Nineties trends have been making a comeback recently, with the revival of choker necklaces, “The Rachel” hairstyle from one one of TV's most popular shows, Friends, and a rising popularity in vintage clothing. Many remember the fashion trends, the popular music styles and the politics.
The era of skinny jeans seems to be coming to an end as celebrities such as Kylie Jenner have been in the media for sporting '90s mom jeans.
But arguably, nothing gives off a more '90s vibe than the most popular sitcom during the time, Full House. Depicting the quintessential family life during the decade, while teaching kids valuable real-world lessons, the hit television series produced a total of 8 seasons on ABC.
The sitcom wrapped up its last episode in 1995, but nostalgic fans will be happy to know that now, two decades later, the show will be revived. Netflix has ordered 13 episodes of Fuller House, the sequel to Full House. Carly Rae Jepsen will cover the original theme song, Everywhere You Look. The spinoff series made its debut on February 26 and is now available to stream on Netflix. It has also been renewed for a second season.
All original cast members will be returning, aside from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, who took turns playing the role of Michelle Tanner in Full House. The cast broke the fourth wall at one point in the first episode in an attempt to justify her absence. Bob Saget, the actor playing Danny Tanner, says, "Well, Michelle sends her love, but she's busy in New York running her fashion empire." And with that, the entire cast turns and stares straight into the camera for a full 13 seconds.
The plot of Fuller House is quite similar to its prequel. Full House chronicled the life of Danny Tanner after his wife was killed in a car accident. Tanner’s brother-in-law Jesse, alongside his friend Joey, helped raise his three daughters, 10-year-old D.J., 5-year-old Stephanie, and 10-month-old Michelle, in his San Francisco home. The plot of Fuller House centers around the three daughters, now as adults with families of their own. Along the same storyline as the original sitcom, D.J’s husband dies, just as her dad’s wife died, and gets her sister Stephanie and friend Kimmy to help raise her kids.
While some may appreciate the consistency in plot, others are upset at the apparent reuse of ideas.
Full House isn’t the only sitcom to precede a not so original sequel for the next generation. Producers of another popular show during the 90’s, Boy Meets World, created a spinoff, naming it Girl Meets World. The show airs on Disney Channel. Boy Meets World centered around Cory Matthews, his rebellious best friend from a broken family, Shawn Hunter, and his crush/girlfriend Topanga Lawrence. The plot of Girl Meets World is set years later, after Cory and Topanga have married and had two kids, a daughter and a son. The show is centered around their daughter, Riley, and her rebellious best friend from a broken family, Maya. There is an obvious resemblance in the relationships between Cory and Shawn and Riley and Maya.
The '90s were a simpler time that people nowadays long for. Today's world is full of issues that did not exist a decade ago. Television shows are trying too hard to be politically correct, or are just simply ignoring major issues in the world in hopes to not spark controversy.
"Girl Meets World dumbs everything down in order to please everyone. On the other hand, Boy Meets World was so much more natural because it did not try so hard. A show like that is becoming hard to find," said Rahnuma Beheshti, a student at the Bronx High School of Science.
Then the question that remains is should these popular '90s shows be revived or left the way they were? Is making a spinoff ruining the story?
When making such spin-offs, the producers have the next generation in mind. The same challenges and solutions are presented in a different way to adapt to current society. Although it is nice to see what happens to our beloved television characters years after their story has concluded, there is still the risk of unnecessarily dragging on the show.
