LogFAQs > #923334767

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Yeah, but I'd say both of those examples sort of prove my point more than disprove it. Both are cases where the new series kind of pissed off most fans of the original versions (doubly so in Battlestar's case, because it preempted and ruined attempts by Richard Hatch to get an actual remake/reboot/continuation of the original series that was more faithful to the original), and both only really succeeded because they were able to cultivate an entirely new audience (in Doctor Who's case, almost entirely due to David Tennant).

Ironically, both of those shows also went on to alienate that new audience (albeit in different ways), hurting themselves in the long-run. Battlestar tanked hard after the writers' strike, and when the audience realized the writers had absolutely no idea what the answers were to any of the questions they were asking (see also, Lost Syndrome), and Doctor Who's been slowing bleeding off viewers as the writing keeps getting worse/lazier and with the general perception of the overtones getting more and more social justice-y.

The problem with that assessment is that the shows in their ORIGINAL runs went on to alienate fans and that they came so long after their original run that many of their original fans weren't able to watch the programs in their nursing homes. More so, you're arguing that these shows are ultimately failing because they've either ended or hit fatigue, but the same is literally true of the original --- and, I should note, the Battlestar remake ran far longer than the original show.

And the Whoboot's declining quality aside, it had a number of great episodes and seasons.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

But there are plenty of other examples of properties that were rebooted drastically different from the original, which alienated the original audience, and which failed as a result. Arguably, the current situation with Star Trek might fall into that category.

Star Trek is a weird example because it's had multiple spinoffs, etc, at this point. The first effective reboot, TNG, ran twice as long as the original. And even cult favorites like DS9 had reasonably long runs.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

From the perspective of FFVII, it probably will do well - with people who never played FFVII (especially since they're likely aware of its reputation), or who are fans of that genre of gaming in general (ie, the same people who bought FFXV), and because pervasive pre-order culture mentality will have people buying it before reviews come out to dissuade them. But the fans who've actually been pushing to get the game made for 20 years are also the ones most likely to backlash hardest against it - Squeenix won't care because a lot of them will still BUY it (again, the entire point of pre-order culture), but they'll also slag it off big-time online. Which in turn will probably fuck Squeenix over because they stupidly decided to release this thing episodically, which means later episodes are going to suffer from whatever backlash the first episode creates.

So then you're arguing that FFVII isn't banking on nostalgia? >_>

Frankly, having played the original, I'm MORE excited for the new version with these changes whereas I and countless others who played the original might simply feel fatigue at a mere graphical update.
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