Parents' Guide to Memory Hole

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Common Sense Media Review

Marty Brown By Marty Brown , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Retro pop culture-based clip show is nothing new.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

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Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

In MEMORY HOLE, host Will Arnett unearths wild and ugly pop culture artifacts from decades past, attempting to answer the age-old question: What if we had memes in the '80s? Video clips from recent history include sports stars, people singing, and lots of things we now see as embarrassing and dated.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

The litmus test here is whether seeing someone riff for five minutes on a video from 30 to 40 years ago is funnier than just watching the video itself. Spoiler alert: It's usually not. Arnett sleepwalks through his hosting gig (think The Simpsons' Krusty the Clown recording voice-over for his Krusty doll), and most of the source material has already made the rounds on the usual online channels, which means Memory Hole doesn't even live up to filler status.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about pop culture. What differences are there between the videos shown from the '70s'/80s and the current stuff you like? How has culture changed? Has it gotten better or worse? What do you think constitutes "bad" entertainment?

  • Is there anything you currently enjoy that you can see being comedic fodder for a Memory Hole-type show 40 years from now? What is it and why?

  • Why do you think some things have lasting power (classic books, for example) and others become dated quickly (hairstyles, etc.)?

TV Details

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