By Andrea Lam (ArtSci ‘ 13)
Contributor
Remember the days you used to spend sprawled on the couch, munching away on junk food, eagerly awaiting the opening theme song of your favourite cartoon? I do.
Here are 10 classic TV shows from the 90’s that are sure to bring on nostalgia and allow you to reminisce over your childhood memories.
1. Pokémon
The concept of Pokémon is every child’s fantasy: owning monsters that can shrink to the size of the palm of your hand, and using their abilities to battle with your friends to prove that you’re the best. The Pokémon fad quickly made its way out of the TV set —remember spending recess trading Pokémon cards?
2. Pinky and the Brain
Pinky: “Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?”
The Brain: “The same thing we do every night, Pinky-try to take over the world!”
A classic, with a catchy opening theme song I still find running through my head from time to time.
3. Magic School Bus
One of the few cartoons that educated children effectively while providing an entertaining, kid-friendly plot. Remember the human body episode where Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a field trip through Arnold’s body? That episode came in handy for my bio class.
4. ReBoot
One of the most intriguing factors about this show was that it utilized CGI animation. There was also an opportunity to learn computer terminology from character names, but we all know that we watched ReBoot for the action scenes.
5. Arthur
We love this show for its relatable characters. Whether you had a little sister like D.W., a tomboy best friend like Francine or an intimidating teacher like Mr. Ratburn, Arthur captured junior school life to a tee. Lucky for us, Arthur is still on air, and we’re more than happy to watch an episode or two, 10 years later.
6. Rugrats
Though bizarre in retrospect, the Rugrats graphics and characters were colourful and entertaining (remember Chuckie’s big glasses and buck teeth?) The show depicted life from a baby’s perspective, where the characters had a fully developed vocabulary at age one. To the parents, they were just your average toddlers.
7. Sailor Moon
Every little girl had their favourite sailor soldier. How cool was Sailor Moon’s tiara and wand? Not to mention that intro dance routine.
8. Sabrina The Teenage Witch
Despite the fact that Salem the cat was a little creepy, Sabrina was someone many girls looked up to; with her cool aunts, jock boyfriend and adventures as a witch, we desperately wished we too had a closet that opened into another realm.
9. Recess
Some of the situations that occurred in Recess may not happen in real life, but it was amusing to watch and imagine what it would be like if they did. Many of us can relate to that know-it-all, slightly obnoxious suck up who tried to ruin all the fun.
10. Popular Mechanic for Kids
Elisha, Jay, Tyler and Charlie took us on adventures to see spacecrafts, volcanoes and hot-air balloons; to this day I remember Elisha’s experience with bats and Charlie’s experiment with slime.
What are your favourite 90’s TV shows? Let us know in a comment below!
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