This summer, there’s a veritable cavalcade of films coming out which take preestablished properties, and takes them to places seldom imagined by the original creators or fans. Two of these films, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek, look to take their respective franchises to heights yet unimagined. In the case of Star Trek, the series is being rebooted and reimagined for a new generation of audiences, with the hope of reigniting interest in the franchise beyond the hardcore fans. But, in the end, it’s still ultimately Trek: Kirk and Spock and Bones, transporters and phasers and warp engines. In the case of Transformers, the franchise bears nearly no resemblance to the cartoons and toys which inspired it. And that is a major problem.

Lately, there’s been serious discussion of a Robotech film, headed by Tobey MacGuire, who somehow obtained the rights to the film. You might recall this being discussed during a previous episode of the podcast. There’s been some traction to these rumors of the past few months, though nothing solid has formed. But the mere concept of a Hollywood version of a Robotech (Macross) adapation makes me shudder based on what Hollywood has done to franchises of the past.

Case 1? Transformers, as I alluded to earlier. A franchise beloved by twenty to thirty somethings, the ultimate result of Transformers on the big screen is something of a betrayal to the legacy of the cartoon. No longer were the Autobots simple vehicles, but crazy, over the top, overcomplicated transforming devices which transformed not for the sake of going in disguise, but for blowing out a CG budget. Optimus Prime went from being a noble leader to an overgrown, clumsy giant who used outdated slang.

Case 2? Speed Racer. While Speed Racer was never exactly realistic, it at least kept to an idea of racing that was somewhat familiar. The Wachowski Brothers took the kernal of the television series and turned it into…something else. No one was quite able to decipher what was going on, much less me.

Hollywood seems to be incapable of comprehending what made the franchises they adapt so endearing and engaging in the first place. The reimaginings seem to be more for the purpose of presenting a package to an (assumed to be) idiotic consumer with no idea of what the source franchise is or what made it great in the first place.

An example of a reimagined property done right, which several point to as one of the best franchises of all time, is Battlestar Galactica. While the creators of the new television series didn’t necessarily adhere closely to the source material, much in the same way Michael Bay didn’t, this was overlooked for the fact that the new franchise was excellent. It didn’t dumb down the roots of the franchise, but rather smartened it up, made it mature and gritty and worthwhile in its departures from its roots.

If Hollywood has anymore childhood franchises it looks to acquire, it must be painstakingly clear to everyone involved: make it clear you understand the audience of the franchise you’re pulling from, and if you make dramatic changes to the franchise in question, don’t dumb things down, but play up the intelligence factor. We’re not dumb.

CommentsArticles, Feature Article disaster, Hollywood, idiocy, movies, reimagine, remakes, Speed Racer, Star Trek, Transformers

Last night was the Super Bowl. A spectacular Super Bowl at that. And while we here at Geek Troika don’t necessarily always cover sports with any sort of regularity, sports still falls underneath the category of “entertainment”, which does mean we are somewhat obliged to cover it. I know I am probably the biggest sports geek of the bunch of us, following everything from football, football (or futbol, depending on where you’re from), baseball and basketball. I know Mattie is a big fan of hockey and baseball (as she has stated previously on this very blog!), and I’m not entirely sure where Jon sits on the scale of things.

Anyhow.

The Super Bowl has always struck me as an anomaly in regards to sports from the global scale. Effectively, every other major sport covered in the United States has a sizable to huge following other places in the world. Baseball, the national past time, has taken a feverish grip in the Latin American nations, as well as Japan. Hockey, while not a purely “American” sport, still has its largest venue in the United States, but is prolific in Canada and the Slavic nations. And, basketball has spread on a global scale to where serious discussions have been held for establishing an NBA team in London or China.

Which brings us back to (American) football and the Super Bowl last night. The Super Bowl is a remarkable event because it regularly is among the highest screen share ratings of any other day, making it a magnet for advertisers seeking to display a product. Despite the fact that football is a largely American focused and American digested sport, by the time the Super Bowl rolls around, it is broadcast to nations across the world, and followed with a fever pitch.

I’ve considered many times exactly why this is, and I’ve determined that the Super Bowl is more than just a simple football game. From m own experiences as a child, I hardly knew what football was outside of the Super Bowl. Coming from a family where the concept of sports is incredibly foreign, I spent at least until the age of 10 thinking that the only football game played all year was the Super Bowl. What draws people with such an explicit lack of knowledge to what amounts to a highly regionalized, highly specialized form of entertainment?

Several factors, I would say. First, as I mentioned previously, the advertising. Because advertisers are aware of the eyeballs they hold under their sway, more effort is put into creating a memorable message which drives people to products. Secondly, the event which surrounds the Super Bowl supersedes the game itself. It’s almost like a holiday, bringing people together and all of that warm happy stuff. Sort of like Thanksgiving, but with fewer birds, a lot more alcohol, and some chillier weather thrown in.

So, I’m sure you’re wondering after reading all of this, what the HECK does any of this have to do with geek culture or anything at all? Well, looking back on the Super Bowl party I went to yesterday, half of the game playing Rock Band, going nuts over the movie trailers which played (Did you SEE the Transformers trailer?!), and generally having a good time. You see, the Super Bowl is a great unifier. It’s not just for sports fiends, it’s for geeks, kids, mothers and fathers and everyone.

Hope you all had a great Super Bowl Sunday!

CommentsArticles, Feature Article advertising, Canada, football, futbol, globalization, party, sports, super bowl, Transformers, US Sports