That ’70s Showis a sitcom that was able to make itself more innovative in a lot of ways than other sitcoms coming out around the same time. One of the ways it did this was through cutaway skits and dream sequences that not a lot of other shows were doing. It gave a very distinct flavor to the show, and gave it a sense of identity.That ’70s Showwas goofy in parts, and had the characters doing bits and playing dress-up in a way that was unique and really set the show apart.
That ’90s Show, the recent Netflix reboot of the series that takes place about 20 years after the events of the original show, hasjust been renewed for a second season, which has a lot of fans thinking about the ways in which it could be improved for the future. While the show is trying to forge its own identity separate fromThat ’70s Show, it’s still heavily influenced by the original show’s style, but not always in the ways that truly matter.That ’90s Showuses the device of skits a few times throughout the first season, but not nearly as much as the original show did. Following the format ofThat ’70s Showwould help developThat ’90s Showin the ways that it needs to get much stronger.
RELATED:How That ‘90s Show Can Improve In Season 2
That ’90s Showisn’t a total stranger to the cutaway gags, but it doesn’t use them as often or to the same effectiveness as the original show did. Each episode ofThat ’70s Showwould feature at least one skit, sometimes multiple, and they were constantly finding ways to reinvent the style of a sitcom through various gags that kept things fresh. WhileThat ’90s Showdoes feature something like this in most episodes, they aren’t nearly as frequent and don’t add as much to the episodes as it felt like the ones from the original show did.
A lot of the cutaway skits fromThat ’70s Showwerereferences to media that was popular in the ’70s, like certain game shows or movies.That ’90s Showdoes use this same strategy occasionally, such as having a skit about a talk show or the homage toBeverly Hills, 90210, but it fails to key into the ’90s nostalgia as much asThat ’70s Showleaned into its nostalgia. Actually, the whole show kind of suffers from not actually feeling very nostalgic about the ’90s (despite the wave of ’90s nostalgia that recently inundated pop culture as a whole), but it’s especially evident in the skits, or lack thereof.
That ’90s Showalso doesn’t utilizeThat ’70s Show’s most iconic recurring bit as well as the original show did. “The Circle” is one of the mostfamous jokes from the original sitcom, as it was their way of tapping into a very important piece of 1970s culture. The Circle involves the characters sitting in a circle as the camera pans between them, mimicking the passing of a joint, which is what they are implied to be doing (because of broadcast rules in the ’90s, they weren’t actually allowed to show the characters smoking marijuana on screen). Often, this bit would have the characters discuss their issues while high, leading to a lot of hilarious moments. The scenes were primarily goofy, but they still often moved the story along.
The Circle scenes inThat ’90s Show, however, don’t have as much substance to them. They mimic the format of the original without any of what actually made the scenes compelling.Characters acting silly when they’re high is funny, sure, but the scenes should also have a purpose, and not just waste valuable time in an already-short episode.That ’90s Showdoesn’t often use these scenes for plot progression or discussion between characters about their thoughts and feelings, and it’s more just a place to include jokes about the characters acting weird under the influence. The story could really be improved by more closely following the format that the original show pioneered, as it really made the show what it was.
In fact,That ’90s Showcould absolutelyimprove a lot in their second seasonby trying to be a bit more like its parent show. They clearly wanted to distinguish it and make it feel different, but it just left a lot of fans feeling like they’d rather watch the old show, as it executed its ideas much more successfully.That ’90s Showfeels generic, and has been compared to a Disney Channel sitcom in its style, so it could really get fans back on board by simply mirroring the things that made the original show so successful. They need to lean more into the nostalgia, play up the skits and dream sequences that were so memorable inThat ’70s Show, and make the Circle feel as entertaining and important to the story and world of these characters as it did in the original show.
That ’90s Showgot off to a shaky start but had a strong basis by the end of the first season. Season 2 will give them an opportunity to look at the feedback from viewers and improve the show so that it’s as beloved by fans as the original one was. Doing more skits will allow the audience to connect more with the characters because they’ll get to see them in silly situations that make them even more wacky and lovable. The things that were most successful about the reboot were the elements that were directly tied to the original show, such asthe returning cast membersand the running jokes carried over fromThat ’70s Show. The reboot needs to find that flavor again, use the things that worked and madeThat ’70s Showunique, and implement them for the new show if they want it to have that same kind of adoration and longevity.
