There was this brief trend in the first few years of the 21st century of revamping old TV shows for modern day films. Charlie's Angels started this phenomenon, and the likes of Starsky & Hutch, Miami Vice and The Dukes of Hazzard kept it going. It's slowed down in recent years, but the likes of Dark Shadows and 21 Jump Street show that Hollywood loves taking classic programs and revamping them as new movies. The Equalizer is the newest film adhering to this thought process, though even without watching any of the show, a quick glance to the original shows Wikipedia page confirms that this is less of an adaptation of that 80's TV show and more of a cinematic excuse for Denzel Washington to punch people.
