Watch This Space

Author: Sheila Seles

If you happened to pass by a TV in the last week you probably already know that VH1 has unleashed on the world I Love the 90s: Part Deux. The premise of the show is simple - there is one hour-long episode for each year in the decade. A bunch of comedians, actors and musicians talk about news and culture from each given year - the important stuff like Zima, Scary Spice and the fall of the Iron Curtain. This show has great television predecessors - I Love the 90s: Part Deux follows in the footsteps of I Love the 90s, I Love the 80s and I Love the 70s. On the surface we shouldn't love I Love the 90s - or any show of its kind. VH1's nostalgic romp through the pop culture past doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. But that's why it's so great.

VH1 seems to have struck gold with its I Love the...series. Who knew the American people were so hungry for nostalgia of the recent past? (If you said The Frankfurt School you get a gold star, but the real answer is VH1.) It isn't really that surprising that people love I Love the... I can't tell you times I've broken the ice in an awkward situation by reminiscing about slap bracelets, Crystal Pepsi and that '90s classic Saved by the Bell. Walking into Urban Outfitters or Hot Topic is like taking a trip back to the playground complete with t-shirts depicting Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Jem. This yearning for times past isn't in any way unique to our generation. When we were kids people in our parents' generation were shelling out thousands of dollars for Beatles paraphernalia and original Barbie dolls.

The commodification of memory is a huge business and no one seems to know that better than VH1. VH1 has built a mini-empire around remembering and they do it very well. My remote always stops on another VH1 show, Best Week Ever. This show is like a mini-I Love the that airs every week. Best Week Ever's premise should sound familiar. VH1 assembles a bunch of C-list celebrities to talk about events in news and pop culture from the past week.

Of course, these shows would not be so popular if they weren't as funny as they are. Some of VH1's C-list celebrities are comic geniuses who deserve to move at least to the B-list. Michael Ian Black has become a god in my house for his perfectly perverse deadpan humor. And he's one of the few people I'd heard of - Wet Hot American Summer, anyone?- before his stint on I Love the 70s. For my money, Rachael Harris and Hal Sparks are other standout comedians on the series and Flava Flav always has some deep insights into the American psyche.

Don't get me wrong, I Love the 90s: Part Deux isn't the type of show that keeps you rapt, hanging on every word. I Love the 90s isn't even the type of show that I plan on watching (but it's on about 50 times a day and in this mid-season TV lull, it's usually the best thing on). It's the kind of show that just shows up on your TV and won't leave. Not that you'd want it to.