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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Emily Heward

Nostalgic nineties and noughties TV series that'll take you back to simpler times

Remember back when TV only had four channels to choose from?

Simpler times.

If you grew up in the nineties and noughties, you'll have set your VCR for these shows (you might have been fancy enough to have a TiVo to record the later series).

Many of them have found a new generation of fans in the age of streaming, too.

Get ready for a blast from the past - and where you can watch them now.

Dawson's Creek

(Channel 4)

Remember when life's biggest drama was whether Joey would choose Pacey or Dawson?

The nineties cult classic that introduced us to the hyper-articulate, angst-ridden adolescents of Capeside is available to watch for free on All 4.

The show ran from 1998 to 2003 and made household names of James Van Der Beek as film nerd Dawson, Katie Holmes as his childhood best friend Joey, Michelle Williams as new girl Jen, and Joshua Jackson as jokester Pacey.

The OC

The OC (Channel 4)

In the absence of being able to go on holiday anytime soon, we'll take some sun-kissed, Californian escapism instead.

When Ryan Atwood, a smart kid from the wrong side of the tracks, is taken in by his lawyer Sandy Cohen, he turns life in their wealthy coastal community upside down forever.

Whip-smart dialogue and a killer soundtrack set this series apart from other noughties teen soaps.

It's available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers (Publicity Picture)

Joss Whedon's cult series turned the everyday struggles and growing pains of adolescence into actual monsters - and gave us a heroine to battle them in the form of Buffy Summers.

Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as the teenage girl chosen to fight the vampires, demons and forces of darkness that plague the fictional Californian town of Sunnydale, where high school is literally hell.

More than 20 years later, the show is still lauded for its feminist message and for pushing the boundaries of storytelling - if not for its special effects (let's just say they're 'of their time'...)

There are seven series to watch, available to stream with an Amazon Prime membership.

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Sunday Mirror)

This wholesome coming-of-age drama about a single mum raising her academically gifted daughter is the televisual equivalent of a comfort blanket.

Set in the sleepy, storybook town of Stars Hollow where nothing bad ever happens, it's a welcome refuge from the real world, livened up by the witty repartee between Lorelei, Rory and their friends and neighbours.

The original series ran from 2000 to 2007 and sparked a four-episode revival in 2016. Both are available to stream on Netflix.

Friends

No list of nineties telly would be complete without Friends.

The long-running sitcom about six twenty-something friends living in unfeasibly large apartments in New York makes for soothing, switch-your-brain-off viewing.

Rachel, Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Phoebe have found a new generation of fans thanks to constant re-runs over the decades - and it's now on Netflix too.

Frasier

Frasier (Channel 4)

Created as a spin-off of Cheers, this sitcom continued the story of unlucky-in-love psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he moves from Boston to Seattle for a fresh start after the end of his marriage.

But his plans for his new life as a bachelor are quickly turned upside down when he finds himself sharing his swanky apartment with his cantankerous ex-cop dad Martin, his dog Eddie and his live-in carer Daphne.

While making a name for himself as a radio advice show host, Frasier is comically inept at dealing with his own problems - as is his younger brother Nile, also a psychiatrist, with whom he shares a fierce sibling rivalry.

All 11 series are available to watch for free on Channel 4 OD.

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