CURRENT ISSUE 1/28/02 Front Page Weekly Features Advice from Strangers Ain't That America? To-Do List: Dave Thomas Moth's Diary News from Travistan Movie Corner Info Archives Crap Shop Who's at Fault? Contact Us!	Retro-Mad FOX To Launch That '90s Show HOLLYWOOD, CA (DPI) - Remember Marilyn Manson, Green Day, The X Files and cellular phones? FOX TV Executive Jeff Kamen is betting that you do. Kamen, 22, is the brainchild behind FOX's newest retro-sitcom, That '90s Show. "The thing with Retro is that, honestly, that stuff is way too old," Kamen told reporters at a Beverly Hills press conference. "I mean, the '70s? Who remembers the '70s? Most people weren't even alive then. Same with the '80s. What's so funny about stuff that happened when I was in diapers?" That's the thinking behind That '90s Show. Kamen wants to reach out to the valuable 13-19 demographic with "Retro that people remember." "It's funny," said Kamen "because we all acted and dressed so ridiculously a few years ago. This show will give us a chance to laugh at ourselves. I mean, I was looking through my CDs a few days ago, and there, right in front of me, I saw a matchbox twenty's Mad Season, from '97, and I thought, 'Whoa... who remembers matchbox twenty, dude?'" Other '90s icons ready for lampooning in the sitcom are movies like Con Air and Armageddon, along with '90s sex symbols Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson. "Man, Pam was so hot back in the day, when she was younger," says Kamen of the 34 year-old former sex symbol. "Now I know that she's totally pre-Britney, but man, when I was a kid I had such a crush on her." The pilot episode features a group of teen friends in Madison, Wisconsin, dealing with the ups and downs of late 90s life. Kamen admits finding props from the era was troublesome. "These poor kids, because it's the '90s, are stuck watching videos on one of those VCRs they used to have. That was tough to find," he said, adding that it was also difficult trying to find an antique Sony PlayStation as well. "And the costumes are just as bad. We spent a week trying to find a Tommy Hilfiger shirt in a second hand store." "Man... Tommy Hilfiger," Kamen muses ruefully. "What were we thinking?" If That '90s Show takes off the way Kamen hopes, he has another retro-themed show planned. That Millennium Show is set to launch as early as May. "Remember Eminem?" Kamen asks with a wink. We sure do, Jeff. We sure do. (Reported by Greg Preece)
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