Examples of Milking a Franchise After It's Lifespan Ended

[ChrisMWaters]

OK, recently I was watching the Ghostbusters movies on my OnDemand service...and it got me to thinking...

 

What are some examples of trying to milk a dead franchise?

 

How this relates to that first part was back around...97 I think it was...when they released "Extreme Ghostbusters"...years after the original series past us by.

 

Anyone have any others?

[Corey_Lazarus]

Oh, be fair...XGB wasn't THAT bad of a cartoon. In some aspects it actually owned the original's. I liked the re-done theme, I found the Eduardo/Kylie relationship to be some decent writing that actually grew throughout the show's existence, and the re-imagining of the gear was nifty. Plus, the effects given when the blasters are going off (with the changes in color and such) was a nice touch. Of course, the character design was lame and the plots weren't usually as good (but there were some damn fine ones), but hey. I wish it'd been on longer and not in syndication, but rather on a network that didn't suck like UPN (at least that's where we got it up in MA).

 

Milking a dead franchise...I'ma have to say Police Academy. Oh yeah, I went there. And every Revenge of the Nerds sequel after Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise. 3 and 4 were the drizzling shits.

[Red Baron]

Star Wars.

 

Six movies. Fine, not a problem. Just please stop re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-releasing them.

[cabbageboy]

The only Police Academy movie I'd consider milking a dead franchise is Part 7: Mission to Moscow. Though I suppose Guttenberg purists would insist the franchise was dead after part 4.

 

To me this begins and ends with the various horror series like Friday the 13th and Halloween. Those kept going long after they should have stopped.

[ChrisMWaters]

Corey: I never said it was bad...I'm just saying that it came out after the Ghostbusters franchise died out, and before the nostalgia kick that's been going around recently started up.

 

And at least they didn't totally forget about the original toon (even though they couldn't use TOO much from it...long copyright story there), and had the original Ghostbusters appear in a 2 parter (which I wanna see, for the record)

 

And horror movies are a good example.

[DrVenkman PhD]

My time line might be a bit off, but Dan Akroyd was probably working in the 700th Ghostbusters III script when EGB came out. I don't really follow the legalese of the whole thing, but there was also something with EGB in regards to Sony (Columbia) owning the rights to make a new animated series but NOT the rights to the art designs from RGB (which CMW eluded to) so it ended up looking exactly like the MIB cartoon (which I'm sure was a cost cutting issue as well). I think I read one episode has a Dr. Venkman statue in a background but, like a WWF scratch logo, is blurred.

 

There's probably a whole bunch of things we could say that are really obvious and some that aren't so much, but off the top of my head:

 

"Vacation" - I actually JUST saw the first two Vacation films this weekend but I've been enjoying Christmas Vacation annually since 2000. I don't really think we needed a Vegas Vacation 8 years later, but that film is probably gold compared to the made for TV "Christmas Vacation 2" sequel.

 

Speaking of made for TV sequels, what the hell was the deal with the 3rd Brady Bunch movie? Yeah, I think the first film is awesome and funny (yeah, I'll admit it) and the second one is ok, but did they need to make a 3rd one for TV years after the 1st movie was such a surprise hit? No. Same goes for the 3rd Addams Family (direct to video) film they made, which I guess was the basis for a new TV show that didn't last very long.

 

More obvious choices would be Rocky VI or the upcoming (I think) Jurassic Park IV. JP3 was not really a welcome addition either.

[EdwardKnoxII]

Robocop. The 1st is one of my favorite movies. Then Marvel did a cartoon based on it which I liked as a kid. The 2nd was ok even if it went over alot stuff that was done better in the first. But, then comes Robocop 3, Weller leaves, they kill off Ann and that whole dumb jetpack thing on Robo.

 

Then we have the watered down TV series, another cartoon and that damn miniseries that I could only watch about 5 minutes cause it seemed to be going over stuff that was done way better. And at one point there was talk of a remake.

[Black Lushus]

Vacation and Christmas Vacation should have been it.

 

Robocop needs no remake, those rat bastards...the movie is fabulous in it's own right.

 

Personally, I'd love to see Ghostbusters 3, but it'd HAVE to be Bill Murray, Dan Aakroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson...last I heard, Murray was being a dick so fat chance of this ever happening.

 

Police Academy...eh that's a tough one...obviously Mission to Moscow should have never been made. I guess I'm in the Guttenburg camp, 5 and 6 would have been better with him in them. I've heard talks of remaking this as well.

[EdwardKnoxII]

Police Academy...eh that's a tough one...obviously Mission to Moscow should have never been made. I guess I'm in the Guttenburg camp, 5 and 6 would have been better with him in them. I've heard talks of remaking this as well.

 

Not a remake but, a reunion movie with the old cast. All of them are still alive cept "Tuckleberry".

[muzz]

Home Alone 4 should never have been made, even if it was a TV/Video deal. Honestly, it was so awful I was angered by it.

[cd213]

Police Academy...eh that's a tough one...obviously Mission to Moscow should have never been made. I guess I'm in the Guttenburg camp, 5 and 6 would have been better with him in them. I've heard talks of remaking this as well.

 

Not a remake but, a reunion movie with the old cast. All of them are still alive cept "Tuckleberry".

 

Not happening. On IMDB they had up for a while the cast listing for a new Police Academy movie. It was taken down recently.

[Black Lushus]

Home Alone 4 should never have been made, even if it was a TV/Video deal. Honestly, it was so awful I was angered by it.

 

hell, Home Alone 2 was pushing it, but Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were great so it worked.

[DrVenkman PhD]

I heard Home Alone 4 had the nerve to re-use the Mcalister family and change their ages and such and French Stewart was supposed to be playing Harry. If they needed to make it, which they didn't, I don't see why they couldn't have just used a new family or the family from the 3rd movie (which was already a sequel too many).

[muzz]

Home Alone 4 should never have been made, even if it was a TV/Video deal. Honestly, it was so awful I was angered by it.

 

hell, Home Alone 2 was pushing it, but Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were great so it worked.

 

Agreed, they were a couple of fun characters, which makes the movie work even if it really shouldn't. Having Culkin again helped too, it just doesn't work with any other kid.

[EdwardKnoxII]

I heard Home Alone 4 had the nerve to re-use the Mcalister family and change their ages and such and French Stewart was supposed to be playing Harry. If they needed to make it, which they didn't, I don't see why they couldn't have just used a new family or the family from the 3rd movie (which was already a sequel too many).

 

At the rate they're going they might as well bring back the old cast and do a Home Alone movie like they showed in The Critic back in the day.

 

Home Alone 5:

 

"We've left Kevin home alone and he's only 22."

 

*Cut to Kevin with stubble and a cigar in his mouth*

 

AHHHH.

[Black Lushus]

Short Circuit 2 was absolutely needed!

[the max]

No mention of Stallone making Rocky 6 and a new Rambo yet? Wow.

[Black Lushus]

I can't lie...Rocky 6 looks...interesting...

[Guest NYankees]

I heard Home Alone 4 had the nerve to re-use the Mcalister family and change their ages and such and French Stewart was supposed to be playing Harry. If they needed to make it, which they didn't, I don't see why they couldn't have just used a new family or the family from the 3rd movie (which was already a sequel too many).

 

 

Dont forget that there were only 3 kids this time in the movie and I think Kevin was the oldest out of all of them.

[Dobbs 3K]

Heck, even when I was only about 13 or so I thought Home Alone 2 sucked...it just blatantly recycled the plot from the first movie.

 

Speaking of Ghostbusters, how come they never did a third movie just for the sake of a trilogy?

[yankovic fan]

James Bond

[bob_barron]

Home Alone 2 is better then Home Alone 1. He throws a brick at him. Come on.

 

And in Home Alone 4, French Stewart was Harry's brother.

 

Let's not hate on Rocky Balboa.

[Black Lushus]

nothing beats Daniel Stern screaming like a girl when Kevin puts the spider on his face.

[cabbageboy]

Speaking of Police Academy, isn't is surprising that there are only 2 in the series that have both Guttenberg and GW Bailey? Harris isn't even in parts 2 and 3, so it's really just the 1st film and the 4th that both are in (which are my faves in the series).

 

I don't think James Bond is a series that will ever wear out its welcome. Every once in a while it gets a bit stale so they get a new actor and freshen it up.

[Dobbs 3K]

Surprised no one has mentioned "Friday the 13th" or "Nightmare on Elm Street" yet.

 

Oh, and as for cartoons, what about Transformers? There's been like a dozen different series around the same basic premise, plus another movie coming out soon.

[Jonathon]

Jurassic Park, especially since rumors of the plot for part 4 have leaked.

[Der Kommissar]

Any sequel that stars French Stewart(Home Alone 4 + Inspector Gadget 2).

 

I won't say Problem Child 2, because I liked it, but I never really saw the point of doing Problem Child 3. It was reduced to being a TV movie starring William Kaat, and basically erased everything that happened in the second one. What was the point?

 

Interestingly, I saw George of the Jungle 2 awhile back, and that was surprisingly better than I expected it to be. It seemed like the writers knew they were a direct to video sequel that really shouldn't have been made, and they had fun with it.

 

I don't think James Bond is a series that will ever wear out its welcome. Every once in a while it gets a bit stale so they get a new actor and freshen it up.

 

I tend to agree with that statement. I doubt they'll ever be another franchise that manages to last 21 movies. Heck, most are practically on life support by the time the 3rd movie comes out. Sure, Bond has his misfires, but I think I would rather watch From a View to a Kill than most of the movies mentioned above, any day.

[Black Lushus]

Oh, and as for cartoons, what about Transformers? There's been like a dozen different series around the same basic premise, plus another movie coming out soon.

 

I'm a Transformers nut, but that only goes as far as Generation 1 (the first series 1984-1987 and the original Marvel comic run)...the rest is garbage. Even the newer TF comics (though the art work is beautiful). Now, as for the movie, I am going to see it just because, but my expectations aren't very high.

[geniusMoment]

I think the new Rocky looks pretty good.

[Craig Th]

The Beethoven franchise. The first two were cute little family movies, but then they had the three straight to video ones. And the dog didn't even look the same. They couldn't get a St. Bernard that looked like the dog from the first 2.

 

Final Destination was too much after the first one.

 

The Bad News Bears sequels ruined a classic. I love the remake though.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was ruined because they just made two horrible sequels, especially the third. Even as a kid I realized it was ridiculous. They had something great with the first one.