Kenan & Kel!

I now realize that back in the 90's that we had the best shows. I loved this show, another show that I would come home and watch after school! Kenan & Kel's first episode was aired on July 16, 1996. It's so hard to believe that this show is now dated and isn't heard of anymore!

-Kevin

Rocko's Modern Life!

The good old days of rockos Modern Life. I miss this show and I believe I saw an episode a few years ago, but I think it's no longer being shown on TV. Rocko's Modern Life's first episode was shown on September 18, 1993. Some good laughs were shared while watching this show.-Kevin

All That!

I used to love this show, another one of the shows that I would come home to watch after school. I'm pretty sure almost everyone had heard of or watched this show when they were younger if you grew up in the 90's. All That's first episode premiered April 16, 1994.
-Kevin

Texas Roadhouse

While doing this Blog, it struck me that I hadn't thought to look at what restaurants opened in the 1990s. So I went to Google and searched. I found quite a few places, but I went with this one. Almost everyone knows this one. I have been to a Texas Roadhouse once in my lifetime. And frankly, I'll probably never go back. I only went because a friend / (now ex) co-worker wanted to go. So I went with my boyfriend, my co-worker, and her boyfriend (at the time; they are no longer together).

I don't even recall what I ordered, I think I ordered a pulled pork burger, with a salad which honestly wasn't even that good. The wait was really long, and the waitress was well....snotty? I'll use that word to put it politely. Honestly, I found that for what we got was totally NOT worth the price. And the music?....I wanted to put my knives in my ears...I really can't stand country music....SORRY for anyone who actually Likes it....

In any event here some history to go along with this restaurant chain; It was founded on February 17th, 1993 in Indiana by Kent Taylor. Former Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr. helped Taylor by backing him with $80,000. At the time it was named; Buckhead Hickorey Grill. Later on Taylor found new partners, and was forced to change the name of the restaurant; thus named Texas Roadhouse expanded rapidly in the 1990's. By 1999 there were 67 restaurants.

Personally I wouldn't recommend going back there, but to each their own. It might be as bad as it was that night I went years ago. Though being in a restaurant setting myself, I know that it only takes 1 bad time with a customer for them to never come back.




~Jen

X-Men the Animated Series

X-Men the Animated series started on October 31st, 1992. I recall seeing the show when I was 6.  My youngest sibling was only 2 at the time, the other was 5. We all used to watch the show when we were together. Similar to Batman the Animated series, I couldn't wait to reenact the show once it was done.

I fell in love with the concept that the good mutants; led by Professor Xavier were simply trying to fit in with the humans, but humans were afraid of them. Also having bad mutants running around such as those led by Magneto did not help their situation any. Many were just outcasts and misfits. Professor Xavier opened a school under the guise that it was for "gifted children" when in fact it was for children who were mutants. They needed his help and guidance to control whatever power(s) they had, also to be accepted by others like them.

I fell in love with two of the mutants. The X-men known as Wolverine and Gambit. Their real names were Logan and Remy Lebeu. Gambit could kinetically charge anything his hands touched, and he was a master thief. Logan was a loner, and his origin is mostly a dark mystery, as no one really knows much about him,  or how old he really is. His powers consisted of having adamantium claws, super hearing, ultra fast healing and super human strength.

The show was interesting because it also dealt with real issues such as divorce, Christianity, the Holocaust, AIDS hysteria, and even made fun of tv itself with certain episodes.

The series ended in 2001. I have actually started buying up the old X-men, and Batman tv series off of Amazon. It's a nice way to relive my childhood. Also Gambit has his own comic series which I've picked up and started reading.


 The one on the Left is Gambit / The one on the right is Wolverine.


~Jen

Furby: Now and Then

             Furbies were first distributed right before the Christmas of 1998 and was a huge hit in the market. It was considered one of the biggest toys of the 90s. Over 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production. A Furby looked like a fluffy bird that came in many different colors and patterns. Furby was a robot toy. His eyes, ears, and beak moved and were interactive talking back at you in “Furbish”. Furby talks in third person. Furby would tell you when it was hungry, tired or to play with them. The only way to turn him off was to put him in darkness where he would “fall asleep”.

My uncle got me a Furby the Christmas of 1998 even though I never asked for it because I had already thought they were weird from the way the commercials looked. He told me the thing talked the whole ride over to my place. I ended up fearing it ever since I received it so it was put in the dark closet to be turned off. My mother would sometimes think it would be funny to take it out and put it on my bed so that when I came in the room it would be talking and scare me. He talked way too much it annoyed me and creeped me out which shows in this video how the 1998 version operated:

There are newer Furbies just coming out and have LCD eyes to show a more animated look. Furbish an now be translated to English and makers have plans to make him speak in English. Furbys are much more interactive than they used to be and even connect to iPhones demonstrated in this video: 

Info on Furby’s 

-Kaitlynn

Full House

Full house was on TV during the years of 1987–1995 for 8 seasons. It showed a family named the Tanners that Lived in San Francisco. Danny (Bob Saget) was a single father of three girls: the youngest Michelle (Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin ), the oldest D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure). Danny’s brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) and his friend Joey (Dave Coulier) all lived in the house and helped raise the kids. The family was very close. It was a good show that depicted such a great family, how all family’s should be. They went through a lot together but still all seemed to love each other no matter what. As a viewer, you watched the children develop and grow up into young women. Children could watch this and relate to the tough times that each girl had while they were growing up. In later episodes, Becky (Lori Loughlin) came into the house hold after Jesse and her got married and pregnant with two twin boys. Some audience who watched these episodes could relate to the new parents and their struggles. The episodes were realistic showing everyday life with good acting making it such a hit show for such a long time. Life lessons were taught to everyone in episodes which was something someone could take to heart and learn to improve themselves to thanks to the show. I remember watching the episodes with my family all the time and I have probably seen all of the episodes by now and still find myself watching the reruns. 

Theme Song:

Link to Series Dates and Characters Info

-Kaitlynn

The Magic School Bus

Magic School bus was a very popular kids’ show in the 90’s. It ran from 1994–1998 of new episodes. It was very educational. Kids wouldn't realize this because it was just so entertaining to watch. This cartoon’s theme was a class of kids where Mrs. Frizzle, the teacher, would always want to go onto field trips to teach her lessons. Their field trips were not your usual kind of field trips which would make it so fun to watch. The bus that they used would turn into many different things so that the students could understand what happens in every day. The bus could form into examples such as a rocket ship, submarine, and an animal. This is so the kids could get up close and personal to things they were learning about. I enjoyed watching this show in my own time but when I was in elementary school and they would play clips that went along with our lessons. From my understanding, this show still can be seen but as re-runs. I remember an episode where the Water Cycle was demonstrated and the children were part of it. This You Tube Video shows a clip from this episode:

Info on dates and characters

-Kaitlynn 

90's Barbie vs. Present Barbie: Has Time Been an Influence on Her Change?

The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handle, co-founder of Mattel, whose own daughter was called Barbara. Ever since then Barbie dolls have been evolving their look a lot. Barbie has always been a very popular toy for young girls. In the 90's, reflecting the increase in diversity among the population, manufacturers created ethnically diverse Barbie’s creating other characters. Barbie had many different sets out that should her having many different jobs like a vet, teacher, doctor, and so on. This was to hopefully teach children to find their dream job and set goals for their future being successful just like Barbie. In the 90’s her arms and legs were made a little more posable. Barbie also had many ways of transportation such as a corvette, tour bus, and horses. 

(90s Makeup)   

(00’s Make up)

As you can see Barbie’s make up and facial features were more basic in the 90’s compared to recent Barbie’s who have more defined features.

Even body image has changed. Barbie appears much skinnier during the present day. 

Barbie seemed to be a women who has everything and was “perfectly” beautiful. Therefore the doll has been known to cause some controversy. The change in how “perfect” Barbie looks nowadays shows our concern of how important image is compared to the 90's. There wasn't such a big fuss about being skinny in the 90's as there is now. It is clear, seeing these kind of changes in Barbie, that media is having a big influence on us all.This news reports shows just one example of many controversies that have occurred due to Barbie’s image:

Info on Who Invented Barbie

-Kaitlynn

Batman the Animated Series

I watched this show religiously when I was younger. I loved Batman. The series was on from September 5th, 1992 to September 15h, 1995. I do not think I missed one episode when I was a kid. I remember coming home from school and waiting for (I THINK it was 4pm) the show to come on. It was also one of the few times me and my sisters were quiet.

Until the show was over, and then all hell practically broke loose. We had to reenact scenes from the show. Using such staging areas in my house as the rocking chair, the couch, and the recliner. Where me and my two younger sisters proceeded to leap from the couch to the chair, and vise versa. It was good times....Until dad woke up and sent us to our room for being too loud.

I bet Batman never got grounded...



~Jen

Mighty Morphen Power Rangers!

How could one go through the 90's without talking about the Power Rangers?! And I don't mean all of the odd ones they have now, such as the ones where apparently they go to Outer Space....Really? 

Anyways, the ORIGINAL Power Rangers started in 1993, and ran until 1995.  
"The series begins with five teenagers combating Rita and her seemingly endless array of monsters. However, consecutive failures lead Rita to adopt a new method for conquering Earth and destroying the Power Rangers: by attacking them with one of their own. Using her magic, Rita kidnaps and brainwashes a local teen whose fighting skills prove to equal that of Jason's in a martial-arts contest held in Angel Grove. The new teen, Tommy Oliver, passes Rita's tests, becoming the Green Power Ranger. Entrusted with Rita's Sword of Darkness, the source for the continuance of the evil spell he has fallen victim to, Tommy comes dangerously close to defeating the Power Rangers, especially when Rita causes a solar eclipse that temporarily drains the Megazord's power. However, the Green Ranger is ultimately defeated, and the Sword of Darkness is destroyed by Jason. Now free from Rita's spell, Tommy chooses to use his Green Ranger powers to assist the other Rangers in defeating the evil that gave them to him in the first place. His Zord, the Dragonzord, is reconfigured to enable it to help form more powerful Zord combinations alongside the other Dinozords<sup>." - Wikipedia
 People who are reading this for the first time might wonder what on Earth I am talking about. Well...The Zords are like Giant Transformers in a sense. I chose the DragonZord, because its my favorite.
 


For whatever reason when I was younger, I LOVED the Green Ranger. Although he started out bad...He ended up turning over to the Good Side and joining the Rangers.</sup>


This was the cast I grew up with; the Green Ranger ended up becoming the White Ranger








~Jen

Creepy Crawlers!!!

I will admit, I had one of these and I loved it! I wish I still had it. For anyone who had an easy bake oven (I had one of those too..) it was a boys version of the Easy Bake Oven. Except you got to make cool bugs, and other creatures.

All it was, was a machine with a little light bulb that cooked some plasticgoop (the stuff to MAKE the creatures) and it cooked for so long before they were done, and you let the mold cool and then you could play with the creatures.

These are just a few of the molds you could have chosen from as a kid to fill with the plasticgoop.

What's funny about this particular toy, was the fact that it was around way before the 90's. It was actually started in 1964, though it got a revival in 1992.

This was the set I grew up with. It consisted of two molds, 4 colors, and one plastic "scoop"as a means to remove the molds once they were done "cooking". I actually saw a set in a Toys R Us around my birthday, and I almost bought one. 
~Jen

Angel The Vampire; not a real Angel

I'm sure many of you followed Buffy the vampire slayer back then, well I did not. I ended up getting "sucked" into the series Angel when it first came out. It first aired in October 1999. Almost at the end of the 90's era. It was a different take on the vampire we might know now. THIS ONE DID NOT SPARKLE! And he had super-human strength, but he did not seem to have the speed, levitation, or any other supernatural powers that the Vampires of today have. He did have fangs, and he could drink blood, though he chose to no longer drink human blood. So it's interesting to see that he was really a pacifist when it came to fighting and killing.

The show bases itself off of this vampire named Angel. He was born in the 18th century, but instead of becoming an evil vampire he ended up being cursed with a soul by a band of Gypsies. The story takes you on a journey in which Angel is constantly pitted against 'evil' whether it is from humans, or other worldly demons. It was a spin off of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, so sometimes those characters crossed over into the show. It was actually the only annoying part I found about the show. The show was cancelled in February 2004.

I like watching the show now, because I watch this show called; Face-Off. The show bases it on make-up artists, and frankly looking at Angel now, the make-up was horrible on some of the episodes. You can tell a mask from anything looking back at the show now.



~Jen

Cat Dog!

Cat Dog premiered on April 4, 1998, on Nickelodeon. The series depicts the life of conjoined brothers, with one half being a cat and the other a dog. I remember coming home from school and watching this show after I finished my homework. Another one of my favorites from my childhood.

-Kevin

Rugrats!!

If you didn't watch the Rugrats when you were little, you missed out! The series premiered on August 11, 1991.The show focuses on a group of toddlers: Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies' imaginations. I think the most memorable icons of this show are the toddler's toys. The dinosaur in the bottom right corner of the image displayed, named "Reptar," The ball in the bottom left corner, the teddy bear in the hands of the toddler to the left with the red hair, named "Chuckie," and the doll (Cynthia) in the hand of the girl to the right, named "Angelica." These toys play a roll in almost every episode which leads to an adventure. This show is something I will remember for a long time, being one of my favorite TV shows of my childhood. 

-Kevin

Pokemon, yes I was a fan...

So Pokemon, oh where do I begin...well it started in 1996. I was 10, and somehow my sisters and I got sucked into the phenomena known as Pokemon. I went over my cousins house one day, frankly I think my aunt just wanted her sons to go outside and play. My sisters and I went over there, and we ended up watching the Cartoon; Pokemon. From then we were hooked. My cousins and I were on a mission to "Collect them all." And we were going to do whatever it took to do so. Ok, so really this was just a fad in the 90's that kids got into. Whether we liked to admit now or not. I will admit I was one of those crazy kids that BEGGED their mom to take them to the mall Every weekend to go to KB Toys and get the Pokemon Trading Cards, and see which ones I got. Mostly I look back and see what a waste of money it was. In my day, there was about 150 of these creatures. They varied by type, such as; water, fire, plant, ground, psychic, electric, normal, and insect. Since 1996, it has now grown to about 649. 

Personally, I was fine when I had the Original Gameboy (A hand held game system) when it only had Red and Blue. My sisters and I would spend hours catching these creatures and then using a special connector we would trade pokemon. When we could afford it, my mom bought the Pokemon Stadium games for the N64 (It's a really old game system). Apparently collecting insects was a favorite past time of the creator of Pokemon, so he wanted to bring something he enjoyed as a child to everyone else. I thought that was interesting to learn about. 

~Jen

Boy Meets World

I remember growing up with this show when I was younger. I loved this show, I was 7 when the show first aired in 1993. Boy Meets World was about this young boy named Corey Matthews, played by Ben Savage and his best friend Shawn Hunter played by Rider Strong, and how they go through those awkward stages when it comes to growing up within Grade School and then moving on to High School and then to College.

In the beginning of the show Corey (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Rider Strong) meet and their friendship begins, but as the show progresses the episodes takes on many different topics and story lines. Such as when Corey first discovers girls; in particular he meets a girl named Topanga Lawrence; played by Danielle Fisher and and Corey asks his older brother for advice. The show goes from cute and funny plots to taking on more serious tones as it goes on, such as the cases when it comes to the topic of drugs and alcohol.

I love how the show progressed from being in Grade School till College. It was like the show was growing with you, not many shows did that. I loved the relationship between Corey and Topanga, and how they changed and grew and sometimes it was interesting to see them fail at their relationship. I love many of the episodes involve Corey misscommunicating with his parents, or perhaps vise versa which would land the poor boy in trouble. This show was great for opening doors to parents and kids alike on how to talk to them about issues. And it was just a great show overall. The show ran from 1993 till 2000.

~Jen

Titantic

 This movie was one of the best movies made in the 90"s.  Released December 19, 1997. Directored by James Cameron.  Actor's Leonard DiCaprio, Kate Winslet were the main character's. It's was a beautifully well made movie, you could feel the love between the main character's as if you where inside the movie itself. Their love was so intense that it just made you cry.  When it came to the end of the movie you could not hear a sound from the audience, it just over took your emotions.  The ship was sinking and they had to jump off or go under with it.  She was on a piece of wood holding on to his hand so he won't sink.  The water was so cold he didn't survive, she had to let his hand go.  It was the most intense scene, you could feel her heart break as he went under the water. The emotions that I felt was pure sadness for her lost. I would recommend this movie to anyone, the story and graphics were done beautifully.  Lorraine

Hairstyle's from the 90"s

   
I just wanted to remind us how different some of the style's were back than. I could never figure out why people would chose to wear their hair all over their face. How could they possibly see where they were going.  Lorraine

Whose Line is it Anyway?

 I always found this show fun of life, your never new what to expect. The host was Drew Carey, he would read a discription of a scene in which the panel would have to act out.  They were giving only so much time per person than the next actor would take over with his charactor.  This was all spontaneous, which added to the enjoyment of the show.   Lorraine 

Groovy Girl's Doll

They were maufactured by the American toy company, Manhattan Toy.  They started selling them in 1998, for girl's ages 6 to 12 years old.  The were soft blushed doll's that had a great line of accessories that could be bought separate.  They each had their own name, facial expressions, hair style, an their own skin tone.  The color's of the accessories was flowery, bright and cheerful which was perfect choose for the young girls taste.  They had a bed for the doll, a dog with his own pillow to lay on.  A large closet to store the doll, hang up clothing and draws to use for storage.  The closet made it complete and easy to carry with a handle and nob to keep it closed.  Lorraine      

Matt Foley I live in a van down by the river

This cracks me up every time!
~Jen

SNL Skits

I loved the 90's SNL skits, and actually they did a tv program about SNL recently on tv that I watched with my family. I have never laughed so hard as I did when I watched all those 90's SNL skits. My 3 Favorite's from that era was Chris  Farley, Adam Sandler and David Spade. This was just a little clip I found about Christ Farely and David Spade.  

I can recall watching Chris Farely's; Matt Foley skit and dying laughing. I also own Black Sheep and Tommy Boy which are my two favorite movies from him. 

Chris Farley and David Spade

Of the new cast members of the show, Chris Farley was also not afraid to trade on his size for laughs. In one sketch he played a shirtless dancer, opposite the trim and muscular Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze, as they competed in an audition for a position with the Chippendales male dance troupe. Another recurring Farley character was the manic, thrice-divorced motivational speaker Matt Foley, whose schtick consisted mainly of yelling at and whining to his clients about having to live "in a van down by the river", and hurling himself around the room, demolishing everything in sight. Farley was fired from the show in 1995, but went on to star in successful movies like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep with David Spade, and Beverly Hills Ninja with Chris Rock and Nicolette Sheridan. After leaving SNL he began abusing drugs heavily. Following his last SNL appearance as a guest host on October 25, 1997,^[1] his hoarse voice, continual perspiration and flushed skin were the subject of public scrutiny.^[2][3] In the years before his death, Farley had sought treatment for obesity and drug abuse on seventeen separate occasions.^[4] He died from an overdose of acombination of cocaine and morphine on December 18, 1997, aged 33.^[5] Sandler and Farley also did a song called "Lunch Lady Land", with Farley dancing while dressed up as a lunch lady

~ Jen

I remember sitting in front of the t.v. with my children and enjoying these movie together.  It's made as a family movie, were your kid's could learn right and wrong.  Their were always something about one of the turtles how he coped with different situations that was happening in his life at the time.  The turtles were there for each other, no matter what the issue's were.  A great friendship developed between them, each one was different in their own way.  They were alway's trying to help people and do good things for other's.   Lorraine  

Aaron Carter: What happened to the 90’s Teen Heart Throb?

    

Aaron Carter can be compared to today’s Justin Bieber. He used to be a huge heart throb for tweens and teens in the later 90s just like how Bieber is currently. He was a pop and hip hop artist. I’m sure, just like others who have known Aaron Carter back then makes us wonder what has happened to him. So here is a little history on him. Aaron was born in Tampa, Florida on December 7th 1987. He began his musical career when he was seven years old. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, he continued his fame breaking out his most popular album called "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)". Aaron was ranked at number 52 on the Rolling Stone's Hot 100 Artists.  Aaron was even considered "the little prince of pop". He made TV appearances including "Lizzie McGuire", "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", "7th Heaven" , and “Popstar”.  His fame started to slowly die down around 2005. He was engaged to Kari Ann Peniche in 2006 but broke it off only 6 days later because he was not ready. He was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession in 2008. He had a short lived relationship with Hilary Duff. Other than that it seems like he has faded away from fame to do his own thing privately because there is not a lot of recent documentation on what he is up to. Of course many argue that Justin Beiber has the same fame that Aaron Carter once had at a young age and question will Justin Bieber fade away too? I suppose we will have to see, won’t we?

Music Video "Bounce":

To read about earlier history click on the following link: 

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Aaron-Carter-Biography/4A21C4ADEBF5109A4825696A001693FD

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004809/bio

-Kaitlynn