I watched That 80's Show last night. I was somewhat disappointed. I had read a review of the show in USAToday, and unfortunately a lot of what it said was correct: it was more about how silly all the clothes and hair and dance moves were than about the characters and their lives in the decade. I was mildly amused by the fact that it's set in the year I was born (1984), but that was probably only me and the rest of the teenagers born in that year. There was a great deal of emphasis on the music of the decade, also (nearly impossible to do without it, as three of the primary characters work in a record store), which of course I liked, but the show just wasn't all that funny, partly because the laugh-tracks seemed way overused... and also because of the inevitable to That 70's Show, against which 80's pales considerably. Like Ali suggested when I was describing the show to her, it was more about shock value and gimmicks than any actual story or characterization. For example, one of the characters is a bisexual who has recently dumped one of the male characters. She then promptly goes after the male character's sister, planting a big ol' kiss on her lips in the process.

Then again, it is only the pilot. Perhaps it will get better.