Before Netflix, before BBC iPlayer, before the ITV Hub and All4, we pretty much had to make do with what was on TV, when it was on - unless you physically recorded it on to a VHS tape.
The TV guide was our bible and after work and school, our evenings were largely scheduled around our favourite shows.
Many of us only had five channels in the 90s but we still had plenty to watch.
And if you were lucky enough to have Sky back in those days, you were laughing.
We’re looking back at just some of the best TV shows of the 90s and why we loved them so much.
Friends
This one speaks for itself really. With no end of popular quotes like “We were on a break” and “Joey doesn’t share food”, the show and its characters are still just as iconic as they were back then. We were all heartbroken when it ended.
The Crystal Maze
No matter what age you were, everyone wanted to take part in The Crystal Maze, following Richard O’Brien around caves filled with booby trapped puzzles.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
If you didn’t know Will Smith’s opening rap to this show word for word, where even were you? The show saw Will Smith become a household name almost overnight and he’s been huge ever since.
The Simpsons
We couldn’t have a 90s TV show list without mentioning The Simpsons. Many 90s kids grew up watching Homer and his family’s misadventures over and over and still retain useless trivia in our brains to this day.
Absolutely Fabulous
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley were a match made in heaven as Edina and Patsy. We’re hard pushed to think of a more iconic duo.
Changing Rooms
Carol Smilie brightened up our dreary evenings on Changing Rooms almost as much as the newly painted terracotta walls.
Be honest, we all secretly hoped the contestants would hate the end result (especially if they got Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen) just to see their reaction. And who can forget the legend that was Handy Andy?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Every boy wanted her, every girl wanted to be her. A teenage girl who fights demons in her spare time? What more could we have asked for?
Fun House
Yes, it was for kids, but Fun House was a brilliant show. We loved it as much for the crazy challenges as we did for Pat Sharp’s incredible mullet.
Byker Grove
Not only was it great for Geordies to get some well-deserved screen time, but Byker Grove gave kids and teens some drama they could actually relate to. Plus, it launched the careers of Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, aka PJ and Duncan, for which we’ll be forever grateful.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
Right from the very start, this show was instantly iconic. It was intense, it was frustrating, it was amazing. The rage you felt when you knew the answer to the £250k question but weren’t the one in the hot seat was almost too much to bear.
Chewin’ The Fat
This came out at the tail end of the 90s but it was an instant Scottish classic. We all had our favourite characters and their catch phrases and loved seeing Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill give Jack and Victor their own long-running spin-off series in Still Game.
