The risks far outweigh the benefits here...

What am I talking about? Nuclear power? Global warming? No, far more insidious than that. I am talking about the literary dead zone where a studio is so bereft of ideas, they make a movie based on a TV series. Since "Get Smart" is due out soon and "Dallas" is in production, I thought I would run down some stinkers, clinkers and a few that work on some level.


Dragnet (1987)- Playing the Joe Friday role for comedy was ill advised for Dan Ackroyd, and Tom Hanks as the wacky partner? Did this film work for anyone?

Wild Wild West (1999)- Everyone loves Will Smith, but wouldn't George Clooney have been a better Jim West- again, although Wild Wild West was never a straight up drama- too many futile attempts to be funny. A little bit of real danger and drama would have been nice.

Maverick (1994)- I can't imagine why this film didn't work, the cast was there, but the writing was so abysmal, Jodie Foster seemed to be embarrassed in this film.

Dukes of Hazzard (2005)- Awful film, but it was meant to be awful. Just not that awful.

My Favorite Martian (1999)- Christopher Lloyd is no Ray Walston

Beverly Hillbillies (1993)- With Jim Varney as Jed, it would have been a better films if it was yet another "Ernest" film.

Now, quickly, a few that worked for me..a little. Starsky and Hutch (Snoop Dogg saves the day as Huggy Bear), Addams Family (Raul Julia was the perfect big screen Gomez), Charlies Angels ( I liked them, and I dont know why)

Now, the ones that actually worked for me...a lot. Mission Impossible ( a few things I could live without, but not bad). Twin Peaks-Fire Walk with Me (a good way to fill out a story of a cancelled series). X-Files (more of an extra episode, rather than a resurrection). The Fugitive (better than the series, in my opinion), and the great grandaddy of them all...........Star Trek (some nearly awful films, but it's kind of like a drug addict scoring product, it may not have been the quality you wanted, but you won't turn it down).