Why ‘That 80’s Show’ Deserved Better
Yeah, I know I'm holding a candle for a show that went off the air 16 years ago. Just let me have this.
I recently rediscovered the 2002 show That 80's Show.
For those of you that don't remember, That 80's Show was made because That 70's Show got so popular, tv executives thought "You know what we need to introduce and bank in on now? THE 80's"
Unfortunately, there were some problems with this.
1. It was ahead of it's time. That 80's Show premiered in 2002, which was just a few years short of our "2004-2007 80's nostalgia overload" years.
2. It was on at the HEIGHT of That 70's Show's popularity. No matter how good it was, even for a first season, it would never live up to what That 70's Show was doing at that time.
Which means people judged it harshly and did not care about it at all.
But I recently That 80's Show came back to the forefront of my mind. Really, as an afterthought. Like "Hey, remember that That 80's Show was a thing for one season? Huh..."
So I tried to Youtube a couple of clips to be nostalgic, and it turns out the entire series is ON Youtube. So OBVIOUSLY I had to binge watch this show and give it a second chance.
And it is so much better than I remember. Now that That 70's Show has been off the air for so long, I can truly appreciate this show for what it is: Awesome.
Also, the cast is amazing. Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny, AP Bio, The Mindy Project), Chyler Leigh (Supergirl, Grey's Anatomy), and Brittany Daniel (The Game, White Chicks, Joe Dirt) were in the main cast.
Have you ever wanted to see Supergirl's sister's goth punk phase? This is your chance.
Since tv is in nostalgia overload right now trying to reboot tv shows (Rosanne, Dynasty, Fuller House, Will & Grace...) and making classic movies into shows (Lethal Weapon, Bates Motel, Westworld, Fargo, MacGuyver...) I think it's about time we gave That 80's Show a second chance.
I'm not saying it's the best show ever. Far from it. It had flaws. But what first season of a show doesn't? I'm just saying if That 80's Show would have been given a second season, it would have been better than what people (wrongly) remember it for: a second rate show that tried to piggyback off of That 70's Show. Which is a really bad rap to have.
Like I said, it deserved better.
And you can watch the first full episode here if you'd like to give it a second chance again.
Episode two is here if you really want to go down that 13 episode rabbit hole with me...