“So you want to do a 1980s version of the Nicholas Cage, and John Travolta movie Face Off as a T.V. movie with two military characters from two different shows?”
“Yes, I do, I say to my boss at Streaming Channel 123XYZ. “Many shows from my 1980s childhood are coming back in new reiterations or sequels. Look what happened with 21 Jump Street with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. The comedy/drama made over $200 million, and the sequel 22 Jump Street earned over $300 million in theaters. Now I know we will not be getting this in theaters and, instead, be small-scale like the new gritty and dramatic Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I am sure you know there are plans for a second season.
“I do. Okay, which two military characters are you thinking of?”
“Templeton “Faceman” Peck from A-Team and Michael Long, aka Michael Knight from Knight Rider. Both men are handsome, friendly with the ladies, like a specific car model, and enjoy the good things in life when not aiding good people who experience a great wrong. I think we can take this to a new level with a Face-Off twist.”
My boss closes his eyes, turns his head to one side, makes a cringy face for a couple of seconds, then faces me again. “Look, I understand your enthusiasm, but I do not see any situation where these two goody characters would go off the rails ala Face-Off unless it is Garthe Knight. However, I will have you know Michael Knight and Garthe Knight did square off in the Knight Rider series. Neither one needed to exchange faces with one another.
“Sir, it can work with new actors. We cannot use the original actors too old, not to mention Hasselhoff is 6’4 compared to Dirk Benedict at 5’11. Just thinking about their different strides and builds makes one dizzy. Hasselhoff has an athletic build, and Benedict is slender. The new actors will be close in height or the same. The time the two come to blows happens after Stephanie “Stevie” March Mason’s murder. Michael Knight goes off the rails seeking revenge. The Foundation for Law and Government, F.L.A.G., want to save Knight, and they contact the A-team to help. Knight takes out most of the team. We will get new actors to portray the rest of the members of the A-Team. Knight knocks off each member one by one. He poisons B.A. Baracus’s milk, and he poisons Hannibal’s cigars, and on it goes with the last man standing being Faceman.”
My boss sighs deeply and says, The Knight Rider series has seven iterations as either a T.V. show or movie. Michael Knight never went off the rails after Stevie’s death. He went on to head F.L.A.G., and his son joined him. In contrast, the A-Team got five seasons and ended with the A-Team working on getting pardoned, which is ironic since they did get framed. Unfortunately, the evidence to clear them got destroyed in a fire. The show’s ratings were not the greatest but not terrible. The film version with Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson fell short of 78 million in its theater run, not making back its $110 million budget. I am sure Glen A Larson, the creator of Knight Rider, and Stephen J Cannel and Frank Lupo, who created A-Team, would agree if living now that your idea is going in the trash bin and staying there.”
