This new Netflix series THAT 90S SHOW (2023-????) unsuccessfully tries to tell a continuation story to the insanely popular hit That 70s Show, which ran from 1998 to 2006. In my opinion, comedy is less subjective than drama. With drama, there can be a wide array of opinions on the quality and level of writing and acting. I've seen a lot of dramatic movies and shows deemed "masterpieces" that are actually bloated, overly serious, pretentious filler, in my opinion. I've seen the term "slow burn" used for stuff that's just plain slow filler. And I've seen people praise dramatic performances as "great" that I think are terrible. But dramas can fool a lot of people who think incessant yelling and crying and characters looking "serious" all the time is the same as great acting. But with comedy, it better be FUNNY. Genuine humor and laughs cannot be faked and if a show deemed a comedy is not funny, it's not going to fool a lot of people. And that is the main problem with That 90s Show. It is simply not funny. The bigger problem is that it has the far funnier and superior That 70s Show to compare it to, which is 2 strikes against it already. That 90s Show can't compete. Maybe if it were some new thing with no connections to the original series, it would fool more fans because there is a LOT of modern output that seems to get undeserved praise. But this show isn't fooling very many people.
First, this new show plays it incredibly safe. One of the main reasons the original show was a hilarious hit was because there was a ton of biting, sarcastic, mean-spirited, off-the-wall humor. The original characters had very little filter. They said what they felt almost all the time. They would constantly insult, rip into, and BURN each other. And the dialogue and exchanges among the characters was hilarious delivered with perfect comic timing. On That 90s Show, everyone is nice to and cordial with each other, which doesn't seem very realistic for teenagers, who always find a way to rib each other. And the constant ribbing that the original characters did amongst themselves always felt like it was coming from a place of familiarity and tough love. The original 6 teens Eric, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Jackie, and Fez really knew each other so their harsh words tended to come across as realistic advice. And sometimes, they were just having fun at each others' expense because they were all best friends and knew the victim could take a joke. It was all in good fun. At the same time, the writers had the characters say things that would not fly with modern Hollywood's censored writing machine. Much of the original humor could get pretty insensitive at times, like jabbing Fez because he was foreign, or making fun of Kelso because he was dumb, or insulting Jackie because she was high-strung and annoying. Hollywood doesn't allow characters to insult each other anymore because they don't want them to be seen as unlikable. Everyone has to be nice all the time. But nice isn't funny.
Second, the original characters were all very unique with very specific defining qualities. Eric was the charming, sarcastic, awkward leader of the group. Hyde was the cool, rebellious troublemaker. Kelso was the energetic, lovable idiot. Jackie was the loud, abrasive, egocentric pest. Fez was the weird, odd, hilarious outsider. And Donna was the self-proclaimed feminist and "straight man" character that soaked in all the craziness around her. All 6 felt like real people and the fact that they were all so different yet part of the same group made for hilarious results. The 6 new characters all feel like the exact same person. They have no distinguishable personalities. They say the same dialogue and tell the same unfunny jokes. I spent about half the season not being able to tell the difference in the characters and many times got confused as to who was who. By the end of the season, I legitimately couldn't remember any of their names except for Leia, and only because she was the main character that most of the thin plots revolved around and also because of Eric's Star Wars obsession. Obviously, since there were 6 newbies, each of them was supposed to have a one-to-one connection with an original character, but I got zero connection other than there were 6 new characters. Not a single one of them was funny or memorable. The only thing I remembered about them was that they said the terms "bro", "babe", and "dude" a lot.
Third, this supposedly 90s show doesn't give off a 90s vibe at all. The 90s is just as much a distinctive decade as the 70s and 80s were and it's like the showrunners did no actual research into how people looked or dressed in the 90s. The characters were just wearing random outfits and hairstyles and I couldn't tell the era. Also, they would make 90s references that didn't feel natural. With the original show, even though it was set in the 70s, the writers back then smartly avoided the pitfalls of making a ton of 70s references. Yeah, they did parody and dream segments of famous 70s shows, but the actual plots and dialogue were rarely ever about 70s things. They just had their characters talk like people and had the characters drive the plots, not have the 70s define the show. But this new show seems to think making a bunch of 90s references and wearing "90s" clothes equals the 90s. Finally, the new actors aren't very good. I'll put a lot of blame on the writing, but at the same time I'm not seeing or sensing any kind of emotion from any of the actors. They all have the same monotone demeanor and line deliver and just kind of stare blankly most of the time and wait their turn to say their lines. I get that most or all of them are teenagers, but that doesn't get a pass from me. This is a new major series that's an offshoot of a popular older one and got a lot of publicity and hype. You've got to take the criticisms with the accolades.
The only reason for the 2 extra stars is the welcome return of the original characters and also an actual good new character. Red and Kitty are actually regulars and in every episode since Leia is staying with them over the summer of 1995 that Season 1 takes place. Even though a lot of their humor worked, some of it was strained due to a very noticeable safe and modern script. The one good new character was Sherri, who plays the Foreman's next-door-neighbor. I actually found her funny for the most part. Eric, Donna, Kelso, Jackie, and Fez all show up in cameo appearances, some for just one episode, some for two or three. Also, fan favorite minor characters like Bob, Leo, and Fenton showed up for cameos as well. None of them missed a beat, which made me wish That 90s Show would actually have been just a reunion of the original cast and lose these new teenagers. But, unfortunately, most of the original actors have other commitments so could only do cameos. On the plus side, if this show is renewed, maybe some or all of them will be available to make more appearances in future seasons. If this show is going to have any remotely funny scenes and moments in future seasons, it's really going to have lean very hard on the original cast because the new teens are most definitely not the solution.
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