This week marked the launch of “That 90’s Show”, last week, “Night Court”. Both of these shows are continuations of shows that ended in the 2000s and the 1990s. Both of these series seem to have gotten right, what so many reboots and continuations of previous series get wrong. Of course these are my opinions, and I do get very detail oriented, so characters and story only go so far, if the setting is unrealistic, or fanciful, you really have to have some good stories to overcome my eye.
“That 90s Show” brought a similar formula from its parent show “That 70s Show”. The sets were similar enough to not be noticeable, and they were updated to reflect a realistic progression of Red and Kitty Foreman’s lives. New fridge, new wall paper, new couch, new tile in the kitchen, and even a new vinyl sliding glass door. Kitty and Red still have a wall-mount kitchen phone, a cordless phone from the 80s, with telescoping antenna, and when they get a computer, it is a period appropriate Performa or PowerMac, complete with plastic “Apple” mouse pad. They don’t have the latest and greatest things (aside, maybe for the computer), they are living a quiet, suburban, middle-class American life. I was actually quite surprised and pleased with how much attention was given to the sets, that with a few exceptions, it was like looking at 1995.
What they also got right was the characters. Red is still as much of a hard-ass, but with some flexibly that comes with age and experience. Kitty is just a Kitty as ever, with some added empty-nest syndrome and grandmotherlyness. Leia is perfectly cast. She seems very much like Eric socially, with some of Donna’s outgoingness. The rest of the characters fit traditional teen-comedy stereotypes, which isn’t a bad thing. Honestly, it felt a lot like the kids I went to school with. Also, the storyline about Leia only being in Point Place for the summer (post 4th of July, and mid-west schools typically starting in August), makes the 10 episode season fit well into 5-6 weeks of the life of a teenager, who turns 15 during the series.
That being said, it isn’t perfect. The neighbor mom, who is hooking up with Fez, and parent to two characters, seems a little overdone. As is the showdown between Fez and her landlord (who is quite overdone as a stereotypical gay man from that era, almost like Jack from “Will and Grace”). The only person whose age is explicitly mentioned is Leia, who turns 15. Yet, the guy she has a massive crush on, takes her for a drive; one of the characters is studying for the SATs, and another has a long-distance boyfriend in Québec (and is real), which seems a little advanced. I can see some of it, but with my eye, could look a little suspect.
I also decided to try out Peacock (since I don’t pay for Cable, and no antennas work where I live), to watch the premier of “Night Court”. I was utterly shocked at how realistic this seemed. Little had changed, the sets looked identical, right down to the faux gold-leaf in the mail chutes. The casting seemed to be done well, and I can’t wait to see Dan Fielding as a defense attorney, going against an assistant DA that seems like it female doppelgänger.
Like any Pilot, there were some missteps. The new bailiff, which seems like a cross between Ross and Bull from the original series, was a little grating, but that may just be due to the Pilot, and it will get better. Dan’s, Central Park apartment wasn’t realist, given the dire straits he is in, unless he made a lot of money as a private attorney, before becoming a process server. Too big for New York, and too fancy if rent controlled. Hopefully I can find a way to watch it, since only the Pilot is available for free on Peacock, and I have enough streaming services right now.
Now, since I had Peacock, I figured I’d indulge in another series continuation that I’d seen advertised since the service launched, “Saved by the Bell”. While I felt the story was strong, and had some good lessons and messages, I couldn’t get past the poor acting, nor the unrealistic sets. They went out of their way to create the classic staircase and the Max from the original series, then pair it with an entirely different style of photography that isn’t in keeping with a sitcom, and additional school sets that are totally out of proportion. Not to mention that Mark-Paul Gosselaar knows how to act, and I loved him on “NYPD Blue”, but his performance in “SbtB” makes it seem like he had a lobotomy, and forgot how to act like a human being. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley were bright spots from the returning cast, acting exactly how one would expect Slater and Jesse to still behave after all these years.
The most realistic portrayals come from the school that was shut down, forcing disadvantaged students to be bussed to Bayside. That school looked like most schools I’ve seen in my life, right down to the pressboard cupboards in the classrooms. Bayside from the outside looked like many of the private schools I’ve seen, were getting parents’ money was more important than education. However, if it was realistic, there would be zero legacy for Bayside, as the entire site would have been demolished to upgrade the school, leaving no trace of the old Bayside, and likely the Max, to remain.
Haskiri Velazquez was the best thing about what I was able to watch. Her struggles were real, once I have experienced, and I know other experience far more often. The rest of the new characters seemed more like caricature of privileged people, rather than real characters with needs and wants, even if those come from a privileged place in society. I really wanted to enjoy the series, but don’t think I can.
There are other reboots and continuations that I could mention, both good and bad. Bottom line for me, unless you have great compelling writing, that is well acted, you better keep your world believable, otherwise the entertainment value will wane, quickly.