That ‘90s Show Part 3 Review: Like the Last Days of Summer Vacation

After a well-received part 2, That ’90s Show Part 3 arrives early — in August 2024 and an appropriate time for a series itself set in late summer, albeit the one of 1996.

It’s been only a week or two since a car crashed into Red and Kitty’s kitchen, and the hole is still gaping when they return. Yet that plot is wrapped up within the first episode. After all, there’s still plenty of teen dramedy to attend.

While the previous eight episodes saw multiple connections and break ups, relationship statuses remain relatively status quo here, though not for lack of trying. New love interests come and go in the background as Leia and Jay take steps forward.

That includes “the” step, with awkwardness briefly highlighted by an animated segment inspired by Doug. (While I’m not sure any of us 90s teens actually found Mr. Funnie attractive per say, I’m sure we would have been lucky to land a guy like him)

Yes, Leia loses her virginity, and does so with a great deal less turmoil that other characters like her. It’s a major life event, of course, but it’s a part of growing up, and most of the characters stumble upon similar experiences of their own.

What this does mean is that she and Jay are now a serious couple and that her leaving after the summer would pose a problem. Yet when her father gets a job offer across the county, she’s up for the opportunity to stay in Point Place full time.

Her friends and Kitty are thrilled. Red is less enthused about having “those kids” around all the time, and Donna could face unwanted attention from certain familiar faces. All the same, I think we expected something like this eventually.

We spend a bit more time with other adults from the original series—maybe not quite as much as in part 2, but enough that the sentiment of this being a show for many generations stays true. The things they deal with are also very familiar.

All these events, however, are pretty run-of-the-mill, especially considering the kind of drama that occurred on actual 90s TV shows. If there’s anything to criticize about this latest installment of the series, it’s that not much of a consequence happens.

Since this set of episodes was already pushed up a few months, it may have made more sense to drop parts 2 and 3 together as the equivalent to a full second season with more chaos in the first half, and more of an episodic format in the second.

All in all though, this is the only true complaint and a minor one at that. Like That 70s Show, this is meant to be a sitcom. The conflict is there more for nostalgia than anything else, and we still get that in spades.

The time period-appropriate jokes continue and though we don’t get any major new guest appearances, the 90s celebrities making cameos in part 2 continue to do so here, always welcome and in the style of their most beloved characters.

There’s also the promise of more developments on the horizon. Since Leah does seem poised to stay in Point Place full-time, a new school year and the angst of growing up can offer bumpy character growth, even when it’s tongue-in-cheek.

I certainly hope we get more of this series, especially with a new angle. If the show lasts long enough, it would be fun to end it as the original program did– cutting to black at the stroke of midnight, this time on the eve of a new millennium.

What did you think of this episode of That ’90s Show? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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That ’90s Show is now streaming on Netflix.

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