We've heard a lot of criticism lately about remakes. After all, it seems that almost every '70s and '80s TV series has been pulled out of mothballs at some time or another and given a new spin, either as another series or a movie. And most of them, quite frankly, are artistic and commercial failures.

The word is out on the street: Remake equals bad. Whenever someone hears their favorite property is going to be remade, the first reaction is almost always a groan. (Usually with good reason – heard about Hollywood's proposed take on the anime classic Akira yet?)

So as an aspiring geek filmmaker, TV producer or screenwriter, does this mean you should just avoid remakes altogether? Not necessarily. Remakes, if done well, don't have to stink.

If you're even on the fringes of the geek world, you are no doubt familiar with the new version of My Little Pony, which caused something of a geekquake when it arrived. I'm not going to analyze it deeply – my co-blogger, Tamara Hecht, has already done that, and quite well. But it is a prime example of what makes a remake work.

Rule number one: Find out what made the original work and respect it. Change the details, but don't change the core of the property. One reason the reminagined Akira has caused such an uproar is the decision to switch the setting from Tokyo to New York and make the story a metaphor not for Hiroshima, but for 9/11 – thus removing the heart and soul of the original and leaving nothing but the outer trimmings, motorcycles and psychic powers.

Rule number two: Rule number one being said, don't be afraid to take chances with those outer details. Arguably the most successful remake of a sci-fi TV series ever is the recent Battlestar Galactica, which turned a cheesy '70s series that probably would have been easily forgotten into a classic by reinventing nearly every spoke of that particular wheel (inverting character genders, making the Cylons much more human-like) while keeping and respecting the basic hub (the idea of a nomadic caravan in space, the battle of humanity vs. machine).

Rule number three: Don't depend on a big title from the past and big name stars to carry your property without a decent script to hang all that glitter on. Anyone remember Sabrina with Harrison Ford? The Avengers (no, NOT the Marvel comic, the '60s spy series) with Uma Thurman? Planet of the Apes with Mark Wahlberg? The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler? Didn't think you did. However, chances are you DO remember the rebooted Star Trek, which starred a little-known cast (the only name being Zachary Quinto, and even he was little-known outside geek circles), but had a clever script and succeeded with both critics and audiences.

Rule number four: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If the movie or TV show in question is considered a timeless classic, an immortal, don't go near it. It doesn't need to be remade. Doing so just results in films like the Vince Vaughn version of Psycho. The best remakes are always of films and TV shows that might have been enjoyable in their day, but haven't aged well, and could really use a fresh coat of paint - case in point being Ocean's Eleven. The original was a dated-looking vehicle for the Rat Pack, but by the time George Clooney and co. got done with it, it was fresh and hip again.

And this one doesn't apply to every possible remake, but for those it does: For the love of cheese, just say NO to unnecessary 3-D. (Four words: Clash of the Titans). If you need that kind of trickery to cover up for your lack of respecting rules one through four, the remake should never have been done in the first place.

So, film types, you can, indeed, make everything old new again without having rotten tomatoes hurled your way. You may even come up with something that surpasses the original in people's minds – just like those shiny, new, rejiggered ponies. – Bonnie Walling