TV Redo: Zap2it updates 'Forever Knight,' 'Daria'

The premiere of ABC's "V"  -- and TV's mostly woeful track record for updating beloved TV series  -- has us taking a closer look this week at '70s and '80s TV series that just might be able to make a comeback, if done correctly.

Monday, we took a look at "Greatest American Hero," "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "Small Wonder." Tuesday, it was "Hart to Hart" and "Vega$'" turn. Next up ...

"Forever Knight" (1989)

Original: An 800-year-old vampire, Nick Knight, seeks absolution and to regain his mortality while working as a cop in modern-day Toronto.

Reboot: "Moonlight" and "New Amsterdam" didn't work out but by taking the best elements of both, combining them with a property with a cult audience and casting hot leads it could catch on. We hear vampires are kind of popular these days. The updated version takes place in San Francisco.

Recast: Ben McKenzie ("Southland") as Nick Knight. Emilie de Ravin ("Lost") as the obligatory love interest.

"Daria" (1997)

Original: Animated series about Daria, a slightly nerdy, too smart for her own good high school student and her slightly goth-y best friend Jane. As she navigates the high school milieu with more sarcasm than the usual TV teens, Daria uses her sharp tongue to verbally lay waste to everyone from the popular kids to her clueless parents.

Reboot: This half-hour live action comedy brings Daria's caustic wit into the real (TV) world. Her vitriol is, of course, a defense mechanism as she struggles with a secret desire to fit in while trying to maintain her identity. It's "Juno" without the awkward pregnancy thing.

Recast: Fresh faces/relative unknowns would help bring the cartoons to life and give teens new people to obsess about. Oh, and Jane and Trent, who were Asian in the original, are now Hispanic. Why? Why not.

Come back Thursday for our "Magnum P.I." and "The Famous Teddy Z" updates.

-- More of Eric Almendral's media musings can be found at ericonmedia

Related:

TV Redo: 'Greatest American Hero,' 'WKRP in Cincinnati,' 'Small Wonder'
TV Redo: 'Hart to Hart' and 'Vega$'