Lots of Nostalgia! Remember 10 Classic Series from the 80s that Were Adapted to Cinema

The 1980s will forever be unforgettable. That’s because it brought the first generation exposed to pop culture like never before. In cinema, it was the consolidation of the great blockbusters, unforgettable productions that are still part of the lives of fans and the general public today. Even if you’re not necessarily an avid movie fan, you’ve certainly heard of ‘Back to the future‘, ‘Indiana Jones‘, ‘Star Wars‘, ‘rambo‘, ‘Terminator‘ and so on. These brands left movie screens and invaded our daily lives through toys, games, videogames and all kinds of licensed products, which are still present in our culture.

On TV, a new era also presented itself, with stories that became eternal. It was in the 80’s that some of the most iconic shows of all time arrived and would never leave our minds and hearts. Even those who did not live through the period are constantly reminded of it through new clothes or reimagining of their works, and begin to embrace them equally. In this new article, we will remember some beloved series from the 80s that became movies in theaters. Check it out below.

This one maybe not everyone knows. the franchiseThe protector‘ starring denzel washingtonstarted in 2014, and continued in 2018, is based on a relatively obscure sitcom from the 1980s. With the same title in English, ‘The Equalizer‘ premiered on September 18, 1985 and ran for 4 seasons until 1989, airing on the American network CBS. That is, it was successful, despite not being one of the most remembered programs of the time by fans. In Brazil, it received the title ‘The Avenger‘.

The plot followed Robert McCall (Edward Woodward), a retired CIA agent working privately and evening the odds for his clients threatened by the powerful. In the cinema, McCall gained the forms of denzel washington. In 2021, the character became a woman, like Robyn McCall, in the reboot of the show starring Queen Latifah and entitled ‘No mercy‘ this way. The program promises its fourth season for 2023. However, a new film for theaters will also be released this year, with the return of Washington as the protagonist.

In 1981, TV star Lee Majors accepted a new role in a series that would mark his career again. Majors, of course, was the star of the absolute classic of the 70’s,’The Six Million Dollar Man‘, a series that has long been planned to hit theaters as well. For the next decade, Majors lived Colt Seavers, a stuntman for action films in Hollywood, who had a second job as a bounty hunter, from which his greatest adventures in the program really came out. The series lasted 5 seasons until 1986, aired on the American network ABC, and became one of the biggest hits here in Brazil as well, with airing on open TV.

‘hard on‘, or ‘The Fall Guy‘ (in the original title), will be released soon in theaters in a film that already catches our attention and creates great anticipation. First, because starring in the project we have Ryan Gosling It is Emily Blunt in the main roles. And second, because in directing we have a real-life stuntman turned into a director. David Leitchresponsible for successes such as ‘atomic‘, ‘Bullet train‘, ‘Deadpool 2‘ It is ‘Hobbs & Shaw‘. That is, the guy understands the scratch when it comes to action.

The film ‘double change‘ (2020) was a Netflix original production, and one that we’re waiting for the sequel (which should arrive soon). The film stars Mark Wahlbergwhich coincidentally is the name linked to starring in the movie ‘The Six Million Dollar Man‘ for ages. ‘Troco em Dobro’ is based on the books of Ace Atkins about the character Spenser, a former Boston police officer working as a private detective, who with each new adventure gets involved in a murder case to be unraveled.

This is another one that maybe not everyone remembers, but the character had appeared before in the 1980s, adapted to the series ‘Spenser: For Hire‘. The program aired in 1985 on the ABC network and lasted 3 seasons until 1988. In the series, Spenser was lived by the actor Robert Urich.

And if in the first three items of the article there was any doubt about the popularity of such programs, this next series needs no introduction, since it is one of the best known of the 80s. ‘miami vice‘ marked an era with its electrifying opening song, which already announced the police beats of detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, immortalized respectively by Don Johnson It is Philip Michael Thomas. Airing on the NBC network, the program debuted in 1984 and lasted until 1989, for a total of 5 seasons. For many, ‘miami vice‘ is the definition of the 80s.

In 2006, the same producer of the program, Michael Mann, now an established filmmaker in Hollywood, decided to get his hands dirty and helm a more serious and tense version in the form of a crime thriller. For the leading roles were cast Colin Farrell It is Jamie Foxx. A pity that the film did not yield the expected, despite its quality, and did not generate a sequel. It would be really good.

Another undisputed icon of the 80’s, ‘law Angels‘, or ‘21 Jump Street‘ (in the original), served to reveal to the world the actor Johnny Depp, then a 24-year-old in his first breakthrough role. Depp played Tom Hanson, a police officer part of a new police program that enlisted juvenile-looking officers with the purpose of infiltrating them in schools and colleges, to deal with crimes within the institutions, in particular with regard to drug trafficking. . This task force’s base of operations was inside an abandoned church on Title Street. The series aired on the Fox channel, and ran for 5 seasons from 1987 to 1991.

In the wave of reboots that dominated Hollywood, ‘law Angels‘ was another successful show that got a new look. Unlike a more serious approach such as ‘miami vice‘, the path chosen for the film of jovial policemen was the escracho, with a comedy film that made fun of the absurd premise. The plot introduces new police officers enlisted in the program, such as Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum). The feature premiered in 2012 and had the participation of actors from the series such as Holly Robinson Peete (Judy Hoffs) Peter DeLuise (Doug Penhall) and himself depp. The feature was successful and spawned a sequel in 2014. The question we want to know is: where is the third film?

This year, the classic of classics’Squadron class‘ completes 40 years of debut. The series aired on January 23, 1983 on the NBC network and told the story of four veterans of the Vietnam War, working as mercenaries to complete missions that only they could solve. The group was led by Hannibal Smith (George Peppard) and featured Cara-de-Pau (dirk benedict) – whose name already says everything you need to know about him -, Murdock (Dwight Schultz), the helicopter pilot and crazy person on duty, who lived in and out of psychiatric hospitals; and BA (Mr. T), the muscles of the team. The series was a tremendous success, even becoming dolls for children, and lasted 5 seasons until 1987.

In cinema, 20th Century Fox decided to create a blockbuster-style adaptation, full of breathtaking action scenes. And for that, he chose names like Liam Neeson It is Bradley Cooper in the roles of Hannibal and Woodface. Sharlto Copley It is jackson rampage were chosen for Murdock and BA; and the cast also had names like Jessica Biel It is Patrick Wilson in supporting roles. Unfortunately, this was a feature that also did not reach the expectations to become a franchise, and we ended up without a sequel. That is, until an upcoming reboot.

This is more vivid in the memory of the general public for two reasons. First, because the series about bathing suits and red swim trunks running down the beach… I mean, about lifeguards on the beaches of Malibu became a ready-made joke and seemed endless. Despite having debuted in 1989, at the very end of the 80s, the program lasted an absurd 11 seasons until 2001, showing that it had really fallen into the public’s taste. Second, because the film adaptation took place less than 6 years ago, enough time to still be fresh in everyone’s memory, even more so with its constant reruns on open TV. Driven by the presence of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnsonthe idea was to make a film “comic mezzo, serious mezzo”, with clear inspiration in the film by ‘law Angels‘. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. A feather.

This one may not have been caught by everyone either. Even more than the recent release of ‘Shadows of a Crime‘ (Marlowe), detective film noir directed by Neill Jordan and starring Liam Neeson went blank around the world. Here we have a case similar to that of Spenseras Detective Philip Marlowe has appeared before in the pages of books written by Raymond Chandler. Its first film adaptation dates back to 1944, in the classic ‘Goodbye, Darling‘. In 1969 he was lived by James Garner in ‘Detective Marlowe in Action‘, in a film that featured none other than bruce lee as an adjunct. In the 1980s (and what else?), Marlowe was brought to the small screen in the series ‘Philip Marlowe, Private Eye‘, on a show that premiered in 1983 and ran for 2 seasons. In the series, Marlowe was played by Powers Boothe.

This is not everyone’s knowledge either, but it is a very interesting curiosity. Everyone is tired of laughing with the franchise ‘Run the Police are Coming!‘, a true icon of the 80s/90s, which not only served to immortalize the late Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling detective Frank Drebin, but also served to boost the subgenre of nonsense parody comedies that would be very successful at the time. The first movie is from 1988, and its sequels were released in 1991 and 1994. What maybe many don’t know is that before the movies in the cinema, there was the series on TV. Starred by the same Leslie Nielsen as Drebin, ‘Police Squad‘(‘police squad‘ in Brazil) premiered in 1982, but only lasted 6 episodes before being cancelled. Thankfully, the idea was revived soon after.

Finishing the article on the 80s series that became movies, we have a true horror cult coming up now. ‘Tales from the Crypt‘, or ‘Tales from the Crypt‘, in its classic title, was a series of horror comics, published in 1955, which were hugely successful and inspired, for example, Stephen King It is George Romero producing the feature filmcreepshow‘ (1982). In 1989, with production by people like Robert Zemeckis, walter hill, Joel Silver It is Richard Donner – all fans of the original material – a series debuted in style, with guest appearances by major stars in its anthology episodes, see Tom Hanks, Michael J Fox, Christopher Reeve, Kirk Douglas, Demi Moore, brad pitt It is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The macabre program lasted 7 seasons until 1996. While it was still on the air, the franchise decided to extend its tentacles and go to theaters, with the first feature film ‘The Demons of the Night‘ (1995). That film was successful and spawned the sequel ‘brothel of bloodreleased the same year the series ended.