Entertainment Needs More Downward Dog

There is a problem in this country, a growing, festering problem that too many people are content to ignore. A problem that should be obvious to everyone who opens a magazine or newspaper, or turns on the TV at night. It is the problem of the remake, the reboot, and the reimagining of old ideas in modern entertainment, and if this problem isn’t addressed now, it will continue to grow and haunt future generations. Is that really the legacy we want to leave our children?

Now, don’t get me wrong—I like sequels, properly executed. The new Star Wars movies? Loved them. The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Loved that too, although based on reviews I may be alone in that regard. True, well-developed sequels (and prequels) are a magnificent chance to revisit favorite characters in new settings.

But it is a truism that too much of even a good thing can be bad for you. Too much water can kill a person. Too much incessant scrolling through Trump’s Twitter feed can drive someone mad. And too many sequels, appearing at the same time, can sap the entertainment industry of creativity and original thought, thereby inflicting the same harm on the culture at large.

The movie industry is the most obvious example of this phenomenon—witness the innumerable superhero movies (there have been three Spider-Man reboots—not movies, mind you, but film reboots of the character—since 2002), as well as the adaptations of young adult novels that all eventually seem to merge together in the public consciousness. But it is seeping into television, as well, with superheroes again being the prime example.

Which makes the new ABC show Downward Dog such a breath of fresh air. I haven’t seen it, so I’m not commenting on the quality of the show itself. But the premise alone—a talking dog commenting on his owner’s life—is radically different from anything that has been tried in recent years. No Flash or Batman in sight.

We don’t just need more talking animals to make entertainment better and more original (although it would be literally impossible to hate a talking animal of any sort). But what we do need is more fresh, original ideas to compete with the endless reboots and adaptations currently gutting the marketplace. Sad is it may be, more original ideas in storytelling may just inspire more people in the population at large to come up with their own ideas, and start thinking for themselves.