Why reboots/remakes often fail

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Now, I don't pretend (or claim) to know what goes into remaking or rebooting a series or franchise, and I believe that a hell of a lot of research goes into seeing if it would even make sense to go ahead with the plan at all... but the fact still remains that many (even the vast majority) of them fail to both attract new viewers and keep the old ones around. I have always wondered why.

I still have no definitive answer (hence this topic), but I believe I may have gotten a little closer to "enlightenment" with this line from AV Club reviewer Zach Handlen:

"It's as if a certain creative process, once interrupted, can never be resumed."

He was talking about 'Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings', the first series finale of Futurama and what's considered by many to be the best episode ever produced for that show. He then proceeded to argue that future iterations of the show never managed to reach such levels again because the energy and confidence that the writers had been building all throughout the show's original four-season push got stopped in their tracks and dispersed once the first cancellation hit, causing the momentum to get lost even if the same team would return years later to continue crafting the story they wanted to tell.

That always stuck with me because it's a genuinely good point that I'm sure creative types can immediately relate to once they step away from their artistic endeavors and try to resume them later on, never recapturing that wild energy even if they manage to finish what they started.

Maybe you'll read that and think that it is complete BS... fine, but I wanted to share it because, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes, particularly after witnessing so many of my favorite shows stumble back to life and then die again soon after.

 

[Tekki]

I have such mixed thoughts on the Futurama reboot. On one hand, I can agree with the idea that it isn't really reaching the highest highs of the series, but on the other hand I love the universe and characters enough that the decent episodes are still worth a watch to me.

One thing is for sure, they gotta stop doing my man Hermes dirty.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I have such mixed thoughts on the Futurama reboot. On one hand, I can agree with the idea that it isn't really reaching the highest highs of the series, but on the other hand I love the universe and characters enough that the decent episodes are still worth a watch to me.

One thing is for sure, they gotta stop doing my man Hermes dirty.

I have stuck with the series through thin and thick, but I just couldn't stomach the latest revival... Something was definitely off by then and they couldn't cruise by on great characters anymore.

 

[Zeo]

Problem with reboots and remakes cant really be resumed in one or few words. After all, it comes from everyone taste that usually ends up in bad ratings and even unfair claims like "not like the original, so it sucks" or "only the creators knows how to do it right"

This has been a thing for a long time to the point many just go to see if the product has some quality instead of just a cash grab to milk a series that is (or was) loved by its fandom

The REAL problem comes from this generation. Now days you see reboots and remakes everywhere to the point its seems nothing original will come soon

The worst example is Disney. Who are just re-milking their old works with live actor remakes that also try to update the story for the new generation (like Lilo and Stitch or the Little Mermaid), sometimes killing the original charm or just make it weird thanks to the changes even if no one asked for them in the first place

And when they do something new is just to live from the song that becomes a meme to the point of be repeated like a Harry Potter movie rerun

 

[random0nonsense]

Reboots tend to fall into two categories: a soulless continuation without any of the charms of the original or continuous nods to the original without trying to build on what came before. The thing to remember, however, is that it's all subject to interpretation. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was critically panned for being a rehash of the first movie without any of the spark; that's absolute bollocks to me because it was exactly what I wanted from the series. It was an acknowledgment of what came before while building a path to continue forward. I can't say they've done a good job of building off that, but that's neither here nor there.

Futurama, on the other hand, is just a mindless continuation without any of the heart. They try to capture what made the original run so magical but just can't manage it. That's kind of the same issue that The Simpsons runs into even though it has never stopped.

 

[BrawlMan]

The problem with many reboots/remakes in general (though TV and movies suffer more way more than video games in this regard) are that there is usually no need for them in the first place, or they're hollow continuations long past their prime and have nothing better to add or talk about.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Futurama, on the other hand, is just a mindless continuation without any of the heart. They try to capture what made the original run so magical but just can't manage it. That's kind of the same issue that The Simpsons runs into even though it has never stopped.

That's very true. Even the after-movie one had managed to sneak in true, pure hard-hitters like 'The Late Phillip J Fry', but the latest iteration just felt... Dry.

The problem with many reboots/remakes in general (though TV and movies suffer more way more than video games in this regard) are that there is usually no need for them in the first place, or they're hollow continuations long past their prime and have nothing better to add or talk about.

Very true. Most play endless games of 'remember this?' with their tired audiences and do little else.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

Because they have no love unlike the original which made with passion creative in a limited space they deliver it.

 

[Deleted member 14682]

Now, I don't pretend (or claim) to know what goes into remaking or rebooting a series or franchise, and I believe that a hell of a lot of research goes into seeing if it would even make sense to go ahead with the plan at all... but the fact still remains that many (even the vast majority) of them fail to both attract new viewers and keep the old ones around. I have always wondered why.

I still have no definitive answer (hence this topic), but I believe I may have gotten a little closer to "enlightenment" with this line from AV Club reviewer Zach Handlen:

"It's as if a certain creative process, once interrupted, can never be resumed."

He was talking about 'Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings', the first series finale of Futurama and what's considered by many to be the best episode ever produced for that show. He then proceeded to argue that future iterations of the show never managed to reach such levels again because the energy and confidence that the writers had been building all throughout the show's original four-season push got stopped in their tracks and dispersed once the first cancellation hit, causing the momentum to get lost even if the same team would return years later to continue crafting the story they wanted to tell.

That always stuck with me because it's a genuinely good point that I'm sure creative types can immediately relate to once they step away from their artistic endeavors and try to resume them later on, never recapturing that wild energy even if they manage to finish what they started.

Maybe you'll read that and think that it is complete BS... fine, but I wanted to share it because, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes, particularly after witnessing so many of my favorite shows stumble back to life and then die again soon after.

Lets go over a quick mental exercise. Say there's an author you like and another fan writes some fan fiction about said author's work. Now, what do you want to read/watch? The original or the fan fiction?

 

[BrawlMan]

Now days you see reboots and remakes everywhere to the point its seems nothing original will come soon

There still original stuff out there, it's just either on streaming services, on the internet, or goes straight to DVD. Ironically, those tend to better than most mainstream/theatrical releases nowadays.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Most remakes and reboots tends to lose what made the original so endearing to its audience. Thus making it feel hollow as they try to bank on the nostalgia and gave audiences a cluster of pandering garbage.

 

[nobitakun]

I believe human brains understand media as something to make money off it when it reaches certain popularity, trying to find a formula to get to people's pockets and putting quality in the background. It is everywhere, series, movies, social networks, etc. The main protagonist is money as well as the main excuse that is culturaly accepted to do whatever they want.

That's why I think videogames fell into the mainstream trap, because the world does not accept a market of something not being mainstream eventually. And when something becomes mainstream, it reaches professionaly to people that never thought of taking part in it and have no classic experience / background, just for the sake of making money.

That is one of the causes why remakes / reboots could fail, as well as many other games, but with the former is easier because they have a tangible quality that needs to be captured before, and it's difficult if you're a random person that never experienced it back in the day.

Some developers try to play the classic one before they do a remake or reboot, that helps, but it's not the same, they play for work, they don't play for enjoying, I believe it's not the same to capture the joy.

 

[brettd94]

I think one reason these reboots fail is because people naturally change, even in subtle ways, over the years. The writers and actors on these projects basically have to imitate who they were 10, 20 years ago. It can never work really.

 

[BrawlMan]

before they do a remake or reboot, that helps, but it's not the same, they play for work, they don't play for enjoying, I believe it's not the same to capture the joy.

Not necessarily nor inherently. They can still be having fun or the work is part of the fun, depending on what they're doing, and what they're trying to make. Obviously they ought to remain focused, yet there have been plenty of great remakes, which came out, that are just as good the originals or better.

• Resident Evil 1-4 Remake
• Ninja Saviors. The SNES Ninja Warriors is a remake of the arcade game made for console.
• Dead Space Remake
• Oneechanbara Origin- A remake of two games combined into one.
• Mario RPG
• Crash N Sane Trilogy
• Klanoa Remakes
• Demon Souls Remake
• Shadow of the Colossus Remake

 

[beefbowl]

Dead Space Remake

Crash N Sane Trilogy

Demon Souls Remake

Shadow of the Colossus Remake

These being "just as good the originals or better" is highly debatable if you're fan of these games. They took some liberties and changed stuff, which was not liked by fans of the originals. Sure, they have mass appeal to normies thanks to their shiny graphics and modern controls but the soul of the original is not there.

Remakes fail to capture the original soul because they are simply cash grabs, nothing more.

 

[BrawlMan]

These being "just as good the originals or better" is highly debatable if you're fan of these games.

I am a fan of most these games, by the way.

Remakes fail to capture the original soul because they are simply cash grabs, nothing more.

Yeah, The GTA Trilogy Remake, or XIII.

Otherwise there is nothing "soulless" about the games I mentioned in my previous post. Fine if you don't like thrm or if you're not interested in them, but soulless they are not. These are good and great games it remakes just as good as their originals or better. What are problems you have, that's on you. Not the people who worked hard on these remakes.

Especially if it were talking about Dead Space Remake. The original is still playable.But I pretty much have no reason to go back to it because it's an even better version of System Shock 2, in has legit metrovania and backtracking.

I forgot to add System Shock 1 Remake onto the list so that counts too. Definitely better than the original.

 

[ct9983]

Now, I don't pretend (or claim) to know what goes into remaking or rebooting a series or franchise, and I believe that a hell of a lot of research goes into seeing if it would even make sense to go ahead with the plan at all... but the fact still remains that many (even the vast majority) of them fail to both attract new viewers and keep the old ones around. I have always wondered why.

I still have no definitive answer (hence this topic), but I believe I may have gotten a little closer to "enlightenment" with this line from AV Club reviewer Zach Handlen:

"It's as if a certain creative process, once interrupted, can never be resumed."

He was talking about 'Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings', the first series finale of Futurama and what's considered by many to be the best episode ever produced for that show. He then proceeded to argue that future iterations of the show never managed to reach such levels again because the energy and confidence that the writers had been building all throughout the show's original four-season push got stopped in their tracks and dispersed once the first cancellation hit, causing the momentum to get lost even if the same team would return years later to continue crafting the story they wanted to tell.

That always stuck with me because it's a genuinely good point that I'm sure creative types can immediately relate to once they step away from their artistic endeavors and try to resume them later on, never recapturing that wild energy even if they manage to finish what they started.

Maybe you'll read that and think that it is complete BS... fine, but I wanted to share it because, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes, particularly after witnessing so many of my favorite shows stumble back to life and then die again soon after.

realistically i think it's because you can't replicate "magic"

So for example, Final Fantasy VII (obviously that remake isn't a bomb, but it's a good example anyway)
the original game was made with MASSIVE limitations, so they had to do the work to make it an enjoyable game.
Does it have gorgeous graphics? no
does it have amazing gameplay? not really
does it have all the QoL of a modern game? definitely not
It doesn't even have a good translation.
What it does have is "soul" it's basically perfectly paced, has a ton of depth of certain mechanics, great characters, a mind blowingly good OST, impactful plot, sense of humor, etc. basically everything that makes a game legendary.
The remake has all of what the original lacked. so graphics, controls, gameplay, QoL and all that is on point. but it's missing a lot of what made the original game amazing.
the result is the original was considered the greatest game ever for about a decade, and the remakes are seen as great, but nothing revolutionary. people barely mention part 1 now, and it's just 6 years old. OG is 29-ish, and still comes up. They weren't able to match or even approach the reaction or impact of the original. and it's because they didn't have to work as hard to make the remakes great.

 

[Morgan Katarn]

I got 0 understand in making games or movies or anime´s.

But I question I would ask my self if I remade something would be do people want this ?
When it comes to remakes I thin there are several good remade games out there some even better than the original. But then it comes to game people are dead set on the original because of their first experience with it how it made them feel and how much they enjoy it. So when you remake a game people automatically hate it even with out playing it most of the time.

Im glad how ever being very open on trying new things so if I game I enjoy get a remake I gladly play it becuse it can improve on the orginal but that also means you have to improve it not change it. Do the game rely need to change or do it only need QoL ??

I dislike Final fantasy 7 because it change so much it´s not longer Final fantasy 7 and more final fantasy 7 another story. Then lets not talk about the GREED of forcing you to pay full price 3 times for 1 damn fuckin game.

Anyway remakes can be good but before you make one ask your self who wan´t it´s and what do we need to do graphics and QoL or change the whole game ?


Remaster should we not talk about because that just companies being a bunch of lazy idiots that wan´t more money for improved texture.

 

[Tekki]

That's very true. Even the after-movie one had managed to sneak in true, pure hard-hitters like 'The Late Phillip J Fry', but the latest iteration just felt... Dry.


Very true. Most play endless games of 'remember this?' with their tired audiences and do little else.

I think one aspect about the new season I don't like is that they are *trying* to do something new, but not really committing to the established story, and that makes for some of the worst aspects of this season.

Like on paper the idea of Zoidberg having a found family could work, because Zoidberg is a character who gets crapped on a lot and doesn't have much family of his own. However, they pretty much achieve this by making Leela suddenly INTENSELY resentful of her parents and accusing them of "abandoning" her. On that note, why not just bring back Zoidberg's girlfriend instead of all of this?

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I think one aspect about the new season I don't like is that they are *trying* to do something new, but not really committing to the established story, and that makes for some of the worst aspects of this season.

Like on paper the idea of Zoidberg having a found family could work, because Zoidberg is a character who gets crapped on a lot and doesn't have much family of his own. However, they pretty much achieve this by making Leela suddenly INTENSELY resentful of her parents and accusing them of "abandoning" her. On that note, why not just bring back Zoidberg's girlfriend instead of all of this?

That's... Worse than I thought.

Besides (to me, at least) the very essence of Zoidberg is that he's a good sport, so it never once felt like other characters being awful to him mattered all that much. And you are right about bringing his girlfriend back... That would have made way more sense without compromising Leela in the process, especially after it's been beyond established that her parents were always looking out for her.

Ugh.

 

[Zeo]

There is also moments where a reboot is done so bad it finally kills the interest both of the fans and the creators.... at least for a while

For videogames one example is Monster Rancher EVO, hands down the weird one of all the games (even more than 3, but that was the original point) with lots of changes like a minigame that gets boring after a while instead of just select training and pass a week, or that tournaments are no longer the main reason to play (and they even cut some awesome rare breeds from 4 to some really boring looking ones), while it has a story is nothing better than what 4 did

No wonder the revival took a lot of time, and was with the DX version of MR 2 and the Kaiju side game (not counting LINE)

For tv series and movies is harder to kill it, just look at the many versions of Scooby-Doo that ranged from good to cash grab

Then again, is sometimes better that they at least "try" to do something new with what is old and not jus keep doing the same thing like a zombie serie (like Spongebob)

 

[BigTony]

I don't think art is something that should be remade that's not to say remakes are bad but artistically there's something gross about them

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

(like Spongebob)

Amen.

I stopped at Nickelodeon for just a second the other day and saw that they gave Patrick his own show (?!).

Maaaaannn.

 

[Zeo]

Kamp Koral was a decent side serie even if it was the "kids" version of the main cast, but the Patrick show is just a brain killer

And they know since there is an episode that tells the ones that doesnt like it to just change the channel

At least it was better said than what Teen Titans GO usually does with the direct insults

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

But isn't TTG massively popular?

And they know since there is an episode that tells the ones that doesnt like it to just change the channel

I can at least appreciate the honesty, kinda like when Pinky, Elmira and The Brain told everyone it was being made under protest directly on the theme song.