I was watching Daniel Tiger with my 2-year-old yesterday and, as a 90s kid who has since grown into a salty old man, I took offense to the fact that Daniel Tiger is just an animated rip-off of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, one of MY favorite childhood programs.
Fueled on old man rage and in need of some REAL children’s programming, I fired up YouTube and spent the next 3 hours overdosing on 90s television nostalgia.
I found shows I hadn’t thought about in 25 years — great shows that brought back fond memories of my childhood living room and Cinnamon Toast Crunch straight from the box.
There were also some terrible shows, mind you. But even they served as a fun little blast from the past. It was quite the trip and a high I have yet to come down from.
Anyway, I’ve compiled some of the best finds and outlined them below. To be clear, this isn’t a Top 9, but rather a list of the shows most likely to make you go OMG I REMEMBER THAT!
Let’s get to it.
Adventures Of The Gummi Bears
Televised: 1985-1991
Number of episodes: 65
Network: NBC, ABC
About: The Gummi Bears of Gummi Glen are the long-lost ancestors of what was once a great Gummi civilization. They basically spend all day sipping Gummiberry Juice and quarreling with their primary antagonist, Duke Igthorn and his army of ogres.
Zoobilee Zoo
Televised: 1986-1988, reruns aired throughout the 90s
Number of episodes: 65
Network: PBS and others
About: Zoobilee Zoo is a live action program that follows the zoo’s inhabitants, called Zoobles, as they solve everyday problems with over-enthusiastic song and dance.
Cowboys Of Moo Mesa
Televised: 1992-1993
Number of episodes: 26
Network: ABC, Toon Disney
About: Marshal Moo Montana and the rest of the cowboys try to keep peace in the mutated cowtown of Moo Mesa. This was my brother’s favorite show, and I often wonder if we were the only two kids in the world who ever watched it.
Mighty Max
Televised: 1993-1994
Number of episodes: 40
About: Inspired by the claustrophobic playsets, Mighty Max the animated series featured Max, his owl friend, Virgil, and his Viking friend, Norman as they traveled the world to battle the evil forces of the Skullmaster.
Fraggle Rock
Televised: 1983-1987, reruns aired throughout the early 90s
Number of episodes: 96
Network: HBO, TNT, The Disney Channel
About: Created by Jim Henson, Fraggle Rock follows the adventures of an interconnected society of Muppets.
Shining Time Station
Televised: 1989-1993, reruns aired throughout the 90s
Number of episodes: 75
Network: PBS, Fox Family, Nick Jr.
About: Shining Time Station features Thomas & Friends and uses the tank engines to teach everyday lessons to children who, for whatever reason, are always hanging around the station. The theme song is pretty forgettable, but maybe you remember the Jukebox Band.
TailSpin
Televised: 1990-1991, reruns aired throughout the 90s
Number of episodes: 65
About: The series centers around bush pilot Baloo the bear and his navigator, Kit Cloudkicker. Together they form the crew of a Conwing L-16 called Sea Duck. Their adventures often involve conflicts with a gang of Air Pirates led by Don Karnage.
Darkwing Duck
Televised: 1991-1992, reruns aired throughout the 90s
Number of episodes: 91
Network: The Disney Channel, ABC
About: The series follows Darkwing Duck as he tries to balance life as a crime-fighting superhero with his paternal responsibility to his daughter, Gosalyn.
Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog
Televised: 1993, reruns aired from 1994-1996
Number of episodes: 65
About: Loosely based on the video game series, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is a fast-paced cartoon featuring Sonic and his mostly useless sidekick, Tails as they do battle with Dr. Robotnik and his bumbling henchmen, Scratch and Grounder.
What is a JoJo exactly? The simplest explanation, which is also a bit of a cop-out, is that a JoJo is the protagonist of a story arc of jojo’s bizarre adventure, a long-running manga series by Hirohiko Araki, which has been adapted into an anime series, some movie-length videos, and one live action film.
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