History Main / RecycledPremise

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' took ''PointBreak'' and replaced the surfboards with custom cars.

* Goodson-Todman took the premise of ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''--to not exceed the value of merchandise--then pared the contestants down to two and called it ''Say When!!'' in 1961. Fourteen years later, Bill Carruthers took the premise of ''Say When!!'', added a spinning arrow and called it ''Series/{{Give-N-Take}}''.

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* ''FamilyMatters'', which in addition to being a SpinOff from ''PerfectStrangers'' started out being much like ''TheCosbyShow''

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* Rockstar Games is a serious offender: Compare ''Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas'' and ''Manhunt'' to ''The Godfather, Scarface, Menace II Society'' and ''The Running Man.'' The main character of Vice City even has a mansion that contains obvious {{Shout Out}}s to Scarface. Also worth noting that both ''Godfather'' and ''Scarface'' have been turned into games that rip off the gameplay style of GTA. Vice City also needs to mention MiamiVice. Considering the sidekick from the show is your sidekick in the game...
** Worth noting that Rockstar began developing ''Manhunt'' as an adaptation of the film ''Film/TheWarriors'', but were unable to get the rights to it. Also, unlike ''The Running Man'', ''Manhunt'' is set in the present day. Rockstar ultimately made a full-flidged adaptation of ''The Warriors'' two years later.

* WebVideo/{{React}} is known to do this. [[RecycledPremise/{{React}} This page covers it more in detail.]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* After {{Hanna-Barbera}} made ''TheFlintstones'', a SitCom (more specifically ''TheHoneyMooners'') set in [[OneMillionBC the Stone Age]], they eventually went on to make ''TheJetsons'', a SitCom set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, and ''TheRomanHolidays'', a SitCom set in AncientRome.

** ''TopCat'' is ''ThePhilSilversShow'' with cats in an alley instead of army officers on a base. Both shows even shared actor Maurice Gosfield - who played Doberman on the latter and voiced the Doberman-esque Benny in the former.

* DetectiveConan is this to IchinenseiNiNacchattara. The only difference is the gender of the protagonist after shrinking, although the latter is an ecchi and runs for only nine volumes whereas the former is shonen and there are lots of fans out there complaining about [[NoEnding its conclusion never arriving after about 20 years]].

** Not as much as [[LizzieMcGuire how]] [[EvenStevens many]] [[HannahMontana sitcoms]] [[ThatsSoRaven featuring]] [[CoryInTheHouse a]] [[NaturallySadie group]] [[TheFamousJettJackson of]] ThreeAmigos in middle-school/high school. It's even spread to {{Nickelodeon}}.

** He was proud of changing nothing. He bragged all his edits and camera angles were identical to the original. Which raises the obvious question, why didn't the studio just save millions of dollars and re-release the original?
*** This troper believes it was an attempt to invoke the notion of a legacy story. Which is basically the reason people still perform Shakespeare. A lot of iconic stagings are duplicated as well. Eventually, it becomes about how different actors portray these characters. However, given the nature of the two mediums (stage vs. screen), a shot for shot remake was probably folly.

* ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl'' reuses the [[Film/{{Speed}}fist film]]'s premise of a vehicle that cannot stop due to the bombs that the villain planted on it. Only instead of taking place in a bus, it takes place [[SequelEscalation in a ship]].

* Many video games have reused the basic plot of ''Star Wars'', ''Baldur's Gate, Final Fantasy IV, Star Fox, Zelda: A Link to The Past'' and others.

** Also, the video game ''Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness'' has been panned for recycling the same premise, world, and villains of ''Pokemon Colosseum.''

* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' is much more like a remake of ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' than a sequel.
** Similarly, ''National Treasure 2'' is much more like a remake of ''NationalTreasure''.
*** And ''TheHangoverPartII'' has been considered nothing more than a remake of ''Film/TheHangover''.

* ''HomeAlone 2'' was basically ''exactly'' the same movie as ''HomeAlone'', just set in New York. Even the scary neighbor got a direct counterpart.
** This was even {{lampshade| hanging}}d by Harry, who mentioned that Kevin threw two paint cans the last time they tried to climb up a flight of stairs, and saw it coming. Unfortunately for them, the second time around, a sewer pipe followed immediately afterward.

* As has been pointed out by [[TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]], Creator/JamesCameron's opus ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is essentially a big-budget remake of ''Mercenary Fighters'', a B-Movie starring Creator/RebBrown.
-->"It's about a marine sent to a far away land to help the government evict a native populace so they can exploit the area's natural resources, ''but'' after observing the native culture, he falls in love with his guide and becomes inspired by their noble sacrifices to maintain their way of life. At the end, he and his wisecracking pilot friend realise they've been fighting for the wrong side, join the rebellion and drive off the invaders after a climactic final battle."
** Also ''{{Pocahontas}}'' and ''DancesWithWolves'', depending on who you ask.
*** Heck, lots of {{Green Aesop}}s fall into this category.

* After having had a huge hit with ''TheHollywoodSquares'' (1966-1981), creator MerrillHeatter recycled the "quiz show with celebrities in a ginormous board" premise twice: first with ''{{Battlestars}}'' (1981-83), then ''AllStarBlitz'' (1985).
** Goodson-Todman would duplicate their panel game motif after the success of ''WhatsMyLine'', prompting ''IveGotASecret'', ''TheNamesTheSame,'' ''Make The Connection'', and ''ToTellTheTruth''.
** ''FamilyFeud'''s premise was derived from the end game of the original ''MatchGame'' (1962-69--"Name a type of car college students would drive").

* As has been pointed out by [[TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]], JamesCameron's opus ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is essentially a big-budget remake of ''Mercenary Fighters'', a B-Movie starring RebBrown.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' was an almost identical DistaffCounterpart to ''HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse''.

* ''KamenRider'' was no different. The hero is turned into a cyborg and must fight a NebulousEvilOrganization and its cyborg monsters; every evil organization's hierarchy is the voice of GoroNaya commanding a single general who commands the MonsterOfTheWeek. There's surprisingly little variation from this, and when it is it's details like [[UnwillingRoboticization kidnapped by bad guys and altered]] vs. [[WeCanRebuildHim injured by bad guys and altered]].

A Recycled Premise is when a show is made that is effectively identical to another, earlier, popular show, made simply to cash in on the craze or shoot for another demographic. Note however, that not all sequels are recycled premises -- Just the ones that are almost identical, and have more than a couple of {{recycled script}}s.

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* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' took ''PointBreak'' and replaced the surfboards with custom cars.

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** ''The Who, What Or Where Game'' (1969) -> ''The Challengers'' (1990)
** ''Everybody's Talking'' (1967) -> ''Hollywood's Talking'' (1973)
** ''Showoffs'' (1975) -> ''Body Language'' (1984),

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** Similarly, ''NationalTreasure2'' is much more like a remake of ''NationalTreasure''.

*** Heck, lots of GreenAesops fall into this category.

** Also ''{{Pocahontas}}'' and ''DancesWithWolves'', depending on who you ask.

* Most people in the West who have heard of ''City on Fire'' discovered it in the context of being the film of which ''ReservoirDogs'' is a version.

Specific SpinOff variations of Recycled Premise:

** Worth noting that Rockstar began developing ''Manhunt'' as an adaptation of the film ''Film/TheWarriors'', but were unable to get the rights to it. Also, unlike ''The Running Man'', ''Manhunt'' is set in the present day.

* In TheEighties, Kenner's Rose-Petal Place toy line was essentially the company's StrawberryShortcake franchise with characters themed/named after flowers instead of food.