Sam Dunaway | News Editor
Have you ever watched the ending of a TV show and craved more? Do you watch shows from twenty years ago and wonder what life in that universe would be like now? Curiosity and desire are common occurrences, and this innate craving for more is what leads television industries to continue on with a previously established plotline. This is known as a revival.
In theory, revivals sound amazing. Your favorite TV show that you’ve seen a thousand times, only new and improved? Yes, please. Unfortunately, the reality of TV show revivals is far from that.
There is one thing that drives our desire for classic TV show revivals: nostalgia. Ever wonder what happened to the Tanner family after the end of season eight of “Full House”? Bring on “Fuller House.” Dying to see more drama surrounding Lorelai and Rory in “Gilmore Girls”? Cue the miniseries on Netflix. Does your love for the 90’s classic “Boy Meets World” ever lead you to wonder how Topanga and Cory survive through their adult years? Perfect, you can watch their kids carry on the hilarious hijinks in “Girl Meets World.”
But the problem with nostalgia is that we can’t go back in time and continue the series where it left off just for our viewing pleasure. Instead, revivals are often filmed decades after the original with a fraction of the original cast and often completely different writers. Our heart still tells us that it’ll be the same, and it almost never is.
A major problem that I have with revivals is the lack of consideration for the storyline itself. You mean we can make a revival of “Roseanne” with almost the entire cast and people will go crazy for it? Then why not? Pay no mind to the fact that the father, Dan, died at the end of the original series. We’ll hope people forget about that and bring him back for the revival. Everybody wins.
One of the most disappointing examples of a failed revival is season four of “Arrested Development.” Fans were heartbroken when the series was cut off after three seasons, so a revival was what diehard fans craved. It was announced that all 15 episodes of season four would premiere as a Netflix Original in 2013, and it was far from what fans expected. The subtle, oddball and perfectly crafted humor of the first three seasons was nowhere to be found in season four. Instead the humor felt overdone and fell flat.
“Fuller House” was a revival that had a lot of promise. The fans of the original series dealt with the cheesy life lessons and dramatic narratives because it was a family-friendly hit. I spent many afternoons growing up alongside the Tanner daughters and laughing at the classic plotlines. You’d think a revival with the family back together again would be great, right? Not exactly. The once cute daughters are now adults, and their dimples and “you got it, dudes” are not enough to make up for their lack of depth. The show tries way too hard to be modern, with jokes about selfies, Donald Trump and constant references to the Olsen twins’s absence. Honestly, the only thing “Fuller House” has going for it is that John Stamos is still nice to look at. You win some, you lose some.
Rumor has it that NBC has plans to bring back “The Office,” premiering in the 2018-2019 season. As someone who watches “The Office” nearly every day, I have a special place in my heart for Dunder Mifflin. The best part of my day is watching Jim play pranks on Dwight, witnessing Michael and Holly’s love unfold and learning more and more about the mystery that is Creed Bratton. But a revival of “The Office” is the absolute last thing I want. Yes, it would be amazing to have the cast all together again. But more likely than not, it’s going to be a select few actors that haven’t found much else to do in the past five years and a bunch of other people that we don’t know. The show will probably have different writers as well, so the witty humor that I once loved will probably be disappointingly different. And honestly, who even enjoys the end of the series after Michael leaves? No one. The revival is more than likely going to be another season nine. Do we really need that in our life?
If your favorite TV show is getting a revival, I wish you all the luck in the world. But my advice would be to re-watch old seasons and continue imagining life after the finale without actually having to watch it.
Contact the author at sedunaway13@wou.edu
Photo by:fullhouse.wikia.com, netflix.com
