Reboots That Should've Never Been Made: "That 80s Show" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 08-30-2022, 03:03 AM

The secret to "That '70s Show" success wasn't the songs or the clothes… it was the strong characters and their relationships to each other (thank you for attending our screenwriting class).

The love those characters had for each other felt real, as opposed to "That '80s Show", which never lets you forget you're watching a sitcom.

Taking a cue from John Hughes, "That '80s Show" includes an edgy-yet-kind record store owner (comedian Margaret Smith), heir apparent to the same alternative archetype Annie Potts played in Pretty in Pink.

And while hanging out at a record store is an awesome sitcom setup, the clunky writing paired with a laugh track that doesn't seem connected to any…actual…jokes…destroys any hope of authenticity.

The promising cast is led by a young Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), but things never quite jell, and you always get the feeling there's a grittier show trapped beneath the sitcom's gloss.

It's not like "That '80s Show" isn't pleasant, because it is — coasting along on light storylines that bubble up to neat, inconsequential conclusions. The problem is that this bland sitcom style is jarring alongside the "cool" and "authentic" references, like one character's liberty spiked hair (and scenes of her sleeping in an alley) and clips from bands like Black Flag (!) and Killing Joke (!!).

Grunge fans take note: producers Bonnie and Terry Turner aren't going to rest until every decade has been given the sitcom treatment, so brace yourself for "That '90s Show"…

https://ew.com/tv/tv-reboots-should-...ver-been-made/

08-30-2022, 03:03 AM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,262	Reboots That Should've Never Been Made: "That 80s Show" The secret to "That '70s Show" success wasn't the songs or the clothes… it was the strong characters and their relationships to each other (thank you for attending our screenwriting class). The love those characters had for each other felt real, as opposed to "That '80s Show", which never lets you forget you're watching a sitcom. Taking a cue from John Hughes, "That '80s Show" includes an edgy-yet-kind record store owner (comedian Margaret Smith), heir apparent to the same alternative archetype Annie Potts played in Pretty in Pink. And while hanging out at a record store is an awesome sitcom setup, the clunky writing paired with a laugh track that doesn't seem connected to any…actual…jokes…destroys any hope of authenticity. The promising cast is led by a young Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), but things never quite jell, and you always get the feeling there's a grittier show trapped beneath the sitcom's gloss. It's not like "That '80s Show" isn't pleasant, because it is — coasting along on light storylines that bubble up to neat, inconsequential conclusions. The problem is that this bland sitcom style is jarring alongside the "cool" and "authentic" references, like one character's liberty spiked hair (and scenes of her sleeping in an alley) and clips from bands like Black Flag (!) and Killing Joke (!!). Grunge fans take note: producers Bonnie and Terry Turner aren't going to rest until every decade has been given the sitcom treatment, so brace yourself for "That '90s Show"… https://ew.com/tv/tv-reboots-should-...ver-been-made/