What A Time To Be Revived
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What A Time To Be Revived

Shows That Would Succeed in This Era of Revivals

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What A Time To Be Revived
Edwin J. Viera

The year was 1990 when S.N.L. (Saturday Night Live) had true competition in the genre of sketch comedy. A new show on FOX debuted titled In Living Color, and featured a predominantly black cast. This was a new show in which controversial issues were dealt with through sketches were preformed that caught the public eye.

In Living Color ventured where many shows dare not enter. The show had a good run and gave many people such as James "Jim" Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Ann Inaba, T'Keyah "Crystal" Keymah, who also starred on the Disney Channel sitcom That's So Raven, David Alan Grier, Tommy Davidson, Rosie Perez, Kim Coles, who later rose to fame on the FOX sitcom Living Single, Damon Wayans, Jamie Foxx, Marlon Wayans, Kim Wayans, and Kenan Ivory Wayans.

While In Living Color was a great show it was able to do something that we don't have much in television these days... an actual laugh. Many shows that debuted in the 1990's, even the ones that carried over into the 2000's were great. Shows such as Just Shoot Me!, Seinfeld, Living Single, Sex and the City, Will & Grace, Frasier, The Sopranos, A Different World braved the waters that many television shows, and networks refuse to do at this day and age.

With many shows from that time being revived, a certain number of shows are remaining in the vaults when they should be lobbying for another round on the air. One show in particular is NewsRadio. This show was marred with a number of unfortunate circumstances that led to a five years run and a disgruntled comment about their Must See Thursday Night Line-Up.

NewsRadio was a show that has since become notable for breaking all the rules. For starters, the show was hated by the NBC in charge of scheduling and programming, Preston Beckman. It was moved to nine different time slots throughout its run and always had a hard time getting a good place to remain. Another aspect that brought the show down was the tragic death of Phil Hartman in 1998.

Just a few weeks after filming the last episode of season 4, Hartman’s wife Brynn killed him while he slept. That same night, after the police arrived she laid next to Phil and killed herself. NewsRadio had to deal with this directly and killed off his character on the show, Bill McNeal. After the episode, Bill Moves On, Jon Lovitz was brought in to replace him but he didn’t help the show any. After the last season, which, is most notably the weakest NewsRadio was cancelled.

During the show’s run, creator Paul Simms knew what was going on at NBC and how NewsRadio had been screwed over. In an article done by Rolling Stone, he said that viewers aren’t as dumb as NBC executives may think. He called the Thursday night lineup “a double decker s*** sandwich”. The comment was noticed by NBC but no one is sure what repercussions this had on the show except for the changing time slot.

Another show that would succeed in this era of revivals and comebacks is Just Shoot Me! This show was about a hot-tempered journalist being fired from her previous job, she made an anchor woman cry on the air, she goes to her father’s fashion magazine just seeking to write one article. Instead she becomes the articles editor after he has a child with his latest wife, and takes on some of his responsibilities.

The show had a great premise and great plots. However, this show never really got the credit it deserved once it finished its seven-year run. If anything, this show could come back with a whole new cast and start from the beginning. It would make for an excellent show that wouldn’t be as issues oriented as many sitcoms can be now. It would just be a show that’s silly and goofy.

Two other show that should be brought back were hits on FOX, In Living Color and Living Single. Living Single gave rise to Queen Latifah as an actress and can be considered a precursor to the HBO series, Sex and the City. The show is about the lives of four African American women and the lives they lead. The show could be oriented around issues within black culture and can have a great deal of promise.

For anyone thinking this sounds vaguely similar, it should. Netflix did this with their latest show, One Day at a Time. The show originally had a white family and dealt with the issues of raising two kids while divorced. Now the series deals with a Cuban family’s lives and how they are going beyond tradition. The show is worth watching and is more of a comedy drama than a sitcom, but is quite funny when it has to be.

Finally, is In Living Color. This show already attempted a revival in 2012 but wasn’t good enough to go beyond a pilot. If filmed now, this show would definitely be something special because it would be the first time in a while Saturday Night Live had competition in the sketch comedy field.

Many of the show’s familiar sketches could be pulled off in the same hilarious manner that they had when the show originally aired in 1990. Many people believe to the contrary, and this can also be true of many of these shows. Sometimes it’s best not to mess with a classic, even though many of these shows had a great run and a modicum of success when they first aired. However, it may be time for them to come out of retirement and bring us laughter once again.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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