My Top 5

I wanted to go a little bit off pace this week and kind of follow what the rest of the class was doing in terms of their blogs. I saw a bunch of lists so I decided to craft one of my own. As I have stated before, I feel like 90s television is unmatched in comparison to any other decade. With this in mind I have selected my five favorite characters from the decade. This was certainly a formidable task and to be quite honest, I left some real winners off of the list.

5. Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)
Definitely could argue putting him higher on the list. Jerry's outrageous neighbor who ate all his food and consistently wedged himself through the tightest of doorways will go down as one of the most memorable characters of all time. The only reason I have him so low on my list is because I believe that most of us were far too young to actually appreciate the humor of his character.

4. Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
"Did I do that?" You knew he would make the list based solely on his catchphrase. Urkel is one of the most lovable characters of the decade. All of his battles with Carl Winslow and constant wooing of Laura made him a fan favorite.

3. Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
Undoubtedly the most recognized cartoon figure of modern time. Homer Simpson is the epitome of slapstick comedy. As a kid you didn't have to understand some of the subtle and coy references put in by the writers to enjoy Homer getting drunk, eating doughnuts, or inflicting hilarious pain on himself.

2. Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell)
Possibly who all men aspired to be in high school. Got away with murder basically and still landed the best looking girl in the class. I found the best part of his character was the fact that he could talk himself out of anything and talk his crew into anything. Definitely an interesting dynamic but consistent with our image of the trouble maker. You also gotta love the fact that he was friends with Screech.

1. Cory Matthews (Boy Meets World)
If you grew up in the 90s, you grew up with Cory Sean and Topanga. Boy Meets World was kind of the teenage version of Friends to a degree. Similar issues but downgraded for kids. Perhaps Mr. Feeney made his character even better, but Cory Matthews truly lasted throughout the decade. We as an audience were able to see him grow from grade school to high school to college. Being able to share the same issues Cory was going through made a stronger connection and for me gained my #1 ranking of the decade.

A Year of Confusion

1993 was certainly an odd year for anyone who was closely engaged with pop culture or had a life in general. I think it can certainly be argued that it was a very strange time to most due to the fact that many established figures decided that it was a year to "call it quits".

One of the most pivotal sports figures of our generation stepped away from the game in 1993. Michael Jordan chose to retire from the game of basketball and pursue a career in baseball. Most would attribute this to the murder of Jordan's father as well as the superstar's gambling issues. Although Jordan signed a minor league deal with a Chicago team (White Sox), any fan of basketball and Jordan alike appreciated his return to the Bulls as well as the team's second 3-peat of the decade. Still to this day, Jordan remains the greatest player of all time. Although his 1st retirement somewhat tatters his prolific career, I can understand why he left. Sometimes people want to hide right in public.

The famous television show Cheers also had its last episode in 1993. I'll admit I have never been a fan of the show but the song is a different story. Even though the bar finally "closed", the anthem of that show is still prevalent in society today. Perhaps that will change over the next few years, but that is the type of cultural impact Cheers had.

New Kids on the Block said no more this year as well. After being together for seven years, the boys cited being burned out from touring as the primary reason for their demise. I'm pretty sure me and my older sister actually had NKOTB sweatshirts. I have no idea why I just admitted that, but I can't hide from the truth. This to me was the very first "boy band" that our generation would recognize. I'm not talking about their makeup, but of their success. These guys paved the way for the more successful groups later in the decade but were the original teen heartthrobs. It was actually refreshing to see the group make a little comeback over the past couple of years. 

1992

I'm gonna be like cream and go half and half on this one. 1992 was a pretty big year for all of America. I'm not a huge political buff or fan for that matter, but the 1992 presidential election was an important one. Bill Clinton took the reigns as leader of the greatest nation after defeating George H.W. Bush (important distinction) and this guy.

Not to pick on Ross Perot, but he can hear the crowd. He has satellites for ears. I remember this being the one of the consistent jokes that comedians would make about him even when he ran again in 1996. I never really understood why candidates tried to run for president from an unconventional platform. Ross Perot appeared as an Independent on various ballots when statistically the leaders of this country have been either Republican or Democrat. Surprisingly enough Perot actually did well in the election but fell to the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter was in the White House in Bill Clinton. Clinton was most certainly a pivotal character in our lives. He served our country until we were almost out of elementary school. Perhaps his reputation was later scorned, but lets face it, things were much easier with Clinton at the helm than they are now. 

Just some other events to consider from '92:

• John Gotti sentenced to life in prison (mob boss for those who don't know) 
• Mall of America was built in Minnesota (still really want to go there, its like over 70 acres)
• Rodney King incident (
• NAFTA signed by U.S. Mexico and Canada (everybody borrows something from their neighbors)
• European Union founded (UN but for our buddies across the pond)
• Olympics held in Spain 

The Dream Team

Easily the greatest combination of athletes ever. This team competed in Spain and literally put other countries to shame. They won their games by an average of almost 44 points. The closet game played was against Croatia in the gold medal match. The Dream Team won by 32 points. These 12 guys were quite frankly unstoppable. Cuba's coach might have put it best when he said, "you can't cover the sun with your finger." This was an important step in terms of the Olympic games because it was the first year that professional players were used to compete. Until this time college players had to try and contend for a gold medal. The Dream Team was a pop culture icon. Like Beatles big. This team was unlike any ever created and even with the caliber of players we have today, like Lebron James and Derrick Rose, no team will ever have the same success. Did I mention Michael Jordan was on the team.....#winning 

Toys and TMNT

Some of our fondest memories from childhood revolve around toys. Many of my early interactions with toys however are quite forgettable. Anytime I played with one of my action figures (any guy in class will agree this is what they are called they are most certainly NOT dolls) one of the arms or legs popped off or I would lose my favorite due to my sisters flushing them down the toilet. Easily the best idea I ever had was holding one on a lamp light in my basement. I have no idea what I was trying to simulate but at three or four years old it seemed like an innovation. Without going into extremely detail melted plastic hurts and I suggest refraining from it. Let's face it though, the toys of the 90s are by far the greatest ever created. My parents can have the Easy Bake Oven and G.I. Joe. I'm totally fine with these:

Nerf Guns were pretty awesome. If you didn't have one you missed out. I used to fire these at my sisters and their friends any chance I got. Really the only drawback was the darts. Once either of my sisters got a hold of them they would rip the tails off or just crush them rendering useless. Just a side note I think the kid featured in this commercial is in the movie "Little Giants"

I feel like for a while this stuff really competed with Play-Doh. It had the weirdest texture ever and was just impossible to get out of carpets. My mom thoroughly regretted this purchase maybe 8 minutes after I opened the container. Oh remember how your hands smelled after you played with it? 

Easily took over my childhood. Without question one of my favorite piece of nostalgia from the decade. I really can't describe why but I just took to the turtles. Lot of good memories. I can still recite lines from the first movie. I get a craving for pizza every time I hear the theme song from the cartoon, which is also on my iPod. And in case anyone forgot, just go ahead a take a listen to the intro....

 

'91

Television exploded in year two of the decade. And by explode, I mean literally defined the 90s. There were smash hits coming from every angle. Some of us watched Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor electrocute himself for the first time or maybe JT Lambert fail a chemistry test on Step By Step. But hands down, no one did it better in the 90s than the home for cartoons, Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon might as well have written all of our parents a letter saying "hey we are going to take over your television set now and we aren't taking no for an answer." The station was hitting on all cylinders when they came out with these gems. 

I'm not even kidding when I say this, I used to define people in high school based off what Doug character they resembled most. Don't act like you didn't either. I mean how could you not find a Beebe Bluff or Roger Klotz in the lunchroom. Rugrats was just a staple in my household as well. You knew the gang was going to get in trouble but you watched to see how they got out no matter what. Ren and Stimpy was kind of the show Nickelodeon got away with, and inevitably the show our parents let us get away with as well. These shows just had that much of an impact on my young mind. These were real Saturday morning cartoons. You know the ones kids actually got up for. However I would argue that Are You Afraid of the Dark? is head above the rest. I mean just watch the intro.

If you were anything like me, you used to watch the crew put the fire out with sand because you made it to the end of the episode. I always loved how I could get scared to death at 2pm. I was always fond of this program as well because it was the only show my older sister would let me watch with her. It became our half hour of bonding time and then she would continue to pummel me with random toys scattered around the house. Nickelodeon will forever hold a special place in the heart of a true 90s kid. And no matter what anyone else says or thinks, we will always have the best Saturday morning lineup.