'Charlie's Angels' gets a new life on ABC
Actress Minka Kelly arrives at the 2011 People's Choice Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. (Jan. 5, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Some shows refuse to die, and "Charlie's Angels" would, by any measure, be one of them. There was the ABC series ('76-81), followed after the welcome space of two decades by the pair of theatricals. Now, back from the afterlife, is an ABC remake starring Rachael Taylor (Abby), Minka Kelly (Eve), Annie Ilonzeh (Kate) and Ramon Rodriguez (Bosley).
Leonard Goldberg, 77 -- the legendary producer who along with Aaron Spelling was show-runner on the old ABC Velveeta cheese factory that starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith -- said this from the stage of the Beverly Hilton Sunday during the ABC portion of the Television Critics Association's tour: "We wanted to try and preserve what was great about the original and find something new."
New are show-runners Al Gough and Miles Millar, formerly of "Smallville."
"We know the show has this big target on its back," Gough said Sunday, which is why he wanted some distance from the original. Their version "is a show about redemption, a show about second chances. Each episode will be character-revealing," with "one of the Angels at the emotional tip of the spear."
Goldberg was asked about the old days, when critics saw "Angels" as some sort of apocalyptic moment in American culture.
"We were very successful and the other networks found ways to disparage us" with terms like "eye candy" and "jiggle TV." "A lot of publications gave us bad reviews [too], but as soon as the show hit, they were anxious to put us on the cover of everything."
The show bows this fall, and -- yes -- he probably wouldn't mind the same problem.
