The 19 shows we want to see back on our screens in 2019

THE reboots of 1980s classics Roseanne and Full House show there is a huge market for old shows being remade. With that in mind, here are 19 shows we could reboot in 2019.

EVERYTHING old is new again when it comes to television.

The reboots of 1980s classics Roseanne and Full House, as well as rumoured reboots of the likes of Magnum PI and Murphy Brown, show that today’s executives are looking to the past in order to create a future programming list.

Is it time for a reboot of Magnum PI, made famous by actor Tom Selleck?

But is it just laziness that makes people want to see their old favourites in a new guise? Why are re-runs of old shows so popular?

“Who was it said that nostalgia ain’t what it used to be?” said social analyst David Chalke from the Strategy Planning Group.

“The Baby Boomers are approaching — I won’t call it senility — but it’s time to remember their lost youth.”

Marty Murphy, a lecturer at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School who is writing a PhD at Western Sydney University on the shared principles of literary and screen comedy, said there were a few different facets to the interest in re-runs of old shows.

“It’s partly due to nostalgia for middle-aged viewers but also the interest in younger audiences in that period and its mores — some call this a ‘borrowed nostalgia’,” Mr Murphy said.

So what shows should be brought back to life? Here’s a list of 19 shows that should be rebooted in 2019.

FAMILY TIES

THIS was a show that encapsulated the mood of the 1980s, with Michael J Fox as the Republican-voting son of hippy parents and Justine Bateman as their consumer-obsessed daughter.

Fox’s battle with Parkinson’s disease has actually opened the door to the perfect reboot. His kids have to come live with the still hippy grandparents and the contrast between the left-leaning Millennials, their right-wing parents and the hippy grandparents can set up plenty of humour.

What do you mean, your kids voted for Bernie Sanders? It’s time for another generational change in Family Ties with Michale J Fox and Justine Bateman.

Worth it to see Fox return to the small screen, even if he can only appear now and again.

A young Courteney Cox played his girlfriend for a couple of seasons and can add some star power and return as his wife or ex-wife.

Given the generation gap between the beliefs of the 1960s, the 1980s and today’s Millennials, this could have plenty to say about today’s society.

FAWLTY TOWERS

BASIL and Sybil Fawlty have long since retired from running their hotel and are in a nursing home, which is run by Polly and her business partner Manuel.

Basil has lost most of his few remaining marbles and constantly slips back into thinking he is still running a hotel and Manuel and Polly are still his employees.
Meanwhile, there is an oddball collection of other residents in the home, who are also terrorised by Basil.

Basil! Prunella Scales, John Cleese, Connie Booth and Andrew Sachs are now in a nursing home run by Polly and Manuel.

MASH

THERE is no shortage of options to show the waste and horror of war. But perhaps the world needs to be reminded, again, that wars are not just fought with the body but in the mind.

Instead of a surgical unit patching up wounded men, the new MASH will take us inside a mental health unit, dealing with the troubled veterans who have seen too much and done too much.

Alan “Hawkeye” Alda with Gary “Radar O’Reilly” Burghoff in the original. It could be done again with great humour and sensitivity.

This show can remind all of us that men and women can return from war whole in body but damaged in mind. Seeing this in prime time and talked about with humour (not aimed at the troubled veterans but instead at the system and the foibles of the medical staff) will help all of us deal with the issues.

KNIGHT RIDER

COME on, who doesn’t want to see this resurrected? Of course it needs to be freshened up. Less mullets and more gadgets on KITT, the talking car. But who takes the Hasselhoff role?

David Hasselhoff with KITT and that groovy hairstyle.

Danai Gurira could kick butt in the new KITT and also model any hairstyle necessary.

We could have a hot black dude, or a woman, or a hot black woman. I’m thinking Danai Gurira, best known as Michonne on The Walking Dead but also seen kicking butt in Black Panther and Avengers.

Her car chase scene from Black Panther shows what she could do as the new Knight Rider. Plus thanks to her shaven head she could start with a mullet for laughs and then take it off.

DIFF’RENT STROKES

THIS show featured a rich white family taking in the poor orphaned kids of their black housekeeper.

Tragically, most of the stars are dead but it had much to say about how different areas of society can learn from each other.

The original Diff’rent Strokes cast of Gary Coleman, Conrad Bain and Todd Bridges.

The original Cheers cast, including Shelley Long, Ted Danson, George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger and Woody Harrelson.

Given today’s anti-migrant climate in the USA, surely this has to be the rich white family adopting the poor Latino kids of their illegal immigrant housekeeper.

There are many points to be made about today’s society and making them with humour is the best way to do it.

The fractured, technology-obsessed rich white family can reconnect thanks to the family-focused attitude of the Latinos.

CHEERS

A DISPARATE group of maladjusted individuals meet up in a bar after work and discuss their problems and love lives.

The original bar is gone but one of the original characters has started a new one, hoping to rekindle the magic of Cheers.

Cheers, where everyone knows your name.

We don’t have to be fussy, basically whichever of the main names is washed up and looking to reboot their career the most.

Then we create a new bunch of mismatched individuals who go through trials and tribulations, reflecting some of today’s society as well as harking back to the humour of the old series.

Plus we can have plenty of guest star appearances from the old cast who need to pay for their tax bills/plastic surgery/overseas holidays.

THE COSBY SHOW

THIS one HAS to be made. The conviction of Bill Cosby on sexual assault charges has destroyed the legacy of this show but it should not be forgotten that Cliff Huxtable was America’s Dad in the 1980s.

It didn’t matter what colour or class you were, you loved that character. The world needs good, strong dads more than ever and it also needs men to acknowledge that violence towards women is never right.

Bill Cosby with Gary Gray. Actors playing the young characters can now take up the story of the Huxtables.

Bill Cosby arrives at court for his sexual assault trial. He has undone the good work of Cliff Huxtable in the 1980s and that needs to be repaired.

Let’s bring it back, call it The Huxtables and have the likes of Theo Huxtable and the other kids dealing not just with their family dramas but the legacy of their respected father, Dr Cliff Huxtable, being convicted of sexual assault.

Let’s have this conversation in prime time, show that great dads make great families but it’s not just what you say but what you do as a father that makes the difference.

ALF

LOVEABLE alien crash-lands in suburbia and hides out from the government with a family, helping them with their problems and trying to eat the family cat.

Instead of a puppet, Alf can be computer-generated this time and the government can be even more vicious in its attempts to find him.

Just the telephone alone dates the show Alf. But it could be rebooted.

Add a touch more drama to the comedy but you can still say a great deal about the stupidity of today’s society and have some laughs about it along the way.

MORK AND MINDY

Yes, this was basically a vehicle for Robin Williams to be crazy but, like Alf, it also laughed at some of society’s ridiculous customs.

You can’t reinvent Robin Williams but you can get a madcap female comic to poke fun at today’s society in the same way for a Morkette And Mitchy show.

You can’t have another Robin Williams but obviously you can have Mork’s daughter arriving on Earth to find out what happened to her father and being hidden by, say, the nephew of Mindy.

There’s still plenty to mock about our culture and let’s get a brilliant young female comedian to do it.

THE A TEAM

THIS was rebooted as a feature film with the likes of Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper in starring roles.

Obviously TV can’t afford them but the essential premise of Iraqi War vets who were betrayed by a shadowy security company with links to the highest levels of government, who now roam the USA righting wrongs with preposterous plans, has plenty of legs in it.

Mr T as BA Baracus played his legendary role.

Black Panther’s Michael B Jordan could be a great BA Baracus.

The only question is who would play BA “I pity the fool” Baracus. Michael B Jordan, who starred in Creed and was the muscled-up baddie in Black Panther, would be perfect.

GILLIGAN’S ISLAND

YOU could say that this was kind-of rebooted with the series Lost but the idea of stranding seven contrasting characters on a deserted tropical island and then letting comic hijinks ensue is not as implausible as it may seem.

Gilligan’s Island would have to reboot the crazy hat.

The British Indian Ocean Territories, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, have hundreds of tropical islands with incredible ecosystems that are effectively isolated from the world but close to the US/UK naval base of Diego Garcia.

A day trip from there for a group of visiting celebrities who were entertaining the troops goes horribly wrong and … well, we go from there.

THE YOUNG DOCTORS

THIS classic Australian show is ripe for a reboot. We’ve had enough of the Americans going at it in Grey’s Anatomy and the like.

It’s time for a slightly grittier reboot with realistic doctors, patients and issue, mixed in with plenty of forbidden desire and lustful glances.

Plus we can examine some of the pressing issues of the day such as drug use and overwork.

Singer Mark Holden on bed with the cast of The Young Doctors. This time around they would be younger. And hotter.

A COUNTRY PRACTICE

ANOTHER Australian show that needs a refresh. Let’s make working in the country hot again.

The trials and tribulations of a small country town, its vet practice and doctors should be perfect dramatic and comedic fodder.

A Country Practice could be a great reboot.

Plus we can bring back some of the old regulars in guest roles. Issues such as migrants being encouraged to move out to the country, young people moving away for work, suicide and drought can all be explored.

MAGNUM PI

WE HAVE to bring this back. Everyone loves a crime drama in an exotic location. Obviously it needs to be modernised somewhat and although there are rumours of a reboot, we need to step in and tweak that.

Magnum still needs a glossy moustache but perhaps the character could be gay this time, wearing it in tribute to the old Magnum.

Tom Selleck is well known for his portrayal of Magnum PI.

While things have moved on in society, perhaps we do need to see everyday people turning to a smart, crime-solving action hero who just happens to be gay.

He can still be residing in the guesthouse of a rich man whose life he saved in a war but this time the fussy British estate manager, who Tom Selleck clashed with in the original, can be the will he/won’t he love interest.

DUKES OF HAZZARD

GOOD-LOOKING rednecks battle a corrupt mayor and his racist sheriff in America’s deep south, while driving hot cars and wearing cut-off denim. Not much has changed since the 1970s. What’s not to like about it? It has to come back.

There’s more than a couple of reasons to bring back the Dukes Of Hazzard.

THE LOVE BOAT

THIS is the one most likely to get a reboot, because the various cruise lines over the world will be fighting tooth and nail to sponsor it and use one of their ships as the location.

The premise is simple, each self-contained episode sees new guests seeking love or closure for their problems and the cruise liner and the crew help them achieve it.

Time for The Love Boat to set sail again.

This can be less about a matchmaking captain and maybe more about the disparate crew helping out the passengers. Given the enthusiasm for cruising these days, there’s so much that can be explored with this one.

ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES

THIS classic British series featured a couple of dodgy South London types and their various get-rich-quick schemes, which inevitably ended in disaster.

The premise would be the same, just the colour would change.

David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst revisit Only Fools And Horses.

This time Del Boy and Rodney would be black and giving us a sympathetic look at the mean streets of London, trying to get a little of what they see in the rich world of private school privilege without resorting to drugs. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, this world needs a spotlight but one done with love and humour, done subtly, not trying to make political points.

YES MINISTER

BUMBLING politician battles crafty bureaucrats and shows how ridiculous the political system really is. The original series was almost perfect but it was a child of the 1980s and never really touched on how the spin doctors and image makers are now as much of a problem as the bureaucrats. There is so much fun we could have with this reboot.

Nigel Hawthorne, Paul Eddington and Derek Fowlds were brilliant in Yes, Minister but where are the spin doctors and image makers? The new version would be just as cutting.

MINDER

ANOTHER legendary British show, featuring the escapades of the conman Arthur Daley and the muscleman Terry who tries to keep Arthur out of trouble and himself out of jail. This needs an Aussie reboot and we have much inspiration in Sydney.

George Cole and Dennis Waterman in Minder. The new version set in Sydney would have plenty of shenanigans.

There are a few names that come to mind when you think of this scenario. But while Arthur and Terry would be called, shall we say, something a little more exotic, they would be sympathetic characters and might actually help with understanding.