From Poldark to Doctor Who – the secret of a good reboot
With ‘Rumpole’ now getting a very modern makeover, Michael Hogan explores why some revivals triumph and others are best forgotten
When wily old London barrister Horace Rumpole was told he had to move with the times, he memorably replied: “If I don’t like the way the times are moving, I shall refuse to accompany them.” Now, though, he has no choice.
The craggy courtroom campaigner, unforgettably played by Leo Mckern, in the ITV series Rumpole of the
Bailey (1978-92), is to be led into the 21st century by the daughters of his creator, barrister-turned-screenwriter Sir John Mortimer QC.
Actress Emily Mortimer will revive the show through her production company King Bee, co-writing a new version with her younger sister Rosie. Rumpole for the new generation will, fittingly, be guided by the next generation of the Mortimer family. Rumpole used to call his wife Hilda “She Who Must Be Obeyed”. Now he’ll be dancing to his daughters’ tune.
The reboot has been described as a “very modern take”, so don’t be surprised if ramshackle veteran Rumpole changes age or gender. Whether he (or she) will still chainsmoke cheroots and drink copious amounts of “cooking claret” remains to be seen.
But can a TV remake ever match, let alone surpass, the original? Some succeed and win whole new audiences, while others flop miserably and in the process, often tarnish their legacy. You could
argue that such revivals are a sign of broadcast executives being lazy and unimaginative, but the appeal is clear. As on-demand and streaming services proliferate, hours of “content” (ghastly word) is required to fill them and it often makes commercial sense to invest in an established brand. With a familiar premise and existing fan base, reboots and revivals seem a safer bet, having a head-start over new creations that have yet to gain a following.
However, they tend to work only when the reimagining is clever enough; when an existing property is used as a lifting-off point to reflect contemporary concerns; when a golden oldie is reinvented to say something fresh.
Look at House of Cards, originally a 1990 BBC miniseries depicting post-thatcherite power struggles in Westminster. By the time it reappeared more than two decades later as the debut flagship drama on nascent streaming platform Netflix, it had been flown first class across the Atlantic to Washington DC, with its anti-hero – ambitious Conservative chief whip Francis Urquhart – becoming power-hungry Democratic congressman Frank Underwood. The result was a darkly sensationalist remake that reflected the ever-shifting canvas of 21st-century politics, with its cynicism and the growing distaste for ideology.
Netflix has form for breathing new life into dormant franchises. One of its biggest, most beloved current hits is Queer Eye, the revamp of camp Noughties makeover show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy. Netflix dropped the last four words of the title and added a holistic feelgood factor. The transformational journeys aren’t just about haircuts and tailored trousers anymore, they encompass mental health and avocado on toast too. The result is utterly millennial and ultimately rather uplifting.
The broad vistas and new horizons of sci-fi can also lend themselves well to reimagining. Netflix’s recent Lost In Space and ITV’S 2009 remake of
The Prisoner both flopped because they tried too hard to be new and lost the essence of the original in the process, but two of the most successful reboots of recent times have been Battlestar Galactica – which went from Seventies cheese to acclaimed prestige drama in 2004 – and BBC behemoth Doctor Who, resurrected by Russell T Davies the following year to become a globe-conquering phenomenon. It helped that the Timelord regenerates, enabling the series to do so, too. Doctor Who is a law unto itself: a malleable, versatile, ever-evolving pageant capable of bewitching all ages with its adventurous spirit, scary monsters and swashbuckling alien hero (now a heroine, to keep moving with the times). But crucially, it has kept true to the spirit of the show that entranced children for three decades. The Daleks have lost little of their power to send youngsters scurrying behind sofas, 56 years since they first rasped “Exterminate!”.
Swapping spaceships for oldfashioned horsepower, Poldark ranks as one of the most successful revivals of all time. The Seventies series was a huge hit for the BBC but the 2015 remake, still going strong, matched it. The emotions conveyed feel timeless. The Cornish scenery remains ravishing. The odd shirtless scene didn’t do any harm either.
Yet costume drama revivals don’t always work so well. The Sixties version of John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga spoke to that era of cultural change, the permissive society (and, perhaps coincidentally, its preoccupation with the cult of Edwardiana), but the Noughties remake with Damian Lewis felt like a museum piece. It was similar with the BBC’S ill-fated Upstairs Downstairs in 2010, which never recaptured the magic of the Seventies original and was thoroughly overshadowed by the soapier Downton Abbey, which had debuted three months earlier.
Those looking for suitable reboots should avoid geezerish fare. The Sweeney and Minder were both abysmal when they were disinterred in the last decade, merely going through the motions of their predecessors. Dusting down vintage sitcoms is also fraught with the potential for disaster. Fans still shudder at the misguided bids to bring The Liver Birds, Porridge and Reggie Perrin back for encores.
The lesson here is that programmemakers can’t get away with a pure homage but need to bring something fresh to the TV table. Update and reimagine, or risk feeling like a relic.
How will Rumpole of the Bailey fare when it’s called back to the bar again? Well, courtroom dramas are currently back in vogue, thanks to The Good Fight and Meghan Markle’s former workplace, Suits. New legal thriller The Victim, which airs on BBC One over four nights this week, is gaining very favourable reviews.
Of course, Rumpole himself has a timeless appeal, as shown by recent radio versions starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Julian Rhind-tutt as the self-styled “Old Bailey hack” and defender of underdogs. Now we wait for the TV jury to deliver its verdict.
Will he (or she) still chain-smoke cheroots and drink copious amounts of cooking claret?