Good TV shows that were made into bad movies (2024)

Twentieth Century Fox

Let's give renowned director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World) a mulligan for this one. The famed 1960s (and early '70s) television series was a hit, but taking it to the big screen proved silly in a bad way. Perhaps the idea of Jim Varney starring as Jed Clampett was not a good idea. Some shows were just left to be made for television.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

You know you've messed up and flopped when your film receives a zero percentrating review on Rotten Tomatoes. The actual TV police series ran for a few years during the early 1960s and enjoyed some decent success. However, there was not much star power in the movie version unless David Johansen (post-New York Dolls), John C. McGinley, and Fran Drescher were considered big enough for the film to make it big at the box office. They were not.

Universal Pictures

OK, the film version of this beloved prehistoric cartoon was a box-office success (over $340 million international gross). It earned an even worse sequel, but this was a summer film, and people like to see movies during the summer. That said, John Goodman as Fred and Rosie O'Donnell as Betty seemed miscast in their roles, while the subject matter and dialogue were more mature and randy than in the fun-loving TV series.

Universal Pictures

Taken from The Phil Silvers Show of the 1950s, Steve Martin stars asthe famed Master Sergeant. Martin, Dan Aykroyd, and the late Phil Hartman could not save the movie from a screen disaster. The storyline is critical, and Bilko's penchant for schemes in this particular instance does not draw enough laughs to prevail.

Universal Studios

McHale's Navy was a funny but rather middling series in the '60s. Thefilm take was much worse. There were some decent stars (Debra Messing and Ernest Borgnine, the latter from the original series), but Tom Arnold in the lead should have been a red flag from the get-go. It made just $4.5 million in ticket sales, a flop beyond a flop. Thankfully, most have forgotten about this film.

Triumph Releasing Corporation

Somehow legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave this film three out of four stars. The movie had plenty of inside jokes regarding the famed original series. However, the screen version of Leave It to Beaver never worked because Jerry Mathers will always be the Beaver to any fan of the show. His TV parents, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley), and TV brother Wally (Tony Dow), can't be remade.

Walt Disney Pictures

Leslie Nielsen is up there with some of the great comedic actors of all time. Even she couldn't bring this animated favorite to life. Trying to bring cartoons to a live-action film format can be hit or miss. Sure, Nielsen's solid brand of physical comedy makes the movie somewhat tolerable, but for the most part, it was not enough to keep itabove water.

New Line Cinema

The 1960s TV series was quite popular, especially when it made it into syndication for other generations to enjoy. Science fiction films are usually popular, but this one was not, maybe because the characters were not up to par in the film — like TV's Jonathan Harris as the often surly Dr. Smith — even though the great Gary Oldman portrayed Dr. Smith. That usually tends to be the case with these TV-to-film projects.

Warner Bros.

Not to be confused with the folks from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this was actually a take on the popular British spy series from the 1960s. Though Hollywood heavyweights Sean Connery, Uma Thurman, and Ralph Fiennes were on board, they could not keep this flick from bombing. For those who remember this disaster, we're sorry.

20th Television

One of the best aspects of the late 1960s-early 1970s television series was that the characters were extremely cool while fighting crime. Pete (Michael Cole), Julie (Peggy Lipton), and Linc (Clarence Williams III) just had something about them that looked good (in addition to the bell-bottom pants) in the face of danger. On the big screen, Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi, and Omar Epps did not deliver that same punch and flare as the originals.

Warner Bros.

Not everything Will Smith touches turns to box office gold. Wild Wild West is an example. Loosely based on the spy/sci-fi TV series from the 1960s that also was remade into a television film, Smith and Kevin Kline star as Secret Service agents ordered to protect President Ulysses S. Grant.Sound questionable? The critical reception was even harsher. At least Smith got a hit song out of it (with help from Kool Moe Dee).

Walt Disney Pictures

The film version ofInspector Gadget enjoyed modest success at the box office ($134.4 million worldwide). Matthew Broderick was not bad in the lead role, but while there were enough pretty people in the cast, the overall plot and execution were clunky. Gadget was quirky, and Broderick did not come through effectively on screen.

Universal Pictures

Technically, "Dudley Do-Right" was a segment of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends show.He's a classic character who is adored in Canada. But was there a need to make a movie about him? Brendan Fraser did not do the role justice, and the jokes seemed forced most of the time. Another example of why television characters don't always need to be brought to life.

Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Commercial Appeal via Imagn Content Services, LLC/USA TODAY

The movie version grossed $207 million worldwide, which is a solid haul and commercially worth the effort. But even with Colin Farrell, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson in tow, there was not much of a "wow" factor that one would expect from an action movie with this level of star quality.

Columbia Pictures

The 1960s series featured Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. The film adaptationsaw Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson in the lead roles with Famke Janssen along for support. One of the big knocks on this mediocre film was that it did not have much in common with the popular series. That's not always a bad thing, but fans of the series might have expected a little more of an homage to the original.

Warner Bros.

There was no problem in making a movie version of this cool 1970s cop series. The problem was that Ben Stiller, and especially Owen Wilson, as the popular detectives, seemed to try too hard. Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul were smooth operators — on and off the job. The movie duo was more off the wall and a little too much. Now, Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear was spot-on.

Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports

Bill Cosby's personal life has fallen apart, but Fat Albert should still go down as one of the all-time great animated series. However, it fell flat when it was time to take it to the big screen for a live-action take. Kenan Thompson continues to do good work on Saturday Night Live but is mediocre at best. Itseemed theFat Albertfilmwas destined to fail after taking these famed animated characters out of that element.

Paramount Pictures

Even with Cedric the Entertainer as Ralph Kramden and Mike Epps offering his take as Ed Norton, the pair could not save this movie from seriously falling short of the legendary black-and-white series. Ralph and Ed's hi-jinks and schemes have been updated but are not anything to write home about. Co-stars Gabrielle Union (Alice) and Regina Hall (Trixie) were two positives.

Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures

Will Ferrell has made some classic comedy films, as we know. However, when he's taken his crack at film adaptations of popular TV shows, he's stumbled. Case in point: Bewitched. Ferrell's character, Jack Wyatt, is an actor playing the role of Darrin Stephens and the whole premise of a show within a movie just doesn't work. Ferrell and co-star Nicole Kidman actually received a Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple for their work in this film.

Warner Bros.

Another movie that really did not need to be made, at least not with these actors in the starring roles. At the time, Johnny Knoxville (Luke Duke) was still somewhat relevant, while Seann William Scott (Bo Duke) was pretty close to being yesterday's news with the American Piemovies in the past. Jessica Simpson was useless as Daisy Duke, a much better character on the TV show. Just wrong in a lot of ways.

Paramount Pictures

This avant-garde, sci-fi animated series grew to be somewhat of a cult hit for MTV in the early 1990s. So why not make a movie version of it? Starring Charlize Theron, the storyline, which deals with a massively lethal virus (somewhat fitting for these times), has caused the survivors around the globe to reinvent themselves for further survival. Critics tend to use the word "dull" when describing the film.

Universal Pictures

We talked about Will Ferrell's swing and miss with Bewitched. His take on this NBC Saturday morning dinosaur program can best be categorized as taking three straight strikes right down the middle of the plate. Traveling through a time warp back to the age of dinosaurs, Ferrell's Rick Marshall and friends maneuver a tale that never should have been told on the big screen. It is considered by many critics to be one of the worst mainstream movies ever made.

Paramount Pictures

Based on a season for Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender, there was a lot of hope and hype for thescreen version. However, combining everything special about the show proved tricky to do on film. It seemed rushed, and the characters never had a chance to develop or allow the audience to draw any real conclusion about how they felt about them.

Warner Bros. Pictures

CHiPs was a super cool show in the late 1970s and into the '80s. It might have fared better if the film version had been made in the mid-1990s. Living up to the legend Ponch (Erik Estrada) and John (Larry Wilcox) created is not easy. And Michael Peña and Dax Shepard were unable to do it. The movie's plot was all over the place and gratuitous more often than not.

Paramount Pictures

The Baywatch TV series was a guilty pleasure at best but had a surprisingly long life. With so many pretty people of both sexes involved in the series, it was actually no surprise a Baywatch movie — not starring the TV cast — would be made. Dwayne Johnson is no David Hasselhoff in this case. Plus, the plot was choppy and weak, and the attempts at humor usually disappointed.