9 Things “That ‘90s Show” Got Right About The ‘90s

The sound of dial-up awakened something long dormant in me.

As with any show covering a time period I grew up in, it's impossible to watch That '90s Show and not be on the lookout for references to the decade.

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I turned 13 just after the '90s ended so my experience wasn't quite the same as the kids in the That '70s Show reboot, but I caught quite a few references nonetheless:

1. The Technology

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The behemoth of a computer Kitty starts using dial-up on and the fact that Nate had both a giant cell phone and pager took me way back, not to mention the Donkey Kong references.

2. The Activities

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Rave culture was in full swing, so it makes sense the kids skipped town to hit one up (much like the original That '70s Show gang did when they went to a disco in Kenosha). Also, spending an afternoon at the mall getting glamour shots? It doesn't get much more '90s than that.

3. The Brands

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We get mentions of Zima, Lipsmackers, and AT&T — specifically these very prescient commercials.

4. The Hair

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Especially Jay and Nate's. They both look like Shawn Hunter in various seasons of Boy Meets World.

5. The Clothes

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Leia's D.A.R.E. shirt definitely brought me back — I think I had two of them — as did her many tank dresses over white T-shirts. I spotted quite a few Doc Martens, which are still super popular, but blew up in the '90s.

Also: So. Many. Flannels.

6. The Reading Material

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Gwen mentions reading (though not quite finishing) the Riot grrrl manifesto, which was published in BIKINI KILL ZINE 2 in the early '90s. (She also has the words "RIOT GRRRL" spelled out on her bedroom wall with middle finger stickers.)

We also see Leia and Ozzie reading Sassy magazine, a feminist teen magazine that technically began in 1988 but saw the majority of its run in the '90s.

7. The TV Shows

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Not only is Leo obsessed with The Real World, but Jay and Leia mention Friends during their "break-up," and Leia has several 90210 fantasy sequences — complete with Brian Austin Green — on her birthday. Ozzie's talk show fantasy is also clearly an amalgamation of several '90s talk shows, including Ricki Lake and The Jerry Springer Show. Plus, Leia makes a joke about DJ Jazzy Jeff being thrown out a door à la The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

8. The Movies

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Leia tries to get her hands on Clerks on VHS, and the video store Jay works at is of course full of '90s classics. You can see a handful of tapes behind the register, including Dumb & Dumber, Hackers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ultimately, the kids end up watching Leia's favorite movie: Free Willy. The kids also mention going to see Batman Forever, and we get a classic nod to Home Alone.

9. The Music

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The series opens with "Groove is in the Heart," the classic Deee-Lite song that dominated the '90s. (I for one spent a fair bit of time shimmying to that slide whistle.)

And when we first meet Gwen, she's singing along to Alanis Morrisette's iconic "You Oughta Know." Her wall is also covered in posters for bands who saw their heyday during the '90s, including Bratmobile, and the Muffs (who do the cover of "Kids in America," originally used in Clueless, that we hear at the end of the season), Sonic Youth, Hole, Veruca Salt, Calamity Jane, Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Jane's Addiction.

Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop" also plays over Leia's first kiss, and we see the kids — including a very appropriately dressed Ozzie — dancing to Blind Melon's "No Rain" and Skee-Lo's "I Wish." Jay and Nate get in a gym sesh to the soothing sounds of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell."

Plus, the theme song — a cover of the That '70s Show theme — is sung by Brett Anderson, singer of the Donnas, who got their start in the '90s.

What do you the show got right about the '90s?