Pearlslam

If you have cable, even your most cursory surf through the channels is guaranteed to turn up at least one of three things: (1) Either The Shawshank Redemption or The American President; (2) an episode of Law & Order in one of its three variations; or (3) one of VH1's I Love the ... series.
 
All are compelling for their own reasons, but for sheer crack cocaine-like addiction, nothing beats the VH1 stuff. The series is now examining the 1990s, and while I've been helplessly sucked into a few installments, I must confess to a certain discomfort over watching.
 
It's not as if the '90s lacked trends and icons to mock. But we're just too close to the things they're laughing at. The "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady? Sure, I remember her -- laughed at her then, too. The Ally McBeal dancing baby? Sure, I remember it -- thought it was stupid then, too. Look, anything that gets Liz Phair on the air more is something I'll all for, but there's something missing here. The distance between now and prior decades is what made I Love the 70s and I Love the 80s such a kick, and what drains I Love the 90s of its desperately needed "Oh, yeah!" value. If things continue as they are, in about six weeks Michael Ian Black will collapse under the weight of his own understated irony:  

Ed was about a bowling alley owner ... who was also [eyebrow cocks] a lawyer. Because so many lawyers are looking for second careers involving [head tilts] recycled shoes. And then the guy who plays the bowling alley sidekick [eyes twinkle, lip quivers] moves onto a cable series mocking ... . [Head explodes in meta-ironic spectacle.]