Agent 99, The Chief, and Fang/Agent K-13. Occasionally, Smart would also obtain mission information from Agent 13, who was constantly seen hiding in mailboxes, trees, and other improbable areas.
Inspired by The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mel Brooks created Get Smart to be the quirkier version of 007, complete with even stranger gadgets. Seriously, Smart had a phone built into his shoe, and that was the least unique device in his arsenal. Smart (Agent 86) also had phones hidden in his belt, tie, watch, plants, a painting, and many other objects. Probably the strangest gadget used by 86 was the Cone of Silence, a gigantic plastic device fitting over the heads of two individuals. The Cone was supposed to prevent eavesdropping, but the device generally failed. These gadgets were humorous, but Don Adams made the show even better. The actor behind Maxwell Smart did an impeccable job making a ridiculous character appear extremely serious. Even when Adams’ character did something unbelievable, he would say the line “Missed it by that much” with the perfect amount of earnestness. In a world of comedy, Adams played the straight man and ended up being the funniest person on the show.
Fun fact: Get Smart included guest roles from Leonard Nimoy, Fred Willard, Johnny Carson, and Don Rickles.
Now, it does have to be mentioned that the 2008 Get Smart was actually a pretty good movie. Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway starred as Agents 86 and 99, and they both fit well with the original characters. Carrell was bumbling and Hathaway was the more reliable spy. Plus, you couldn’t beat the list of other actors that included Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terry Crews, and Bill Murray. Get Smart seemed to be a fitting tribute to the original show with the inclusion of the original cars, malfunctioning gadgets, and little inside jokes.
What I’m saying is that you should have a marathon of the movie followed by the original series.
Agent 13
Ok, so I know that all of my choices are very old TV shows, but it’s not my fault that Hollywood chose to remake them. All I know is that these shows are all pretty entertaining, but you can’t hold them up to the modern standards of special effects and visual quality.
Have you watched any of these shows? Let us know in the comments.
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