History Channel to remake 'Roots'

Why?

That's the first question I asked when I read that, according to Deadline, History Channel is going to remake Roots, the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries that made LeVar Burton a star and a lot of white people uncomfortable.

Well, I guess I can understand the decision from the programming suits' perspective. History Channel, after all, scored big ratings with Haftields & McCoys and The Bible. Roots rewrote the ratings record book when it aired over eight nights on ABC, with about 140 million people watching.

TV shows, of course, aren't watched like that today with DVRs and a host of other distractions like cell phones, iPads, iPods, Twitter and Facebook vying for our attention like spoiled toddlers. Since viewers have the attention span of a gnat these days, the new Roots may have to be boiled down to a one night, two-hour movie. Still, History Channel has to believe it can attract a sizable audience by cable TV standards.

I mean, I'll tune in just to compare the new version to the original. And, if the horrors of slavery can be introduced to a new generation of viewers, well, that's a good thing.

But, there's something not quite right about another actor playing Kunta Kinte.There are some shows and movies you just don't mess with when they're done right the first time.

Roots, that saga of an American family, that cultural touchstone for the 1970s, fits into that category.