macnorton

After reading another thread (the Jimmy Fallon one) and seeing Mark-Paul Gosselaardo the Zack Morris thing again, I have been going back and watching a lot of those older 90’s sitcoms (and TNBC).

What I am noticing is, these shows have actually aged pretty well.
Getting right to it, these show have in interesting place in the pop culture vernacular…they are a microcosm of what today’s shows WISH they could be. The tweener market today has a lot of pandering, no doubt to stricter broadcast standards, high levels of disinformation, and the fact that today’s ADD driven culture can only handle these things is short burst. So here is a short list of shows I have been into lately and why I think they are worth another look so many years later:

Saved by the Bell – The original series. It starts out a little rough around the edges, really nothing we haven’t seen before. Gradually through the first season (unjustly aired out of order) we start to see that this isn’t your typical tweener show. Rather than box the characters in the corner, the writers actual had some sense. I mean sure the kids are cliché, but the writers gave them a chance to break type and actually challenge the notice that shows like this can’t be anything more than just mindless entertainment.

One episode in particular stands out and we all know what episode that is, Jessie’s Song. Aside from probably one of the greatest moments in the history of the show (I’m so excited, I’m so excit…I’m so scared…sob..sob…sob), there is actual some substance here.

Wikipedia’s episode guide has this to say:
“Jessie turns to caffeine pills as a result of the pressure with midterms and her singing group, ignoring Slater's warning that the pills can damage her health. When Zack finds out about her problem, he cancels her performance and rushes to her side.”

On the surface, yeah it sounds like nothing, but I was 8 years old when the episode first aired, it wasn’t until 5 years later when a teacher showed this to my class when it started to make sense. Again, it is easy to dismiss this, but the generation I am in, we were the last of breed. We had ten thousand things going on at once, parents that were divorced and over medicated, teacher assigning too much work (with very little teaching)…this really could have been anyone of us. To me, this speaks volumes to the show’s appeal. Sure it was over dramatic, but it did make all of us think for a second about how closely connected our lives were to these characters, no matter what our parents said.

City Guys – The second generation of tweener comedies. Much like Saved by the Bell, City Guys had the stereotypical characters and the over bearing (and worldly principal), but City Guys was vastly different. Where as Saved was more for suburban California kids (and many other areas across the country), City Guys had a much broader appeal. Right from the off set the show makes it clear that there is not this pocket of white children that wear sweater to school. Al, the “I can get you anything” guy. Or Jamal, the prototypical angry black man in the making. And Chris, the out of town kids thrown in the city and must keep his grades up. This ain’t your brother’s Bayside high.

I think given the diversity of the cast (Two main black characters, a black principal, and Al who looks Asian but is Spanish) this show had a chance to tackle things white America only read in print. One such moment is when Jamal’s friend is killed by a drunk driver. Being from the great New York City area, I can say this was a regular occurrence where I lived. Thankfully, no one I knew was hurt, but I can’t tell you how many cross I see on the road on my rides to and from the office. It was an important issue (and still is) that this show tackled with class. Jamal was angry, hurt, confused and sad. But it wasn’t one emotions overplayed for dramatic effect. Quite the opposite…it is a simple understated (especially for a tweener low budget sitcom) performance.

It was topics like this and many other things we (I was 15 at the time) kids were facing with the prospect of high school just ahead that kept the show somewhat fresh. And yes the cheese factor is high and the fashion is whack (is that word still “in”?), but one can see why this show was a success.

Blossom – The show that created “a very special episode”. For us in our mid to late 20’s, this is something we know and love (and HATE when kids of today use it out of context). As corny as it sounds now, Blossom actually had the inside track to the new Middle America. Blossom was not the child of divorced parents, and she had to contend with her popular brother Joey and her other addicted brother Tony. Now we call it cliché, but this was a HUGE deal years ago.

The uniqueness here is that this show was made for kids, tweens and parents. Some of the most compelling moments came from Tony. Tempted every day at a job that could easily make anyone an addict (paramedic), throughout the series Tony would struggle with staying clean, coming clean and adjusting to his life with his condition. Nothing had been done like this before (at least when it came to sitcoms), it was revolutionary and perfectly executed.

Also some other great moments came from Joey. The typical pretty boy jock, who eventually has a difficult time coming into his own identity. He found we was more than a one trick pony, but others didn’t see him that way. For kids going through school, this was an easy thing to relate to. We were all there, some had it worse, some had it better. In the end, we all just wanted to fit it and hopefully be ourselves. Again another well done plot.
And last but not least, the title character Blossom. Again like the other in the show, she was revolutionary at the time. Girl power hadn’t hit the mainstream until a few years later, but Blossom was an independent free spirit. Daydreaming about being a rock star (Scrubs does owe a lot to this show), finding where she is in a house full of men, and growing up into a woman. Ironically, it is the pilot episode that really sets Blossom (the character) in motion. Her mother leaves the family to be on her own. There are a lot of un-intentional parallels between the two, but Blossom was about keeping the people she loved in her life while she followed her own destiny, rather than be phony about it. Sure, now girl power is annoying (and no matter how intelligent she shows, Miley Cyrus will never get it) but at the time, Blossom was really ahead of the curve.

That is all I got. I do apologize for the length of this, but I thought It would be fun for other users to post their thoughts and list their favorite shows as well. Either way, enjoy.

Red Dog

I have no recollection of City Guys.

It's also the first time I've heard anyone claim that SBTB has some kind of depth to it.

C-Mart

Can't have a 90's Tweener thread without mentioning Freeks and Geeks!

I also have not heard of City Guys (holy crap - this was on for 3 years and had 105 episodes!)... and Saved By the Bell was never my thing either. I did watch Blossom, but don't remember much of it.

Tracer Bullet

Freaks and Geek barely counts, I'd think. It was on at the very end of 1999. And also, it was written for adults.

macnorton

Ironically, I am the only who does think that. I think people get lost into the time capsule piece of it and don't actually look at some of the other things that are there.

Don't get me wrong, this is by no means War and Peace or anything, but there is substance there. It might be cheesy by today's standards, it still has it though.

As for City Guys, it was another Saturday morning show when NBC was looking to replace Saved by the Bell.

macnorton

I agree. Blossom gets a pass since it was in the 8:30 time slot and it was written for kids as well as adults.

Freaks, on the other hand, was for adults with teen characters. And it was more dramatic (my opinion) then sitcom.

Red Dog

I remember California Dreams and Hang Time.

macnorton

Oddly enough, the second generation on the tweener stuff actually plays a little better then the originals.

I say that because 1989-1993 was pretty standard fair. Then after O.J. everything seemed to take on a different meaning. Times changed and the content did too.

Original Desmond

i have/had a serious thing for Ashley Cafagna from Saved by the Bell the new class

Also liked California dreams

there are some others too from Peter Engel , Malibu it was called i think

basically shows filled with insanely good looking teenagers

macnorton

I do want to mention that there is one show now that comes close to any of these...Ned's Declassifed School Survival Guide.

My younger cousins made me watch it and I was truly surprised at how witty it was. Sure it is more slapstick compared to my list above, but damn it was a funny show. I have watched it quite a few times after.

The Naked Brothers is a fun show too...but that one has WAY more satire in it. That one caught me off guard. I like how there are shows out there that have adult humor in it...even though I don't have kids, I don't mind getting a chuckle while I am flipping channels.

Raul3

Ned's is really good. I've watched a few episodes with my kids and they are pretty entertaining.

starman9000

Same hear, never heard of City Guys, but remembered those two.

I loved how in Hang Time they were supposedly in this tiny little town, yet they always hung out at the mall. (cause you know, tiny towns that can't field full basketball teams usually have malls)

Tracer Bullet

And really, if we're going to talk about these kinds of shows, do we include the Nickelodeon stuff from the early '90s?

I've been rewatching The Adventures of Pete & Pete and can't believe how good it is. It's totally punk.

Lastdaysofrain

I used to watch some NBC Saturday Morning show called "one World" that was about an orphanage or foster teen kids or something? There was some cute chick on it with short hair, which is about all I remember of it.

I was more of a fan of Saved by the Bell the New Class than the original cast.

Double_Oh_7

To call Freaks and Geeks a Tweener comedy is an insult.

Don't forget all those TGIF sitcoms like Full House, Family Matters, etc.

Superman07

List of TNBC Shows
Hang Time (1995-2000)
Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993-2000)
Running the Halls (1993)
Name Your Adventure (1993-1995)
Brains & Brawn (1993)
California Dreams (1992-1996)
One World (1998-2001)
All About Us (2001)
City Guys (1997-2001)
Just Deal (2000-2002)
Sk8 (2001-2002)
NBA Inside Stuff (1993-1997; Moved to ABC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNBC

Of course if you want even earlier info:

http://www.inthe90s.com/saturdays.shtml

RichC2

Most of the shows weren't Tweener, they were Teen. The current crop of shows that basically follows Jr High kids is more the Tweener crop.

Adam Tyner

Hang Time! We're hot! We're in the zone!

Jadzia

I fondly remember Fifteen - my college friends and I used to watch that show and laugh and laugh at how cheesy it was. Anyone remember that one?

MrSmearkase

I remember Fifteen, with a young Ryan Reynolds and Laura Harris.

Nickelodeon had a pretty good block of shows back then, including Clarissa Explains it All, Welcome Freshmen, Hey Dude, and Salute Your Shorts. Predating those, of course, was You Can't Do That on Television. Loved that one!

Achtung

Wasn't SBTB a bit groundbreaking for its time in that it was the first Saturday morning show that appealed more to that tween demographic? I thought that before that, most Sat morning programming was aimed more at younger kids, and usually in cartoon form.

I admit, I'm someone who grew up then and has probably seen every episode of SBTB at least three times, mostly on syndication on WGN and TBS. I never thought there was a huge amount of substance there, although it was nice to have a show that included brainy kids like Screech and Jessie hanging out with the cool kids.

I remember bits and pieces of Hang Time and City Guys, but by then I had started high school and mostly lost interest in those shows, since I realized high school wasn't really anything like that. But if I see one of them on while channel surfing, I usually stop for a bit of 90s nostalgia.

Charlie Goose

To show my age, I thought you were talking about James at 15 at first.

Achtung

It's always interesting to see who went on to have some modicum of success from these shows.

Clarissa - Melissa Joan Hart
Hey Dude - Christine Taylor (aka Mrs. Ben Stiller)
Are You Afraid Of The Dark - Elisha Cuthbert (new series)
Salute Your Shorts - Blake Soper went on to be on Boy Meets World and is now in the indie rock band Rilo Kiley (under his real name, Blake Sennett)

macnorton

Yes, by all means.

Pete and Pete (filmed around my hometown) is a must! The show is phenomenal for its wit and the fact all the cool "fringe" musicians were in the show. David Johansen as a park ranger...AWESOME!

macnorton

Tweener seems to have a wide definition...I see it as inbetween early to mid teens. Where as teen was 16 and up.

But then again what do I know?