The 80s nostalgia is strong with Netflix
Jul. 23rd, 2018 12:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neonvincentI've been a big fan of "Stranger Things" since it aired three years ago. That series is original, but it has a lot of 1980s influences and takes place in 1983-1984. I just finished watching "GLOW," another original series set in Los Angeles (and Pasadena) in 1985. As someone who was living in Los Angeles at the time, I found all the references very familiar. It also reminded me of why I'm glad to be 2,000 miles from La La Land — the bottom-feeding desperation of people trying to enter and remain in show business always bothered me, along with all the other side effects of a culture focused on producing entertainment, including a self-loathing of all the fakery. Still, it was better to see it in fiction than in reality.
Those aren't the only shows capitalizing on 1980s nostalgia on Netflix. Last year, my wife and I caught an episode of "One Day at a Time." That show may have begun in the 1970s, but it lasted until 1984. At least they updated the cast to make them Latino. Yesterday, I finally succumbed to boredom and curiosity and watched the first two episodes of "Fuller House," another update of a 1980s sitcom. My son and I were actually loyal watchers of the repeats in syndication and I admit I enjoyed it. That written, I've called the show a "popular piece of crap." It's actually not that bad. It is exactly what I expected an update of the original would look like. I have to admit, it's just as entertaining as the original and everyone has aged well. In fact, I'll retract my calling it "a piece of crap." It's been nominated for Outstanding Children's Programming at the Emmy Awards. No wonder my then grade-school son liked the original in the early 90s!
Do any of you know of any other "original" programs on Netflix that run off 1980s nostalgia?
Those aren't the only shows capitalizing on 1980s nostalgia on Netflix. Last year, my wife and I caught an episode of "One Day at a Time." That show may have begun in the 1970s, but it lasted until 1984. At least they updated the cast to make them Latino. Yesterday, I finally succumbed to boredom and curiosity and watched the first two episodes of "Fuller House," another update of a 1980s sitcom. My son and I were actually loyal watchers of the repeats in syndication and I admit I enjoyed it. That written, I've called the show a "popular piece of crap." It's actually not that bad. It is exactly what I expected an update of the original would look like. I have to admit, it's just as entertaining as the original and everyone has aged well. In fact, I'll retract my calling it "a piece of crap." It's been nominated for Outstanding Children's Programming at the Emmy Awards. No wonder my then grade-school son liked the original in the early 90s!
Do any of you know of any other "original" programs on Netflix that run off 1980s nostalgia?
