Television continues to mine the big screen for series ideas with the latest movie to be adapted being the 2008 hit MARLEY AND ME. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, MARLEY AND ME chronicled the effect a rambunctious golden retriever puppy had on Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston as he grew into a troublesome dog. NBC has ordered the pilot for the series.
For those who have seen the movie, they are aware of the bittersweet ending that includes the (SPOILER ALERT!) death of Marley and how it affects the entire Grogan family. It was one of the biggest tearjerkers in recent memory but also leaves how would the series work since it is planned to continue from where the film left off?
The Marley & Me comedy will pick up where the movie, based on John Grogan’s bestseller, left off. John and Jenny Grogan — the characters played in the movie by Aniston and Wilson — and their two boys, now 14 and 11, have just moved back to Florida so that John can take up his newspaper column once again. However, when a stray puppy (“owned”, but not well, by their neighbors) ends up on their doorstep, they are forced to adopt it. This dog, named Marley for the fact that they use Marley’s old leash and tags on her, is as will-full, destructive and delightful as her original namesake. And she will help shed light not only on the growing pains of the Grogan family, but also the lives of the neighbors, and fellow dog-owners, around them.
I get a very PARENTHOOD type vibe off of this project which seems to be working for NBC as their recent film-to-tv project ABOUT A BOY follows a similar format. The problem is we have not seen very many of these adaptations last long (remember THE FIRM? A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN?). The few that have survived (BUFFY, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, FARGO) have been reinventions of the original film and not beholden to what came before them. Still, at least a few of these announced projects have to work right? We are likely to see LOST IN SPACE, BIG, 12 MONKEYS, MINORITY REPORT, RUSH HOUR, MONSTER-IN-LAW, UNCLE BUCK, REAL GENIUS, IN GOOD COMPANY, THE ILLUSIONIST or PROBLEM CHILD for more than a single season, right? Right?