Back in 1975, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" didn't make much of a splash. At the time, it was so poorly received that the theaters that would play it only did so at midnight. However, it soon became quite popular for being wildly unpopular and the rest, as they say, is history. Since it's humble inception, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" has become a cult classic... and then some. One New York theater in the '70s began a now well-known tradition of the Rocky Horror shadow cast. Many cities have local shadow casts that act out, and mock, the movie as it's playing. This has created many Rocky Horror fanatics, myself included. So, you can imagine our having mixed emotions upon Fox's decision to remake our beloved movie. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time Warp Again," premiered on television on Thursday October 20th and was soon met by mixed reviews. So I decided to go through each character and see how the remake sizes up to its predecessor. Spoiler Alert: I will being ruining the entire plot (if you can even call it a plot) of both the original and the remake.

Janet:

The most spot-on reproduction was Victoria Justice as Janet. We didn't really see anything new from the character, other than a decent singing voice, but I thought that was okay. After all, how much more is there to Janet? She was cute, innocent, and overwhelmed with lust for anything that moved. Justice was the picture of classic Janet Weiss.

Brad:

The original Brad Majors is no more. Whether that is a good or bad thing is really up for interpretation. The new Brad definitely lacked some of the bravado that the original Brad had in spades. He was more earnest and reactionary, than showboaty. I personally enjoyed this a lot. Ryan McCartan is obviously a very talented actor and singer, and I think he brought a lot of new talent to the role. It was a refreshing take on the guy we all love to hate.

Riff Raff:

The butler from hell has risen. Riff Raff is a famously dull character, but you wouldn't know that from this portrayal. The new Riff Raff was energetic, bouncy, and dark. His voice wasn't as chilling and his singing wasn't as grating. Overall, the character didn't bother me much, because he's so minor for most of the movie. But it is worth noting that this was not a very good representation of Riff Raff. He wasn't as creepy or scary as an alien butler with blood on every one of his outfits should be.

Magenta:

First of all, thank GOD they didn't fix Magenta's ever-changing accent. Actually, they may have made it worse just for laughs. Each time she was on screen she switched between British, Russian, and, I don't know, maybe Australian. This is the true spirit of Magenta. The look was completely off, which threw me at first, but the character was there. She was wicked, witty, and wild, in true Magenta fashion. The pink hair quickly became a minor discrepancy in this otherwise amazing portrayal.

Dr. Everett Scott:

He looks exactly the same! Kidding. I'm not sure about this one. His singing was not very good, his costume was exactly the same as before, and he lost his German accent, which made the hints at him being a Nazi very confusing. Considering that was the only notable aspect of the character, I feel it may have been important to keep around. But maybe that's just me.

Rocky:

Staz Nair was a really good Rocky. He definitely conveyed the sad, dumb, childish hunk that is Rocky. Granted, half the fun of Rocky is that he's hand-crafted to be a perfect man and he's not even that attractive, but I was okay with that inaccuracy. I'll say it, I like hot Rocky. He also really nailed the subtle idiocy of Rocky, so named after the rocks in his head. He always somehow looked both confused and endearing.The only thing that messed me up here, was the fact that Rocky walked like a baby throughout a lot of the movie. I thought that was a bit overdone. But I can forgive because, overall, I think this was just a new, improved, and less scantily clad version of the original Rocky.

Eddie:

This character, originally played by the singer Meatloaf, has a fairly small role. In fact, we only see him (alive) for 3 minutes and 22 seconds in the new edition. But he is still very important. He is Columbia's true love and Frankenfurter's ex-lover and victim. Not to mention, he's a rock god.

I was VERY pleased with the choice of Adam Lambert for this role. His incredible vocals brought an entirely new feel to Eddie's only song "Hot Patootie," which is my personal favorite from both the original and the remake. However, Eddie's short on-screen plot line was notably altered. His original emergence from a walk-in freezer and death-by-pick-ax were both removed. Granted, these were giant plot holes in the original that were never even explained, but that movie was full of giant plot holes that were never explained! That's the whole point!

Columbia:

Let me start by saying, Columbia was unrecognizable! Her look was revamped, her voice was normal(ish) and her tongue was blue... and I LOVED it! Columbia went from an odd girl in a sequined tap dance outfit to a rocker chick, without losing the spirit of the character. She felt completely new and completely familiar at the same time, which is exactly how a remake should be. Her big monologue expressing her heartbreak to Frank-N-Furter wasn't nearly as campy as it was in the original and I felt like this gave her a whole new meaning. When you think about it, Columbia's been through a lot. She loved Frankie who replaced her with Eddie. Then she fell in love with Eddie, who Frankie killed and ate. The girl has a right to be hurt. Don't get me wrong, Columbia was still kitschy but this portrayal gave her some depth, as well.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter:

I want to start by expressing my undying love and admiration for Laverne Cox. That said, when she was cast for this role, I was skeptical, and I think it was obviously for good reason. Don't get me wrong, she is a phenomenal actress, but this part just didn't fit. She is not much of a singer and this was glaringly obvious in almost every song.

I will say one thing. This woman looked STUNNING the entire time. Every costume was perfect on her. Sadly, this worked against the character's very nature. In the end, she was simply too polished and... GOOD for the part. Frank-N-Furter is meant to be gritty not pretty.

Overall:

The remake definitely had it's ups and downs. I enjoyed the few references to the original and some of the characters were honestly well done. However, I feel the lows outweigh the highs here. A few of the main characters weren't right and the whole movie just seemed too serious. The music was good and the choreography was much more extravagant, but this took a lot away from the very premise of Rocky Horror. The original felt more like a film project that weirdly worked out, whereas Fox's version was a serious production. When you are forced to look at this as a real movie the novelty is gone, replaced with the reality of how much time and money went into it. With a script this bad and a plot this scattered, high-quality production just ruins it.