what do you think about it????...
think "the wonder years" is a 80s serie based on the 60s....
soa 00s series based on the 80s is not a bad idea...

As long as the writers/directors are over 35 at this time.

If it's written by 20-somethings who got their ideas about the '80s from "I Love the '80s," you'll have people walking around with Flock of Seagulls haircuts while they twist Rubik's Cubes!
:D

There have been a few dramas produced abouyt life in the 80s, one called "Freaks and Geeks" which FOX ended up cancelling

I would watch something like that as long as it is well-written.  :)

Part of the problem is, unlike the Boomers, Gen-X-ers didn't think they invented the personal narrative!
:P

It sounds like an intersting idea.

Even though the timing is just about the same (1967 was the age in 1987 that 1987 is now) and it could potentially work if done right, I do think it would be logical to wait for several years down the road.

I always got the impression that during the '80s, people were very eager to pronounce the generation gap and to make the teens of the late '60s as "parental" figures. Even if it was only really about a half generation, it seemed to work, just because of the huge political and technological differences. Going on what I've seen in some sitcoms or movies from that time, or talking to people a little older than me (this was one aspect of time I didn't pay attention to until the early '90s, when it was far enough back that the differences didn't seem quite as huge), lots of people, especially kids, thought the '60s were like a hundred years ago during the late '80s.

Since the more "stereotypical" '80s occured earlier on, during the MTV era (say 1981/'82-1986), that might be just long enough ago for it to seem authentic. The late '80s, although very old-school in many ways, still seems way too recent for it to have that Wonder Years quality to it. Heck, CDs, Nintendo games and even PCs were already popular.

Actually, "Everybody Hates Chirs" on CW is kind of like that. The show is based on Chris Rock's childhood, and it is set in the 80's.

I always got the impression that during the '80s, people were very eager to pronounce the generation gap and to make the teens of the late '60s as "parental" figures. Even if it was only really about a half generation, it seemed to work, just because of the huge political and technological differences. Going on what I've seen in some sitcoms or movies from that time, or talking to people a little older than me (this was one aspect of time I didn't pay attention to until the early '90s, when it was far enough back that the differences didn't seem quite as huge), lots of people, especially kids, thought the '60s were like a hundred years ago during the late '80s.



Its so true I was born in 67 and I remember studying civil rights thinking that it was soooo long ago but now I realize that really 1955 was just 12 years before I was born and MLK was killed 5 months after I was born... not as long ago as I thought.... strange things happen to your brain when you get old... things are much clearer now

does "everyobody hates chris" take place in the 80s?

does "everyobody hates chris" take place in the 80s?


It's the story of Chris Rock's experience growing up and being bussed to a predominantly white school in Brooklyn(?)

  Seems to me the interest in the 80s is limited to it's wacky pop culture that won't go much farther than "I Love the 80s" or the "Wedding Singer".  It's a quaint curiosity that's easy to poke fun at, and people do at every opportunity.  People strain their eyeballs from rolling them so much.  Even Decades members don't take the 80s seriously...

  The issues of the day and the experiences of Kevin and his family are, how do I put it...weightier and relevant and, uh, important (or the writers make it seem so...)  "The Wonder Years" is just such a dang well done show it ain't even funny...

  Who wants to make time every week to watch a portrayal of some latchkey brat drooling in front of the TV, Atari joystick in hand while burning a frozen dinner in the microwave waiting for mom to come home from work.  The 80s were much ado about nothing...

  I admit I'd also like to see a wholehearted effort at an 80s based drama from the perspective of a young person (and I mean drama, not comedy).  We'd like watch the show and see ourselves.  The right creative minds could pull it off (think Richard Linklater or Kevin Smith...)  It would DEFINATELY have to feature strong and likeable main characters and supporting cast because the show would not succeed merely on the virtue of being based in the 80s...

  After god made Michael J. Fox, he broke the mold...

  Seems to me the interest in the 80s is limited to it's wacky pop culture that won't go much farther than "I Love the 80s" or the "Wedding Singer".  It's a quaint curiosity that's easy to poke fun at, and people do at every opportunity.  People strain their eyeballs from rolling them so much.  Even Decades members don't take the 80s seriously...

  The issues of the day and the experiences of Kevin and his family are, how do I put it...weightier and relevant and, uh, important (or the writers make it seem so...)  "The Wonder Years" is just such a dang well done show it ain't even funny...

  Who wants to make time every week to watch a portrayal of some latchkey brat drooling in front of the TV, Atari joystick in hand while burning a frozen dinner in the microwave waiting for mom to come home from work.  The 80s were much ado about nothing...


I don't think thats quite a fair assessment, the 60's were not just about hippies, drugs and the Vietnam war, and, as others will attest, the 80's were more than just video games, TV sitcoms, VCR's and microwave dinners.

Its easy to skip over the facts that there are lots of interesting events and therefore lots of stories that effected people during the 80's.

How about a show told from the point of view of a young kid, growing up in middle class Miami during the rise of the drug trafficking and cocaine and the subsequent problems from a growing nationwide addition to coke? (imagine a more realistic flip side to Miami Vice).
Or a family dealing with the onset of crack into what was once a relatively peaceful neighborhood?
Lots of people went through a sudden increase in wealth (excess, waste and greed) from junk bonds, corporate bandits/mergers, etc just to see it fall away by the end of the decade (my family did).
I'm sure some child or family somewhere had to deal with the growing AIDS problem at the time too.
How do you think life was for a 20yr old kid, fresh out of college going to work for the State Department (or anyone going starting employment with the goverment after the close of the 70's) circa 1981 under the new Reagan Administration?...it all depends on the perspective.

My point is, from your own point of view, at say age 11-21, EVERYTHING is relevant and important. Your world is THE world and if you're a good enough narrator/storyteller (script writer) then your experiences of that era and time will come across as well as they did in the Wonder Years.

We just have to wait to find that person who'll be able to translate that to the TV screen. ;)

You said you'd like to see a drama, but I think you are correct in wondering if people would watch some of the situations I've described. Its difficult for people to watch and identify with less than appetizing aspects of an era they don't remember or situations we would like to forget. The 80's are just as ripe period to have a drama as any, but not sure if our teens to thirtysomethings of today are going to even recognize that the 80's were not just about MTV videos, DeLorean's and day-glow hair.

I'm with Whistledog... its already been done...extremely well....by Judd Apatow with Freaks & Geeks but NBC cancelled it after 6 or 7 episodes.  :\'(

As long as the writers/directors are over 35 at this time.

If it's written by 20-somethings who got their ideas about the '80s from "I Love the '80s," you'll have people walking around with Flock of Seagulls haircuts while they twist Rubik's Cubes!
:D


That 80's show was pretty bad and probably written by 20-somethings.

There was a short lived show on the WB in 2002 that was somewhat Wonder Years esque. It was called "Do Over" and was about 34 year old Joel Larson who is accidentally sent back through time to his 1981 self but retains all of his knowledge up to the "present" the episodes often involve him getting to do over certain things in his life that he regrets. I enjoyed it, it did have alot of pop culture references, but they weren't as in your face as That 80s show.

That 80's show was pretty bad and probably written by 20-somethings.

My point exactly...and they didn't even try.  I was a child in the '70s, but I can tell you "That '70s Show" is not a comedy about the '70s, or even '70s TV shows, but what a bunch of second-rate comedy writers who don't remember the '70s think '70s shows were about. 
Ever made a copy of a copy?
and then a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy....of a copy?

That's what we're talking about!

Davester, I agree with Gumbypiz. 

The '80s pop culture was especially synthetic and hyperreal.  That's why I would treat all that was featured in "I Love the '80s" as background noise.  The '80s were dark and brutal because the decade was the beginning of the end America.  The Ronald Reagan triumphalism was akin to the red giant a dying star becomes before it collapses. 

My '80s show would be a cross between Repo Man and Roger & Me. 
:o

If you start not with MTV and Hollywood, but with Reaganomics and the rustbelt, you'll capture the '80s they don't want succeeding generations to understand...and it's vital that they do understand, provided there are succeeding generations!

There was a short lived show on the WB in 2002 that was somewhat Wonder Years esque. It was called "Do Over" and was about 34 year old Joel Larson who is accidentally sent back through time to his 1981 self but retains all of his knowledge up to the "present" the episodes often involve him getting to do over certain things in his life that he regrets. I enjoyed it, it did have alot of pop culture references, but they weren't as in your face as That 80s show.


I missed this one

If you start not with MTV and Hollywood, but with Reaganomics and the rustbelt, you'll capture the '80s they don't want succeeding generations to understand...and it's vital that they do understand, provided there are succeeding generations!


Great, then I'm the guy for the job! Where do I sign?

I grew up in an area that was (and maybe still is) nationally known for corruption and, uh...rust. There's a lot less of the latter here than during the 80s, though dirty politicians remain...and not just in Washington.