Throwback: Reliving the Daze of 90's Entertainment

Although some of us were still just toddling around at the turn of the millennium, the laughter and curiosity brought on by the entertainment of the 1990’s has not been soon forgotten – even sneaking into our world today through countless reruns and replays. Perhaps it was the timeless quality of the decade, the sheer innocence of it all, the fact that not every song and show was centered upon “mature themes and adult situations”. The 1990’s ushered in an age of excitement and discovery, activity and amazement, wonder and enjoyment. And I would guess that the proceeding information may not only be familiar to you, but may also allow you to become reacquainted with some dear old friends from what may seem like a lifetime ago.

One source of entertainment from the 90’s seems to be made fun of quite often today, but in a love-to-hate-it, hate-to-love-it sort of way. And that’s music.

Who could forget Aaron Carter? Some attempt to call him the “Justin Beiber” of his time, but many 90’s kids would beg to differ. His catchy tunes and easy-to-follow storylines had the ladies swooning, especially with songs like “Aaron’s Party” and “I Want Candy”.

But Aaron had some competition for the teen crowd’s attention, mostly coming from boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. They “played games with our hearts”, made us “want it that way”, and left us with “no strings attached”, never wanting to say “bye, bye, bye.”

Yet, as much as the musicians thrived, they did not at all steal the show, the television show that is. Nickelodeon and Disney both introduced shows with characters who stole our hearts because not only were they fun to watch, they were also relatable.

There was Hey Arnold, the story of an awkward, football-headed fourth grader who had to deal with bullies, a girl named Helga who showed her affection for him by beating him up, and a friend named Gerald who had an afro that was obtrusively tall.

Then came the adventures of The Wild Thornberry’s, a quirky family who earned a paycheck by traveling around in their RV, all the while filming rare animals. Eliza, one of the daughters, had the ability to talk to animals and because of this, became best friends with her pet monkey.

Another show that captivated audiences was Rugrats, the story of Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and twins Phil and Lil as they went on “adventures” that were made possible when Tommy removed a screwdriver from his diaper to unlock the playpen.

For younger folks, maybe Blue’s Clues is a little bit more familiar. The story centered on a dog that helped her owner solve mysteries by placing her paw prints on “clues”. Perhaps the question of the ages that resulted from this show was, “Did Steve really go to college?” Probably not.

For more mature viewers, shows like Sister, Sister made it onto the scene, detailing the life of twins who were separated at birth and then reunited in a shoe store at the mall at the age of thirteen. Or there was Boy Meets World, following the life of the All-American boy Cory Matthews and his uniquely-named girlfriend Topanga. Viewers watched him grow from scrappy middle-schooler to married man.

And last, but certainly not least, came the Disney classics.

The Lion King was the story of Simba, a lion cub whose father was killed by his own brother. Thankfully, Simba was able to defeat this evil uncle (Scar) and became king of the Pride Lands.

Peter Pan was the story of a boy who could fly and could help others to fly too, leading them forth onto Never Land, a child’s dream.

The Little Mermaid told the story of Ariel, a mermaid who was willing to exchange her mermaid status for legs and land living so that she could be in the presence of a handsome prince named Eric.

Indeed, all of these shows and musicians have left a lasting impression on our hearts. An occasional walk down memory lane brings us back to a simpler time, a time when it didn’t seem weird that the parents didn’t notice when all of their children had left the gated play area, when talking to animals wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, when Aaron Carter truly did want Candy. Looking back on it now, it may seem a little funny or hard to believe, but that’s the beauty of childhood: imagination.