The year was 1998, and I was a spry young 13-year-old when "That '70s Show" debuted. Set in a fake Wisconsin town starting in 1976, the audience watched through the seasons as six friends grow from teenagers to young adults.
My parents graduated from Black Hawk in 1976, so the show gave me a glimpse into what their life might have been like, except for the fact they both were farmers.
In our household now, our 11-year-old and 6-year-old found the show on Netflix and have been watching it at will. Surely, they don't understand many of the references, but they like dumb humor as much as I do. We call each other by names of the characters from the show we are in real life. Perla is Donna, Courtney is a mix of Midge and Kitty, I call myself Red while knowing full well I am Bob from next door, and little Gabe we call Kelso - though he is much more Jackie than Kelso.
And as fun as it is watching the series a second time around, it made me think. This show debuted roughly 20 years after the timeline it portrays, and it was such a different world to me. The clothes, the hair, the lack of technology and the cars. But as I think about it now, if a new show came out called "That '90s Show," how different would it seem?
I was trying to think back to 1997, but the only parts that seem much different are our cellphones and dial-up internet. The clothes haven't changed much - I just saw a guy walking along 8th Street in a Chicago Bulls Starter jacket. The cars are a little more rounded now than before and lack cassette players. Televisions are a little larger and the screens are all flat, video games are much more realistic (whether that's a good or bad trait, I will not divulge my feelings), and the cost of a bottle of Coke has gone from $.99 to $1.89. Also, gas is more expensive.
But that's about it. I don't know how funny a '90s series would be - especially the late '90s. The early '90s were closer to the '80s, which was arguably the funniest decade in world history - so many bad decisions came from the '80s that all we can do now is look back and laugh. The hair, the clothes, the movies, more of the hair, the cars, the music, the hair again, the zig-zag rainbow graphics, the PSAs and oh wow the hair.
That said, I still think I would watch a six-season series called "That '90s Show." And I'd love to see what the kiddies think of life during the Clinton administration. We worried so much back then about what happened to that cigar, I wonder how they'd react given the wackiness and chaos we are currently laughing through.
Come to think of it, a "That Trump Administration" show will make the 1980s look like the Victorian era. My interest is piqued.
- Adam Krebs is a '90s kid who watched "Doug" and "The Simpsons" religiously and is currently a reporter for the Monroe Times. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
My parents graduated from Black Hawk in 1976, so the show gave me a glimpse into what their life might have been like, except for the fact they both were farmers.
In our household now, our 11-year-old and 6-year-old found the show on Netflix and have been watching it at will. Surely, they don't understand many of the references, but they like dumb humor as much as I do. We call each other by names of the characters from the show we are in real life. Perla is Donna, Courtney is a mix of Midge and Kitty, I call myself Red while knowing full well I am Bob from next door, and little Gabe we call Kelso - though he is much more Jackie than Kelso.
And as fun as it is watching the series a second time around, it made me think. This show debuted roughly 20 years after the timeline it portrays, and it was such a different world to me. The clothes, the hair, the lack of technology and the cars. But as I think about it now, if a new show came out called "That '90s Show," how different would it seem?
I was trying to think back to 1997, but the only parts that seem much different are our cellphones and dial-up internet. The clothes haven't changed much - I just saw a guy walking along 8th Street in a Chicago Bulls Starter jacket. The cars are a little more rounded now than before and lack cassette players. Televisions are a little larger and the screens are all flat, video games are much more realistic (whether that's a good or bad trait, I will not divulge my feelings), and the cost of a bottle of Coke has gone from $.99 to $1.89. Also, gas is more expensive.
But that's about it. I don't know how funny a '90s series would be - especially the late '90s. The early '90s were closer to the '80s, which was arguably the funniest decade in world history - so many bad decisions came from the '80s that all we can do now is look back and laugh. The hair, the clothes, the movies, more of the hair, the cars, the music, the hair again, the zig-zag rainbow graphics, the PSAs and oh wow the hair.
That said, I still think I would watch a six-season series called "That '90s Show." And I'd love to see what the kiddies think of life during the Clinton administration. We worried so much back then about what happened to that cigar, I wonder how they'd react given the wackiness and chaos we are currently laughing through.
Come to think of it, a "That Trump Administration" show will make the 1980s look like the Victorian era. My interest is piqued.
- Adam Krebs is a '90s kid who watched "Doug" and "The Simpsons" religiously and is currently a reporter for the Monroe Times. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
