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Being Human
The Show: Amid a proliferation of angst-ridden Vampire weepathons, BBC3’s quirky supernatural drama struck upon the genius concept of taking a bloodsucker, pairing him with a werewolf and a ghost and bunging them in the mundane situ of a flatshare in Bristol. Naturally there were all sorts of mythological goings-on to follow, but the laugh-out-loud humour surrounding their attempts to live a normal life meant Being Human stood out from a crowded field.
The Movie Version: The show has already been ported over for a US remake, so the concept has obviously got legs. This could work on the big screen as a more light-hearted Underworld in which Vampires wrestle with humankind for supremacy, whilst the ghosts and werewolves meander round chucking their oar in left right and centre.
Cast: Colin Farrell can have Aidan Turner’s role as the lead vampire, with Colin Hanks as George the werewolf and Zoe Saldana as Annie the ghost.
Original Cast Cameo: Turner returns as the ghost of the long-dead Mitchell. Can vampires return as ghosts? A bit of lore-tweaking should iron that issue out.
How Likely Is It? Original creator Toby Whithouse has had to fight tooth and nail to keep getting the show re-commissioned so we’d say this one is fairly unlikely. Still, there’s always room for another vampire movie…
Lost
The Show: J.J. Abrams' mind-bending mystery drama might have seemed as though it was riding by the seat of its pants at times, but when it was good it was very good indeed. With a general air of unease pervading its best moments, Lost could switch between supernatural scares to heartfelt human relationships in the blinking of an eye, which is why so many retained patience with it right up until the head-scratching finale.
The Movie Version: They’d have a job on condensing six season’s worth of drip-fed exposition into one movie, but the original concept of a plane crash on a mysterious island could work, particularly if the writers decided on a clearly unambiguous ending. The oft mooted idea that the passengers were killed on impact, and are sorting out their demons in the afterlife, would probably be the best bet here.
Cast: Sam Worthington has got the same kind of honest-joe look to him as Matthew Fox, so we’ll cast him as Jack, with Rachel McAdams toughening up to play Kate. Jonah Hill seems the obvious choice for Hurley (no offence Jonah) with Channing Tatum as southern hothead Sawyer.
Original Cast Cameo: Terry Quinn pitches up again as a mysterious, unnamed old man. Wait, didn’t Lock die? Why yes, several times. Confused yet? Good.
How Likely Is It? Not very, given the writers spent the best part of a decade writing themselves out of a corner in the first place!
I'm Alan Partridge
The Show: The painfully funny exploits of failed chat-show host Alan Partridge as he adjusts to life in the lower echelons of fame, as host of a Norfolk-based radio show. Steve Coogan’s character is a once-in-a-lifetime creation, which might explain why he keeps going back to him. Not that we’re complaining. All together now… “stop getting Bond wrong!”
The Movie Version: This could go one of two ways. Either Steve Coogan takes charge of the project himself, stops wasting his time on those Foster’s-sponsored shorts and makes the film everyone would like to see, in which Alan’s slide into obscurity is played out in one feature-length special. Or it gets commissioned out to America, recast, and turned into a more profitable, saleable product…
Cast: Yep, the second of those two options is probably the more likely isn’t it? No doubt Steve Carrell will be given first refusal, with Kristen Wiig taking on the role of put-upon assistant Lynne.
Original Cast Cameo: Coogan steals the show with his two-minute cameo as the original Alan, now seen fronting a conservative phone in show on cable TV.
How Likely Is It? A Partridge project has been in the development stage for a number of years, but as yet, has failed to make any concrete progress. A story had apparently been decided upon last year, but as yet, that’s all we know about it…
Deadwood
The Show: A wonderfully lyrical snap-shot of life in the Old West, set in the gold-mining camp of Deadwood, and charting the settlement’s early steps into a civilisation governed by law and order. Timothy Olyphant is resolute as the morally upstanding sheriff, but it’s Ian McShane who really bosses proceedings, turning the air blue as conniving landlord Al Swearengen.
The Movie Version: When the show was prematurely cancelled, there was initially some talk of a pair of TV movies being commissioned to tie up any remaining loose ends. That never happened sadly, and of all the shows on this list, Deadwood would be the one we’d most like to see resurrected on the big screen. If a direct continuation of the series would be too much to ask, then a similarly scripted Western would be equally welcome…
Cast: The TV show left the story of grasping prospector George Hearst somewhat incomplete, so why not tell the tale of the bloody battle that waged between his brand of “civilisation” and the old routine of blood-letting and lawlessness. We’ll have Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the smarmy Hearst, with Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner as the outlaws determined to undermine his expansionism.
Original Cast Cameo: Ian McShane has to be in it in some capacity, or we may as well forget the whole thing right now!
How Likely Is It? Sadly, this one looks as dead as dead can be. Why the show was cancelled we’ll never know. A real tragedy.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The Show: What started as a relatively low-key cop show focusing on a group of Vegas criminologists using forensic evidence to piece together grisly murders, has exploded into a franchise of gigantic proportions, with more than six hundred episodes having been aired to date. Not bad for a show in which most of the drama is solved under the microscope.
The Movie Version: Mark Ruffalo takes over from William Petersen in this prequel to the television show, in which we see just how Gil Grissom earned his stripes and rose up the ladder to become the brilliant genius we know and love.
Cast: Ruffalo is supported by love interest Michelle Monaghan and rookie CSI Shawn Ashmore.
Original Cast Cameo: William Petersen plays Ruffalo’s dad in an excruciating moment of nudge-nudge wink-wink indulgence.
How Likely Is It? Petersen said that a CSI movie was in the works back in 2009, and that he was keen to reprise his role as Grissom. However, as nothing much more has been said on the subject since, we’ll have to stick this one firmly in the “rumour” category.
Eastbound & Down
The Show: Danny McBride plays bluff, meatheaded loser Kenny Powers in this broad but funny sports comedy. If your not a fan of McBride’s other work (Powers is remarkably similar to McBride’s character in Tae Kwon Do comedy The Foot Fist Way ) you probably won’t find much here to change your mind, but for those who revel in his particular brand of buffoonery, it’s a treat.
The Movie Version: We could just see this being rebooted for the big screen, with the first half of the movie chronicling Powers’ meteoric rise to fame, and the second telling of how he lost it all and ended up as a PE teacher.
Cast: Danny McBride’s leading man credentials are soon to go under the microscope in Your Highness later this year, but Will Ferrell would be the most obvious like for like replacement, if we were recasting the role with a bona fide A-lister in mind.
Original Cast Cameo: Perhaps McBride could cameo as one of Ferrell’s teammates. Bit of a comedown, sure, but money is money…
How Likely Is It? We haven’t heard any talk surrounding a potential movie version as yet, but were McBride to make a significant Hollywood breakthrough in the next few years, we’d be surprised if it wasn’t discussed.
Entourage
The Show: Wildly successful comedy drama following the life of Hollywood wannabe Vincent Chase as he tries to crack the big time in Los Angeles. His old New York buddies are on board to supply the bromance, whilst all the funniest lines go to Jeremy Piven’s snarling agent-from-Hell, Ari Gold.
The Movie Version: There’s definitely the germ of a movie idea in there somewhere, and we haven’t had a good Hollywood satire for a while. We’re thinking something along the lines of Boogie Nights meets Swimming With Sharks …
Cast: You’d need a fresh face to convince as the Vincent character, so we’ll opt for Emile Hirsch, a moderately big name, but still young enough to convince as a wannabe actor. As for his older brother “Drama” we’ll have Scott Marsden, whilst Tom Cruise would make for a great bit of stunt casting as Hirsch’s short-tempered, acid-tongued agent.
Original Cast Cameo: Jeremy Piven subverts his Ari Gold persona by appearing as a meek, jobbing actor, one of the lesser lights on Cruise’s books.
How Likely Is It? Creator Doug Ellin is supposedly planning to write a feature film after the end of the eighth series, although as yet, the project is very much at the planning stage. Sounds promising though.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Show: Larry David’s comedy of embarrassment just gets better with age, with each new season bringing a new set of social faux pas that were even more excruciating than the last. The Seinfeld reunion storyline provided a particularly rich seam of humour, particularly through the on-screen chemistry between Jerry and Larry. Although we’re still waiting for something to make us laugh more than the “Beloved Cunt” obituary…
The Movie Version: Obviously we’re not thinking of a direct port over to celluloid. However, we like the idea of a Larry-esque character caught in an action movie scenario, perhaps a hostage situation, in which everything he says or does makes the situation that little bit worse.
Cast: Ben Stiller’s Greenberg persona could work here. Crotchety and oblivious to social convention, but with some great comic timing to boot…
Original Cast Cameo: Cheryl Hines appears as a fellow hostage, increasingly exasperated by Stiller’s continuing tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
How Likely Is It? Whatever Works was about as close too a Curb movie as we’re ever going to get, but we don’t see why this shouldn’t work as a standalone action comedy…
30 Rock
The Show: Tina Fey’s ace ensemble comedy is arguably the best US comedy of the last few years, what with its cast of bizarre but loveable characters, wilfully silly throwaway gags and pitch perfect casting. Now, be honest…who else wishes MILF Island was a real show?
The Movie Version: A screwball comedy set within the world of TV could work, perhaps in a similarly spoof-ish fashion as Anchorman treated the news-reading business? Perhaps the sketch-show’s leading performers could be manic depressives off-stage? Or, their egos could be played up to monstrous levels as they are in the original series. Either way, there’s scope for a lot of laughs here.
Cast: Okay, so this might seem out there, but what about Robin Williams as the lead funnyman in the show-within-the-film, whose constant punning and gag-making leaves him loathed by his co-workers. Meanwhile, Anna Faris could play his ditzy egotistical co-star, with a made-under Michelle Monaghan playing the Tina Fey role as the exasperated writer attempting to hold it all together.
Original Cast Cameo: Alec Baldwin should probably be in there somewhere, perhaps as a lascivious crew member.
How Likely Is It? There’s about as much chance of a real life Who Dat Ninja? than a 30 Rock movie. Sorry. Black Cop / White Cop is coming soon though…
Arrested Development
The Show: A critically acclaimed comedy based around that most reliable of comic tropes: the dysfunctional family. Boasting a brilliant cast including the likes of Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor, the show was continually raved about in the press, but never really got the ratings Fox were after, and was cancelled after just three series. Shame.
The Movie Version: You could recast all the roles and reboot this as a Little Miss Sunshine -esque indie comedy, maybe using Arnett’s character’s magic career as the equivalent to that film’s beauty pageant angle.
Cast: Luke Wilson could take on the Bateman role as the upstanding head of the household, with Owen Wilson playing his clownish older brother, and Christina Applegate playing his flamboyant sister. Inevitably, Wes Anderson steps up to the plate to direct.
Original Cast Cameo: Will Arnett returns as a rival magician. That would be worth the price of admission alone.
How Likely Is It? A movie has long been mooted post-cancellation, with Ron Howard set to direct and all the original cast members returning to reprise their original roles. According to Howard, creator Mitch Hurwitz is in the process of creating a script as we speak…
