In the ’70s the country was nostalgic for the ’50s; Happy Days and M*A*S*H were hit TV shows, and Grease ruled on Broadway and at the box office. In the ’80s we looked back fondly on the ’60s, and the ’90s brought us That ’70s Show. Two years into a new decade, and we’re confronted with the non-spinoff spinoff That ’80s Show from the producers of That ’70s Show.
Parents Just Don’t Understand
Set in San Diego in 1984, That ’80s Show is billed as an ensemble show about a group of twenty-somethings finding their way through the decade that gave us AIDS, Madonna and Ronald Reagan.
Corey (Glenn Howerton) and Katie (Tinsley Grimes) live with their dad RT (Geoff Pierson) and Corey’s best friend Roger (Eddie Shin). There’s no explanation for why Roger lives with the family; he has some undetermined corporate job, and he and Corey could probably afford their own place. The only obvious reason is that if they didn’t live with RT, then it would be difficult to work him into the scenes.
RT is a successful, divorced cross between Al Bundy and Gordon Gekko who’s full of deadpan one-liners. The problem is that all of the jokes from all of the characters are deadpan one-liners, so his don’t really stand out much.
Men at Work
The show is centered around Corey, which is the main failing of the pilot. He’s inert. Corey’s a wannabe musician, but he spends most of his time complaining about his life instead of pursuing his dream. When his Dad gives him a marketing job at his company, Corey is unable to come up with a single idea for his Dad’s fitness product, the Gut Whacker. He’s not in a band, nor does he have any musician friends. He was a philosophy major in college, which may explain all the griping about his existence.
So the directionless Corey works at Permanent Record, a music store owned by Margaret (Margaret Smith), an ex-groupie who has some great stories from the classic days of rock. The new employee, Tuesday (Chyler Leigh), a punk rocker with a prickly mohawk and a matching attitude, completes Corey’s record-store family.
Dance Hall Days
When they’re not working or teasing their hair, the kids hang out at Club Piranha, apparently to get some screen time for Sophia (Brittany Daniel), Corey’s bisexual ex and the only character in the show with any passion. The club seems like a great location for a wannabe musician to hang out, meet other musicians or maybe deejay, but Club Piranha is to this show what Central Perk is to Friends–a set and little more.
Where’s the Beef?
Ah, the burning question.
In That ’80s Show, the comic beef is at the record store, which holds the most promise for the series. Smith gets the best lines and delivers them well, especially when dealing with her customers. Leigh’s Tuesday is a great sparring partner for Corey, and there is the promise of a hot and cold relationship between these two.
Despite this promise, though, the characters in general lack the warmth, caring and friendships seen in hit shows like That ’70s Show, Friends and Will & Grace. The only real physical contact we see is when bisexual Sophia makes a move on Katie. Everyone else keeps their distance. There are no shoulder pads to cry on here.
Bottom Line
Overall, there are some good jokes in the pilot episode, most of them at the expense of our ’80s selves: the clothes, the dancing, nighttime soap operas. Of course, we could get these just as easily by watching a John Hughes movie-and there wouldn’t be any commercials. And once that joke starts to get old, what’s left? Looking back can be fun, but without characters that demonstrably care about each other this trip back in time will probably be short.
That ’80s Show airs on Fox on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m.
