1990s revivals — why some comebacks are a big success and why some aren’t

NINTENDO is the latest company using 1990s nostalgia to reboot a product. But not everything we loved from that decade is succeeding in the 21st century.

Vanilla Ice is one of many 1990s comebacks.

DON’T call it a comeback, because it’s something more like misty-eyed nostalgia.

Our smart TVs, tablets, wardrobes and iPhones have been inundated recently with 1990s remakes, re-imaginings, reinventions, revivals and returns.

Baywatch is back, and so are flannelette shirts

The X-Files made a comeback, as did 90210, while Shania Twain and even Vanilla Ice returned to prominence.

But while some 1990s comebacks have been successful, others have tanked. Why?

NOSTALGIA IS A FORM OF ‘COMFORT FOOD’

Advertising guru and regular Gruen panellist Dee Madigan says people are increasingly looking for “comfort food”.

“Nostalgia is a very powerful emotion,” Madigan told News Corp.

“Studies prove that people will open their wallets for nostalgia. We all have a romantic vision of the past. It (comebacks and remakes) is our mashed potatoes, our cream and butter.”

“When people are scared they want to go back to a time when they felt safe.

“In a troubled world people want to go back to times that they think were simpler — the problem is they weren’t, we just remember them that way.”

Marketing expert Dee Madigan.

And therein lies the heart of the problem for fans embracing the return or remake of their favourite shows, films, products or artists.

“We remember things to be better than they were,” Madigan said.

“People say the new Baywatch movie is crap, well Baywatch was crap back then as well, people just remember it differently.”

Smell and sound are the most powerful triggers for nostalgia, Madigan said, and the successful process of retelling original stories dates back to Shakespeare’s time.

The success of a new movie can depend upon the time gap between the reboot and the original tale.

But nostalgia itself is not enough; artists need to bring more to the table.

“Parents want to have that shared experience with their children,” Madigan said.

“They want their children to enjoy the same thing during their childhood as they do.

“But that nostalgia on its own isn’t enough, that is just lazy.

“It has to be interesting and there has to be substance.”

Here are some of the successful 1990s revivals and the not so successful.

The Truth is still out there.

THE X-FILES

1990s

Chris Carter’s X-Files was one of the decade’s biggest TV hits, breaking new ground over its nine seasons starring alien believer David Duchovny as ‘Spooky’ Fox Mulder and sceptic Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in career defining roles. Two feature films followed.

Now

To much fanfare Carter announced he would he would be making a six episode 10th season revival that was finally released in 2016 instead of another movie.

Verdict: An underwhelming return, the new series lacked the scares and originality of the first run, even on the admission of hard core fans.

Pamela Anderson was a hit.

BAYWATCH

1990s

At its height Baywatch was the most popular TV show on the planet airing in 148 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. It made household names of its stars including David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, while the sun, surf and scantily clad bodies of California proved irresistible for viewers despite its fluffy narratives.

The Baywatch remake is a flop.

Now

The feature film remake was released this year starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron with the tagline ‘Beaches ain’t ready” on its theatrical posters.

Verdict: The movie has been an absolute flop, slagged by critics and given an approval rating of just 19 per cent on influential film website Rotten Tomatoes.

ALANIS MORISSETTE

1990s

Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album, released in June 1995, sold more than 33 million copies worldwide to become one of the greatest selling albums of all time. The artist herself, whose lyrics symbolised youth cynisicm during the decade, emerged as a feminist icon in the process.

Alanis Morissette’s popularity isn’t what it was.

Now

After years in the wilderness, Morrissette has returned to the public eye after joining Taylor Swift on her 1989 tour. Jagged Little Pill was reissued on its 20th anniversary. A musical based on the record will be released next year.

Verdict: Morissette needs to stand on the shoulders of others these days to be seen.

FLANNEL

1990s

Grunge gods Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder turned the flannel shirt into a defining fashion statement.

Now

Sported on stage by Justin Bieber and worn by executives in the office, flannel is still spotted on the fashion conscious partygoer.

Verdict: Flannel seems to have survived. We are just not sure how.

JURASSIC MOVIES

1990s

Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park blew moviegoers’ minds with its cutting edge computer generated imagery and visual effects and plot involving cloned dinosaurs running amok. It was well received by critics and grossed over US$900 million (A$1.187 billion) worldwide to become the biggest grossing film of all time. Sequels The Lost World and Jurassic Park III were also considerable commercial successes. The series spawned themed rides at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Japan.

Everybody still loves dinosaurs.

Now

Released in 2015 and starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard and directed by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World was well received critically and earned US$1.6 billion (A$2.11 billion) at the box office making it the fourth highest grossing film of all time.

Verdict: Jurassic World couldn’t match the originality of its predecessors but its success proves everybody still loves dinosaurs.

NINTENDO

‘90s

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System revolutionised home entertainment, selling more than a billion cartridges worldwide. Ten per cent of those were from the Mario franchise.

Now

Nintendo has announced it will re-release the SNES that first hit Australia in 1992.

Verdict: Too little too late for Nintendo?

Nintendo SNES Classic

FULL HOUSE

1990s

Full House, featuring the adorable Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, ran for eight seasons through 192 episodes from 1987 to 1995.

At its peak it was averaging 16,000,000 viewers an episode.

Now

The reboot series Fuller House which aired on Netflix in 2016 was a huge success, on par with The Walking Dead. The episodes averaged 14.4 million viewers within the first month.

Verdict: A Lazarus-like return.

The original Full House team.

CELINE DION

1990s

A superstar of the decade, My Heart Will Go On singer Celine Dion sold over 200 million records to become one of the best selling artists ever. At the height of her fame in 1999, she took time out from her career to start a family and be with her husband who was diagnosed with cancer.

Now

Dion returned to the limelight at Caesars Palace in Vegas in 2011 where she still performs today. She released a new album Encore un soir in May last year, which has sold over a million copies.

Verdict: Dion is still in the picture.

Celine Dion was a superstar of the 1990s. Picture News Corp

POKEMON

1990s

The Pokemon franchise began in 1996 and is the highest earner in children’s entertainment to date, selling more than 227 million games for a total of $US57.65 billion (A$76 billion) revenue.

Now

The innovate Pokemon Go app, featuring the use of augmented reality, last year drew in US$470 million (A$619 million) in the first 80 days in a world wide frenzy.

Verdict: Pokemon was back, but it’s gone again.

Pokemon came and went and made plenty of cash.

BEVERLY HILLS 90210

1990s

The original series made household names out of Shannon Doherty and Jason Priestley as twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh following their ups and downs in the exclusive neighbourhood through high school and into adulthood. It aired for 10 years from 1990-2000.

Now

The revamp of this show came with a new cast and a new name, 90210, which had almost five million people tune in to the first episode. Four consecutive series followed, but it didn’t last as long as the original.

Verdict: Kinda close but no cigar.

The original 90210 crew.

WINONA RYDER

1990s

Starring roles in hit films such as Dracula, Reality Bites, Little Women, How to Make An American Quilt and Girl Interrupted and an ill-fated romance with Johnny Depp made Winona one of the ‘90s It Girls.

Actors Ethan Hawke & Winona Ryder in 1994 film Reality Bites.

Now

Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things has made a star out of Winona, 45, again in her role as Joyce Byers — a mother unravelling after her son Will goes missing.

Verdict: Johnny Depp might be losing it but Winona certainly isn’t.

Winona Ryder in Stranger Things. Picture: Netflix

SHANIA TWAIN

1990s

Country singer Shania Twain rose to fame on the back of her second album The Woman in Me in 1995 which sold over 20 million copies. Come on Over in 1997 became the best selling album of all time by a female and sold 40 million copies

Now

Twain released a new single this year Life’s about to get good which topped the billboard charts for the first time since her album Up 15 years ago. Her fifth studio album is due in September

Verdict: Time will tell.

Canadian singer Shania Twain.

VANILLA ICE

1990s

Vanilla Ice, AKA Robert Van Winkle, was pretty fly for a white guy in 1990 when his debut album To The Extreme sold 15 million copies and was the fastest selling hip hop album of all time. Hit single Ice Ice Baby was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts and he was credited for introducing the music style to a mainstream audience.

Now

Ice was back as part of the ‘I love the 90s’ Tour to Australia in June

Verdict: Ice isn’t back with any brand new invention.

Vanilla Ice in a Crows top with a fan at the 'I Love The 90s' night in Adelaide. Pic: Instagram.

CASSETTE TAPES

1990s

The cassette tape was the most popular music format from the late 1980s and into the 1990s with annual shipments of players reaching around $4 million. Then compact discs took over.

Now

According to the The Wall Street Journal, an estimated 129,000 tapes were sold in the US last year, up from 74,000 the year before after the like of Justin Bieber released new music on the format. Bieber’s album Purpose sold 1000 copies on cassette in the US. In its first week of release alone it was streamed 77 million times in America.

Verdict: What’s a cassette tape? What’s a CD?

Actress Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer in the original Twin Peaks.

TWIN PEAKS

1990s

David Lynch’s eerie Twin Peaks, focusing on the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, was one of the best rating TV series of 1990 but was cancelled after the second season suffered a decline in ratings. It has since been rated as among the best TV dramas of all time.

Now

Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost returned with Twin Peaks: The Return, an 18 episode series that premiered in May. It has a 95 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Verdict: Why did they ever take it off the air?

Originally published as 1990s revivals — why some comebacks are a big success and why some aren’t