TV | Pop Culture | Movies
12 Movies That Were TV Spin Offs No One Asked For
Hollywood really likes trying to recapture the success of things that have worked before, especially when it's movies and TV shows. These 12 movies tried to bring back old TV franchises to a new generation, and pretty much all of them failed miserably.
Head (1968)
The Monkees were best-known for cheesy pop songs, so it was kind of a shock when the movie made about them was one giant psychedelic trip of a weird movie.
The Gong Show Movie (1980)
Would you ever want to watch an entire, feature-length film on the behind-the-scenes antics of a game show you might watch every once in a while? Yeah, neither did audiences in 1980.
Dragnet (1987)
This movie took a different approach than many and became a parody of the original show it was based on, taking the adventures of dry-as-dirt cop Joe Friday and turning it into a comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. This one's actually not half bad!
The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)
The original Beverly Hillbillies TV show focused on how the moral, old-time ways of the Clampett family were sometimes more sophisticated than the rich suburbanites they lived with. This remake was just a bunch of jokes about rednecks. Skip it.
Car 54, Where Are You? (1994)
A remake of a cop-based sitcom from the 60s, the movie languished in development hell for years after its original studio went bankrupt. It was finally released in 1994, and was a total flop.
The remakes just get weirder from here...
Sgt. Bilko (1996)
The Phil Silvers Show ended all the way back in 1959, and never really found any success with TV reruns. For some reason, Hollywood still tried a remake of the show's most famous character back in 1996. Unsurprisingly, nobody seemed to care.
A Night At The Roxbury (1998)
While some Saturday Night Live spinoff movies like The Blues Brothers make total sense, others, like this one, are really weird. The guys spent each skit just bobbing their heads to Haddaway's "What Is Love" with that week's host, so how did this become a movie?
Wild Wild West (1999)
One of the most prolific box-office flops on the 90s, the movie was basically a remake of the TV show in name only, trading out realistic cowboy adventures for a giant metal spider. At least the theme song was dope.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)
How they managed to convince Robert De Niro, Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, and John Goodman to star in this remake/sequel to the 1950s cartoon series is beyond me.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)
Yes, that's correct, the man best-known for yelling "Crikey!" into the camera starred in his own movie, where a crocodile he's hunting has actually swallowed a piece of a U.S. spy satellite, and the poachers chasing it are agents trying to get it back. No, we are not kidding.
Thunderbirds (2004)
Somehow this movie has even more wooden acting that the original series. Which starred puppets. This take on International Rescue's classic stories of high adventure and awesome vehicles is best left forgotten.
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Who do you get to embody the good-natured troublemaker Duke boys and their attractive cousin? Why the stars of Jackass, American Pie, and Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica of course! Ugh. That being said, Burt Reynolds as Boss Hog was a great choice.