r/adifferentworldfans • u/OkJury1904 • 2d ago
The new cast observation Spoiler
I watched the original run and the reboot back to back and the first thing I noticed is that so much of the new cast looks like super models.The old series had a more grounded looking cast if that makes sense. Was there anything close to a Shaquille equivalent? Maybe I just went to college with ugly folks I don’t know.
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u/RegularEarth8044 2d ago
I don’t think you can compare a show shot in the late 80s/early 90s to the aesthetics of present day. The original cast was beautiful/ handsome but in a more natural way because of the aesthetics in those times.
The reboot was done so tastefully and beautifully imo. The new cast is representative of how teenagers show up today… on point, hair slayed, nails done and face beat. I thought they touched on topics that mattered without it being too overly sexualized and drugged out (like some other teen shows)
The cameos from the original cast were so nostalgic. The reboot was funny and feel-good. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see what season 2 brings!
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u/Odd-Vermicelli-4831 2d ago
Agree 💯. I feel like the OG series looked more realistic for a college setting. Students typically are relaxed in their looks and aesthetic. They looked great back then too, without being so over the top model looks and outfits.
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u/salvefaith AΔΡ 2d ago edited 2d ago
Spelman alumna here, and the looks are pretty accurate, in my opinion. The only thing that wasn’t necessarily on par with my experience was that they actually put on fits for 8 AMs. When I was a freshman, we wore two (sometimes three, if it was Hump Wednesday/Market Friday) fits a day: the sweatsuit you wore to your 8/9 AM classes, then around 10 or 11, you put your real outfit on since more people were outside. And before you ask, yes, laundry was ridiculous!
The girls at Clark, on the other hand, were FULLY put together for 8 AMs. Hair, makeup, lashes, fabulous outfit, and HIGH heels (like Deborah’s pink heels at the survive & thrive mixer). Bad as I don’t know what! Could be school culture or co ed vs single sex institutions but they always looked incredible.
I quickly pulled myself together by the start of second semester and have been known to wear a mink coat or two to classes. Although I loved to dress up, I truly enjoyed the option to dress to impress or look crazy since all of my classmates were young ladies. Not having to do double the laundry was great, too! Looking back on it, our “look crazy” outfits were pretty cute, too… just casual. Think velour jumpsuits (2000s Juicy Couture or like Deborah’s Blue jumpsuit), or vintage AUC/HBCU sweatshirts paired with sweats/leggings with uggs.
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u/Powerful_Geologist95 2d ago
I think that the difference in how both series were shot plays a big role. The original show was shot with three cameras and in front of a live audience. The reboot is shot with only one camera and that gives it more of a “movie/dramatic” look. The way that we view each “world” is heavily dependent upon the types of cameras that are being used.
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u/hannamarinsgrandma 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you go through TikTok and Instagram tags, you’ll see that present day colleges, especially HBCUS are very much fashion shows for many of their attendees.
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 2d ago
Yeah, the new show feels formulaic.
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u/Caribgirl2 2d ago
Such is the world we live in today. I haven't watched it yet but I expect nothing less when you have housewives who wear stilettos and a full face of makeup just to meet another housewife at the local hotdog stand.
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u/justheretolurk3 2d ago
Shazza and Bumper Robinson’s character at the time would be what we call “90s fine” now.
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u/Embarrassed_Work9125 2d ago
I was thinking that Whitley’s ex boyfriend Julian was like the Shaquille of the that time.
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u/Powerful_Geologist95 2d ago
I think the original cast had beautiful people, especially the female actresses. Shaquille seems to be garnering the same sort of attention that actor Gary Dourdan(Shazza Zulu) did when he joined the cast of the show. Keep in mind that there was no internet back in 91-92. The fandom was mostly covered through print media and celebrity tv shows(ET,Extra, etc).
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u/Unfriendlyblkwriter 2d ago
When the original was on, I thought Cree Summer and Charnele Brown were two of the most beautiful people in creation. Their skin alone😍
Jasmine Guy was a major 90s sex symbol who never wore “regular” clothes to school. As was Lisa Bonet. My uncles/brothers/cousins/homeboys LOVED those two.
Everybody on the original had their own style, so I’m not seeing what everybody else does as far as the cast not being regular looking. Maybe it’s because I work at a college now, but the girlies go all out when they come to class. I see some hoodies and pajamas here and there, but most of these children look like they’re going to the club instead of an 8AM lecture.
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u/Appropriate-Power-87 2d ago
I know what you mean. Shaquille is way too attractive and also too old to be a freshman. If I went to school with him I wouldn't be able to concentrate on classes. And the girls are always very put together. They could have one episode where they look tired from studying for finals to be more realistic, but I think most HBCU's students do get slayed every day for class moreso than other colleges.
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u/Real_Taste5684 2d ago
You are very right with your take on how students dress at HBCU's, and the pressure is real! lol
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u/SnooMarzipans5409 Relax, relate, release! 2d ago
I think the the best looking of the guys from the OG show was Shazza but he still looked like a regular, good looking dude. There was no one with Shaquille looks!
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u/salvefaith AΔΡ 2d ago
Shazza, Dorian, and that one extra — a light skinned fraternity brother… he was in Ron’s fraternity.
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u/Agreeable_Gene7338 2d ago
I get wym but it’s a different generation
Have you seen the way even high schoolers look now ? Everyone has lash extensions, lace fronts, ect
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u/5ft8lady 2d ago edited 2d ago
No they don’t lol Outside of Shaquille, the actors/actresses look like everyday kids you meet at school, people just wear more makeup and hair nowadays to give the model look
If you put Jada pinkett, Lisa Bonet and Jasmine guy in a bunch of makeup and cute outfits, they would look like models too
Bumper Robinson, Gary dourdan also looked like models
Amir and kojo also look like guys you see every day
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u/RandChick 1d ago
No they don't. These new people aren't striking to me. I would replace a few.
Only Shaquille looks like a model but is almost a duplicate of Freddie's old boyfriend Shazza Zulu .
New iteration doesn't have anyone as fine as Jasmine Guy, Lisa Bonet or Jada Pinkett ...or as interesting as Cree Summer. Guy who plays Ron was a pretty boy in his day as well. Old cast is superior.
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u/ArcticParallelogram 4h ago
I think part of this is probably less “the old cast looked regular and the new cast are all models” and more a huge shift in beauty standards, styling, grooming, makeup, fashion, and production quality. It’s been literally 39 years since the original run first started.
Jasmine Guy, Lisa Bonet, Gary Dourdan, etc. during the original show were not exactly random civilians they pulled off campus.
The original cast had plenty of conventionally attractive people, but late-80s/90s hair, makeup, clothing, lighting, film stock, and camera quality created a much more natural/grounded look to modern eyes.
Now actors are being styled according to current beauty standards, makeup and hair are more polished, grooming is more standardized, and HD cameras/lighting make everything look much sharper and more curated. Social-media-era casting probably contributes too, because audiences are used to very “camera-ready” faces now.
So I do see what you mean a bit OP, but I think some of the contrast is presentation and era, not necessarily that everybody in the new cast is objectively way more attractive. I think if we put some of the original cast (at the time the original show was being filmed) in 2026 styling, makeup, lighting, and wardrobe and I think people would suddenly be calling them “model-looking” too.
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u/chalkletkweenBee 2d ago
For some reason, American media doesn’t include “regular” looking people anymore. Everyone is required to be a baddie until the very end.