That ‘70s Showdistinguished itself amongst the other sitcoms of its generation through its intriguing historical setting. Romantic squabbles, high school anxieties, and various misadventures that a group of friends go through were common topics in 1990s teen shows likeBeverly Hills, 90210,orMy So-Called Life, butThat ‘70s Showtook the characters back two decades prior. While it wasn’t a huge shift in the timeline, the setting allowedThat ‘70s Showto have cross-generational appeal; teenagers who felt reflected by the show’s protagonists would bond with their parents, who remember growing up in the era being depicted. The long anticipatedThat ‘70s Showcontinuation,That ‘90s Show, has the same opportunity; it seeks to offer older fans nostalgia for both the original characters and the cultural aesthetic of the 1990s.
Like many comedy reboots and reimaginings,That ‘90s Showuses its original stars to help kickstart a new generation. The series brings back Eric Forman’s (Topher Grace) parentsRed (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp),who reside in the same exact house in Point Place, Wisconsin as they always have. When Eric and his wife Donna Pinciotti (returning cast memberLaura Prepon) bring their daughter Leia (Callie Haverda) to visit her grandparents, the spirited young teenager decides to stick around in Wisconsin for the summer instead of attending “space camp” with her dad. This allows Leia to form her own group of friends when she starts hanging out with her neighbors Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide), Ozzie (Reyn Doi), Nikki (Sam Morelos), Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan), and Jay (Mace Coronel), the son of Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis).
Ironically,That ‘90s Showis emulating the format of a half hour sitcom with a laugh track and episodic breaks that its predecessor followed; this was a characteristic of most 1990s comedy shows. While focusing on standalone stories and not conforming to the “binge” model of television viewing has certainly madeThat ‘90s Showan anomaly amongst Netflix’s comedy output, it’s only part of the reason that the series has been so effective.That ‘90s Showtakes the themes, misadventures, and anxieties that the characters of the original series dealt with and updates them for the new setting; the cultural references are now nostalgic for a different era, and the new cast reflected the growing progressive movement among young people. It begs the question: just how ‘90s isThat ‘90s Show, actually?
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‘That ’90s Show’s Revamped Characters Ramp Up the ’90s Nostalgia
Although she dodged attending camp with her father for the entire summer, Leia is still just as geeky and awkward as Eric was at the same age. Since Leia is a relative outsider and doesn’t have a lot of close friends at her school in Chicago, the show takes the opportunity to introduce her to the world of ‘90s popular culture as she bonds with her new neighbors. Many of these adventures mirror similar scenarios in the original series.
One of the most memorable moments ofThat ‘70s Show’s first season was Eric, Hyde, and Kelso’s obsession with seeingStar Warson opening night, as going to the theater for a late night showing was the best way to get in on the phenomenon. In the ‘90s, teenagers grew more interested in discovering obscure and cutting edge “alternate” movies, and thus Leia decides to throw a movie night in her grandparents’ basement with a VHS copy ofClerks. The process of going to a video store, scrolling through aisles of options, and looking for an obscure title is one that many cinephiles may have dealt with; humorously, the situation goes awry due to a mix up in tapes, and the gang is sent home with a copy ofFree Willyinstead.
‘That ’90s Show’ Gang Has Just As Many Misadventures
Another memorable moment in the first season ofThat ‘70s Showwas the episode where Eric’s friends convince him to drive them all in his new car to a disco concert, where they plan to impress each other with their skills on the dance floor. InThat ‘90s Show, disco parties are replaced by a ‘90s rave, and Leia is put in a similar situation when she drives her friends to the show. It’s particularly amusing that Red’s attitude hasn’t changed in the slightest; he’s just as annoyed by the rave environment as he was by the disco scene two decades earlier.
That ‘90s Showalso builds several situational comedy moments around the new developments of the decade. One of the funniest instances is when Ozzie decides to help Kitty install a computer in her home, much to the annoyance of the old-fashioned Red. Red is often tasked with chaperoning the kids to their daily activities, which in this case is a trip to the mall; for ‘90s teenagers, spending a day perusing shops and meeting new friends was a very big deal. Nonetheless, Red ultimately gets some peace when a charismatic salesman inspires him to relax in an upgraded Sharper Image chair. In fact, ‘90s advertising techniques pop up at several instances throughout the series; the local stylist Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) becomes a local legend with his quirky TV ads.
‘That ’90s Show’ Is More Progressive Than Its Predecessor
The intro toThat ‘90s Showreplaces the iconic rock song “In The Street” with a grunge remix, and includes the type of polaroids and VHS footage that teenagers of the era would have used to capture their experiences. However, the ‘90s updates aren’t just surface level; the struggles that the characters are going through reflect the rapid social changes that emerged in two decades.Ozzie openly discusses his sexuality, and it’s a big moment when he reveals that he is gay to Kitty; not only is Kitty’s emphatic support an empowering moment for Ozzie, but it serves as an acknowledgment thatThat ‘70s Show(like many of its contemporaries) would occasionally feature homophobic humor and slurs.
Similarly, the characters deal with more modern issues; Nikki’s ambitious plans to break barriers and study out of state scare her boyfriend Nate, who fears that they won’t be able to sustain a long distance relationship. Gwen is an independent riot grrrl who describes herself as a “feminist,” although that term has a slightly different connotation in the ‘90s than it does today. In general,That ‘90s Showfeatures more respectful interactions between characters with less jokes centered on race, gender, and class. We have a diverse group of companions, some of whom come from broken homes, who are united by their collective boredom at small town drama.
Of course,That ‘90s Showwas never going to get all the details right. The use of more modern slang like “creeper” and “bro” is a little anachronistic for the time, and some Milwaukee sports fans havenoted some of the inaccuracies in the show’s depiction of their football team. However,That ‘90s Showhas been able to upgrade itself in two ways; it’s both a series grounded in the style of the ‘90s that reflects the more progressive social attitudes of today.
