27 Trivia Nuggets from Pop Culture History for Friday, December 5, 2025

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35 TV Shows and Movies That Took a Wild Left Turn Somewhere Along the Way

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35

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 2001-2010 24 24 began strong, won awards, dwindled near the end, got a TV movie, the whole deal. 24: Legacy, on the other hand, did nothing new or interesting. Kiefer Sutherland and most of the cast were gone, and it only lasted one season. 24: Legacy 2017 CRACKED.COM — Source

34

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1983 V If V was to become a true sci-fi classic, it was going to be after the initial miniseries. But then the inferior continuation arrived, and the whole concept was done. The revival initially received good reviews, but then fizzled out. 2009 CRACKED.COM — Source

33

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1993-2002 The X-Files By the time the original run ended, the show had been declining for a while. The second movie sucked, and the revival was even worse. Its first season (the tenth) at least ended with the alien invasion we had been waiting for - except it was all just a vision. 2016-2018 CRACKED.COM — Source

32

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1990-1991 Twin Peaks Predictably, David Lynch's foray into TV changed it forever. Then, in 2017, Lynch gave us something indescribable, not a direct continuatio, but a highly experimental, erm, show? Movie? 2017 CRACKED.COM — Source

31

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1998-2004 Sex and the City Sex and the City was smart, groundbreaking, and way too white and straight even for the '90s. And Just Like That... took the path of chastising itself for not being woke enough, which made its concept of older white women learning about diversity just cringe. And Just Like That... 2021 CRACKED.COM — Source

30

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1989-1993 Saved by the Bell Yes, Zack Morris was a dick, but seeing him be a dick was so much fun. The movies and spin-offs were lame, but the revival smartly made fun of the classic show, while also telling new, compelling stories. 2020-2021 CRACKED.COM — Source

29

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1977 Roots Roots was a powerful, respectful miniseries that helped millions understand the history of slavery in the U.S. (and won a bunch of awards). The remake was very well received, had an impressive cast, and made some needed changes for historical accuracy's sake. 2016 CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Dexter

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 2006-2013 Dexter Dexter was a highly respected character study, until it became a meandering showcase of villains of the week, and had one of the worst endings ever. The revival was celebrated as a return to form, until Dexter was killed by his own son. Seriously, how do you have two awful endings? Dexter: New Blood 2021-2022 CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Roseanne

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now POWER ANY WACC ACES 1988-1997 Roseanne Roseanne was a beloved sitcom, for some reason. The revival started off strong, until Roseanne Barr engaged in actual, real-life racism-so the show killed her off and morphed into The Conners. 2018 CRACKED.COM — Source

26

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 2004-2007 2019 Veronica Mars Veronica Mars was a fascinating and surprisingly non-condescending teen-noir. The 2014 movie was pure fan service, but 2019's fourth season was one of the best revivals ever, moving forward while also exploring Veronica's inability to move forward. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1987-1990 DuckTales The new team had big shoes to fill-and fill them they did. The revival continues to have wacky adventuring, while also having much more depth than the original. The intro has nothing on the original, though, but at least they kept the iconic theme song. 2017-2021 GRACKED.COM — Source

24

The Twilight Zone

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1959-1964 The Twilight Zone No revival has ever gotten to the iconic, groundbreaking, just legendary heights of Rod Serling's original. Jordan Peele developed and hosted the latest one, and it was... fine? We associate Peele with awesome horror, but this wasn't it. 2019-2020 CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Boy Meets World

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1993-2000 Boy Meets World The original show was a beloved coming-of-age story. While not as impactful, the spin-off was well received for maintaining the style, updating the problems and lessons, and including including Cory Matthews as the wisdom-imparting teacher. Girl Meets World 2014-2017 CRACKED.COM — Source

22

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1992-1999 Mad About You The original was witty, sweet, and the two leads carried it with grace. The revival, however, was a waste. It ignored the original show's ending, and while the grace was still there, it wasn't witty enough and its sweetness was just too little, too late. 2019 CRACKED.COM — Source

21

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1988-1998 Murphy Brown For a hot moment in the '90s, Murphy Brown was the political comedy. The show was highly critical of politics, but at its best, also self-critical. The 2018 revival never went beyond, can you believe Trump is dumb and orange? It didn't stand a chance. 2018 CRACKED.COM — Source

20

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1972-1975 Kung Fu The original had many things going for it (starting with David friggin' Carradine), but the whitewashing was always tricky. The current revival has the CW's trademark cheesiness, but at least it shows some respect for actual Chinese culture and performers. 2022 CRACKED.COM — Source

19

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1990-1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air The original was hilarious and smart, so when the drama hit, it hit hard. Bel-Air is just grittiness for its own sake, a tonally monotonous, self-serious affair. Bel-Air 2022 CRACKED.COM — Source

18

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1987-1995 Full House The original show was kind of bland, but generally beloved for its sweetness and earnestness. The revival continued the blandness, only now trying raunchy humor, and no, it didn't work. Well, at least Bob Saget was cool. Fuller House 2016-2020 CRACKED.COM — Source

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17

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 1993-1998 2020 Animaniacs Animaniacs had all the absurdity, wordplay, and meta jokes our child brains needed to grow strong and deranged. The revival was well received for trying to capture the zaniness, but in a post-BoJack Horseman, post-Rick and Morty world, it struggles. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

TV Reboots and Revivals Then vs. Now 2003-2006 JUUSTERO COMPANY 2013-2015 Arrested Development Arrested Development was ahead of its time, anticipating the internet's absurdist, post-post-post- ironic humor. The Netflix-produced Season 4 was also fun, even if not at the same level. Then Season 5 came along, and it became clear that the show was over. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

I, Robot

GRACKED.COM I, Robot had nothing to do with Isaac Asimov at first. The script, originally titled Hardwired, was a classic, Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, which happened to involve robots. Then Fox acquired the right to Asimov's short stories collection, so the movie was reworked as the first in a series (which never took off). — Source

14

CRACKED.COM 12 Monkeys (the series) wasn't connected to 12 Monkeys (the movie). Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett never set out to make a show based on Terry Gilliams' film. Their idea for a time travel story was called Splinter. Their script was eventually retrofitted as a 12 Monkeys pilot. — Source

13

Evan wasn't supposed to be Almighty. The original script was titled The Passion of the Ark, and it was unrelated to Bruce Almighty. It was turned into a sequel after Jim Carrey declined to reprise his role. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Die Hard

Die Hard began as a sequel to a Sinatra movie. In 1968, Frank Sinatra starred in the movie adaptation of Roderick Thorp's The Detective. When the sequel novel Nothing Lasts Forever was filmed, Sinatra was in his 70s - so he declined to return, and the story was turned into Die Hard. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

The writer of Saw II wasn't aware that Saw existed. Darren Bousman was upset when he learned that his script The Desperate was very similar to this incoming movie named Saw. But it was precisely because it was so similar that it was made into a sequel. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Minority Report

CRACKED.COM Minority Report was going to be a Total Recall sequel. After the success of the Verhoeven/ Schwarzenegger team-up, Carolco Pictures turned to Minority Report as a follow-up. When Carolco went under, the project went to Fox and was put on hold for a decade. — Source

9

Ghosts of Mars

CRACKED.COM Ghosts of Mars almost had Snake Plissken. The studio lost interest in the Escape franchise after Escape from L.A. bombed. So John Carpenter changed Kurt Russell for Ice Cube and turned the project into a stand-alone film. — Source

8

A Possible Django Novel

CRACKED.COM The Hateful Eight started out as a Django novel. Quentin Tarantino had already written a good chunk of Django in White Hell, when he realized that Django didn't fit in the story. His role was given to Samuel L. Jackson's Marquis Warren. — Source

7

Cloverfield

The Cloverfield sequels weren't meant to be sequels. 10 Cloverfield Lane was written as The Cellar, and The Cloverfield Paradox was The God Particle. Both scripts were refactored to be part of the Cloverfield universe. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Cobra

Cobra was Sylvester Stallone's Beverly Hills Cop rewrite. Stallone was fired from his role as Axel Foley when he kept pushing to turn the movie into a non-comedic (and expensive) action flick. So he recycled his ideas into Cobra. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

CRACKED.COM Pitch Black came from a discarded Alien 3 script. Several scripts were written for Alien 3 before David Fincher took over. One of those was turned into Pitch Black, giving birth to Riddick. — Source

4

CRACKED.COM Final Destination was conceived for The X-Files. In 1994, Jeffrey Reddick wrote Flight 180, a script he intended for The X-Files, his favorite show. The original death cheater was Scully's brother. — Source

3

CRACKED.COM Cyborg was cobbled together from two different canceled movies. Cannon Films suddenly shut down Masters of the Universe 2 and a Spider-Man movie. The sets and costumes were hurriedly repurposed into a sci-fi film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. — Source

2

CRACKED.COM A sequel to The Professional was turned into a different movie. In Colombiana, Zoe Saldana plays Cataleya, a ruthless assassin out for revenge. The project was originally about Mathilda, Natalie Portman's character in The Professional. — Source

1

Scream

CRACKED.COM The Following was born from Scream. Kevin Williamson came up with The Following while working on Scream. Не also used ideas from his abandoned script for Scream 3. — Source

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