I liked the thread that charasmaticleague1997@gma made for this board, so I decided to make one for the early 90s in hopes of possibly starting a trend on this board.

The early 90s are often thought of as the time “when we were stuck in the 80s”. Some of the Xennials I’ve spoken to refer to it as a “transition era”. Make of it what you will.  As you can tell from my username, I love the early 90s!

Let me refresh your memory of the early 90s for those reading this post that were not there or forgot about them.

The early 90s were the time of:

-The Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson feud

- Arsenio! vs Carson

- Telling Andrew Dice Clay jokes

- Laser portrait school photos

- The Fox network in its prime

- Shirts with “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and Hard Rock Cafe on them

- Renting late 80s movies (Beetlejuice, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Child’s Play, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space to name a few)

- Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles being everyone’s favorite heroes

- America’s favorite teams: Oakland As, Oakland Raiders, NY Yankees, NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, the LA Dodgers, and the LA Kings

- Dan Quayle being Vice President

- Store bought tie dye shirts and ripped jeans.

- Baskin Robins frozen yogurt

There were a number of tragic events that happened from 1990 to 1992, but I’m not going to bring them up here. Instead, I am going to reminisce about my favorite year from the early 90s.

1990 was the greatest year of the early 90s and the 90s period. Here’s why:

- It was the last year when 95 percent of 90s things (everything that started in the 80s) were still outstanding. Roseanne, Married with Children, The Wonder Years, The Arsenio Hall Show, Quantum Leap, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters were all in the ‘holy zone’ that year.

- The debut of The Simpsons on January 14th and the Simpsons t-shirt craze that followed it.

- The Dick Tracy versus Batman argument my friends and I had all summer long.

- To my peers, I was too old to be watching cartoons back then, but even I caught the episode of Captain N where he met Link from the Zelda series. Link in that episode was a vast improvement from the version in The Legend of Zelda cartoon. The character of Gameboy struck me as annoying in the fall of ‘90, but I did not mind it being in that season the day the Link episode aired.

- The release of Super Mario Brothers 3 for the NES here in America.

- The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film that was based on the first few issues of the comic book being in theaters. That was a very 90s moment because it was a film that everyone knew would do well in the 90s and there is mention of the cartoon existing on the poster for the movie. To set the record straight, the syndicated cartoon was an 80s AND 90s series (I think of it as a 90s show, though). The mini-series started in the first year of the late 80s, 1987. The actual series ran from the fall of 1988 to the spring of 1990. I wasn’t a fan of the original cartoon (only the comic books and movies), but my cousin watched the syndicated episodes in every year of the early 90s. However, the movie series  started in the 90s and ended in the mid 2000s. With that said, I went to see the first movie in April ( ;D) of 1990. I did not get a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plush doll with the purchase of my ticket like people did on opening day, but I was satisfied with what I saw that day.

- The Parker Lewis and “Ferris Bueller” war of late 1990 into 1991. Parker Lewis, obviously, won the war, but it was fun to see the writers of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose taking a poke at NBC’s Ferris Bueller.

- The huge backlash against New Kids on the Block That year.

- Seeing the Green Machine frog band and The Beatles stuff at Spencer Gifts. The sound activated Rock ‘N Flowers and dancing coke can were cool too.

- The expensive clothing teens my age and older wanted at the time: IOU sweaters, Z. Cavaricci pants, Genera Sportswear sweaters, International News shirts, B.U.M. Equipment sweaters, Skidz plaid pants, Harem pants (Hammer pants), and everything else from Chess King and Merry Go Round.

There are too many reasons to name, really. There is not a day in this century where I don’t wish to live in the last year of the 80s and the early 90s again. I cannot say they were the best time to be young (the Starter jacket robberies, gangs in schools, and the lack of anti-bullying laws), but pop culture was a lot better back then. We will probably never see an era like the early 90s again. The 90s, as a whole, were when the general public left the analog age (final time of the 20th century that is retro/the early 90s) for the digital age (21st century). I’m more than glad that I was able to see it from day one to the very end.  :)

bump

All of them!

I usually  feel that the early years of a decade are always the most ubeat and optimistic parts of a decade.

Like the early 90s
Like the early 00s
Early 10s
Early 70s

The most interesting pop culture year: 1992

My personal favorite: 1991

The most interesting pop culture year: 1992

1992, for me, was the year when:

- I was still laughing at Rainman (Dustin Hoffman) playing Captain Hook in Hook. What kind of casting decision was that?

- Bubblelicious, Fruit Stripe, and Chiclets Tiny Size Gum were all I chewed.

- My aunt took my two cousins and I to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. It was in theaters all the way up to June of ‘92. My aunt got my smallest cousin a Beauty and the Beast coloring book at the supermarket afterwards. My youngest cousin wanted one of the Beauty and the Beast PVCs from the souvenir stand at the movie theater AND the exclusive set of seven Beauty and the Beast PVCs from Payless (located at the cash register), but my aunt did not have a lot of cash to splurge on her. Fortunately for my younger cousin, she got a talking Ariel doll by Tyco, a Belle doll by Mattel, and a Beast doll by Mattel all at once months later.

- I couldn’t stop seeing Darkwing Duck (Disney’s spoof of Batman) everywhere. He was on Pizza Hut Kid’s Meal boxes and Kellogg’s cereal boxes (free figurine or mail-in offer for a fanny pack).

- The Pirates of the Dark Water cartoon was on every Saturday. What was it with the early 90s and cartoons set on seas and islands? First FOX’s Peter Pan and the Pirates, then Pirates of the Dark Water, and lastly The Little Mermaid TV series. Perhaps, it had something to do with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Who knows. Pirates of the Dark Water was certainly the Thundercats of the early to mid 1990s.

- I looked at Turbo Teen repeats from ‘84.

- I watched the USA Dream Team win the gold medal in the Olympics. Of course, I loved the Dan and Dave Reebok commercials.

- I wanted to work at McDonalds for the four Batman Returns plastic cups with the frisbee lids and Batmobile toy from the Happy Meal. The McDonalds Dick Tracy plastic cups with the paper “Thanks” inserts were better, but I never got around to those in ‘90.

- Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” was on the radio a lot.

- The new Polo Sport windbreaker jackets (Snow Beach and Stadium), Harley Davidson logo shirts (this was when it seemed like the world wanted to all be bikers), and Generra Hypergrafix (not Hypercolor) shirts were all of the rage.

- My uncle rented Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for us. Man, was that a long movie.

- I discovered Ren and Stimpy on Nickelodeon. I couldn’t make it through the opening (the part where Ren is getting scraped off the floor with a spatula was painful to my eyes), but I watched the rest of the show regardless of it.

- Amazin’ Fruit Gummy Bears were released in those blue bags.

- The music videos for Kris Kross’ “Jump”, Joe Public’s “Live and Learn”, and Arrested Development’s “Tennessee” being played to death on MTV when Steve Issacs wasn’t showing Pearl Jam music videos.

- Me watching the music video for Shakespear’s Sister “Stay” in the fall.

- The Tori Scott episodes of Saved by the Bell were shown first and the Kelly and Jessie episodes after them at 11:30am on NBC.

- Me dropping the Mirage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books and picking up issues of Jim Lee’s X-Men books. My cousin (the XYer) had the first Wolverine and Magneto action figures by Toy Biz. When his Wolverine broke that year, he got the
Bend-Em Wolverine as a replacement.

- The Jell-O Jigglers commercials with Bill Cosby in them.

My personal favorite: 1991


I remember 1991 as the year:

- MTV would not stop playing “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)” by Stevie B.

- Interviews for Vanilla Ice and Color Me Badd were on MTV followed by the music videos for their hit singles (“Ice Ice Baby” and “I Wanna Sex You Up”). Then, MTV cutting to “Oy, It’s So Humid” by 2 Live Jews.

- I mistook DNA featuring Suzanne Vega for Cathy Dennis and the D Mob. VH1 used to play “Tom’s Diner” all of the time in the spring of ‘91. I tried to dance to it, but I could not keep up.

- I wore my denim jacket because it was cold that spring.

- My folks listening to early 60s music. They would turn the dial every now and then and I’d hear singles from the late 80s like “Piano in the Dark” by Brenda Russell.

- I would not stop thinking about Little Face from the Dick Tracy film. I don’t know why, either.

- Going with my father and cousin (XYer) to ToysRUs and being disappointed by Transformers Action Master Optimus Prime. My cousin was apparently a big fan of The Brow from Dick Tracy, so he used his allowance to buy it.

- Being disgusted by The New Adventures of He-Man and the DiC G.I. Joe cartoon.

- When guys my age and younger were getting compliments from everyone else for having zig-zags and lines in their hair like Vanilla Ice.

- I watched Tiny Toon Adventures on weekday mornings.

- I began comparing the latest Saturday morning cartoons (Kid ‘N Play and The Chipmunks Go to the Movies) to the ones I had a child (The 80s Chipmunks cartoon and any show from the Saturday Supercade)

- The Simpsons were on Thursday nights from spring to winter. My cousin (XYer) was not allowed to watch it, though his father had it on some nights for the both of them.

- “The Power of Love/Love Power” by Luther Vandross was getting heavy play on the radio that spring.

- Hearing my youngest cousin at the time (Yer) try to pronounce Eureeka (from Eureeka’s Castle on Nick Jr.) over the phone.

- When I was taking sick days from school and watching Today’s Special repeats, Reading Rainbow,  Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Fraggle Rock repeats, the ‘66 Batman series, Newton’s Apple, Star Trek: The Animated Series repeats, Geraldo, and Perfect Strangers repeats from the mid to late 80s (before they had girlfriends).

- My youngest cousin at the time received a pair of white shortalls (that were worn by her until sometime in the mid 1990s).

- MTV was playing the music videos to “Jungle Fever” by Stevie Wonder (a lot of celebrity cameos in there) and “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

- The C&C Music Factory Coca Cola POP Music CD contest commercials being ran that summer.

- My uncle brought Child’s Play and Killer Klowns from Outer Space for my family to watch. The adults were not creeped out by them at all, obviously, and my cousin (XYer) did not know what was going on half of the time.

- I was slightly jealous of my cousin (XYer again) getting a Rocketeer plastic cup with his Pizza Hut Kids Meal. I didn’t see the film, but there was some awesome about The Rocketeer to me at the time.

- I learned about making sacrifices to make others happy. I wanted Vanilla and Chocolate Jell-O Pudding Pops, but instead, I went with my cousin and got Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers fudge bars. My cousin (XYer) wasn’t in the mood for Mickey’s Parade or Push Pops, unfortunately.

- That same cousin read Zoobooks (he saw the commercials on Nickelodeon) all summer long.

- I started layering that fall. Red turtleneck underneath the slightly buttoned white shirt.

- My cousin (The same XYer) was scarfing down Hostess Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pudding pies after school for the small stickers inside of the packages. He repeatedly got holographic Leonardo stickers.

- I went to the carnival and tried green apple squeeze pop liquid candy.

- I saw repeats of The Chipmunks from the 80s on the FOX Network every Saturday. I tuned in for Superboy, too.

- I had Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters and A Pup Named Scooby Doo on, for the last time, one Saturday. My cousin (XYer) was brushing his teeth with Slimer toothpaste during this time. Those Shark Bites fruit snacks used to really stick to his teeth.

- I saw the opening to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air for the first time and a couple of season three episodes of In Living Color on the FOX network.

- I was surprised to see an Urkel doll by Hasbro on the second page of a Kay Bee Toy flyer. I wasn’t a fan then. Found him too annoying. It’s kind of a guilty pleasure to go back and watch the early episodes now.

- I woke up early one morning and watched Bucky ‘O Hare and the Toad Wars. It wasn’t Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it came close.

- I was contemplating buying a Michelangelo with Storage Shell from Rite Aid and leaving it in the package (in hopes it would be worth something in the future). Around the time I saw the figure on the pegs, I was going over to a friend’s house to play the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES and binging on the current Mirage comic books. I missed Secret of the Ooze when it was in theaters (all of the girls in my school were talking about it because it was the first feature film that Vanilla Ice was in) and I wouldn’t be caught dead reading the comic book adaption at my bookstore. I didn’t proceed to buy the action figure that fall because I saw someone from my Jr. High. I was too old for toys, though I knew of a few high schoolers that collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures in secret.

- Reruns of My Two Dads and new episodes of Swamp Thing were on USA Network.

- I caught one of the latter episodes of The Cosby Show with Raven Simone in it (I didn’t know any better at the time) when I was home alone one Thursday evening. I wanted to see what they were all wearing.

- My father was going to get my younger cousin (Yer) a talking Pee Wee Herman doll from the Matchbox Pee Wee’s Playhouse toyline, but he saw the news report about Paul Reubens in the adult movie theater. I never heard or saw Paul Reubens as Pee Wee again until The Fox Family Network played repeats of the show in the late 90s.

- The Universal Monsters were back. The 60th Anniversary was in ‘91.

- I rediscovered kaleidoscopes (because I couldn’t get a Sportscope) and metal Slinkys  that fall.

- I compared the new cartoons (Hammerman and Where’s Waldo) to the ones from my youth.

- I tried Addams Family Cereal (there wasn’t an Uncle Fester flashlight with it, sadly) by Ralston at my cousin’s (XYer) house that Thanksgiving.

- My youngest cousin (Yer) got the original set of Colorforms and an ALEX Toys finger paints set that Christmas.



What are some memories you have from those two years, if you don’t mind me asking?