The recent trends of sequels and spin-offs continue to prevail with the new show on the block being “That 90s Show” on Netflix.
“That 90s Show” is the sequel to “That ’70s Show,” which originally ran on Fox for eight seasons.
Taking place 15 years after the original series, new and old faces appear in this jumbled mess of a show.
The series revolves around Leia, the daughter of Eric and Donna, as she lives with her grandparents Kitty and Red for the summer.
Along the way, she meets a group of friends who hang out in the iconic basement.
For the brief positives that can be given for this show, the acting is serviceable at best.
Despite some of the shaky acting, the newer actors give off, they play their roles well.
Some of the better jokes the season gave were when Leia imagines herself in the 90210 episode and when Kitty imagines herself as a nurse were quite amusing.
That’s pretty much it for the positives as looking at the show on its own, it never justifies its existence.
The show overall suffers from a lack of good pacing. With the show taking place during the summer of 1995, the storylines within the episodes come off far too condense to be anything worthwhile.
Leila and Jay’s relationship is the best example of this because at first, Jay doesn’t want to kiss Leia as he doesn’t want her to be a simple hookup.
Then Jay has a girlfriend which makes Leia jealous.
It doesn’t matter anyway as Jay meets up with Leia after missing her birthday party and they kiss. All of that happens in less than a five-episode span.
What could’ve likely had been the most compelling plot point in the season ends up being a pisspoor attempt at a non-standing relationship as they break up by the end of the season.
As mentioned before with the show taking place during the summer, there is little time for plot lines to take place. It leaves very little for things to build up or for the comedy to flow naturally.
Like most reboots, “That ’90s Show” features a lot of fan service to the old fans which were bound to expect. Whether it be old characters returning or even the 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser making an appearance.
The hollowness of it all aside, it’s amazing to see a show unashamed of itself having a character pop out of nowhere like it’s natural.
Overall though, there’s not a whole lot to say about the show.
At its best, it’s an okay show with some okay jokes. At its worst, it’s a cheap and hollow product of a long-since dormant franchise.
“That ’90s Show” gets a score of 3/10.