Disney
From the original house of ideas comes another reboot in a long line of reboots and remakes over at Disney. ‘Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.’, is set to premiere on September 8th and is a reboot from the successful ‘Doogie Howser, M.D.’ show that premiered on September 19, 1989 on ABC and starred Neil Patrick Harris. ‘Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.’ stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as the 16 year old wunderkind Lahela Kamealoha and takes place in Hawaii. The “Doogie” nickname is given to Lahela by her friends and colleagues, and is referenced in the show to the original ‘Doogie Howser, M.D.’ TV show. Original star Neil Patrick Harris will make an appearance at some point, but it has been confirmed that he will not be in season one.
Wash, Rinse, and Repeat
The show itself looks cute but only reminds me how little imagination that Disney has creatively. Disney has followed the same formula in the last 10 years of wash, rinse, and repeat and it’s getting very boring and old. Meaning, that they have race or gender swapped the main characters from the original content and think it will attract a more inclusive modern audience. In this case, the white male lead of Doogie Howser has now been replaced by an inclusive mixed race actress. Now, I’m not taking anything away from Peyton Lee, I don’t know anything about her and she is probably very talented. I’m just pointing out Disney’s consistent MO of playing identity politics in their casting. Not too mention that Lahela Kamealoha’s parents are a mixed race couple as well. Other than the show taking place in modern day and the different casting, it seems to be a carbon copy of the original including the opening title sequence. Sure the music is updated, but if you look frame to frame and compare the original with the new version, it’s all the same. I hope this show does well, but can’t help feel that ‘Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.’, might feel like more of the same from Disney programming.
Identity Politics has Disney Backed Into a Corner
Disney is relying on the success of years past TV shows and movies to justify making the same TV show or movie but just wrapped in different packaging. Sure they have had some success with that…the live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Lion King’ and ‘Jungle Book’ had good numbers at the box office. But, even with those releases and, including ‘Mulan’ and ‘Cruella’, you have started to see an overall waning in audience interest, specifically in merchandising where you didn’t see the interest in the products being made for these movies. Disney has backed themselves into a corner as we see audiences yawn at another reboot or remake of their favorite franchises and a lack of original content coming from the house of mouse. In addition, with fans of Star Wars, and now Marvel, being consistently barraged with woke identity politics, Disney is losing a once reliable fanbase. Playing it safe with reboots and remakes will only get Disney so far, but not staying true to the established characters in favor of inclusivity and diversity, has the majority of audiences turning their backs on a once and powerful giant in entertainment.
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