What’s It All About, “Alf”?

Exploring the Classic TV Dichotomy

A reboot of Murphy Brown premiered on CBS last fall, along with a remake of Magnum P.I. The original Roseanne was recently rebooted on ABC then booted off the air and replaced with The Connors (a spin-off of a reboot!).

What’s the dealio? What’s with the classic TV craze? Why are the original classic TV shows and their redos so remarkably popular? Or to combine a classic 1966 TV film song with a classic TV sci-fi/fantasy sitcom character, “What’s it all about, ‘Alf’”?

Here’s a few answers:

1] A good idea is a good idea, whether it was created and aired in the past or whether it’s reimagined or rerun in the present.

2] The original shows are just as popular as their subsequent new editions (MacGyver, Hawaii Five-O, etc.) because of the quality in storytelling and presentation. All good stories have a beginning, middle, and an end, no matter how lengthy a period it may take to tell that story. Back in the day, the story for a one-hour drama or a half-hour comedy was told within that given time-frame. Today, it may take five or six episodes of a contemporary series, half-hour or hour, to complete one storyline, or sometimes, even an entire season. So, there’s that: the appeal of a classic TV show’s ability to tell its story in one full scoop.