Image Credit: Everett Collection; Albert L. Ortega/PR PhotosI’m hearing Ron Moore—the genius writer-producer responsible for rebooting a little show called Battlestar Galactica— and former CSI EP Naren Shankar are in the very early stages of developing a remake of the ’60s classic The Wild, Wild West.
And I mean very early stages (read: it could be weeks or even months before he starts pitching it to the networks).
The original series—which ran on CBS from 1965 to 1969—starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin as Secret Service agents who get reassigned to the Old West. It was described at the time as “James Bond on horseback,” per my good buddy Willie Wikipedia.
Other high-profile reboots being eyed for next season include Bryan Fuller’s Munsters redo at NBC and David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman update (network TBD).
Thoughts?
As long as there’s not heavy handed political allegory involved, I’m game.
Hey, I’ll just be happy if there isn’t a giant mechanical tarantula in it.
Better the spider than Will Smith.
YES! But keep Jim white, this time, okay?
Racist teabagger.
Sheepish idiot.
SO people want a black president and that isnt racist, but wanting a white Jim is? It is not racist to want someone of a certain color to play a character on TV, so cut it out.
Bob is right. Jim West being played by a black man would be like a movie about John F Kennedy where JFK is played by Denzel Washington. It doesn’t make any sense.
Did the world suddenly just run out of original thought? Why all the remakes, reboots, reimaginings?
It’s all been done before.
The world didn’t run out of good ideas, Hollywood did.
I used to love that show!
If it is nothing like the Bad Bad Movie, I am game.
As long as they try to keep the spirit of the original and keep anything remotely having to do with the Will Smith version far, far away, I’m down.
Steampunk in the post-Civil War!! I loved this show. Jim West on his beautiful horse – in those tight pants, Artemis Gordon’s disguises. It was also very controversial for the violence. IIRC it was one of the catalysts behind the 8pm family viewing hour.
A remake by Moore can’t be any worse than the movie – and could be very good indeed!
Ron Moore, David E. Kelley, and Bryan Fuller. Three geniuses who are wasting their considerable imaginations updating classics. Next thing you know, Aaron Sorkin will want to make a new Deep Space Nine and Alan Ball will want to reboot I Love Lucy.
I, for one, would love to see an Aaron Sorkin DS9
I’d like to see it too, it’d be right up his alley.
If they pick it up years after Sisko has gone with the Prophets and suddenly comes back, I’ll be interested.
While I’d also rather Bryan Fuller had been given the opportunity to create a completely new show (or just more Pushing Daisies!), I *certainly* wouldn’t agree that Ron Moore “wasted” his imagination on BSG.
I don’t fancy this but I might give it a shot out of curiosity (same for The Munsters).
I’d read that Ron Moore has another show in development that’s about a world ruled by magic rather than science, but I can’t remember where/when I read that. I don’t really know if it’s going to be my sort of thing…
Actually, I’m hoping that Joss Whedon reboots “Pushing Daisies.”
A Sorkin DS9 would be THE best show ever.
It’s all about getting or having the rights to an established albeit aged show in that if you already have the rights then it’s free and if now one else wants to do it buying the rights on the cheap is an option both coming with the benefits of a remake in that it creates it’s own hype (‘will it be as good as…’).
I am not a big fan of shows like Wild Wild West nor was I ever ( actually , I was a little toddler back then and the show was on way past my bedtime , come to think about it , pre cable era , I don’t know if the show aired in Canada ) , but under Ron Moore ‘s direction , the reboot could be interesting , though as I stated once or twice before , I do not usually like TV remakes .
In addition to watching out for political messages (someone tell Hollywood we vcan think for ourselves), please stay away from current trends/fads.
No designer stubble on the guys or tatoos on women.
Yeah, no political or religious messages! We don’t need anything deep or profound! All we want is people shooting guns and sleeping around!
If I want messages, I’ll look to something other than a 45 minute TV show produced for a major commercial network.
It’s JUST a show.
TV is NOT a religion or source of enlightenment.
Perhaps that’s what’s wrong with the world today, idiots looking to Hollywood for some deep meanings when their main business is to erarn a living and make a buck.
As Shatner said on SNL years ago…It’s a show, get a life.
I agree!!! we are on political/religious overload here!
I loved Wild Wild West, back in the day!
These guys aren’t mainstream stars, but if you ever saw Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett as Sheppard and McKay in Stargate Atlantis, I think they’d be perfect for the roles of West and Gordon!
you know, you might have something there. But who to play Loveless?
Chris Heyerdahl.
Hey they are talking “re-imagined.”
Why not Peter Dinklage? Why not keep in the spirit of the classic and keep Dr. Loveless as a short person?
Joe and David together would be awesome!
No more reboots from overrated Ron Moore. Let sleeping dogs lie.
Got to admit, I grew up with the series, it was one my top five(original Trek, Lost in Space, Five O and Man from U.N.C.L.E are the others.)
Having seen the first three rebooted, and liking them(Space, meh, not so good) I look forward to the West reboot, and pray for U.N.C.L.E to be next.
Hopefully, it will be on SyFy or USA, which give shows a fighting chance.
If they do another Man From U.N.C.L.E. , I hope they do a Girl From U.N.C.L.E. too! That was only 1 season, but Stephanie Powers was hot. Maybe they could get someone like Isla Fisher to play her.
If needed Wikipedia to know what the Wild Wild West was, you need to go elsewhere
If the word “FOX” is even uttered, he should walk out of the meeting and not waste his time.
Strange as it may sound, I think that this could be what CBS needs. Something that breaks their boring as sin CSI/NCIS/NKOTB snoozefest.
“NKOTB” . . . Ha! Clever. You must not like Blue Bloods. Sorry to hear that. I do.
But I agree that CBS has a glut of similar shows that could do with an infusion of “Wild West” differentiation. Remember when CBS had “Dallas,” the best SOAP on any network? The could use something fresh like that again.
There’s going to be a remake of Dallas too….
For the most part, I’ve stopped paying attention to CBS. It wasn’t an intentional thing, but their programming became more and more dated. Even some of their newer shows feel like they were produced in the 80′s. And then the long list of similar styles of shows… I just tend to skip CBS while channel surfing. Hawaii Five-0 now has me watching their network, but only for an hour per week. I watch Medium, but mostly just out of habit. There’s only one “cool” and exciting show on the network for me.
Drew, if you haven’t already, check out THE GOOD WIFE and you may be watching another CBS show.
Supernatural needs to be canceled so Ackles & Padalecki can star in this thing.
Fans would hate this because one would end up being the sidekick in a way, which one would play which?
So what? Why does there have to be two leads? Where does that thinking come from?
Wow – thank God this Hollywood Dynamo hasn’t come up with his OWN idea. Whew! That would have set him apart from his peers, and we wouldn’t want to have that!
Ron Moore has never done an original thing in his entire career. It consists entirely of taking a dump on the existing works of others, e.g. the death of Jim Kirk.