| money matters |
| Deja View: Everything Old Is New Again |
| Robbie Robertson |
William Shakespeare once wrote that there was "nothing new under the sun." Ah, the irony of the Bard, considering the fact that this quote was actually lifted from the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes.
And so creativity has been recycled, rehashed, and revised since the dawn of well, creation. But perhaps at no point in our pop culture universe has recycled entertainment been more ubiquitous than today. Call it a "brand extension" or call it "playing it safe," but today's world looks more and more like a rerun, or as the creatively stifled might prefer to say: an encore performance.
Take a quick look and you're sure to see ... something you've probably seen before.
Advertising
 Wrigley's Gum
How about a double helping of the Doublemint Twins? TV spots featuring the Doublemint Twins helped brand Wrigley's spearmint chewing gum in the 1960s. Today, the campaign is being reintroduced with an online poll that lets participants choose the new set of twins (www.twinscastingcall.com).
Burger King
An actual actor playing a TV king was this hamburger chain's popular branding icon in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the king has made a scary, creepy comeback in the form of a new actor, wearing a surreal, plastic Halloween mask of the original character.
Retro Music
Commercial TV is sounding more and more like a classic rock radio station these days as everyone from Led Zeppelin to The Partridge Family provides soundtracks for products ranging from Cadillac to Cheerios.
Broadway
The Producers
This 1969 movie by Mel Brooks was turned into a Broadway musical phenom several years ago. Now the show has come full circle as a new movie version of the stage musical is currently filming.
 Hairspray
John Waters' first mainstream hit film became a Broadway musical and (you guessed it) a filmed version of the stage show is currently in development.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
DRS began life as a 1964 film called Bedtime Stories. It was remade into a 1988 film with Steve Martin and is currently on Broadway as a stage musical.
Television and Film
American Idol
It may seem novel because of its caustic judges, but amateur talent shows have been around since the 1930s. Beginning with The Original Amateur Hour on broadcast radio, talent shows flourished on television until the 1970s, only to be reborn the next decade with the syndicated Star Search.
The Office
NBC's look at incredibly ordinary events at an incredibly boring office is actually a remake of a BBC sitcom of the same name. Of course, the original inspiration for the celebration of mundane cube dwellers has to be the 1999 cult film Office Space.
 Guess Who
Guess who doesn't have an original concept for a movie? Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mack, that's who. This film is a remake of the classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? that starred Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. What's next? Jet Li in Chinatown?
Harper Valley PTA
This one is going a bit back, but since our very own graphic designer Pam Thomas looks like Barbara Eden, we had to include it. Harper Valley PTA started out as a country music single way back in 1968. Then in 1978, a feature film starring Eden (based on the song) was an unexpected hit. So, what came next? A TV show, based on the film, which at this point, was a complete dilution of the original source material.
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