Beckoning the past

Meghna Mukherjee discovers that viewers are waiting for certain shows to stage a comeback.

Is there still money to be made from Beverly Hills 90210? Apparently so. The popular TV series following the lives of a group of teenagers in the upscale community of Beverly Hills, went off air in 2000 after a decade. Now it is all set to stage a comeback withmost of its original cast, Tori Spelling, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Joe E Tata.

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Producers of the trend-setting sitcom,

Friends

, are also thinking of a new season or even a film. And apparently every member of the cast, with the exception of Jennifer Aniston, is ready for

Friends 2

.

Old is gold

Certain TV shows in the past have carved a niche for themselves and entered the realms of timelessness. Zee Studio started its Old School Hour last year and has found plenty of takers for

The Wonder Years

,

Full House

,

Who’s The Boss

,

Doogie Howser

,

Dawson’s Creek

and

The X-Files

.

Seinfeld, the sitcom that ended in 1998, still has prime time slots on several channels for its high repeat-value. So which are the small screen favourites back homewhich could go in for a follow-up? “I’d say

Fauji

. Shah Rukh Khan made his debut in this serial and viewers would go crazy if he could be roped in to make a special appearance on the new-look show,” observes Radhika Basu, an advertising executive.

Yesterday.. today

Nukkad

and

Circus

also hold a special place because they were so real and simple. “Society has changed drastically since and it might be interesting to see howthe characters adjust in a new nukkad.

Hum Log

and

Buniyaad

too could be TRP grabbers,” asserts Mandira Mukherjee, homemaker. Reetanjan Bagchi, a student, agrees.

“After the saas-bahu politics, the common problems of the middle classwould be a refreshing change.” There are also those who favour Shanti’s return. But since the protagonist, Mandira Bedi, has gone through a makeover, Shanti will have to have more money and power, points out sales manager Pratima Arora.

Banegi Apni Baat

gets a lot of votes too. “So much of my school life was spent glued to the show. Even

Dekh Bahi Dekh

was amazing,” recalls, fresh graduate Ashwika Kapur.

Back from school

Hip Hip Hurray

returned on Zee TV with a college theme and didn’t cause any ripples. But some viewers believe thatwith a tighter script and a more ‘grown-up’ storyline, the showcould stillwork. More so since many of its stars, Vinay Pathak, Piya Munshi, Purab Kohli, Suchitra Pillai, Shweta Salve and Nilanjana Sengupta, are familiar faces today.

“If you could bring them back, the show would be a bit hit,” prophesises Baishak Basu. Another student, Namrita Kaur, insists that there hasn’t been a game that matches Crystal Maze. “And Gilmore Girls is one of the intelligent dramas I’ve seen and has the potential for continued success,” she maintains.

In the last few months, distributors have opened online libraries of classic content. Thousands of episodes of programmes like The Twilight Zone and The Mary Tyler Moore Show are available for free. There’s little doubt that one can continue to cash in on certain shows. The audience is waiting.