Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I’m taking it back to the 90s as I look at the latest Netflix series, That 90’s Show!
Being a big fan of That 70’s Show¸ I was cautiously optimistic when I heard they were doing a reboot. With the current trend of reboots, I did have my concerns that this would be a cheaply made cash-grab.
How does this reboot hold up? Is it a circle worth joining? Or a bad trip to avoid?
Let’s head back to Point Place with that That 90’s Show!
Pros:
Still has spirit of the original
That 70’s Show became the hit that it was because of its great cast of young characters, a fun setting in the 1970s, and of course its humor. Its successor does successfully capture a similar spirit, although not as great as the original, is still enjoyable.
One of the reasons That 70’s Show became one of my favorites is because of how easy of a series it is to drop into. As someone who loves binging shows over and over again, That 70’s Show is a show that I can easily jump into at any point (minus the final season) and still get the same laughs and joy that I got the first time.
That 90’s Show has that same feel of a show that you can drop into and casually enjoy. I have watched the series twice now and both times, I felt that same easy-going vibe that I felt when watching the original. The scenes with Eric, Donna and his parents together felt like just old times and set the tone that the rest of the season would follow and part of why that spirit is still felt is because of the new cast…
A Charming New Cast
What made the original That 70’s Show so enjoyable was its cast of talented and funny young actors. The talented cast carried the show with their charm and their comedic chops and made for a hilarious experience. When this show was first announced, I was worried how the new cast of kids would turn out. Thankfully, the new gang brings their own charm and humor that makes them great additions to the series.
The standout performance is Callie Haverda as Leia Forman who makes for a very likable and quirky lead. She has the awkward quirkiness of her father Eric while also containing the strong feminine forcefulness of her mother Donna. She is a great lead in that she is easily relatable and very likable. She’s a young teenager who has never fit in and has her socially awkward quirks that make you feel for her and laugh with her awkwardness. As the series progresses, we see her come out of her shell more and become a more carefree teenager. In the beginning of the original series, Eric was the rule abiding and awkward straight man who over time became more confident and snarkier while still being likable and charming. Leia experiences a similar growth in confidence, and I am looking forward to seeing how her character continues to evolve.
Another standout from the new cast is Reyn Doi as Ozzie. Ozzie is by far the funniest of the new gang as his reactions to the gang’s shenanigans always brought the most laughs. He brings the snarky humor of the original series and is very quick with his comments and insults. Another aspect of his charm is his confidence. He is a very confident character who knows who he is and loves himself, sometimes more than anyone else. While Ozzie is confident, he still has moments of nerves and that is focused on heavily in an episode where he comes out to Kitty as a homosexual. The episode begins with a funny montage of him telling strangers that he is gay, and it builds to him wanting to come out to Kitty. While he is determined to do so, he still has some nerves about it worrying how she will react. This is relatable for LGBTQ viewers and adds a level of complexity to his character. I am interested to see how much further they can go with him and see a lot of potential. He mentions that he has not come out to his family yet and we have not seen them yet so it would be interesting to see what his homelife is like, what his parents are like, and get more of an understanding of how hard it must be for him to hide his identity from them. There is even room for comedy, if done carefully, of the kind of façade he might put on when he’s at home in contrast to how he is around his friends. It creates great potential for an already charming character and if handled with the proper care, he may become the breakout character of the series.
The rest of the gang is very likable as well. Gwen and Leia’s friendship is very sweet to watch, and I find their relationship to be the strongest amongst the group. Her half-brother Nate is a charming and sensitive meathead type character and with the season finale, they opened a door to make him more interesting. His girlfriend Nikki is the charming brainy student, and her smarts are good contrast to Nate’s simpleness that complement each other. Jay Kelso is a solid love interest for Leia and Mace Coronel was an excellent casting choice as he strongly resembles a young Ashton Kutcher and his reveal as Kelso’s son made all the sense in the world. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Nate and Jay and even how that friendship at times can bleed into Nate and Nikki’s relationship. The dynamics were all very interesting and kept me engaged in what the gang was up to. The gang all work well off each other and I believe in their friendship as a group of “misfits.”
Like Cobra Kai and Fuller House, That 90’s Show has done a solid job of establishing a new generation of characters to follow and they were likable and charming enough that I look forward to seeing how they all grow in future seasons. They complement each other well and work well off the older cast in the few times that they interact…
Using the Old Cast Sparingly
The first episode did a great job in giving fans a taste of the original using the original cast but also wisely uses them to introduce the new cast in a way that feels organic and helps to set up the new gang and keep us interested. Like Fuller House, the first episode gives fans of the original what they want right away with Eric and Donna returning to Point Place and showing us cameos from the likes of Kelso, Jackie, Fez, and even Leo while Red and Kitty serve as the constants to hold everything together.
Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith are still as funny and charming as they were in the original and it is great to see them return with the same charm and energy.
The show makes the wise choice in that they do not over rely on the older cast to carry the series. While Red and Kitty are the constant reminders of the original series, they never get in the way of the new cast and complement them well. We only see Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis in the first episode, and they surprisingly do not interact together. While some may be disappointed that they did not get more, I see it as a positive.
While I first assumed the reason was the availability of the actors, a photo of Grace, Prepon, Kutcher, and Kunis all on set together makes me see it as a case of leaving the fans wanting more. If the show gave the fans everything that they wanted all at once, they could potentially lose interest quickly. By giving them small bits of it, they can leave the door open for an eventual reunion of the entire gang later in the series as well as introducing other familiar faces from the past.
My girlfriend is a huge fan of That 70’s Show and she expressed her disappointment in not seeing the whole gang back together but also it left her wanting more of the show to see them reunite and to me that is a sign of a job well done.
Cons:
While this show did impress me a lot, I would be remiss to not point out its flaws.
Before I begin, I will acknowledge that I have seen social media point out how the video store scene included movies that had yet to be released like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Con Air (both released in 1997; two years after the show’s setting of 1995) as well as the inclusion of Batman Forever which would later be referenced as still being in theatres. And there was also the issue of Ozzie wearing an Apple Watch which I will admit is a bad mistake.
However, while the internet was up-in-arms over these errors, I found them more to be funny than irritating and I find it absurd for them to be considered as strong reasons to not watch this show. Yes, they are bad inconsistencies however I will not be taking that scene into account as a con that hurts the show.
I find those setting goofs to be peanut sized issues compared to one glaring issue that I believe does severely hold the show back from being great…
Limited by having only 10 episodes
While this show did impress me a lot, I would be remiss to not point out a serious flaw that does hold it back and that flaw is its 10-episode limit. I noticed this with another reboot series, How I Met Your Father, and like that show, That 90’s Show is given the task of squeezing in 22 episodes worth of story into only 10 episodes. This is a trend that I am seeing become more common with sitcoms nowadays and while I can understand the reasoning behind it, it still is a flaw that does hurt the pacing and story progression for me and makes a lot of the series feel rushed and at times forced.
The romance between Leia and Jay was interesting enough that I followed along but at the same time feel it could have been so much more. I would have liked to have seen Jay as the playboy he was described as and see how his friendship and eventual relationship with Leia would change him and his attitude. I would have loved to have seen how Leia and Jay connect on a level that makes Jay want to change. The scene they share on top of the car in the driveway is a nice scene but is also a moment where I see the moment but don’t feel it. The plotline of Jay dating another girl felt like a forced obstacle as the girlfriend only appeared in half the episode and by the end was completely discarded and forgotten, feeling very pointless. In the original series, Eric and Donna’s relationship was given time to grow and they didn’t end up together until halfway through the season. However, the original also had the advantage that it was given 25 episodes, so it is an unfair comparison in that aspect. In the end, Leia and Jay feel more like a generic romantic pairing for the sake of having a romantic pairing and while I can see what they are going for, it is not fleshed out enough for me to feel it and keeps them from being a strong romantic couple.
Another plotline they attempt is the growing rift in Nate and Nikki’s relationship while I understood the idea, it felt half-baked and wasn’t given enough focus for the payoff to feel earned. While they do give just enough for me to see the direction that they are heading in, I was left wanting more. Nikki has ambition and goals for going to college and making something of herself while Nate feels like he is being left behind. This is a relatable issue that couples go through and if expanded upon more could have led to moments of Nate trying to better himself and prove his worth and either failing or not being enough for him. The rift does lead Nate down an interesting and unexpected route (which I won’t spoil) and I think had there been more time given to him, the ending would have had even more impact.
With failed reboots becoming the norm, I can understand Netflix’s reluctance to put more money into making more episodes for a show that has yet to prove itself. Hulu did the same with How I Met Your Father and then after the show proved itself, the series was renewed for a second season with 22 episodes being ordered instead of 10. Potentially, the same could happen for That 90’s Show, and I hope that it does. The characters are very charming, and I want to see more of them and from a story perspective, the season ended on an interesting note that can go in a lot of directions. The writers were given a difficult task and while I commend them for getting where they needed to be, I do wish that they were given more time to fully flesh out these ideas and characters. As is, a lot of the ideas feel half-baked and forced and some characters suffer severely…
Sherri
Sherri Runck is the single mother of Gwen and Nate and Kitty and Red’s new next-door neighbor. She is played by Andrea Anders who puts in a good performance; however, she is given such little screen time and focus that she feels like the most forced and underdeveloped character in the series.
I won’t go as far as to say she is a bad character as again she is acted well and does work well off Red and Kitty. However, there are times where she feels so unessential to the story that she could have easily been cut from the show and nothing would have been affected. They try to give her a plot by having her in a relationship with Fez but even this is so underdeveloped and given so little focus that it could have easily been cut out and it would not affect the overarching story. They date in one episode and then decide that they shouldn’t be together but then are back together a few episodes later without much explanation. It feels very forced and more of a device to include Fez as a recurring character rather than a meaningful storyline.
By no means am I insisting that this character be cut, on the contrary, I believe that she should be given more focus and development in future seasons as there is potential for her to be a welcome addition to the show and there are many angles that they can tackle. They can focus on her struggles as a single mother of two teenagers, her lack of self-love and self-worth, her upbringing and how it affected her in life, and how her friendship with Red and Kitty has had a positive effect on her life. She reminds me of Hyde and how he came from a broken home and found a new home with the Forman’s, but she is not given nearly enough time and development to make a lasting impression. I hope that in the next season that she is given more focus to justify her inclusion beyond just being Gwen and Nate’s mother and Fez’s new girlfriend.
Conclusion:
That 90’s Show is a welcome return to Point Place, Wisconsin that has plenty of fan service for fans of That 70’s Show while also introducing a charming new cast of characters that are strong enough and funny enough to bring their own charm that is also reminiscent of the original while still being fresh.
Although the show is severely held back in terms of storytelling and character development due to its limited 10-episode run, the show does just enough in its short run to gain viewer interest and keep them along for the ride. The characters are charming enough that by the end, I was left wanting more and to me that is a sign of a job well done. I do hope this series gets picked up for another season and I hope that like How I Met Your Father, it is given more episodes that will allow the characters and plot lines to be fleshed out further.
I recommend this show to fans of That 70’s Show as I think you will be pleasantly surprised to find a good continuation of the series with a good cast of newcomers along with seeing your favorites from the past to give good fan service and continue to evolve the franchise.
Comments