Made-for-TV movies often face a bad rap, but what about TV tie-in films? Films that, despite being released onto the big screen, continue stories that began on the small screen?

The genre is a wee-bit of a mixed bag (for every “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” there’s a “Dr. Who and the Daleks”), but with the recent release of “The Many Saints of Newark” and the upcoming trilogy of “Walking Dead” films, TV continuation movies are arguably at an all-time high in terms of popularity.

This article explores the ten best TV continuation films. These set of films exemplify television translated into movies the right way — even if some might be more tailored to hardcore fans than others. Regardless, each film emerges as an individually enjoyable, engaging cinematic experience.

(Side-bar: this list is mostly fairly light on spoilers, though there might be a handful of plot points about certain TV shows revealed here or there. Fair warning.)

10. Transformers: The Movie (1986)

So “Transformers: The Movie” is a glorified commercial. News flash: Who cares, provided it’s fun?

“Transformers: The Movie” represents everything that the live-action Michael Bay attempts should’ve been — fast-paced, ridiculous, and wonderfully entertaining. It also possesses perhaps the single greatest piece of IMDb movie trivia: “Transformers: The Movie” contains the final role of Orson Welles, who portrays Unicron, the planet-devouring Transformer (no, really).

The film takes actually admirable (albeit in service of a corporate agenda) narrative risks, ruthlessly killing off nearly the entire original cast — including Optimus Prime — in the first act, clearing the path for a new set of characters. This, ironically, imbues “Transformers: The Movie” with much more grit than Bay’s iteration (or some of the other, hypothetically “darker” films on this list) and explains its lasting effect on a generation of youngsters.

There are too many moments of delectable sci-fi pulp to choose from in picking a favorite scene: Unicron’s transformation, Starscream’s ascent to the Decepticon throne, etc. And, of course, Optimus and Megatron’s final confrontation — “Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost.” Truer words have never been spoken, Optimus. Perhaps you would’ve survived if not for that impulsive brat Hot Rod.

9. El Camino (2019)

In “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”, Vince Gilligan is by-and-large disinterested in crafting a definitive condensation of the entire “Breaking Bad” mythos into a single film. Rather, “El Camino” emerges as an intimate character study centered on Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and a deserved — if not necessarily warranted — member of the “Breaking Bad” canon.

Paul’s Jesse is front-and-center in this cinematic continuation of the iconic series. Only a handful of other original “Breaking Bad” veterans are allowed a proper reprise, and they mostly make sense within the context of Jesse’s ongoing quest to achieve physical and emotional liberation.

The film is all at once a psychological drama, gritty action thriller and an atmospheric neo-Western. Likewise, Paul delivers a brilliantly multi-layered performance. While consistently hinting at the trauma endured by his character, Paul ultimately paints a portrait of a wholly new and evolved individual by the time that the credits roll.

Though it’s difficult to deny that “El Camino” is on the weaker side of the “Breaking Bad” franchise, and handfuls of characters return jarringly aged, “El Camino” nonetheless provides a satisfying coda to an invaluable pillar of Peak TV. At the very least, it provided us with a plethora of entertaining internet memes (“Fat Todd”, anyone?).

8. Batman (1966)

Before Michael Keaton — or Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson or even Kevin Conroy — the character of Batman was solely synonymous with one actor: Adam West. West’s landmark take on the character was a riot of self-aware, earnest camp and sly social satire.

1966’s “Batman” is like a perfectly curated “greatest hits” montage for West’s Caped Crusader. The story goes as follows: Batman and the Boy Wonder (Burt Ward) face off against a deadly supervillain team composed of The Joker (Cesar Romero), Catwoman (Lee Meriwether), Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Penguin (Burgess Meredith).

The villains, though evil in their schemes to “hold the world for ransom” via creating a massive dehydrating device, still have some class and meet in a professional setting under the title “United Underworld”. Batman and Robin employ a wide array of colorful gadgets and Bat-themed vehicles to defeat their costumed foes, culminating in a cinematic experience which makes one yearn for a time when Batman wasn’t all doom-and-gloom (and the trailer for “The Batman” doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of hope that’ll change anytime soon).

7. Serenity (2005)

One’s enjoyment of “Serenity” depends entirely on one’s tolerance for the soapy, oppressively televisual sensibilities of Joss Whedon. Likewise, “Serenity” occasionally feels merely like a feature-length episode of “Firefly”, though it’s founded on a rock-solid foundation of compelling characters and boasts a worthwhile conclusion to a beloved cult series.

Whedon manages to balance the original “Firefly” ensemble reasonably well on the big screen, and the collective charisma within the cast remains intact. But really, it’s the climax that makes “Serenity” soar: a heat-pounding third-act blowout even if you’re not fully invested in the “Firefly” mythos.

6. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

“South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” is a prime example of honest advertising in the movies. It promises an extended, more grandiose and “uncut” take on the original series, and the film 100% delivers.

In a delightfully meta storyline, “Bigger, Longer & Uncut” presents Stan, Eric, Kyle and Kenny sneaking into an R-rated film, and subsequently shocking the world with their newly-learned vocabulary.

Though, because it’s “South Park”, things don’t end there — Satan gets involved, the U.S. and Canada go to war, plus Saddam Hussein as Lucifer’s abusive lover. It’s a weird time, but unabashedly “South Park”.

In a storied cinematic career spanning 56 years, Gamera the Giant Turtle has served as the testudial Guardian of the Universe and a Friend of All Children. He’s fought beasts like Barugon, Zigra, Gyaos, Guiron and saved the world from annihilation several times over. He also, unfortunately, endures a somewhat niche place in the popular zeitgeist.

Gamera has suffered a substandard cultural status since his creation in 1965. His legacy (which comprises 12 features and numerous appearances on “Mystery Science Theater”) has by-and-large been eclipsed by that of Godzilla. It’s why we’re yet to see a major American studio attempt a big-budget, totally wrongheaded reboot of the character.

Though the Friend of All Children’s relative obscurity is a true shame, Gamera maintains a dedicated cult fanbase and an impressive roster of films. In many ways, Gamera epitomizes an ideal starting point for blossoming Kaiju fans: his filmography is relatively unintimidating (at least when compared to the gargantuan “Godzilla” series) while managing to preserve the endearing thematic hallmarks native to the genre.

Any Kaiju fanatic will attest that ranking a franchise like “Gamera” is highly subjective. In a series populated with B-movies and rubber dinosaurs, the specific orderings of a quality-based list will be decided by trivial preferences.

Nevertheless, here’s all 12 “Gamera” features, ranked from worst to best:

12. Gamera: Super Monster (1980)

“Gamera: Super Monster” is a universally despised entry among fans (the film can only charitably be described as a stock footage clip show), yet nobody hated it more than series director Noriaki Yuasa. Yuasa — contractually forced to revive the brand after a nine-year hiatus — was so insulted by the perceived bastardization of his signature creation that he wrote in a last-minute ending killing Gamera off, hoping to protect the Friend of All Children from further humiliation. But Gamera’s wasn’t the only life that “Super Monster” claimed: the film’s financial failure drove Daiei Film into bankruptcy, even though it had been intended to pull the production company out of crippling debt. Oof.

11. Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

Gamera goes to SeaWorld in the series’ sixth sequel, which (save for “Super Monster”, of course) stands as the worst-written film of the franchise. There’s some fun to be had with Yuasa’s incorporation of live sea creatures, but nearly everything else about the feature feels borrowed from previous entries: aliens, mind control, cheap looking sets, etc. For “Gamera” completists only (or those with a robot-shark fetish).

10. Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965)

It’s rare that the first installment of a film franchise would rank near the bottom, but in 1965, the “Gamera” series was yet to carve out a unique identity unto its own. Thus, “Gamera, the Giant Monster” sold audiences on a single unadulterated premise: “Godzilla… but a turtle.”

There are, however, occasional hints of creative ingenuity. Gamera is immediately presented as a gentler gigantic creature than most of his Kaiju brethren; Yuasa interjects adorable scenes of “bonding” between Gamera and the film’s key youngster.

Otherwise, there’s not much to dissect — the story is mostly beat-by-beat boilerplate Kaiju fare, complete with fire-breathing reptiles and uninteresting military gabble. More adventurous follow-ups were thankfully to come.

9. Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)

One could always safely bet on three things from a “Gamera” movie: turtles, tots, and lots of blood. Even as the franchise gravitated towards being exclusively for children, almost every “Gamera” title featured barbarically violent battles between the Guardian of the Universe and his massive foes. And “Gamera vs. Gyaos” contains perhaps Gamera’s goriest Kaiju confrontation ever.

Purplish blood pours from both beasts as Gamera and Gyaos (a 200 ft. vampiric pterosaur) trade blows in a series of extended fight sequences poised to make even the most iron-stomached of viewers lose their lunch. The same instant indelibility cannot be attributed to a meandering human storyline, yet the “Gamera” brand was slowly developing its own distinct cadence, one severed Kaiju limb at a time.

8. Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

Having endured a traumatic childhood without palpable adult role models, Noriaki Yuasa created Gamera with the goal of forming an entity which would serve as a source of comfort and inspiration for all youngsters. Thus, it should come as no surprise that “Gamera vs. Viras” was his personal favorite film in the series.

“Gamera vs. Viras” is an unabashed children’s movie. Ceaselessly colorful and creative, “Viras” was also the first entry to introduce Gamera’s iconic theme song (“Gamera, you are so strong! Gamera, you are so strong!”) and adolescent protagonists. Drawn-out sequences composed of stock footage make it hard to reconcile ranking the film any higher, though you’d be hard-pressed to be bored by Yuassa’s aura of brazen guilelessness.

7. Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)

“Gamera vs. Barugon” accomplishes the bizarre feat of staying utterly reverent towards the “Godzilla” franchise, yet still emerging as delectable Kaiju kitsch.

Perhaps that has something to do with Barugon, Gamera’s rainbow-spurting adversary (this was the first in-color “Gamera” outing). Barugon is aroused from a fetal slumber via human callousness and earns Gamera’s ire after his rampage threatens Japan’s youth. Elsewhere, the treasure hunters behind Barugon’s premature vivification — played by Kojiro Hongo and Kōji Fujiyama respectively — engage in high-stakes skirmishes of their own.

Fujiyama delivers the series’ best non-Kaiju villain and enjoys an artistically unrivaled death scene. Barugon is likewise an ideal enemy for Gamera and generates good action sequences with the Friend of All Children. It’s a narratively ordinary Kaiju effort, but mighty good all the same.