5 ’90s TV Shows They Should Never Remake (Because They’re JUST PERFECT)
By Distributel
They’re remaking everything these days. Even some of the most iconic ’90s shows such as Fresh Prince are getting gritty reboots. But we maintain that not everything needs a remake, because some things were perfect the first time around.
Friends
Okay, it might not be the best-acted or most profound thing on TV, but Friends is like a warm hug. It can be sarcastic without being mean, funny without being pretentious, and kind-hearted without being schmaltzy. And you’d be hard-pressed to find six actors to fill the shoes of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer so perfectly. Plus we say things like “Pivot!” and “How you doin’?” all the time.
Seinfeld
It would be next to impossible to remake the show about nothing, mainly because it’s actually a show about how a fictional version of Jerry Seinfeld gets material for his stand-up comedy. A lot of the comedy comes from how awful the cast of characters treats other people, which was a bit novel at the time. These days, people behaving badly on TV isn’t so novel and shows like Always Sunny make the antics of Jerry Seinfeld and friends look tame. But Seinfeld was something new and special—very much of its time. We’ll never need another version because another version just won’t hit the same way.
The Nanny
You could make a show about a nanny with a big personality working for a rich, handsome guy and his three upper-class kids, but it wouldn’t be The Nanny without Fran Drescher. Her voice, her mannerisms, and her massive personality made that show. Love her or hate her (we LOVE her, obviously), Drescher is one of a kind.
In Living Color
Lots of sketch comedy has a short shelf life and In Living Color was no exception. It had two amazing seasons and two mediocre ones (thanks to meddling from executives), but it gave us amazing sketches such as “East Hollywood Squares,” “Men on Film,” and “The Homeboy Shopping Network.” And on top of the various Wayans siblings, the show starred then unknown actors Jamie Foxx and Jim Carrey. Oh, and a singer named Jennifer Lopez got her start on the show as one of the backup dancers. Really, how could you hope to capture that much magic again?
Beverly Hills, 90210
Ah, the teen drama to end all teen dramas. It’s hard to explain to kids these days how big of a juggernaut 90210 was. The show ran for ten seasons, major cast members came and went all the time, it spawned a bunch of spin-off series such as Melrose Place and Models Inc., and when it finally all wrapped up, 25 million people watched the series finale. Oh, and fans of 90210 could also follow the extensive behind-the-scenes drama reported in basically every tabloid in the ’90s. Truly, they’d be foolish to try and capture lightning in a bottle the same way as they did back in 1990 . . . what’s that? . . . they rebooted 90210 like last year? . . . and no one watched it?