What would you do?

What would I do if they rebooted Wonder Years? Pretty much the same as I do every day - with the exception that I might just pose the question "What is Wonder Years?". 😏
 
I loved the original show, which was probably too American to be shown in Britain, but was very popular here in the US. I am interested in the new show, but wonder if it's a mistake to set it in the late '60s again. When the original show aired (1988-1993), people who grew up in that era were a valuable audience to advertisers. Now they have to hope that millennials and Gen Z will care about a show about their (grand)parents' time.
 
@Priceless - Oh yeah...I remember his face!
Stake fodder said:
I am interested in the new show, but wonder if it's a mistake to set it in the late '60s again.
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You could be right but I think one reason for setting shows in the 60s is the decade is considered the catalyst for the world we have today (particularly in terms of social change). Rob Reiner alters the date of Stand by Me to 1959 (IIRC it's 1960 in King's novella and the characters are older) to make the point that not only will the kids lives never be the same again but society/the world itself will never be the same. After the relative security of the 50s Western society undergoes a massive sea-change (Vietnam/Civil Rights/Women's Rights/Gay Rights Protest; escalation in the Cold War; Kennedy's assassination; the contraception Pill etc. etc.) and It tends to be a polarizing decade - the "wonder years" for some...much less wonderful for others. 😏 Sorta Mad Men with cuter kids. 😄 It's easy to be nostalgic for them now but the 60s were pretty tumultuous at the time.
 
Priceless said:
It was shown on Channel 4 in the UK and was pretty popular I think. This advert is from 1992
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Oh, OK. I thought maybe it hadn't shown there just because the above Brits hadn't heard of it.

TriBel said:
You could be right but I think one reason for setting shows in the 60s is the decade is considered the catalyst for the world we have today (particularly in terms of social change).
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Very true. IIRC (and perhaps I don't), the show did social change with a very light touch, as it was supposed to be mainly about the young kids. The anti-Vietnam War, hippie older sister had occasional arguments with the dad, that's all I remember. It was targeted to late boomers to remember the innocence of their youth, not the violent clashes of the times. "I was big into raisins at the time," as a song put it. If they re-do it, it seems like they will have to put a lot more politics and social movements in it, as the current key demographics won't have nostalgia for childhoods of '60s-'70s, and they will expect it to reflect on the current social issues. And that will be a dramatically different show, but maybe a good one.
 
Stake fodder said:
it seems like they will have to put a lot more politics and social movements in it, as the current key demographics won't have nostalgia for childhoods of '60s-'70s, and they will expect it to reflect on the current social issues. And that will be a dramatically different show, but maybe a good one.
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Good point. That's a strong possibility…I await the accusations of "woke" with bated breathe. 🙄 TBH, as tumultuous as the 60s were, how you experienced them depended on where you lived. While London was "swinging" at some times and "revolting" at others, live in my small northern town went on much the same as it always had done (ie. pretty boring). IIRC, it was far less depressing than the 70s (just about anyone who could strike did strike in the 70s. I remember blackouts and a three day working week). I look back with interest but rarely nostalgia - except for the music (and getting older) I much preferred the 2000s onwards (until Covid). But that could just be me and memory...I couldn't remember the show until @Priceless posted a picture! 😄
 
I actually loved the show. I would cry at every episode 😁 I swear, it was that schmaltzy and sweet. I think it could have been this show that turned me into a 60's music fan, I adored the music.
 
Boomers are the only ones watching TV these days, so making a TV show about a boomer childhood and how racist America was before the Boomers ended racism forever, is knowing your audience. Heck, all they need to do now is include a Vietnam subplot, and it's gold.
 
nightshade said:
Eh *shrugs* never heard of it
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😀
Just seems like you never know of any shows.
 
nightshade
nightshade
I don't have a television!
HowiMetdaSlayer said:
Just seems like you never know of any shows.
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She's the worst. I don't see how you could not know that show. Even I know it and have never seen an episode, know any of the characters names (unlike friends) or even knew it was set in another year. But at least I heard of the damn show.
 
nightshade
nightshade
I do know the friends characters!
I have known about this Re-Boot for some time. I have posted before how I feel about these are-Boots and Re-Makes so won’t do so again. I wonder why Fred Savage who played Kevin Arnold and is executive producer and director would be okay with it. It doesn’t matter how different this Re-Boot is from the original Wonder Years it still won’t be original, creative, or imaginative.
 
Idk - it'll be a different show but its also inviting comparisons with Everybody Hates Chris which was black comedian Chris Rock telling his story of his 80s childhood.
 
I think the fact that there are so many remakes and reboots going around right now just shows that Hollywood is running out of ideas for new properties and clearly has no faith in taking risks hence why it resorts back to brand recognition of already established properties. Whilst some remakes/reboots can be considered good (and that can depend on whether or not someone has seen the original to be able to compare), most often the original is considered better.

A Buffy reboot will fail, because the love for the original is still going strong and it will automatically be compared unfavourably.

I've never seen the Wonder years, vaguely heard of it but couldn't tell you what it was about at all, so it's difficult to say whether or not the reboot will be a success. I think it will depend on how "preachy" the show is,. A lot of the recent Doctor Who episodes with the 13th Doctor got "preachy" and it actually ruins what could've been a half-decent episode.

Friends still has a strong following and any attempt at rebooting that will fail. The mid 90s/early 2000s actually doesn't date it too much.

60s set shows can be comforting as it reminds audiences of simpler times where technology wasn't a thing, kids were kids, people actually talked to each other and pulled together in tough times etc. It's why Heartbeat, The Royal and Call the Midwife were/are such successes in Britain.
 
The Wonder Years is one of my top 10 series. I could relate to growing up in the late ‘60’s/early ’70’s - ”picking teams” during PE class, begging Dad for a colour TV (I used to go across the street to Carole Ann’s house to watch “Dark Shadows” in colour🤣), and riding our bikes everywhere.
I’m not interested in reboots of any kind.
 
@nightshade most shows are available on streaming sites. So one doesn't necessarily have to own one to watch shows. Just saying 😳
 
I wonder what the ratings are for the two are?
Personally it was Fred Savage who gave that show some much needed life, so as a reboot does the new kid give the show life?
 
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