The ’90s show hadn’t quite grown to its full potential, but it’s still easy to miss some of these character-driven stories compared to 2014 South Park, which so often dedicates whole episodes to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s opinions on a single trend, celebrity, film or limited subject matter. There were plenty of other people doing great things on In Living Color, though, from all the significant musical acts (Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Public Enemy) to the dance team, which featured a young, unknown Jennifer Lopez. Years: 1986-1994 L.A. Law was sort like Law & Order with a sense of humor. To some viewers, it seemed moronic, what with Baby Sinclair’s antics, singing and slapstick humor, but it was simultaneously capable of being both a sincere political platform and a biting parody of TV’s shallowness. Smith went on to become Hollywood elite, and the rest of the country learned to dance The Carlton. Chicago Hope had plenty going for it, though, from the presence of Mandy “Inigo Montoya” Patinkin to strong critical support. The South Park of the 1990s was quite a different show from the one it grew into over the years. Between them, Ray and Debra seemed like people who could easily be living across the street from you, which was the whole idea. This might be the most clever, best-written comedy program of the decade. The late 1990s saw a large boom in the teen drama subgenre, of which Dawson’s Creek was certainly one of the prototypical examples. There were prior examples on radio, but the first television sitcom is said to be Pinwright's Progress, ten episodes being broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom between 1946 and 1947. Storylines and individual episodes could be pretty weird as well—later in its run, the series even did a few “what if” episodes that imagined the WYNX staff in different times and places, including an episode that had them running the radio station on an orbiting space station. The series benefitted from a few great villains that ended up becoming as popular as the Powerpuff Girls themselves, primarily the simian Mojo JoJo and the bizarre hillbilly monster “Fuzzy Lumpkins.”. Its mass appeal is summed up by its incredibly general title alone—I mean really, “Friends”? Years: 1992-1999 The stories weren’t really anything you hadn’t seen before, revolving around life and love in New York City, but the places they were coming from (gay culture/Jewish culture) were refreshingly new to many more conservative Americans. Sports Night was left behind as a program that displayed a ton of promise but didn’t quite manage to harness it. Michael Ironside replaced him and played the new, more militaristic captain, but ratings were bad, dooming one of network TV’s quirkier series. Sometimes it seemed like every other Blossom episode was “very special.”. The Practice succeeded because it truly liked to dive into the motivations of its characters as they attempted to operate their exceedingly busy and challenging Boston law firm. Unlike Ed O’Neil’s current stint on Modern Family, there’s really no wit or morals to be had here, just a crass commentary on the state of the lower-class American family in the early ’90s. The original is of course the best and most classic of the series, one of the all-time influential police procedurals/court shows and one of the longest-running live action series of all time—it practically made the faces of Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterson synonymous with the show. The debate will always rage on endlessly, but I think time has been especially kind to peoples’ fondness for Next Generation, to the point where I expect it would be the winner of a poll of 1,000 Trekkies. The only question is, great Star Trek series or greatest Star Trek series? Years: 1993-1998 Animaniacs is unlike anything that came before or has really come again since, a series that truly blended sophomoric, silly humor with surprising wit and even some educational aspects. What a goofy show Quantum Leap truly was. The story of a hard-boiled, formerly alcoholic television reporter for a news magazine show, it was the role of a lifetime for Candice Bergen, who racked up Emmy’s and Golden Globes for the wry, often ruthless character. Years: 1990-2010 Law & Order, the show that ran for 456 episodes and spawned no fewer than four additional spin-offs in its wake. Needless to say, fans are loving WandaVision's recreation of zany, single-camera comedy sitcoms of the 1990s, such as Malcolm In The Middle. The sexuality of the characters was intentionally left ambiguous, but with this many kisses shared between the two, it’s a little hard to argue against the shipping fan-fiction community. Everyone wins. There was a freedom to this show, a sense that anything could and would happen in the boy genius/scientist’s realm, which is immediately implied by its classic, wordless opening sequence with its gothic, Danny Elfman-sounding music. Although it was similar in its satirical lampooning of modern (or futuristic) daily life and media, it was also capable of being surprisingly—even shockingly—emotional at times. Years: 1997-present However, ratings recovered as her hair grew back in, and Russell won herself a Golden Globe. Deftly combining drama and comedy, often within the same episode, it made a star of Corbin Bernson in particular as the womanizing divorce attorney, Arnie Becker. Bruce Campbell is an actor who never truly received a chance at the starring roles he deserved, and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is some of the better evidence that we all missed out on a guy who could have been much more than just a cult favorite in movies like The Evil Dead. Case in point: Waterson appeared as a “compensated endorser” on one of the greatest SNL parody commercials of the 1990s, using his serious persona to shill for “Old Glory Robot Insurance.”. That was the bizarre thing about the show—it could go from a story about long-lost twins somehow finding their way back together into a segment about demonic possession or alien abduction at the drop of a hat. Each era has its “low-brow classic” show, and for the late ’80s and most of the ’90s, that show was Married…with Children. There wasn’t much here that you would call “highbrow humor,” but the strong cast always made the best of things, especially Jonathan Lithgow as frenzied High Commander Dick Solomon and future A-lister Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tommy. The rare case of a spin-off that exceeds the original, Xena: Warrior Princess was certainly a deeper show than Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, although that’s not saying much. Years: 1995-2001 Years: 1998-2002 Felicity was a show all about growing up in one’s college years and the transformation a young woman undergoes from bright-eyed high school graduate to fledgling adult. ER, however, remained a beast in the ratings until well into the 2000s, making it one of the most successful medical shows that has ever aired. What are the best sitcoms of all time? On any given weekday, the likelihood is high that I watch a Seinfeld rerun that I’ve seen at least 20 times before, and I’m not alone in that habit. Years: 1993-1999 Deep Space Nine was an experiment in a different type of Star Trek property, one not built around a spaceship/warship traveling and exploring the edges of the known universe. Enter City Guys, a Saturday morning staple we all remember watching, yet none of us really…remember. A favorite of the “senior citizen solves mysteries” genre in the same vein as Columbo, Murder, She Wrote actually has a bit more in common with the work of Agatha Christie and particularly her brilliant spinster, Miss Marple. Ah, Hercules. Years: 1993-1996 Years: 1994-2000 Fun fact: Xena fans popularized the term “altfic” to describe same-sex romantic/erotic fan fiction. The story of a precocious teenager growing up with her musician father and annoying brothers, she became an icon as the “goofy girl” with weird fashion, particularly the big, floppy hats that became her calling card. The best sitcoms ever to air on television include some of the greatest comedies in television history. Like many long-running sitcoms, the Cheers of 1992 was really a fundamentally different show than it was in 1982, less about the dating life of Ted Danson’s Sam and much more of an ensemble device, full of characters who were by this point beloved by all. But in the end, Hank always fundamentally does the right thing, even if that does involve threats to “kick your ass” on a disturbingly regular basis. A lot of people, Martin Lawrence included, probably thought this would be the peak of the former stand-up’s career in comedy, but they were simply unaware that he would one day make Big Momma’s House. Of course, he ultimately had the last laugh as the fish-out-of-water story of Fresh Prince became popular immediately and survives in syndication to this day. No one has ever described Home Improvement as a smart or cleverly written show, but we all watched it at some point. The show could make the most minuscule moments seem so momentous and use a small trait to infuse such deep humanity in its characters. The show really had a lot going for it—Jon Lovitz was perfect in the role, and it was a completely fresh take on a career that few had ever put a comic spin on before. Truly committed to the absurd, it relied much less on the formats of bigger shows such as SNL, with its celebrity impersonations and direct pop culture parodies. Also known as “that show Shannon Doherty was on and then disappeared from,” her departure as one of the principal characters, Brenda, was explained as “moving away to London.” She was replaced by Tiffani Thiessen, jumping ship from Saved by the Bell to play a girl with quite a lot more attitude than preppy Kelly Kapowski. His Late Night was patently unlike the shows of Leno or Letterman, with a wilder, absurdist streak that focused more on comedic sketches than interview segments and weird, recurring characters like the infamous “masturbating bear,” among many others. It wasn’t always the most thrilling show, but neither is marriage. This Joker is truly about the joke, and nobody has done a better maniacal Joker laugh than Hamill—ever. Back in the early ’90s, though, The Real World was appointment viewing for the MTV generation, those sarcastic Gen. Xers. Probably even weirder overall than Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall was the most out-there sketch show of the ’90s. Homicide: Life on the Street went on to become the first TV drama to ever win three Peabody Awards. Protestors mobilized, awards were doled out in rapid succession, and the depiction of coming out of the closet on TV was never the same again. Years: 1994-2004 The ’90s were amazing beyond measure. Lucy Lawless was the main reason why, a certifiable badass with an awesome, chakram-like weapon that seemed to delight in defying every known law of motion. Yes, The Sopranos is undeniably a 2000s show, but you can’t ignore the impact of its monumental first season on American TV culture. Roy Scheider of Jaws fame starred as the captain of a research and diplomatic envoy vessel in a future where depletion of the Earth’s resources has led to the only cities remaining underwater, where they harvest the bounty of the ocean. As a former alcoholic and current single mother, that was enough to make her stand out, but for most of the show’s early run she was also a blue-collar worker, just an average “Joe” working pipelines at a local oil refinery. Years: 1997-2007 The series was critically acclaimed but lasted for only three seasons, though it is still remembered as one of Nickelodeon’s most charming and best-written live action series. Get up to the minute entertainment news, celebrity interviews, celeb videos, photos, movies, TV, music news and pop culture on ABCNews.com. Years: 1991-1999 If you ever meet someone who claims the best period of The Simpsons came in a season outside the 1990s, that person is either trolling you or they’re a poor, deluded soul who somehow doesn’t know any better. Nevertheless, Beavis and Butt-head always had the ability to be oddly astute at times, especially when the boys would deconstruct MTV music videos with an unexplainably expanded vocabulary. One might almost say the show was a small-town comedy-drama with a hint of, say, Fargo in it. Sincerity seemed to rule the airwaves as the ’90s opened, gradually replaced by a sense of cynical, defeatist satire as the decade progressed. It’s pretty over-the-top stuff. It was a transformative period for so many televised genre programs, from science fiction and mystery to horror and absurdist humor. Her performance is a huge part of the show’s continued charm. Few series projected a sense of mystery as well as The X-Files, which had fans literally begging for any scrap of information on where its central story was going for most of its run. It may have even inspired some Venture Brothers episodes, seeing as a good number of episodes revolve around a mysterious artifact from the future called “the orb.” Critical praise was strong for the show, but like so many others on Fox, the ratings didn’t hold up and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. was filed squarely into the “cult” folder after its cancellation after one season. Years: 1997-2002 The scripts by series creator Kevin Williamson caught some early flack before the series had even premiered for their perceived “raciness” and frank discussion of teen sexuality, but time has been kind to memories of the show’s legacy. Years: 1988-1993 It was never quite as popular as Next Generation, but that was a tough assignment to follow. Unusually, there was also a single, black male character in the office—although the show still fell into the racial trap of making him an ex-con (even if it was a crime he didn’t commit). WWF, meanwhile, kicked off its own “Attitude Era,” still considered the high-water mark for pro wrestling as a whole. Very much in the mold of WKRP in Cincinnati, NewsRadio was set at a radio station populated by an eccentric staff of dreamers, blow-hards and troublemakers. It’s kind of interesting to look at random episodes of Ellen from different periods because few sitcoms have ever been so defined by a single, revelatory episode. The story of a widowed father raising his three daughters in San Francisco with the help of his brother-in-law and goofy best friend, it was pure sap, but a guilty pleasure for plenty of viewers who wouldn’t have watched anything else in the same genre. !” And yes, there was plenty of sex in Sex and the City, but it really wasn’t completely focused on titillation. The songs are the undeniable highlight, startlingly brilliant in their conception and performed with deftness by all three voice actors. Perhaps it was the kids who really made the series a ratings juggernaut on ABC—Jonathan Taylor Thomas in particular became “that kid” in mid-’90s Hollywood. Its frightening imagery, harsh language, toilet humor and out-of-nowhere sexual innuendo sent parents into fits, but its influence was equally pervasive. It goes without saying that plenty of the sketches totally misfire, but the creativity and often disturbing nature of their best work gave the show a very unique atmosphere. Years: 1995-1998 Significantly more influential than one would have expected from a Beavis and Butt-head spin-off, Daria is without a doubt the defining show of angsty teens of the late ’90s who couldn’t quite get over the death of grunge. Despite the silly premise, though, the series actually had a surprising amount of heart as well, largely motivated by Beckett’s unfailing resolve to return to his own time and body and reclaim his own life and identity. Its fatalism was deep, dark and often hilarious, and one got the sense that few shows have ever actually captured the zeitgeist of their subjects more accurately. Everyone on the show perfectly falls into their tropes of the era, whether it’s “perfect girl” Kelly Kapowski, braniac Jessie Spano, jock A.C. Slater or weirdo geek Screech Powers. Solidly in the absurdist camp, stories often revolved around the charismatic Little Pete’s schemes and Big Pete’s attempts to get his brother out of trouble. The fact that Sam decides not to get married and stays with the bar is the right decision—it is of course his “one true love.”. That and the theme song, “Cleveland Rocks.”. Random 80s Saturday morning cartoons. Lizzie and I both are children of the ’80s sitcom world and early ’90s; we definitely had that in common and talked about it from time to time. Could very well be, judging from the response this one will get at literally any bar karaoke night—seriously, try it the next time you’re out on the town. The finale episode received mixed reactions at the time, but nostalgia has pushed it into favorable territory, especially given the happy endings that most characters receive. In all seriousness, The Magic School Bus is one of this decade’s most entertaining children’s shows that somehow manages to be genuinely educational as well. Of all potential talking points, the series generated controversy about its nudity content (and Sipowicz’ butt), but to dwell on that was ignoring its incredible characterizations. One of the nice things about Saved by the Bell is that it felt like a truly ensemble comedy—everybody got their little moments to shine with regularity, except perhaps for Tiffani Amber Thiessen, who was mostly there to be the archetypal idea of 1991 hotness. suffered one of TV’s most heartbreaking demises when his character, Bobby Simone, was killed by a heart infection at the end of Season Six. Or Walker jumping through a man’s car windshield:. Years: 1989-1993 High school had never been caricatured with such scathing negativity—this show dredged up memories that most teens of the 1980s would probably have preferred to keep buried down in the depths of their subconscious. The Wonder Years was filled with those kinds of revelations. Years: 1991-1994 Dinosaurs was a truly bizarre concept, a puppet show about anthropomorphic dino-humans in flannel, living a Flintstones-type existence in lower-middle class suburbia. At the heart of the show were the partnerships, first David Caruso’s John Kelly and then Jimmy Smits’ Bobby Simone, both of whom worked alongside Dennis Franz as the immortal Andy Sipowicz. Years: 1995-1999 After he left the show, Charlie Sheen of all people stepped in to play the new deputy mayor, but things just weren’t the same. Some films may require a Sky subscription. Years: 1989-1997 The title characters are moronic teenagers with absolutely no sense of empathy or social consciousness, whose only goals in life are to watch TV, eat junk food and hopefully “score” one day. Years: 1997-2002 It could be a topical comedy at times, with episodes about issues such as AIDS and spousal abuse, but it’s perhaps best remembered today for the angry, in-your-face speeches delivered by Dixie Carter’s character Julia. Viewers waited a hell of a long time in particular for the long-teased relationship between Niles and Daphne to finally come to fruition (seven full seasons). It’s sort of hard to make Wings sound thrilling, but that’s okay because it was always a gentle, sort of stuffy sitcom, albeit one with good performances. This syndicated show was some truly excellent TV comfort food—put it on in the background and devote roughly 25 percent of your attention to it while doing something more important. The show went through seven different mayors over the course of four seasons—they essentially had the lifespans of Spinal Tap drummers. Entertaining for both its jokes and various controversies, Ally McBeal made quite the splash. Parents watched alongside kids. Ratings for the second season plunged precipitously right as Russell cut off her trademark, shoulder-length curls, which led to the assertion that Felicity’s haircut was among the most devastating in TV history. Methods of demise included shooting, decapitation and spontaneous human combustion. Years: 1992-1998 The Larry Sanders Show was basically the result of a skilled stand-up comedian taking everything he knew about every facet of the entertainment business and throwing it into a blender set to “puree.” Gary Shandling played late night TV host Larry Sanders, just as he had done in real life as a Tonight Show guest-host. Years: 1998-2000 As a launching pad alone, it remains one of the most significant sketch shows of the ’90s. Like a nightmarish Ralph Steadman drawing come to life, it flew in like a bomb on Nickelodeon, completely unlike anything else they were airing at the time. Name one other popular, long-running sitcom where the protagonists—people we at least like, if not agree with—are staunch conservative, mildly redneck individuals. Years: 1994-1997 Years: 1987-1997 It’s perfect episodic structure, and it allowed the sci-fi series to set each episode in literally any time period and setting it felt like taking on that week. It featured some funny supporting performances, especially from Fyvush Finkel as Jewish lawyer Douglas Wambaugh, but of all its little eccentricities I most enjoyed the bizarre fates suffered by the town’s mayors. Years: 1993-2005 Just thinking of the opening music from Unsolved Mysteries sends a chill down my spine—this was undoubtedly the most frightening theme song my grade school self had ever heard. You can’t do it, because King of the Hill tapped into an aspect of the American ethos that is often ridiculed and made those characters funny, human everymen. Al Bundy is a simple man, and he has few redeeming characteristics: He’s cheap, he’s a loser, he’s a depressed would-be philanderer, but damn if people couldn’t identify with the sad sack and his quest to simply put meals on the table with enough money left over for beer. It’s probably the best pure cast in terms of acting talent that any entry in the series has ever had. The show featured some of the best-developed characters of any sitcom, especially owing to the trademark narration by Daniel Stern, which examined all the events with the knowledge of age. Years: 1992-1997 Its success may be the ultimate reminder that truly populist sitcoms are all about the characters and not necessarily the storylines. The fact that it was on a premium network was essential, allowing a much deeper (and more realistic) depiction of the horrors of incarceration in the United States. Before The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street plumbed much of the same territory (and in the same city, no less). Ostensibly a western, there are so many other genres wrapped into Brisco’s adventures, from time travel to experimentation with steampunk technology. Here, then, is a ranking of the top 90 shows of the 1990s. And ultimately, that was all ABC needed to hear as justification to cancel it. Years: 1989-1998 Family Matters is the perfect example of a show that would have been nothing special without a single exceptional character, but the really amazing thing is that this break-out character, Steve Urkel, wasn’t even part of the initial show design. Its impact is vast—would anyone even know about Manos: The Hands of Fate today without MST3k? O’Brien, however, grew quickly into one of television’s most respected talk show personalities. It’s now rightly recognized as one of the best animated comedies ever. Likewise, the body-jumping mechanic meant any number of guest stars could appear and Dr. Sam could go anywhere—he even leaps into the body of a chimpanzee in one episode. Yep, they’re still making The Real World—who knew? So many of the sitcoms on this list are paeans to blue-collar family life, but Frasier was the odd show that made cultural elites and eggheads somehow seem like lovable characters to a mass audience. Years: 1997-2003 Years: 1995-2001 Likewise, the thing that makes it so impressive (and so rewatchable today) is the timelessness of most of the jokes about filmmaking, along with the diversity in joke backgrounds. Everyone loves Patrick Stewart as the empathetic, cordial Captain Picard; the dude’s appeal is universal. An episode like “My Father’s Office” is still a beautiful thing and such an identifiable nugget of childhood—the realization that one’s father is just a man and a worker bee, rather than a patriarch in all aspects of his life. It’s tough to name any show of the 1990s more fun to ironically watch in 2014 than a vintage episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. All Rights Reserved, an old man in a wheelchair being pushed down the stairs into a pool. For some female viewers this was heavenly—finally, they felt, they had a show depicting a group of women who could occasionally pass the Bechdel test in conversation. While that’s definitely not a bad thing, it leaves this version of Bumblebee feeling like an outsider to the others. Check your brain at the door and let 30 minutes roll by. Tyzik,” the misanthropic character whose main gag was simply standing at a distance and imagining he was crushing the heads of others between his fingers, or the half-human “chicken lady” who is totally unaware of how her horrifying appearance frightens others. In the ’90s, the lead character was ostensibly Anthony Edwards’ Dr. Mark Greene, but it’s more likely remembered these days as “The Clooney Years.” The A-lister played pediatric Dr. Doug Ross at the height of his powers, a womanizer (of course) with an on-again, off-again relationship with head nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies, years before The Good Wife). Years: 1999-2007 In the courtroom, The Practice bears a bit more similarity to the staid presence of Law & Order than the often wacky hijinks of L.A. Law, except it likely had more genuine heart than either of those shows. Years: 1992-1999 Some of the episodes were almost epic in nature—I vividly recall “Touchdown Tommy,” which parodies the Super Bowl as the entire gang engages in a huge melee while fighting over the holy grail: A bottle full of chocolate milk. Helen Hunt in particular really grew into her character over time, going on an unbroken streak of Emmy wins from 1996-1999.