The Neverwas: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW sequel

In this new, recurring feature, we'll look at interesting creative projects (movies, TV, books, games, etc.) that came tantalizingly close to happening, only to eventually fall apart for various reasons. We'll begin with the endlessly delayed and now quite likely dead sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Click the image at left to buy the Rocky Horror Picture Show/Shock Treatment 3-Disc Anniversary Edition on Amazon.)

After it flopped at the box-office in 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show went on to become an astonishing success as a cult movie. There have been Rocky Horror action figures, Rocky Horror comic books, academic studies, trivia games, a couple of Rocky Horror video games... There's even been an (inexplicably bearded) Frank-N-Furter rubber duck! For decades the original stage musical has been in almost constant production every night somewhere in the world, and during its long history it's starred such notable performers as Anthony Stewart Head and Joan Jett. Early in the new millennium, a Broadway revival attracted a lot of attention with a rotating line-up of unlikely celebrity narrators that included Gilbert Gottfried, Robin Leach and Jerry Springer.

With anything as successful as Rocky Horror, it's natural to expect a sequel. The closest we'll probably ever get was the 1981 film Shock Treatment, but it was sold as "not a prequel or a sequel, but an equal," and fans have been arguing for decades about whether it really counts as a sequel or not.

In the late '70s, Rocky Horror creator Richard O'Brien began work on a script called Rocky Horror Shows His Heels, which was supposed to be a direct sequel to Rocky Horror. The plot reportedly involved Tim Curry's Frank returning from the dead as a rotting, zombie transvestite. But Curry wasn't interested in reprising the role of Frank, so O'Brien retitled his script The Brad and Janet Show and struggled to make the story work around Frank's absence. Then he clashed with the studio over the story and songs, and the project eventually devolved into Shock Treatment.

So, does Shock Treatment count as a sequel? Well, it's tough to say. It tells a whole new story and sure doesn't feel like a sequel, but it does feature the characters of Brad and Janet (played by new actors) and new characters played by some of the actors from Rocky Horror. The film follows Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet (Jessica Harper) as they become contestants on a bizarre game show in a town that's entirely enclosed within a TV studio. While it has some interesting elements, it's generally rather confusing, dull and unpleasant, with a surprisingly anemic score heavy on slow ballads. Shock Treatment flopped with both mainstream audiences and Rocky Horror fanatics. Today it's little more than a footnote in Rocky Horror history, although it does have its own fans.

Since Rocky Horror, O'Brien has written a number of musicals, including T.Zee, Disaster, The Stripper and Top People, and in 1995 he debuted his hit one-man show, Disgracefully Yours. He's also made a few other tries at launching a Rocky Horror sequel, both for the stage and film. In 1991 the New York Times reported that production was moving ahead on O'Brien's script for the Rocky Horror sequel Revenge of the Old Queen, but it was not to be. That's something we should all be thankful for, if this alleged script is accurate. It's an awful mishmash that sees Frank's mother journeying to Earth to seek vengeance for the death of her son. O'Brien has denied the script is his - but if it's not, it's a remarkable forgery. It's (much) worse than Shock Treatment, but it has flashes of very O'Brien-like wit and imagination.

At this point a real Rocky Horror sequel seems unlikely, and perhaps that is for the best. The original film was such a strange beast that it would be difficult if not impossible to recapture its success, or to live up to the high expectations of generations of fans. In recent years several remake versions have been rumored and even officially announced, but they never panned out. A TV version called Rocky Horror: The Second Coming was announced in 2002, and in 2006 there were rumors that a new remake would star Marilyn Manson. An MTV remake was announced last year, although nothing's been heard about it lately and I wasn't able to determine if the project is still going forward. O'Brien isn't involved and he's been openly disdainful of the project. (And can you blame him? The prospect of MTV getting its mitts on Rocky Horror is horrific indeed.)

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