From Mav: The other day, Hannah and I were talking about X-men ’97, a show that we both enjoyed. In her case, she was a big fan of the original show when she was a kid. I’m a little older and so wasn’t as much of a fan (though I did like the reboot). One of the things I heard a lot of people saying at the time it aired was that it felt like a natural extension of the show. But the more I thought about it, it really doesn’t. It’ much too serious and much too… good. Because the original show was for children in the 90s and this is very much for middle aged adults of today. This is the show that grown-up you wishes the 90s show was.
And I think that’s kind of fascinating. There’s always been this thing that fascinates me about media that is best enjoyed though the foggy haze off childhood memory. Some of my favorite shows from when I was a child are frankly just… really fucking dumb as an adult. For instance, Robotech, the entry point into anime for people my age, doesn’t really “hold up”. I enjoy it because of nostalgia, but it would likely seem kind of lame to an anime fan of modern sensibilities who didn’t grow up with it.
But in the massive media landscape of the 2020s, there is increasingly, I think, there is a turn to recapture the nostalgia of old programs through reboots, but actually make them… you know… good! Or at least attempting to make the tolerable to the modern audience. In addition to X-Men 97, I’m thinking of Kevin Smith’s Netflix Masters of the Universe: Revelations series which is technically a continuation of the continuity of the original show but with much more serious stakes and continuity. In the non-animated world, I am also thinking about the extensions of kids shows like Saved By the Bell or iCarly or the failed Lizzie McGuire spin-off.
I’m also wondering if this is even possible for adult properties or if that’s just “trying to do the media again?” in a different way. So for instance, is a legacy sequel like Top Gun: Maverick an instance of this? What about the 2012 reboot of Dallas or the rebooted 90210 and Melrose Place or the upcoming Buffy? What about shows that basically shift their cast in order to connect to the new generations, such as the Degrassi spinoffs or Girl Meets World? Or perhaps my absolutely beloved and gone much too soon The 90s Show? Or are those all just sequels that have different sensibilities because a few decades went by?
The series that I thought of that most epitomizes this question is the short-lived 1990 The Bradys. A show that asked the question “what if the Brady Bunch were a hyper serious primetime drama.” No one asked that question, and so it got cancelled after only 6 episodes, but I’m kinda asking it now. Why do these things exist?
Do you have thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Call For Comments: Grown-up Reboots
July 4, 2025
From Mav: The other day, Hannah and I were talking about X-men ’97, a show that we both enjoyed. In her case, she was a big fan of the original show when she was a kid. I’m a little older and so wasn’t as much of a fan (though I did like the reboot). One of the things I heard a lot of people saying at the time it aired was that it felt like a natural extension of the show. But the more I thought about it, it really doesn’t. It’ much too serious and much too… good. Because the original show was for children in the 90s and this is very much for middle aged adults of today. This is the show that grown-up you wishes the 90s show was.
And I think that’s kind of fascinating. There’s always been this thing that fascinates me about media that is best enjoyed though the foggy haze off childhood memory. Some of my favorite shows from when I was a child are frankly just… really fucking dumb as an adult. For instance, Robotech, the entry point into anime for people my age, doesn’t really “hold up”. I enjoy it because of nostalgia, but it would likely seem kind of lame to an anime fan of modern sensibilities who didn’t grow up with it.
But in the massive media landscape of the 2020s, there is increasingly, I think, there is a turn to recapture the nostalgia of old programs through reboots, but actually make them… you know… good! Or at least attempting to make the tolerable to the modern audience. In addition to X-Men 97, I’m thinking of Kevin Smith’s Netflix Masters of the Universe: Revelations series which is technically a continuation of the continuity of the original show but with much more serious stakes and continuity. In the non-animated world, I am also thinking about the extensions of kids shows like Saved By the Bell or iCarly or the failed Lizzie McGuire spin-off.
I’m also wondering if this is even possible for adult properties or if that’s just “trying to do the media again?” in a different way. So for instance, is a legacy sequel like Top Gun: Maverick an instance of this? What about the 2012 reboot of Dallas or the rebooted 90210 and Melrose Place or the upcoming Buffy? What about shows that basically shift their cast in order to connect to the new generations, such as the Degrassi spinoffs or Girl Meets World? Or perhaps my absolutely beloved and gone much too soon The 90s Show? Or are those all just sequels that have different sensibilities because a few decades went by?
The series that I thought of that most epitomizes this question is the short-lived 1990 The Bradys. A show that asked the question “what if the Brady Bunch were a hyper serious primetime drama.” No one asked that question, and so it got cancelled after only 6 episodes, but I’m kinda asking it now. Why do these things exist?
Do you have thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
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