WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
Television and cinema were once seen as separate worlds but it seems that in the last decade, maybe longer, franchises in particular have been expanding – moving from the silver screen to bringing us stories in our own homes, increasing character storylines or introducing new ones; like Star Wars has or telling us a new story and visiting worlds undiscovered in Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. This article shows that these aren’t the only films that have branched out and appeared on our TV screens.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Now, I was really sceptical about watching the series as the film is possibly one of my favourites (slightly helped by the fact that I was born the same year it was released), as well as the fact that I was expecting it to start and forget the film had ever existed. However, I was completely wrong! This series quite clearly follows on from the film as they openly state that Buffy has moved from Hemery High School in LA, the school she attends in the original 1992 film, to Sunnydale. I also assume her burning down the gym was following the vampire invasion during prom after she kills Lothos. Also, Giles is clearly the replacement Watcher for Merrick in the original film. Now don’t get me wrong, I will always prefer the film to the TV series, but I am extremely glad they remembered its existence when making the TV series that followed. The only real question I have, given that there was only a 6 year gap between the making of the film and the series, why Kirsty Swanson didn’t continue with the role?
The Dark Crystal
It’s quite funny writing this article as it seems a lot of my favourite films have been turned into TV shows and this is definitely no exception. I guess the only difference here is that, potentially, it could be said that the TV series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is actually based on the books instead of being a prequel series that spawned out of the film but then again – the books were written about 30 years after the original release of The Dark Crystal. I thought the TV series was great when I first watched it and am absolutely gutted that they decided to cancel it! Anyway, what confused me about this series is that from my understanding from the original film the Skesis and Mystics were born out of the cracking of the crystal of Thra but this does not seem to be referenced in the series especially as it seems to crack AFTER the Skesis arrival. What was heartbreaking about losing the series on the whole was the fact that this was supposed to take us up to the film – with it ending, it was unclear how much of time was left to fill and the audience have to make assumptions regarding any connection between characters featured in the series and Jen and Kiara in the film. Obviously, I have my own ideas so I want to read the books to see if I’m right.
Ash vs Evil Dead
I’ll be honest, I got a little confused rewatching the first episode of this when Ash says that the Deadites (not openly obviously) haven’t appeared for nearly 30 years. Automatically I looked up the date of the 3rd film Army of Darkness and thought that wasn’t 30 years ago and then realised something – he is referring to the events of Evil Dead 2 which, if the films and series are set when they were made, it would be around 30 years between them. Now, that may sound like we’re glossing over the events of the 3rd film but the fact that Ash went back in time for that film, it doesn’t have much impact on the series. In all honesty, the events of this series wouldn’t have happened if Ash wasn’t such an idiot! But he was and we ended up with 3 cheesy but brilliant series culminating in an unbelievable Deadite (or Kandarin demon) versus human battle.
Now, here’s the kicker for me. If Ash has had the Necronomicon in his possession for the 30 years he’s been in hiding, which we can only assume he has, how is it at the cabin in The Evil Dead if it’s a sequel to the original films and not a remake.
Bates Motel
Interestingly, this series and the film its story precedes are based on the book Psycho by Robert Bloch. I had assumed that reading the plot of the book, it would contain some of Norman’s early life, inspiring parts of Bates Motel and the addition of characters like Norman’s half-brother Dylan, however the crux seems simply to be that of the 1960 film. The five seasons follow the lives of Norma and Norman Bates, played by Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore respectively, from the purchase of the motel all the way up the arrival of Marion Crane, originally played by Janet Leigh in the original film. In all honesty, with the casting of Rhianna in this role I thought there was a possibility that they were lining up to make another remake of the original film. This would be hard to make however, considering the series changes Marion’s fate leaving her alive and driving off into the sunset instead of reenacting the famous shower scene. Even though all 5 seasons watch Norman grow into the man previously played by Anthony Perkins, the most important parts to watch in relation to the film it seems are series 4 and 5 as these include the death of Norma Bates and focus on the schizophrenia of Norman, the personality of “Mother” taking over here and there. With all this in mind, is it technically a prequel series or does it tell the story of Norman Bates from beginning to end, removing the need to connect it to the film. The film is also the only reflection of the book as the storyline follows it much closer than the series.
Love, Victor
I guess, unlike most of the other TV series featured in this article, this series is actually more of a spin-off from the original film, Love, Simon. Both the film and the TV series follow a male lead character and his journey of discovery regarding his sexual orientation. The main connection between the two is that Victor reaches out directly to Simon throughout the series and he becomes his inspiration to finally being able to be himself. In the opening episode, they quite openly reference the film and Simon’s romantic moment with Bram at the Winter Carnival. What is weird is that I was more invested in the TV series than I was in the film. Maybe because of the fact that we knew from the beginning that Simon was gay and, in my opinion anyway, it didn’t need to be nearly 2 hours long to discover that the person Simon believed to be Blue about 30 minutes in turned out to be Blue after all. Instead, I became invested in the idea that Victor could be into either Mia or Benji or both.
Teen Wolf
I guess some would say that this part works both ways, seeing as there is now a Teen Wolf film that follows the TV series but I have the feeling that it is more of a “wrap-up” film – a little like The Peacekeeper Wars and Farscape, they needed something to end everything but didn’t have enough to make a final series. It has actually amazed me in the past that I have felt like I have needed to remind people that the 80s film exists because they have spoken like the TV series is an original idea. Unlike Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it seems that the TV series decided to re-write the story of the original Teen Wolf film. For example, in the original film – Scott Howard, played by Michael J Fox, inherits the genes of the werewolf from his father whereas in the TV series it follows the typical idea of becoming a werewolf, by being attacked by another one. I get the feeling they wanted to make the story their own, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that but they lost the feel-good element that made the film so enjoyable. I also feel like they tried to make the series a little too cool.
