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 TV shows that should be rebooted.

There’s an old saying that says “You don’t know what you got…until it’s gone.”; That saying couldn’t be more true in the world of television. In today’s world, TV has been overpopulated with low budget reality shows and short-lived vampire TV. We recently had “Hawaii 5-0” was returning to TV; and become the most highly rated new show on television.  Hawaii 5-0 got us wondering what cancelled shows we would love to have back on TV? Kaboom! Magazine list some of our favorite cancelled shows that we wish we could bring back on the air. We don’t like to say there cancelled, we like to say that we’re just waiting on them to come back from commercial break.

Welcome Back!!!!

Shows we feel would be a big hit, if brought back……

Fastlane (2002-2003)

Remember Me: Two mismatched cops teamed together with a sexy police lieutenant in a secretive undercover division of LAPD with their base of operation being a trick-out warehouse known as the “Candy Store”. Fastlane was the new “Miami Vice” as the show had it all from the latest in technology to old school muscle cars. Due to it high production cost and the mist of the writer strikes, the show was cancelled leaving us all in suspense wondering if lieutenant Chambers was ever rescued from being held captive in the abandon warehouse. Even though the show had high production cost, the show won many awards for it never-before-seen stunts and car chases. Since the show went off the air in 2003, the cast have moved onto do bigger things such as “Twilight” saga and “Last Comic Standing”.

Welcome Back: Eight years after the last case went completely wrong, new LAPD police chief orders that the secretive undercover division to be re-activated and the “Candy Store” be re-opened. A new sexy police lieutenant teams up with two of the smartest and craziest officers that the force has ever seen, to tackle the mean streets of LA. These officers go deep undercover using extreme measures and doing whatever it takes to take down California’s most ruthless criminals. Make one wrong move and your cover blown, but Make one wrong move and you have become the same thing that you are trying stop. 

Baywatch (1989-1999)

Remember Me: Baywatch focus on the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles, CA. The show centered on the careers of a team of lifeguards and their interpersonal relationships with plots usually centering on dangers related to the beach and other activities that go along with the California lifestyle. Whether it’s saving a drowning victims, earthquakes, sexy outfits, or it world famous slow motion shots of lifeguards running…Baywatch become the most-watched show in television history. The show created low-rated spinoffs in Hawaii and Australia before being cancelled in 2000.

Welcome Back: A new cast will have to be discovered and the sexy outfits may need to be updated, but the slow motion shots will stay the same. After 11 year-drought, it’s finally safe to return to the beach. The show centers on the careers of a new team of lifeguards and their interpersonal relationships with plots usually centering on dangers related to the beach and other activities that go along with the California lifestyle. This time around the network won’t over do it giving us less spin-offs of the show and more time to watch beautiful women running in slow motion.

Playmakers (2003)

Remember Me: One of the 1^st original TV series aired on ESPN depicted the lives of professional football players. The show dealt with topics including adultery, drug testing in sports, domestic abuse, and homosexuality. Playmakers gained critical acclaim from its peers, but only aired for one season because the NFL and it former players became unhappy for the way the show was portraying today’s players, leading ESPN to cancel the show after 11 episodes.

Welcome Back: The NFL felt that “Playmakers” portrayed their players in a bad light, but what we would later find out is the show was just letting us in on all of the leagues deep dark secrets. The NFL has become more acceptable now to a frictional professional football show, allowing ESPN to reboot the hit show. Changes will need to be made like a new team, new city, new players, and new storylines; but the same mayhem that you see on the field every Sunday. The show would air in primetime on Monday nights directly after “Monday Night Football”.

T-NBC (1992-2002)

Remember Me: Teen NBC aka “T-NBC” was a Saturday morning block of live-action television shows geared towards teenagers and young adults that aired on the peacock network. Every Saturday from 10am-1pm, NBC treated teens to a three-hour block of unforgettable shows like “Save by the Bell”, “City Guys”, “Hang Time”, “California Dreams”, “Save by the Bell: The New Class”, and “One World”. The network discontinued the programming block in 2002 and went back to animated cartoons to attract a younger audience.

Welcome Back: Shows like “90210”, “Gossip Girls”, and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” may be consider the new series of teen dramas; they will never have the same impact on teenage culture the way T-NBC had in the 90’s. T-NBC needs to return to Saturday mornings with a block of live-action shows that feature fresh faces and great laughs, while helping teens deal with issues surrounding them in everyday life.  

The Lyricist Lounge Show (2000-2001)

Remember Me: “The Lyricist Lounge Show” combined traditional comedic skits with the breakthrough concept of lyrical sketches an innovative convergence of hip-hop music and theatrical narratives. The sketches featured hip-hop heavyweights such as Q-Tip, Mos Def, Cee-lo Green, Common, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, and many others. The show had very respectable ratings, but due to high production costs and conflict between the show producers and MTV, the show was cancelled after two seasons.

Welcome Back: After almost 11 years of debating, MTV finally comes back to their senses and realize the goldmine that they have with “The Lyricist Lounge Show”. The network brings the show back with a fresh new cast of freestyle rappers and comedic actors on MTV2 right in between Sucker Free Sunday and Funk Flex’s new car show. The show feature cameos Hip-Hop stars they likes of Wale, Drake, Nikki Minaj, Juelz Santana, Fabolous, The Game, Asher Roth, Bow Wow, and many more. The highlight of show would come at the end with the freestyle roundtable, where the cast will spit classic freestyles with the weekly special guest host.    

Dallas (1978-1991)

Remember Me: The prime-time television show began as a five-part miniseries that later turned into a 13 season piece of American history. It revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. The show was known for its wealth, sex, intrigue, and power struggles. The series always ended each season with rating-grabbing cliffhangers including the landmark “Who Shot J.R.?” episode in 1980. Due to declining ratings the series ended in 1991 with J.R. taking his own life in the finale.   

Welcome Back: Even with the end of J.R. reign, Dallas, TX is bigger than ever and it only feels right to bring back one of the greatest shows in television history. This generation version of “Dallas” would revolve around a wealthy Texas family with a very troubled past. When a 10 million-dollar will is discovered during a funeral; family members, con artists, crooked politicians, and call girls come from all over Dallas to claim what they feel is rightfully theirs. Sex, Lies, Murders, Mayhem, and Videotape will pursue as everyone will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the will. To add even more intrigue to the show, let’s add cameos from Texas Billionaires Mark Cuben and Jerry Jones to top everything off.       

LA Law (1986-1994)

Remember Me: LA Law was set around a frictional Los Angeles law firm and featured attorneys at the firm and various members of the staff. The legal drama dealt with the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980’s and early 90’s. Many of the cases on the show dealt with issues such as abortion, racism, homophobia, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. The show often linked real-life drama into their episodes, especially in 1992 during the Rodney King incident and LA riots. The show ended in 1994 in order to make room for NBC “ER” and “Homicde: Life on the Street”.

Welcome Back: It’s funny how things come full circle, LA Law could be the next great drama that NBC has been struggling to find since “ER” ended in early 2009. Four law school friends open their own Beverly Hills law firm; where the clients come in fast and the verdicts come even faster. The show will focus on the four friend’s lives inside and outside the courtroom as well as various staff members. Each attorney will have their own style of practicing law, which could trend clash with the other attorneys from time to time. LA Law could pick up right where they life as many of the cases that they dealt with back then are still relevant ‘til this day.

S.W.A.T. (1975-1976)

Remember Me: The show details the adventures of the WCPD’s Olympic Division Special Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team operating in an unidentified California City. The series is most famous for its fast tempo theme song which became number one single in 1976. The series was short-lived because it was deemed too violent for viewers at the time. S.W.A.T. was later turned into a motion picture starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell.

Welcome Back: If the show was deemed too violent in 1976, just imagine what they could get away with in 2011. S.W.A.T. would follow the lives a Los Angeles S.W.A.T. team, where they don’t just make judgment calls every day on the job, but in life. We would prefer that they would create new characters for the show and have original cast members make guest appearances throughout the series.

MTV Road Rules (1995-2007)

Remember Me: MTV followed six strangers after stripping them of their money, putting them on an RV traveling from location to location only guided by a set of clues and a mission to complete at each location. The show lost luster when it took away the RV for one season taking a semester at sea, and then going all survivor-mode eliminating cast mates after failed missions. Due to a death in the production company the series went on hiatus for three years in 2004. After season 14 ended, it was confirmed that the show would no longer be in production.

Welcome Back: It is about time that MTV brings back the RV, because if we see another real world challenge….were all gonna die from boredom. Road Rules may not have been the Real World in it glory days, but it did have it moments. The show will need to return to its original concept, but maybe get a bigger RV this time. Along with a mission guide, the cast should also receive a list of odd jobs that they can do throughout the trip for special gift cards or extra cash that they can either use on themselves or share with their cast mates.   

I saw this on a movie once….

Movies that would make for great TV shows….

Hoop Dreams

The Movie: The 1994 Steve James documentary followed the lives of two Chicago high school students and their dreams to become professional basketball players. The movie follows the two men throughout their high school careers; where they experience incredible highs and incredible lows in their pursuit of the ultimate dream of one day playing in the NBA.      

Made for TV: The basketball version of “Friday Night Lights”; Hoop Dreams follows a successful but troubled basketball coach and his high school basketball team in the ultra- competitive world of Chicago high school basketball. The show would focus on the coach and his players as they deal with the high expectations of city titles and state championship; while facing the everyday issues that adults and teens go through in life. The show would feature guest starring roles by hall of fame and current NBA stars to make this show one the greatest show ever on television.       

American Gangster

The Movie: The film details the rise and fall of 70’s drug kingpin Frank Lucas. Lucas use to smuggle heroin into the U.S. on American service planes during the Vietnam War. During his rise to the top, Lucas becomes a public figure in the New York party scene catching the eye of detective Richie Roberts. Roberts make it his sole mission to bring Lucas down, leading to the ultimate fall of the druglord.    

Made For TV: Since “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” have come to an end; HBO fans have been waiting for that next epic crime drama. “American Gangster” would be a great addition to HBO’s lineup and have fans glued to their television sets every Sunday night. The show would focus on today’s new age gangster and the drug game for the new millennium. Witness one man fast rise to the top from bodyguard to drug kingpin, but making it to the top is only the beginning.       

Foxy Brown

The Movie: After the murder of her boyfriend, Foxy Brown swears vengeance against the responsible for his death. Posing as a call girl, Brown gain access to the drug ring inner circle and discovers how far the corruption extends in her community. She brown sugar and spice, and had no problem putting out your lights.

Made for TV: The 2010 version of Foxy Brown would have to take place in none than our nation capitol. Brown brings unbelievable humor, cooler than cool attitude and sex appeal as an undercover police officer in Washington D.C.. Whether it taking down the bad guys, pissing off the boss, or even requesting answers from president Obama….it’s Foxy Brown and she a whole lotta woman! 

Charlie Bartlett

The Movie: The kids at Western Summit High School have a lot of issues. Enters Charlie Bartlett, the recently exiled private school kid with the briefcase that can solve all your problems. Full of prescription pills and pop culture knowledge, Bartlett quickly becomes the unofficial school psychiatrist and the coolest kid in school. This new popularity brings unending grief to the school principal, as Bartlett becomes the love interest of the principal’s daughter.   

Made for TV: If ain’t broke don’t fix it! Charlie Bartlett is new to Western Summit High School, where the faculty is dazed and the students are very confused. Looking to fit in his new surroundings, Bartlett befriends the school resident drug dealer and they begin a partnership that will help aid students survive high school. Bartlett new found popularity catches the eye of the school principal, especially when Charlie begins to date his daughter in the process. The principal vows to put an end to Bartlett reign and restore order to the school, but in the meantime it’s Charlie Bartlett world and were he bring us all along for the ride.

Alfie

The Movie: For Alfie life is all about enjoying everything could offer…one night at a time. From wealthy widows with a taste for younger men to his single-mom girlfriend, Alfie has it all and isn’t looking for anything more. When the consequences of his lifestyle suddenly affect the women in his life, Alfie begins to wonder if there is more to life than these fleeting romances.

Made for TV: Alfie a highly successful businessman by day and a successful ladies man by night. The New York City marketing exec is quite the charmer, and he never met a woman that wasn’t interested in spending a passionate romantic evening with him. In the mist of his many one night stands and short love affairs, Alfie grows strong feelings for three different women. Can Alfie stop his womanizing ways and become a one woman man? But even if he wants to change, which one of the three women will he change with?

Got any shows you wanna bring back on air? Go to www.kaboommagazine.com and voice your opinion by leaving a comment.