There are TV series that have been made into motion pictures:

Dennis the Menus
The Little Rascals
Wild Wild West
The Untouchables
The Brady Bunch (and sequel)
Starsky and Hutch
The Addams Family (and sequel)
The Dukes of Hazzard
Leave it to Beaver
S.W.A.T.
Shaft
(and the list keeps growing)

What do all of these movies have in common? They have hired other actors to play the characters and have given some of the original cast cameos in the movie. Some of these movies listed above, have been over-exaggerated with some of the shows themes or situations to try to appeal to the audience.

I can think of only one show that made it to the big screen without changing its characters or theme of the show: Star Trek. Has Star Trek been successful in doing it this way? Darn right. They’ve had sequel after sequel after sequel.

Why couldn’t Happy Days cross over like Star Trek? I'm not hoping for several sequels, but I think it's about time that a good movie should be made from a great TV show without giving the roles to other actors.
What do you think?
Is it possible?
Or did Star Trek have such an obviously huge following (as proven in the fans who dress up to follow the conventions across the country)?
Could a number one show like Happy Days that aired for 11 years with 255 episodes that are still shown today make that same move?

What do you think?

I just found out this very moment on TV. The actor who played Scotty from Star Trek passed in his sleep. He was 85.
RIP

Love to see it.

It would be hard for me to watch some other actor's protraying Fonzie, Richie and the rest. When Starsky & Hutch ( the movie ) came out it was okay. I was thrilled to see David & Paul appear in the movie though. They were talking about making a Magnum P.I. movie, now if it didn't star Tom I would never see it.

I would love to see that happen. Though I agree with ponytail, it wouldn't be the same without the real actors.

"Happy Days, the retirement years", I can see it now~!!! :rolleyes:

I can think of only one show that made it to the big screen without changing its characters or theme of the show: Star Trek. Has Star Trek been successful in doing it this way? Darn right. They’ve had sequel after sequel after sequel.

[/QUOTE]


I've thought about this myself. However, Star Trek was made only 8 years after the original ended. The actors were still young enough to do it, and space was a good setting for big screen special effects. Star Trek also had a premis that allowed you to do anything. With time travel and going to unexplored planets, you could do anything and it not be considered very odd or out of touch with the show. However, most shows don't have that luxury. Happy days is even tougher because it's a time piece. Although I would have loved a reunion movie, it would have been odd. Suppose they had done one 10 years after. That would take the show into the 1970's. It might be ok to see everyone else in the 70s, but Fonzie would have needed an extreme makeover. Would anyone really want to see him matured and dressing like Mr. C. Or perhaps he went with the cool flow and let his hair grow and got into disco. Or perhaps he's still running around with his leather jacket, slicked back hair, and a black date book and being called a nut by the younger generation. I would love a good reunion movie with original actors, but it's often tough. I don't care much for the others they make either.

ive seen alot of these tv shows made into movies but the only ones i really liked is the brady movies where the make fun of the original series. i don't like when other actors play the characters we've all grown to love it tends to cheapens the original shows.