Copies and derivatives
Once again, I’ve lost an hour of my life. With the usual rejoinder; that I can’t get back. I turned on the TV, heard a familiar tune and saw a familiar title. Let down my defences.
Last season, it was the “new and improved’ Book’em. I’m still bitter about that one. So many memories, tarnished. This time around, a reference to Charlie who has Angles, er, Angels. Pretty faces hiding bush league acting and a plotline straight out of the comics. So sad, because the originals are no longer three of a kind.
What next? Are we going to have a new breed of Forest Ranger? A talking Lassie? The Mod Squad (look it up, kids). What is this compulsion to recycle in Hollywood? Enough to make me throw rocks at the enemy, except that my memories of Thierry La Fronde are still shiny.
Musicians can get away with it. Talent begets talent. But TV shows? Almost never works. For example, American Idol hasn’t been “reborn in the X Factor” even if Simon and Paula are sitting side by each, sipping soda. And don’t get me started on the topic of politicians.
So please pardon my absence, while I go and read a few more in the various series of bus books. Cussler, Child, Reichs, etc. All capable of maintaining the integrity of a character across a row of titles. After all, the dozens of titles from the author(s) of the Hardy Boys set the target high. And Nancy Drew wasn’t a derivative. Is that clear enough?
