Reboots

I fail to understand where the need to reboot or rehash old television shows.  I also feel this way about movies.  I mean, how many times are we going to see Spider Man redone?  You can only retell a story so many times before it just loses it's appeal.  I like to see expanding or continuing stories, but not for shows that have been off air for fifteen years.

Off the top of my head, here's a list of shows that at one time were off air but now are back on or coming back on:

• Hawaii Five-O
• SWAT
• Will & Grace
• Rosanne
• The X-Files
• Mad About You

Reboots are the new spin offs.  It use to be, and in some cases still is, that if a show is successful you would see a spin off show.  All the (terrible) CSI and NCIS spin off shows.  All the (redundant) Law & Order spin off shows.  It isn't anything new or exciting whether it is a spin off or a reboot show.  It's just a new way for creators to make more money.  Which, good for them, but it isn't exciting for the viewers.  Reboots have a sense of nostalgia for the viewers.  They bring back memories of how great shows were when we first watched them.  However, if you are a new viewer to a show, what do you do?  Do you go back and watch the old show first?  Do you need to know the characters and their intricacies or can you just jump right in? 

That is why seeing original content from streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime) is great right now.  Especially because they can have better content and aren't restricted by the censors of network television channels.  Television executives are handcuffed by censors which might be why they just keep re-upping these shows.  Don't get me wrong, I watch both streaming shows and television shows.  It's just that television shows don't have anything new.  No new subjects to cover.  No new styles of shows.  How many cop/fire/ambulance shows do we actually need?  How many hospital shows do we need?