Growing up we all had our favourite TV shows. If you grew up in the late 2000s or early 2010s like me you were a part of the golden age of Disney and Nickelodeon. Shows like, ICarly, Victorious, Wizards of Waverly Place, Jessie and so many more were a part of your childhood. These shows have a very special place in our hearts, as they were a huge part of us growing up.
Anytime we see clips or someone references one of these shows it’s hard not to reminisce to the time where we would watch these shows regularly. For me, anytime I hear even just the theme song for one of my favourite childhood shows, I feel like I’m shot into a time machine and I’m watching one of them again while eating a fruit roll up.
When these shows started to reach their finales I think we all started to feel a bit sad. For me, I remember the ICarly finale vividly. There was an ICarly marathon leading up to the finale episode, which was called IGoodbye (which I’ve always thought was very fitting) and they premiered the series finale of a lot of ours favourite show on a Saturday night at prime time. In the episode during the final ICarly webcast, Carly and Sam said “ This isn’t goodbye” . Even though I knew it was there was always a part of me about less than one percent at least, that hoped it wasn’t and that ICarly would come back. I never thought that it would happen, until in did.
In December of 2020, it was announced that ICarly was getting rebooted and was getting picked up by Paramount. The kid in me was excited this was a dream come true. However, I was in grade 12 and like most kids who watched the show when it was aired were in college or were about to be. I thought to myself “Why is it getting rebooted now”. Soon after the reboot was announced two of the most beloved characters of the show wouldn’t be returning either. Jennette McCurdy wouldn’t be returning as Sam and Noah Munk wouldn’t be returning as Gibby.
Sam and Gibby were iconic characters so having ICarly without them wouldn’t feel like true ICarly. In my opinion, if they weren’t going to have all of the cast returning they shouldn’t have done the reboot at all. After watching the first few episodes I thought to myself “Who was the intended audience”. Was it the kids who watched it originally, or were they trying to bring in a new audience? The conclusion I came to was both, but it didn’t feel like the ICarly I grew up watching and loved.
The thing is, ICarly isn’t the only show to get rebooted over the last few years. The Thundermans, Gossip Girl, Dynasty and many more have been rebooted recently. Which ponders the question, why? Can nobody make any new TV shows anymore? Does every “new” TV show have to be just a reboot of an older show? I don’t know about you, I don’t like it.
Reboots / revivals currently in the works:
• Harry Potter (TV show)
• Twilight (as an animated series)
• Wizards of Waverly Place
• Totally Spies!
• Phineas and Ferb
• Chronicles of Narnia (TV show) pic.twitter.com/rAvhKE9j9w— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 6, 2024
I wish we could have original ideas for shows now. I don’t want to see a show that hasn’t aired for over ten years get a reboot. Personally, I think it ruins the original show as well. The meaning of nostalgia is “a sentimental yearning for the past that evokes feelings of pleasure with occasional notes of sadness. I feel that, that’s what a lot of these reboots are built off of. When we hear about shows like ICarly are coming back the inner kid in us comes out again. We think back to the time were we would watch it and it unlocks so many childhood memories. The thing is we aren’t kids anymore. We aren’t into the same shows as we were as kids. We don’t wanna watch these old Disney shows anymore, that ship sailed about a decade ago. The nostalgia still might be there, but that’s what Disney+ is for to re-watch the original. The reboots aren’t as good and just seem like a money grab.
The reboots aren’t just rebooting them as TV series they are also rebooting them as movies. They did this with Zoey 101 and called the movie Zoey 102 how original. After watching the trailer I had high hopes for it. The original series had some good storylines that could have been picked up in the movie. Instead, it just felt like a giant reunion. Maybe it was because the movie was about Quinn and Logan’s wedding, but I think they could have done so much more.
However, I think the sequels are much better than the reboots. I much rather prefer shows like Girl Meets World, Fuller House and Cobra Kai. These are much better than shows that try to hang onto the past. These shows add new storylines with the original cast and create a new show out of it. That’s what the people want to see. The sequels aren’t as recycled and are a taste of fresh air. Some are fantastic and are worth a watch.
Fuller House follows DJ Tanner as she raises her three sons and gets help from her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy. The premise is the same as the original show but just reversed. A lot of fans were disappointed that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (me included) the show still brought back all of the original stars. From Danny to Uncle Jessie to Joey all of the fan favourites were there. Also, the show still felt like the original from the writing to the music and everything in between. It didn’t feel brand new but it also did at the same time which was perfect.
That 90s show debuted in 2023 the spinoff of “That 70s Show”. While the first season had some hiccups it’s started to take off. I think the downfall of the first season was that not enough of the original cast returned. Topher Grace, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher made brief cameos in the first episode, and Wilmer Valderrama appeared in a pair of episodes as Fez but that was it. I feel that in this case, they needed to rely on nostalgia for at least the first season. The second season proved me wrong the character development was great, the writing felt like the original series and the jokes were hilarious. Season three just aired on Netflix in late August and I have high hopes for this show.
I know we can be feeling nostalgic quite a bit, but that’s part of growing up. It doesn’t mean to mess with the classics but at the end of the day the kid inside me has a massive smile on his face. Knowing that the universe of his favourite shows continues to live on.