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As Tolkien said, "Evil cannot create, only corrupt."

Well, at least Back to the future is safe since Robert Zemecis went out of his way to include the clause in his contract that even after he's dead the studio is not allowed to remake it or make any sequels.

I always think of Matt Smith when he was cast as the Doctor. He was fairly open about how he hadn't ever watch Doctor Who, and that put some fans off, but he didn't pull a Whitaker, do his own thing, then bitch about the fans not liking him. He went back and watched some of the previous episodes and older series. He got a sense of what was expected of the Doctor, and he worked to give the fans what they actually wanted. Now he's considered one of the best Doctor's in the history of the show, unlike Whitaker who fans are actively waiting for her to go.

I remember when I saw the documentary When Star Wars Ruled The World and heard Kevin Smith say that the scene where Luke takes Vader’s mask off to reveal the face of a frail, broken man was “disappointing.” It was at that moment I knew that Kevin Smith was a fucking idiot.

A black female transgender teen going back in time to jump start the civil rights movement = Black To The Future.

If they listened to fans they would get proper results like Paramount had with Sonic. But I guess majority of the executives are living on a different planet

Samuel L Jackson. He wanted a purple lightsaber, Lucas didn't want to give it to him because it wasn't cannon. He ended up giving him what he wanted, and he spawned a whole lore based around lightsaber colors. The intrigue sparked at his purple lightsaber (something an actor and fan wanted) sparked thousands of more adventures in the galaxy far far away.

Right now I'm thinking about that scene in POTC 1 where Barbossa knocks Elizabeth unconscious with a right hook in the jaw. In that moment in the film, it feels just so RIGHT. Not because I hate Kiera Knightley, but because Barbossa is first built up as some sort of evil overlord (chaotic evil) and is then revelaed to be a total pragmatic (neutral evil), plus he's just trying to get un-cursed, and you almost start to think "hmmm, he's not that bad". And then, snap, the roles are reestablished. Yeah, he's an evil bastard after all. I wonder if this scene would be filmed nowadays. Are villains still allowed to beat up helpless girls? Or is that "problematic"?

I've reached a point where I simply assume that everything new will be woke garbage and wait for guys like you to let me know before I waste my time.

1. Don't fall for it 2. Don't pay for it 3. Laugh at it 4. Forget it 5. Share the old stuff with your friends and families

"The fans aren't your enemies" Alas, if only more KZfaqrs, Twitch streamers, or other "content creators" would abide by this.

"Chances are about as good as a homeless man getting into a strip club. And believe me, I know all about that."- that line made made me crack up.

A Good Studio is a one that doesn’t insult fans or lecture them

I have to admit, I get a bit teary-eyed whenever Sonic is mentioned in this type of discussion. The movie itself wasn't awesome. It was serviceable. It was decent. It was almost average. But the fact that they fixed the blue speeding boy for the fans is just heart-warming. It's the right thing to do. The movie doesn't deserve a sequel for the post credits scene, it deserves a sequel for respecting the fans. Of which I am not. And I'll still watch the sequel.

Nothing will ever be as good as the original. My younger self didn’t realize how great he had it on the tv in the 90s

People who take your hilarious persona too seriously and call you toxic really need to watch this video in particular. Your message of mutual respect, understanding, and simple customer service is something that actually qualifies as enlightened in my opinion.

"Isn't it kinda satisfying just to make people happy?" Brilliant. Almost made me choke up.

It's despicable when they call old school fans "neckbeards" and "manchildren". Those neckbeards have watched these movies for 20 or 30 years. They spent thousands of dollars on figures, blu rays, posters, keychains, shirts, and all other manner of useless merch. They paid to see the actors and writers and directors. They gave these franchises the long lasting energy they have and these hacks want to discard them for not accepting their hijacking of the franchise.

Ominous voice: "THE MESSAGE!!!!" Lol love that part in these videos. I'm convinced that if Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson weren't being dumb , then Last Jedi would have made two billion just like its predecessor did. Always astonishes me how much money they are willing to lose to make something no one asked for

You hit the nail on the head when you said it's not that hard to win over the fans as long as you show some respect and humility. I know many people who had no real interest in the sonic movie to begin with, even before the abysmal design was revealed. But, after the director and the studio agreed that they fucked up and went back to the drawing board, they earned a lot of respect and good will that actually caused many people to want to see it. It not only shows how they were capable of dealing with criticism, but how they actually do have enough respect for the IP to make it more recognizable when fans were feeling alienated. I honestly think Hollywood at large and Twitter hates sonic's success, because it is the variable that proves the rule. I remember how much salt there was with it coming out alongside birds of prey, and completely destroying it. Likely because it was a complete win for Fandoms in general who don't want their favorite IPs to be altered unnecessarily.

I miss the days when Batman Begins was considered the standard for what a reboot should be.

Situations like these always reminds me of the time when Henry Cavil said in an interview that fans aren't toxic when they speak out, they're passionate.

Thank you, Critical Drinker, for so succinctly expressing my innermost and incendiary reactions to this junk. I am so sick of seeing beloved material hijacked for someone's agenda, to be Viewed For My Own Good, while often the original creators are castigated for something they said or did now considered offensive. I grew up in the McCarthy Era, and it's horrifying to see it all happening again. One thing- my parents were the only people I ever heard admit to having supported Joe McCarthy and the HUAC. Afterwards, everybody said stuff like, "Oh yes, those were terrible times and we knew it was all awful...." But this generation of Woke Puritans won't be able to do that, because every tweet, comment, video and thread is forever preserved on "their" own beloved media. Including yours!

The savage beauty in these critiques is nectar to a raging heart that yearns for sanity in this sea of madness. May Tatiana keep you fierce Drinker.

A big problem is the villains now can’t even be “problematic”.

Reminds me of this epic quote: "DOOM's fans, they are not like Disney fans. If DOOM fans don't like what you've done, they'll burn your house down" - Mick Gordon

This is why Kobrai Kai was so good: It was done right. It gave fans what they wanted. It took us back to characters as they should be and as they could be 20-30 years later. It respected the original material. It wasn't just a woke cash-grab. It was just good. It's sad that this really is the exception in 2021 rather than the rule. Great end point about Sonic by the way.

Perfectly said. If something works, don't fix it. If you want to bring back an old franchise, make sure you follow the spirit of the original IP. If you want to send a new message, or idea, get creative and create something new and original, don't try to hijack something that was popular in the past.

Of course the fans have a sense of entitlement. They're paying for it.

It's gotten so bad now, that a perfectly average movie like Sonic the Hedgehog, that actually listened to fans by fixing Sonic's look and had zero wokeness in it, is seen as revolutionary.

No matter what flaws the Sonic movie has, at least the creative team listened and tried to do justice to the fans. People respect people who admit they were wrong and try to change it by listening rather than people like the Cowboy Bebop team who lashed out at the fans. Regardless of the problems I have with the Sonic movies, they're at least fucking trying to do its fans justice.

37 years after Back to the Future was released I still marvel at how wonderfully creative and free-flowing it is, yet tight and plausible, with just the right amount of doubt thrown in to keep you hooked until the final moments. Light, humorous and accessible to both children and adults, but also pushing some ethical questions which still hold up to this day. I love it to bits and always will. One of the best sci-fi movies ever? It has to be up there.

These remakes are like a girlfriend that cheats on you/ betrays your trust, then flips the narrative and keeps telling you it's your fault.....

That one Darth Vader scene of him absolutely destroying rebels in Rogue had more Fan Service than the whole of Force Awakens Trilogy combined, we saw it once again in Mandalorian final episode with Luke absolutely shatting on Techno Droids. It's the little things like that you need to make your og fans happy.

"Fan service" among anime fans in the 90s meant nothing more than taking characters that viewers found attractive and showing more skin.

This story isn't about drama, but it is a 13:06 story about TV. In 2000 when I was still at the BBC as a music TV producer. George Harrison died and I was given the job of making a tribute doc in 4 weeks. I know absolutely everything there is to know about the Beatles and I was a good choice for the producer. However, internal politics of the department demanded that I had to have an executive producer and researchers from whoever was already there. I said argued that I knew lots of dedicated Beatles fans "we've only got a few weeks to turn this around. Let's get them in instead." I was given a young lad as researcher, and he said "The Beatles - they're the ones who did yesterday, right?' The exec producer knew nothing either. So that left me as a person who was an expert on thr subject, fighting his entire production team, his entire staff, and what I'd already gone before, just to produce something that fellow Beatle fans would've respected. Now imagine the Star Wars version of me sitting in those reboot development meetings.

"The Fan base is a small vocal minority that don't affect anything." *product fails* "Its clear these toxic fans are review bombing out of hate and bigotry."

Studios: We've ruined your favourite franchise Fans: Outraged Studios: *surprised pikachu face*

The one of the reasons why the original Spider-Man movie trilogy is so great and beloved by many is because Sam Raimi was a dedicated fan of the character so he knew the absolute ins and outs of what a Spider-Man story should be. And it worked.

A good example of an IP respecting its fans is in the My Little Pony universe. When FiM came out and it suddenly garnered a whole group of older male fans, normally the creators would look at them and be pretty weirded out by the fact that they even exist, but Hasbro acknowledged that they existed and in one particular episode entitled "Slice of Life", decided to take a whole bunch of fan content and theories and make them canon in the show itself. Fans think one background character is an incarnation of The Doctor. That's now canon. A cello player and a crazy DJ are actually besties in real life? They are now revealed to be roommates. Listen to your fans, and your stock will always be going up.

I learned from Luke Skywalker that being a man means more than kicking ass and takin’ names, it means being wise, compassionate, and forgiving. What the hell kind of lesson is my little girl supposed to learn from Rey? “Don’t screw up, baby girl, girls are supposed to be perfect - and put some more sass in it!”

The Drinker said himself, The Mask Of Zorro is a perfect example of a good reboot, there's a new Zorro, but Diego de La Vega is still the original Zorro and they show him the respect he deserves

Thank you for defending the Star Trek IP. I know it's a hopeless cause at this point, but at least I know I'm not crazy for thinking modern Star Trek sucks.

The "Back to the Future" comment really sums up a lot of the problems for me. You have these people that want to share 'the message' or whatever stance they have. However, they keep trying to show through older, established, franchises and re-imaginings. Here's my cycle for that. 1. They want to spread 'the message'. 2. They're too lazy/unimaginative to create their own platform to spread it. 3. They see a franchise that's popular, which they probably only vaguely know. 4. They get onboard, write something, and assume 'the message' will shield them from backlash. 5. It doesn't. 6. They lash out at the fans because they don't want to be called out for their flaws, and learn nothing. 7. Repeat.

Terry Pratchett had this right: "When I started writing my market was spotty 13 year old Kevin. Well, Kevin's grown up now, and he has kids of his own. And I want Kevin _and_ his kids to enjoy my books."

"A Back to the Future reboot with a black teen named Loquesha, that invents the time machine on her own - and uses it to go back and kick start the civil rights movement" How dare you put that in the ether Drinker, now its only a matter of time...

One other thing to note: For those concerned with the means of cultural production, remakes also allow for the pollution of cultural touchstones. Remember Star Wars? It used to be something unifying in our cultural zeitgeist. Now it's divisive. You bring up Star Wars? You now have to specify whether you mean New Star Wars, or Old Star Wars. The old touchstone is now tarnished, and contains something inherently divisive.

Just remember Hollywood, you can always try to spread THE MESSAGE with original movies rather than hijacking beloved series!

Seeing that clip of “I’m Ray Skywalker” still sets my teeth on edge.

It's a fascinating little literary footnote that in Tolkien's universe, Morgoth, and by extension Sauron, was unable to truly create. He could only leach his essence into the creatures and the world Iluvitar had made, infecting and corrupting them until they became just like him. Orcs, dragons, the foulnesses of Angband and Mordor, all once the work of an artist, now hollowed out into the hateful tools of a dead-hearted autocrat who could never imagine anything of his own. Just popped into my head after hearing about the upcoming Silmarillion TV series. Can't think why.

A great example of a constructive engaging with the audience is Peter Jackson's work on Lord of The Rings, where entire sequences of Arwen fighting at Helm's Deep were thrown away after fans' backlash.

I'm amazed by how This video has captured the thoughts I've had for years on these issues. Thanks for bringing some sanity to this ongoing madness.

Imagine your favorite band makes a comeback album after a few decades: -The drummer is the only returning member, everyone else has been replaced -Their songs used to be about sex and drugs and sticking it to the establishment, but now the lyrics are decrying "toxic masculinity" and lecturing us about "white privilege." What once felt rebellious now feels like every feminist blog. -They also threw in a few jabs at their most popular songs from the past, and in interviews practically disowned them. -Worse still, the new music just isn't good. The contributions of the newcomers feel amateurish, and off-brand for the band's discography. -Music critics and media simp hard for the new lead singer, giving rave reviews because of the band's newfound "bravery" -It undersells and social media is full of fans saying this new album is a step down from their old work -Media calls the band's fans toxic and trolls. Band clearly more interesting in pandering to the media and Twitter checkmarks than the audience they've had for decades. -Twitter spends the next decade bullying and berating the band's old fans for perceived bigotry.

"You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you wanna sell it." ~ Ian Malcom, Jurassic Park (1993)

I think what bothers me, and probably a LOT of other people, about how the Star Wars sequels treated Luke Skywalker is that Luke was an extremely progressive hero to begin with. Luke was introduced in an era where the vast majority of male heroes were either hulking towers of muscle or grim dark Dirty Harry types who used brute strength and violence to defeat their enemies. But that wasn't the case with Luke. Luke was an average flawed kid from nowhere who went on an epic journey of glory, suffering and learning to become a mature, capable man and hero. Despite his great powers, it was Luke's compassion and sense of goodness that helped him save the day, not violence or brute strength. There was no hero quite like him in cinema- the pinnacle of the Truly Good Kind Hero. Flash forward a few decades later, and it's clear that the people who wrote the sequels either A) didn't watch the originals B) were drunk and high when they watched the originals or c) didn't understand or give a shit about the originals. They just decided, "Well, he's a famous male hero, so clearly we can make him grim dark like we do all the others, in order to replace him with a more 'progressive' hero." Of course, with the ironic result being that their so-called progressive hero is an impossibly perfect beautiful stereotype (the exact opposite of progressive) that neither women nor men can relate to and the actual progressive hero, Luke Skywalker, being dragged through the mud.

What is missing is the character arc of original characters arriving in the now. What is missing in the Western everyday is capable, solid, poised, wise elders. I loved your fixing of Luke Skywalker. You demonstrate the point beautifully.

Whenever the next person tells me, "Jeeze, you don't like anything new." I'm going to play this video for them.

The reason Cobra Kai has been so successful is that the show’s creators are huge fans of The Karate Kid. The original trilogy is treated like gospel and the characters are treated with respect.

Absolutely right. Well said, sir. Fans are almost always written off as cranks and weirdos by people who conveniently forget that it's the fans who pay them their wages and allow them to have their careers.

Here is a thought. Star Trek TNG was hated by the fan base in 1986 because it did not have the original crew. Yet, it has become a beloved part of the Star Trek canon since. It is understandably difficult to restart an IP and to give it a direction that the fan base will appreciate, while still holding to the expectations of said fan base. The challenge is to keep the IP fresh and interesting, without going to the tropes of "the message" that you have pointed out.

The way some MCU fans defends everything Disney does remembers me a religious sect or football hooligans

Brie Larson is the reason that we have the "go away now" outro because the first time The Drinker said "go away" was on a video about her. So at least she did something good. We should thank her.

The problem with consulting the fans is that purveyors of The Message either feel that everyone wants and is happy to hear/support The Message and they do not need to consult the fans, or they feel that the people that don't appreciate The Message are not worthy enough to ask their opinion and they are the ones that will benefit the most from hearing The Message.

The moment where you talked about actually communicating with the fan base I had horrible flashbacks to when Rafe Judkins tweeted about his upcoming destruction of Wheel of Time by telling the fans "This is the last, sweet year you all can enjoy it before the Wheel of Time tv show ruins the thing you love most." And he fucking meant it.

I love that the whole world has turned into rich people telling poor people that they're wrong! Justified by the most vocal minority in the history of society!!

What's really sad is that Kevin started out as Mr. Rebel-indie-guy. Working outside the system, constantly mocking it. Then he actually became everything he hated, just another peon in the system. It's so cliche but it's true.

Clip at 2:00 from Red Dwarf S5E4 Quarantine. Rimmer's noise at the end makes me laugh every single time I see it haha. Thanks for including it.

holy crap this is one of the most thoughtful and sharp rants i've ever heard about the current trend of franchisepocalypses, and barely even criticizing 'the message'. it runs much deeper than that. keep drinking, mate!

"Why do you resist? We only wish to raise quality of life, for all species." "I like my 'species' the way it is!" "A narrow vision." - Locutus of Hollywood Collective

Being WOKE is a great excuse for Hollywood. It allows them to overlook bad writing, bad acting, bad directing bad producing, bad bad bad. Pay no attention to the crap behind the curtain..Only pay attention to THE MESSAGE!

Genius. Thank you. 4 shots in and still you come across succinct and insightful. Again, thank you 😎

What the customers actually want is not reboots of old IPs. What the customers want is some original stories that further the progress of their favourite characters and stories.

I think that the people who "remake" the established franchise in their own image are the ones that are entitled. They feel entitled to the franchise and want to make it their own instead of respecting it or making something new.

What breaks my heart is that, despite the number of people who are tired of this spiteful method of movie production growing, there's still so many people who are mindlessly consuming products and giving these studios profits. I just wish some of the regular human beings (basically anyone not on Twitter) would wake up and realize that these studios see us as walking money bags.

"THE MESSAGE" gets me everytime😅😅😅😅😅😅

I love and respect you Drinker, our views on this issue are perfectly aligned. The Back To The Future analogy hit the nail on the head dude. Stay honest 👌✌️

I just wish a real man like Kevin smiths wifes boyfriend directed He-Man.

The critical drinker is my favorite KZfaq movie critic.

The last time I remember writers actually listening to the fan base was with Star Trek: Enterprise. Season 1 had a lot of faults, but Season 2 was vastly improved, primarily because of fan input.

This stuff isn't that complicated. If Disney had put me in charge of the Star Wars reboot, the first thing I would have done is call Mark Hammill and tell him he has final say in every script. If he doesn't like it, it doesn't get into the movie. The second thing I would have done is call in the script writers and tell them, no matter what else happens there will be a scene in which Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewy are all reunited and this scene will bring tears to the eyes of fans everywhere. Mission Accomplished!

The Sonic Movie was the perfect example. It was a reboot/retelling of the story that was done in the proper spirit and with respect that, when the fans were listened to, paid off. They even ended the movie with a bit of fanservice by throwing Tails in there, who himself has a HUGE fanbase to make people drool and want more.

You forgot Ocean's 8, but then again, so did everyone else.

This might be your best work yet. Well done

Probably the best anylsis and breakdown of current woke Hollow Wood that i have seen. I dabled in writing in college. I'm in my 60s now and seriously considering buying a laptop and learning to write screenplays, comics and shory stories. Anything to combat "THE MESSAGE".

There's only one problem with this advice: it makes sense.

"Marty's now a black teenager named Laqueshia" I nearly choked on my Smirnoff!

Every writer/director/producer in Hollywood should watch this video. They would make more money if they did

I stumbled upon this guy recently, and this one is pure genius! Not to mention he’s hilarious, and appreciate his anti-woke viewpoint. I have shared a lot of his observations of what is wrong with Hollywood lately.

Hollywood: “Nah it’ll be fine” Drinker: “No it WON’T be fine!”

I’m surprised they haven’t greenlit a She-Man live action film, where our hero grapples with a 75-year old Vietnam vet that owns a Star Wars shop in Aberdeen, WA.

I remember a long time ago I used to be excited to go to the cinema, now I visit less frequently and generally have very low expectations so I don't get too disappointed.

As always, extremely well done, TCD! Brilliant analysis! Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!

The problem with these modern reboots, remakes, and reimaginings is that they are all being written and produced by the same people who wrote those bizarre erotic fanfictions back in the day and not by serious writers who have a grasp of storytelling.

This should be required viewing for everyone handling franchises in big studios...

The reference to Rimmer of Red Dwarf earned my like and subscription. I also just watched 4 hours of your content instead of "working from home" while I'm quarantined and it has totally made my week, and it is Tuesday.

I will never get tired of listening to your insight, Critical Drinker.

Yo, that "new" Back to the Future plot was so realistic that I was looking up if there is a remake under way. Please dont scare me like that.

It’s like going into an Italian restaurant that has the stereotype facade of Italian countryside with wine vineyards, arches, Italian and classical music playing. You’re expecting traditional pasta dishes and maybe high quality pizza. When you look at the menu the names of dishes are the same, but the spaghetti is made from humanely sourced leather shoe laces, the pizza dough is recycled paper plates, the marinara sauce is red, but made from mud that an aspiring child made, all the while you’re told if you don’t like it you must hate Italians and their culture. You also you hate change because “Italian food” can mean anything now. All you wanted was pizza and pasta. “Bon appétit, bigot.”

I always love it when Critical Drinker uses that Red Dwarf clip lol