Vote for why you think it jumped
Day One
Never Jumped
Explaining the references
Hair Care (the cast)
Special Guest Star (Tiffany)
Shark Bytes
One of the biggest fuax-pas's with this show was that it was promoted as kinda of a continuation of T7S. I know I was mis-led to believe that then. This show was like The Young Ones on heavy sedation. It would not really do much better now 6 years later. If they would have either placed this show either in the earlier part of the 80's say 1980 or '81 or later in the 80's like '86-or'87 it probably would have done better then. The only memorable event of 1984 was the LA Olympics, It was one of the many lulls in American Pop-Culture. Tell the truth people, Heavy metal, big hair, yuppies( that was hard-core post-'86) New-wave, Dynasty, flourescent colors,Smurfs? That was all happening by'83. Remember this was the era of Footloose, New-Coke, and Growing Pains. In fact this was the era when the most accurate pop-culture barometer for the latter-half of the last 30+ years Saturday Night Live was at it's abyssmal worst. This show could've worked out if the writers did a little more research and took a little more time in it's creation. Maybe someone will come up with a better solution to the lack of true 80-'s retroephera down the road. Who knows..........
I've just watched some of That 80s Show recently and have found it very enjoyable. I think the problem with the show was it's timing, 70s show appeals to the nostalgic adults whereas that market hasn't opened up for the 80s yet. There is a lot of promise in the show and I think it would be great to see a similar show come about over the next 10 years.
Showing it alongside 70s was probably a mistake, at times 70s plots have little to do with the decade whereas in order to make 80s unique it has tried to be too 80s and results in a disney world interpretation of the 80s.
Showing it alongside 70s was probably a mistake, at times 70s plots have little to do with the decade whereas in order to make 80s unique it has tried to be too 80s and results in a disney world interpretation of the 80s.
Definitely time for one of the networks to come up with a new show set in the 80s.
I never got a chance to watch "That 80s Show", but some of the posters here have indicated that one of the reasons that it failed was that it more or less insulted the very decade it was trying to portray. By contrast, "That 70s Show" celebrated the 70s while still poking fun at some of that decade's idiosyncracies.
A little 80s nostalgia on network tv would be great. Time to teach the younger generation about slip-on Keds, baseball cards (remember those?? kids don't bother with them anymore), slap-bracelets, new wave and goth-pop music, prime-time soap operas (Dallas, Dynasty, et al), Pac-man, perms, and people who wore flashy colours that clashed but didn't care because they allowed for individualism and were just plain fun.
I never got a chance to watch "That 80s Show", but some of the posters here have indicated that one of the reasons that it failed was that it more or less insulted the very decade it was trying to portray. By contrast, "That 70s Show" celebrated the 70s while still poking fun at some of that decade's idiosyncracies.
A little 80s nostalgia on network tv would be great. Time to teach the younger generation about slip-on Keds, baseball cards (remember those?? kids don't bother with them anymore), slap-bracelets, new wave and goth-pop music, prime-time soap operas (Dallas, Dynasty, et al), Pac-man, perms, and people who wore flashy colours that clashed but didn't care because they allowed for individualism and were just plain fun.
I'm the third biggest "that 70's show" fan in the world ..but never actually watched "that 80's show" on it's first run nearly 6 years ago.. just started watching the 13 episodes a few days ago ... this show is hilarious ... i think the reason it was not popular was that it was too early and that 70's show was still on the air . If this show came out now, people would like it .
I watched the first couple of episodes of this. It seemed to be very forced and waaay over the top with everything. There were a couple of characters that had potential to develop had time been on their side. It seems that some tv shows get caught up in the window dressing and forget the characters and the tales that want to be told.
I have never watched that 80's show but am a fan of that 70's show. When doing a general search I noticed people on this site saying that 80's show is a knock off...well I would like to point some thing out here, other than the stupidity of these people, That 80's Show isnt a knock off...THE SAME PEOPLE MAKE THEM BOTH!! Kind of like a sequel if you will. the company was going for the same effect as That 70's Show since it was such a hit and hoping Im sure to recreate that for our injoyment. Well that is all just please think first next time and look at the credits before calling it a knock off. Thats like calling sequels or series knock off's.
Day one. It could have been good if someone had developed the characters and plotlines instead of attempting to write a half-hour long joke about Miami Vice fashion, oversized cell phones, yuppies and other unfortunate 1980's trends. It was like watching some crappy stand-up routine in which the audience is asked, "Hey remember Pac Man? What was up with that? What about parachute pants? Anyone ever wear those?"
I think is WRONG calls the show That 80s Show,it was the BIG MISTAKE,80s Show does not have charisma with carachters(that old annoying lesbian insulting the record shop custommers),the last seventies show episode is more 80s that this entire spin off sitcom.80s show was a Dark,boring,flat,not fun at all sitcom.sometimes i call that show "90s show",to be so boring than the 90s.it was a lack of good soundtrack,good charachters,and show the"bright"side of the eighties.70s show was the "oversized 70s"and people liked all charachters...
You're right it started in 2002, but my point still stands. It started too soon. If that 70's show started in 1998 which it did I double checked, logic would have that 80's show start in 2008. I think if that 80's show started in the fall of 2008 it would have had a better chance. To me that makes sense, just my opinion.
The reason this show didn't succeed is not because the 80's was a bad decade, but it was aired too early. It debuted in 1999, just think 10 years ago it was the 80's. That would be like having "that 70's show" start in 1989, or "Happy Days" start in 1969. I think this show would have been a hit but it was aired too soon.
Fox just didn't give "That 80's Show" a chance to succeed. A number of factors contributed to its early demise. First off, the show was doomed to fail because the title lacked any originality. (A title like "Remember the 80's?" might have been a better fit, as there were going to be inevitable comparisons to "That 70's Show"). This reason alone may have caused the majority of the intolerance many people had for this show. I know the moment I heard they were going to do an 80's show, I was ready to watch to see if there were any comparisons between this show and "That 70's Show". They really were not that similar and in my opinion is the main reason the show failed.
A previous poster made a point I agree with as a secondary and maybe slightly less important reason the show failed- the jokes. Now I don't know about most of you, but I lived in and remember most of the 80's (born in '79). I remember the huge cell phones, the BMW's, the "other" Porsches, audiocassettes, Atari 2600, etc. and would recognize such items when they appeared onscreen. But where the writers took it too far (for example) would be if a character was playing Millipede (a personal favorite of mine)
and they would say something like "Look at these graphics! The Atari 2600 system rocks!" just to make the few people out there that didn't get the 80's reference "get" the joke.
They didn't have to try so hard.
Now the main thing "That 80's Show" got right was the cast. They did the best they could with the material that they were given, starting with the delectable Chyler Leigh as Tuesday. When given brilliant material (Not Another Teen Movie), she shines. But for the previous poster that said she is a show killer, I ask you: Is it really her or the quality of the show she has been given? (I also thought "Reunion" had potential). Fox keeps trying, but they just can't produce a show worthy of Chyler's talent. I hope Chyler doesn't give up on television.
As a secondary character, the lovely Brittany Daniel did a decent job as Sophia. However, her bisexual character was quite one-dimensional. I know she's supposed to be materialistic and all that, but they could have written her scripts better as well.
Margaret had some of the funniest lines on the show, but every week it was basically the same joke about how she had slept with some famous band member (and occasionally the whole band). She also did a decent job.
Last but not least, Geoffrey Pierson as the dad was hilarious. That guy is seriously underrated as a comedic actor, and I loved his previous work as Jack Malloy on "Unhappily Ever After" and his later work as one of the presidents on 24.
The cast was the true saving grace for this show and the only reason I watched most of the episodes.
A previous poster made a point I agree with as a secondary and maybe slightly less important reason the show failed- the jokes. Now I don't know about most of you, but I lived in and remember most of the 80's (born in '79). I remember the huge cell phones, the BMW's, the "other" Porsches, audiocassettes, Atari 2600, etc. and would recognize such items when they appeared onscreen. But where the writers took it too far (for example) would be if a character was playing Millipede (a personal favorite of mine)
and they would say something like "Look at these graphics! The Atari 2600 system rocks!" just to make the few people out there that didn't get the 80's reference "get" the joke.
They didn't have to try so hard.
Now the main thing "That 80's Show" got right was the cast. They did the best they could with the material that they were given, starting with the delectable Chyler Leigh as Tuesday. When given brilliant material (Not Another Teen Movie), she shines. But for the previous poster that said she is a show killer, I ask you: Is it really her or the quality of the show she has been given? (I also thought "Reunion" had potential). Fox keeps trying, but they just can't produce a show worthy of Chyler's talent. I hope Chyler doesn't give up on television.
As a secondary character, the lovely Brittany Daniel did a decent job as Sophia. However, her bisexual character was quite one-dimensional. I know she's supposed to be materialistic and all that, but they could have written her scripts better as well.
Margaret had some of the funniest lines on the show, but every week it was basically the same joke about how she had slept with some famous band member (and occasionally the whole band). She also did a decent job.
Last but not least, Geoffrey Pierson as the dad was hilarious. That guy is seriously underrated as a comedic actor, and I loved his previous work as Jack Malloy on "Unhappily Ever After" and his later work as one of the presidents on 24.
The cast was the true saving grace for this show and the only reason I watched most of the episodes.
I liked the show. Too bad it got canceled. I am in the mist of re-creation That 80's Show. I am writing new characters and new plots. This pliot for That 80's Show will rock and I even changed the name to That New 80's Show. That 80's Show fans out there, please support me as I write the pliot for That New 80's Show. BTW, I love the 80's! The music, the fads, and the fashion!
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