Usually, a show like That ’90’s Show would have continuous cameos from the cast of That ’70s Show, but the second season has managed to put the nostalgia behind it somewhat. Laura Prepon pops up in the first episode as Donna Foreman and Tommy Chong is a welcome sight as Leo Chingkwake.
However, the show is really starting to find its footing (possibly with help from Red) by focusing on the teens more. But the subplots with the older adults are just as good as well. Part of the joy of the second season is seeing aging grandparents Red and Kitty Foreman (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp) having to deal with another generation of youngsters coming in and out of their house. In his retirement, Red has gone to drinking beers as he works on a model train replica.
The season opens with Donna bringing Leia (Callie Haverda) to Point Place, Wis. from the Chicagoland area to spend some time over the summer. Kitty coerces Donna to try to get Eric to movie back as a new house has gone on the market down the street. Unfortunately, for Red, Donna gets her father, Bob Pinciotti (Don Stark) to come check out the house and he and Red butt heads. But Bob decides to stay when he catches Leia and her boyfriend, Jay Kelso (Mace Coronel), getting too close. There’s a hilarious Felix and Oscar dynamic between Smith and Stark as they realize they have to live next to each other again after time apart.
After a rocky first episode of the season, the show quickly finds its own humor and style. During the first season, it looked like the show was trying to hard to copy the original. Jay Kelso is about as dumb as his father if not dumber. And Gwen Runck (Ashley Aufderheide) seemed to have Hyde’s rebellion style. But Gwen is actually smitten with a jock who works at the Abercrombie and Fitch store. She also feels like she’s been singled out by a mall security guard because she’s biracial.
There’s also the back-and-forth romance of Gwen’s half brother, Nate (Maxell Acee Donovan) and Nikki (Sam Moreles) who don’t know if they should be together or not. And then there’s Ozzie (Reyn Doi), who is an openly gay conspiracy theorist who has managed to develop his own personality aside from being the obligatory foreign student. Even though the series is set in the mid-1990s, the stories of the episodes feel more universal and there’s little references to pop culture of the time with a “Memba this?” mentality. Leia and Gwen get a job at Hot Topic at the mall but it further helps the plot.
More important, I like that Red and Kitty are still being given as much screen time as they did in the original. Rupp, herself, has proven that she’s perfect with comedy and timing. And part of the humor with Smith is that he’s known for playing villains (the original RoboCop), yet here he comes off as just a regular father or grandfather of the area. I also like how he and Stark getting into a contest as they fight over their roles as grandfathers of Leia.
As for Leia, herself, as the main character of the series, Haverda does a great job. However, I feel the writers are trying to avoid what happened to That ’70s Show by focusing more and more on the other characters. Along with Gwen having to deal with being singled out because she’s biracial, Nikki also struggles with a pregnancy scare. Since the episodes are directed by Prepon and Gail Mancuso, a veteran of sitcom TV, there seems to be more emphasis on the woman characters of the series.
The second half of the series is scheduled for October on Netflix. It would be nice if the writers figured out a way to focus on the kids other than during the summer when Leia can visit. Also, it would be nice to know what Leia’s life is like when she’s living in Chicago. Maybe that will be taken care of during the second half of the season.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 