Film Junk Poll: What is the Best Movie Based on a TV Show?

Posted by on May 11th, 2012   Filed under: Polls

With the release of 21 Jump Street earlier this year and now Dark Shadows, I thought that movies based on TV shows might be an appropriate topic. Of course, there have been quite a few TV adaptations in recent years, but when you narrow it down to just the good ones, the list is a lot more manageable. I still fully expect to see complaints about favourites that have been left off the poll, as well as some debate over the validity of a big screen reboots versus movies that continue the story with the same cast. Personally I think that both can work. What is your favourite movie based on a TV show? Cast your vote in this week’s poll and then sound off in the comments below.

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  • Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!

  • I’d like to give an honourable mention to Batman (1966) which features the entire Rogues Gallery of Villains (Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman).

    It also has one of the best cheesy lines ever when Adam West as Batman, in an attempt to safely dispose of a bomb but after all his options have seemingly been exhausted, exclaims, “Some days, you just cant get rid of a bomb!” http://youtu.be/T3B_SXQk02g

  • Bob

    The Fugitive. No doubt about it.

  • South Park is my personal favourite film of all time, so easy pick.

  • patrik

    Serenity by far.. I was disappointed by Wrath of Khaan, didn’t hold up to the hype.

  • James

    I think Wrath of Khan lived up to the hype when it actually was released in 82. I was 16 and clearly remember how much more me and my friends enjoyed it compared to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (which as I type, I realize what a funny title that seems now!) That said, I didn’t totally dislike ST:TMP even though I was likely too young to catch any nuances etc. Wrath of Khan now, fun as it is, didn’t seem quite so good when I last saw it.

  • Cy-Ed

    no love for the A-team?

  • Me

    In the Loop

  • Borat was a TV show?

    There’s lots of good options here but it’s very hard to pick one because they’re all so different from one another. How can you really compare Police Squad, a show that ran for a measly 6 episodes, with Star Trek? And Wayne’s World… was that really a TV show? It was a segment on Saturday Night Live.

    In the end I went with what is not only a fantastic movie but also came from a long, running, established TV show while managing to keep its DNA intact in a wonderful way, all the while adding something special for the big screen, and that is the South Park movie.

    Would’ve been interesting to see South Park Vs. The Simpsons movie in the poll.

  • Anthony

    Tough pick between South Park and Naked Gun, but since I never saw Police Squad, and Love South park, I went with South Park.

  • Aaron

    Good choices, Sean. I went with The Untouchables even though I’ve never had a chance to see the TV show.

    A couple of other favorites of mine would be The Blues Brothers and The Muppet Movie.

  • Adrian

    What about Beavis & Butthead do America? As a movie, I thought it worked a lot better than the South Park one.

  • manjiscud

    Borat and Wayne’s world were sketches. Now that is out of the way please allow me address a tiny bit of frustration. A person’s personal liking or favorite does NOT make a film or television show good. It most certainly does NOT make it the BEST. Sean fucked up by using the word BEST in the headline and then asking for everyone’s favorite at the end of the article. Beyond that bit of confusion people seem to believe that they are so important and their opinions so valid that if they take a liking to a particular story than that one is inherently the paradigm of art. Not true. I voted based on what I thought was THE BEST. Based on story line, character development, genre representation, and aesthetics. My choice for best was by leaps and bounds “The Untouchables”. Reconciling that decision was not difficult even though by far my favorite is “Serenity”. I can accept that Brian De Palma was 10 times the filmmaker Joss Whedon was back in ’87. I can also accept the fact that I may have a favorite that doesn’t give much to cinema the away another does.

  • Scott Harrigan

    http://www.videodetective.com/movies/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol/877970

    I barely need to say anything else. Mission Impossible 3 was based on an okay television show and was the sequel to two sub par films. The movie still managed to kick massive amounts of ass. It was an exciting spy movie and an exciting action movie which is a lot more scarce than it should be these days.

  • #13
    You know these polls are not meant to be taken seriously right? They’re just a fun way to generate discussions. Best or favourite, it’s not a big deal.

  • Steve

    I think it’s hard not to go with The Fugitive. It was a tv show with a story arc that was not resolved until the finale. That might have made it a difficult adaptation, but they did it perfectly, in my mind. Quite possibly a perfect action/mystery/thriller. I still would not be surprised if it is remade again someday. Also, I love that score by James Newton Howard.

  • scoville

    It’s hard for me to compare movies that are a continuation of a series and those that are sort of a remake.

    Best continuations listed = Serenity and Wrath of Khan
    Best remake listed = The Fugitive
    Best adaptation of a TV sketch NOT listed = Blues Brothers

  • devolutionary

    MovieViewerMan, I always found the Shark exploding scene to be my favourite. That movie just keeps getting better on repeated viewings. Eat your heart out Jaws! “Hand me down…the shark repellant bat-spray!” http://youtu.be/X0UJaprpxrk

  • RattyJunior

    Fire Walk With Me gets some hate but i really liked it, just don’t don’t go into it expecting closure for twin peaks.