Critics don't seem to be too big on 80s TV, and the oldies are generally passed on as cheesy.  Reality is (rightly imo) considered to be low class (no offense to fans). 

FRIENDS, the Simpsons, and Seinfeld all get massive love from critics.  Even "South Park", which I think is more late 90s/2000s btw, gets love from the press.  ER is very popular to this day. 

Compare that to 80s TV.  What critics like "Roseanne", "Full House", or "Knight Rider"?  And of course 80s cartoons are the epitome of cheesy.  50s-70s TV isn't worshipped like 30's and 40's cartoons are: everyone knows Scooby-Doo sucks.  And in the 2000s, fake TV is dying, although critics kiss up to Reality people who claim to have "superior taste" don't care for it. 

So that leaves the 90s, 1989-1999 in specific.  Do I like it?  No, not really.  But at least the 60s and 70s don't get everything.

-DevoRule (Mike)

I agree.

To be honest, I think that's one of the better times for TV (just like 80's is my favorite for music - although I like many eras for both). Maybe not the entire 90's. I'd say 1985-95 or 1987-97.

It's a thin line as to whether or not Roseanne, Married With Children or Growing Pains would be 80's or 90's shows. I'd say 80's at their core, but they trudged/updated into the 90's.

The last real year for "old school" TV was 1996 (MWC went off the air), but the beginning was Full House in '95. :( I know ABC said this was because they wanted to be more cutting edge/urban, so even by then, they felt the show was a bit past its time (on an off-note, I think they could've kept it going until Michelle was in high school, at least until 1999-2001).

I guess the last old school type show would be Everybody Loves Raymond (debuted in 1996 or '97).

I agree.

To be honest, I think that's one of the better times for TV (just like 80's is my favorite for music - although I like many eras for both). Maybe not the entire 90's. I'd say 1985-95 or 1987-97.

It's a thin line as to whether or not Roseanne, Married With Children or Growing Pains would be 80's or 90's shows. I'd say 80's at their core, but they trudged/updated into the 90's.

The last real year for "old school" TV was 1996 (MWC went off the air), but the beginning was Full House in '95. :( I know ABC said this was because they wanted to be more cutting edge/urban, so even by then, they felt the show was a bit past its time (on an off-note, I think they could've kept it going until Michelle was in high school, at least until 1999-2001).

I guess the last old school type show would be Everybody Loves Raymond (debuted in 1996 or '97).



In my opinion 1995-2001 was a dark time for the media.  Everything was so "cutting-edge", mainly violence, sex and such which is largely gone today, whereas in the early 90s you still had lighthearted cheesy stuff and today has Reality which is its own type of fluff. 

One of the last "old school networks" was Nickelodeon.  It wasn't until 98/99 that it became "Nu Skool".

^ True.

Now that I think about it, the mid 90's for TV were almost worse than today (at least we didn't have reality TV though, LOL). I bet that's why alot of the lighter/old-school shows like FH got cancelled - just didn't fit in with the climate of those kind of "cutting edge" shows. That's a good thing!

I do think the reason for that was partly the commercialization of the mainstream rap culture.

^ True.

Now that I think about it, the mid 90's for TV were almost worse than today (at least we didn't have reality TV though, LOL). I bet that's why alot of the lighter/old-school shows like FH got cancelled - just didn't fit in with the climate of those kind of "cutting edge" shows. That's a good thing!

I do think the reason for that was partly the commercialization of the mainstream rap culture.


I'd say 1995-2000 was the worst period for TV violence.  9/11 and Breastgate reduced the violence, and now it's all about "offensiveness".  Today isn't quite as bad and the early 90s, really 1990-93/94, while the stuff starting coming up, seems like the Andy Griffith Show compared to the part 9 or 10 years.

In some ways, 1994 was the last old-school year for TV.

The 80's influence lasted until 1991 with music and '94 with TV shows. From what I remember (and I watched some of these myself), it seemed Melrose Place, 90210, Mad About You, Seinfeld and the like were all the rage.

Even a year later, any 80's influence seemed gone pretty much.

In some ways, 1994 was the last old-school year for TV.

The 80's influence lasted until 1991 with music and '94 with TV shows. From what I remember (and I watched some of these myself), it seemed Melrose Place, 90210, Mad About You, Seinfeld and the like were all the rage.

Even a year later, any 80's influence seemed gone pretty much.


True, although there are a few exceptions. Family Matters, Fresh Prince, and I believe Married with Children and Rosanne lasted up to 1997.  I guess those shows were a bit edgy compared to "Full House" though, although Fresh Prince has a lot of 80s in it, despite starting in 1990.