The Grim Reboot: ALF
Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the dark, bleak treatment that reboots get nowadays. As an example, I rebooted Gilligan’s Island, applying my own spin. A friend requested that I reboot the sitcom ALF (1986 – 1990). ALF was about a furry little alien, Gordon Shumway (aka ‘ALF’ – which stands for Alien Life Form) from the planet Melmac. ALF follows an amateur radio signal back to Earth and crash lands in a suburban family’s garage. The family, the Tanners, hide him from an Alien Task Force (a part of the US military that focuses on aliens) and the good-natured but busybody neighbours, the Ochmoneks. ALF is a traditional…
To Bleak or Not To Bleak
The original Lost in Space series (1965 – 1968) began as serious science fiction, before descending into campy humour and outlandish storylines. But it worked because it found its voice, and has since become a cult classic. The rebooted Lost in Space (2018 – ) has not only gone the serious route, but has also become gritty, bleak, and largely joyless. It’s a motif a lot of contemporary movies and series use. Arguably, the template for this began with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005), and was popularised with the follow-up, The Dark Knight (2008). Then just about everybody decided this was the way to go, as if it was a…