iPlayer? What's an iPlayer? ILX's top 50 TV shows of the 90s!

Ten a day now till Friday. Are you excited? I'm excited.

Apologies in advance for some shonky YouTube clips - in one case I couldn't find anything at all.

Coming up at number 50, a personal fave of mine that just managed to sneak in.

50 - The House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990-95)
- 880 points, 6 votes

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/02/09/richardson460.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URhzMiBgQYs

woooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Anyone who's not seen House of Cards really must. So much fun. Richardson's Francis Urquhart is spellbinding, one of the best TV villains ever.

as long as keenan and kel makes this, i'll be happy

I really wish I had remembered to vote in this. I could have propelled TMWRNJ from 44 to 43 single-handedly.

49 - Fraiser (NBC, 1993-2004)
- 890 points, 7 votes

http://seattlest.com/attachments/seattle_dan/frasier.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbGk_7y-wFY

Sorry, misspelt Frasier there. Thank you tattoo man for setting me straight.

That's shockingly low for Frasier! All its best seasons were in the '90s too. Struggling to think of a better sitcom from the period.

48 - Vic Reeves Big Night Out (Channel 4, 1990-91)
- 900 points, 8 votes

http://www.channel4.com/assets/programmes/images/vic-reeves-big-night-out/vic-reeves-big-night-out-20090610150831_625x352.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJv_muI_UA

xps. Nice Frasier clip. I always preferred Niles to Frasier until he went all mushy with Daphne.

Yeah, I was never a huge fan, but whenever I watched it it was obvious that Niles was the best.

if big night out is polling here, then all the others are going to be in, aren't they?

I haven't revisited Big Night Out since the 90s, but I find that clip hilarious. Might be time for a re-watch.

Bob at his best there.

"I have obtained an injunction from a Dutch court..."

I watched a couple of Big Nights Out recently and it felt really fresh and fun, not my fave Vic and Bob but def deserving of a vote.

47 - This Life (BBC, 1996-97)
- 920 points, 7 votes, 2 first place

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/BBCKieronMcCarron_life460.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxqiJNkENek

Sorry to have to resort to a fan toss clip. Hard show to search for.

Soap for people who think they're above soaps.

I just couldn't watch it. I hated them all.

Soap for people who think they're above soaps

hello down there

i did hate This Life at first but soon got into it, well made blablah

i watched it at the time, but i was 16 and an idiot, and it really hasn't aged well.

Struggling to think of a better sitcom from the period.

I think that several people may rate a certain Irish sitcom rather higher.

I was sort of getting at the target audience I think but I don't really get was a This Life is for.

46 - G.B.H. (Channel 4, 1991)
- 990 points, 6 votes

http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/17729_1-GBH.JPG

Couldn't find a YouTube clip that played in the UK.

I got love for Frasier but it's maybe too arch and frou-frou and sometimes downright not funny enough to inspire big big love.

Whereas I voted G.B.H. very high. I'm remembering it thru a haze of enchanting distance but to me this was Bleasdale's most accomplished work, plus stellar cast, plus Byzantine plotting, plus deep dissection of part of what the fuck was going wrong with the Left in the UK by 1990, plus awesome armchair psychology. So deep and rich and so much better than the highly enjoyable but lesser "it's grim up North in the 80s" drama that's no doubt placed higher.

I've never seen it. Sounds worth a t0rrent.

Derek Hatton recast as a Shakespearean tragic villain and that's just 1 plot-strand = The Bomb

I think that several people may rate a certain Irish sitcom rather higher.

Oh, it's as good, certainly. But there only 25 eps of that and I feel like I know them inside and out, whereas I think I could dip into Frasier repeats for the rest of time and catch something new (whether genuinely new or just forgotten). Still surprised at #49.

I think that several people may rate a certain Irish sitcom rather higher.

No, Bachelors Walk didn't start until 2001...

45 - Quantum Leap (NBC, 1989-93)
- 990 points, 10 votes, 1 first place

http://avanttrash.com/images/quantum-leap.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBwWAu2a5U

Dean Stockwell's shirts make this unmissable.

Dorkiest picture I could find.

Watching/listening to the theme tune gives me major flashbacks to the first years of secondary school.

Most of the shows on the list came under this category for me: I used to mildly enjoy it for a bit but then lost interest when it stopped being on at tea-time or something. This is why long-term plotlines annoy me.

In later series I swear they introduced an evil female time-travelling counterpart, but I seem to be the only person who remembers her.

44 - The Wonder Years (ABC, 1988-93)
- 1060 points, 7 votes

http://sidroy.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/wonderyears.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjTdXsIa1Yk

Just thinking about The Wonder Years makes me want to vomit.

My Dad loves this show.

If you knew my Dad that wd explain a lot.

And that was the moment I knew that the rest of my internet posts would never be somehow the same.

hope home improvement places

(cue Mamas and Papas song welling up on soundtrack)

(cue righteous indignation about The Wonder Years placing welling up in head)

Next one's more like it, promise.

haha Wonder Years was like the last show to just barely get the axe from my ballot, glad it appeared anyway. totally forgot to even think about Quantum Leap.

can't believe how low Frasier is considering all you Brits on the board talk about it like it's the best thing since sliced bread, but it's certainly about at where I'd place it overall.

I got love for Frasier but it's maybe too arch and frou-frou and sometimes downright not funny enough to inspire big big love.

When was the ski cabin episode filmed? That's possibly my favourite episode of any US sitcom ever.

Incidentally if The Fast Show places highly in this I will never trust anything any of you have to say on the subject of comedy ever again.

How many people voted btw?

49.

Thanks for computing, chap-bot. Interesting poll.

#55 and #63 for the two best sketches show of...well, 1989 actually, but they were decent into the '90s. Hurrah.

No Lipstick on Your Collar, Karaoke or Cold Lazarus, but Potter gets in via his Bragg interview? That's the one where he was swigging liquid morphine, right?

I'm glad Smack The Pony made it into the top 100. I felt bad that it didn't make it onto either my '90s or '00s ballot, but it really is good stuff.

My top 10 is probably the most canonical of all the ballots - only one didn't place, and most of the others went top 10:

1. Brass Eye
2. Twin Peaks
3. The Day Today
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. Riget
6. G.B.H.
7. The Simpsons
8. I’m Alan Partridge
9. Father Ted
10. Ren & Stimpy

Riget was hurriedly stuffed into the number five slot on my resubmitted ballot, when it was called to my attention as being The Kingdom, but probably should have been number four. It is brilliant.

We certainly liked comedy in the 1990s.

Dude, I like comedy all the time. Comedy and long-form narrative are like my entertainment heroin, and TV is my main supplier, for sure.

Was I the only person to vote for How Do You Want Me and Cardiac Arrest or something then?

They also served: the places on my ballot of those that didn't place in the top 50.

2. Our Friends in the North
3. Inspector Morse
6. Cardiac Arrest
7. How Do You Want Me?
8. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
13. Absolutely
15. Prime Suspect
16. The Cops
17. The Crystal Maze
19. Brookside
20. The Mary Whitehouse Experience
21. Our Mutual Friend
23. Dancing in the Streets: A History of Rock N’ Roll
24. Harry Enfield’s Television Programme

I don't regrette rien

1. The Larry Sanders Show
2. King of the Hill
3. The Day Today
4. Riget
5. The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer
6. G.B.H.
7. Father Ted
8. This Morning with Richard Not Judy
9. Seinfeld
10. The Simpsons
11. Beavis & Butthead
12. Inspector Morse
13. The Cops
14. Brass Eye
15. Futurama
16. Fist of Fun
17. How Do You Want Me?
18. Our Friends in the North
19. Vic Reeves' Big Night Out
20. I'm Alan Partridge
21. South Park
22. Rab C. Nesbitt
23. One Foot in the Grave
24. Absolutely
25. The Mary Whitehouse Experience

I'm glad Home Movies got in but it deserves better than #100.. ;_;

let's see, things on my ballot not in the top 50...

3. Prime Suspect
4. Absolutely Fabulous
7. Yo! MTV Raps
15. NYPD Blue
17. In Living Colour
18. Jeeves & Wooster
19. Drop the Dead Donkey
21. The Powerpuff Girls
22. The Chris Rock Show
23. Xena: Warrior Princess
25. The Crystal Maze

(i don't really know if drop the dead donkey belongs on there, i only saw pieces of the first two seasons. i just remember it being funny.)

22. Rab C. Nesbitt

This might be where the unbreachable schism between US and UK television begins. I've tried watching it, but it felt foreign enough that my brain was barely able to process it. Maybe it was just the accents...

Can't believe that The State didn't place at all. I figured it would be in the top 20 at least, so I put it down a little further on my ballot than I would have.

This might be where the unbreachable schism between US and UK television begins. I've tried watching it, but it felt foreign enough that my brain was barely able to process it. Maybe it was just the accents...

It's pretty hard to follow if you're from parts of England as well.

I tried getting the lovely Emma B into "Still Game". No go.

Ballot:

1 The Kids in the Hall
2 The Simpsons
3 Mr. Show
4 Twin Peaks
5 My So-Called Life
6 Seinfeld
7 The Larry Sanders Show
8 Homicide: Life on the Streets
9 The X-Files
10 Brass Eye
11 Roseanne
12 Northern Exposure
13 Fishing With John
14 The Jerry Springer Show
15 Prime Suspect
16 Law and Order
17 The Real World
18 Oz
19 Saturday Night Live
20 Sifl & Olly
21 Beavis & Butthead
22 The State
23 Ren & Stimpy
24 120 Minutes
25 Liquid Television

I'm glad Home Movies got in but it deserves better than #100.. ;_;

― Tracer Hand, Friday, December 11, 2009 2:06 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'd say that's high for a show that aired 5 episodes in the decade being polled

well it didnt fare much better on the 00s poll either despite me voting in that one

yes, which highlights the futility of even nominating it for this one

Disappointed Bab5 didnt get any showing but it was a niche show even at the time. And though I dont like it how the heck is AbFab not in here?

But you all cant complain too much: even Canada got a look in, but not a single Australian show did. And I gave high votes to several. I'm pretty unhappy at that.

I'm in fact suprised at how heavily british the poll seems weighted actually.

^^this certainly. i had no idea Father Ted was even a "respected" show, have only seen tiny bits and not been impressed. my faith in ilx is so grand though that i will give it a fair try. Simpsons was my #1 btw

Same here, though I'm starting to think I should have done more tactical voting as it was obvious it'd win.

i don't get 'tactical voting' at all. why not just put things in the order you actually like them and let the dice fall where they may?

Well yeah true. There's a couple of shows I'd like to have given equal first place to but that's gaming the system I suppose, ha.

Speaking as an American, there's very little Australian telly that I'm even aware of. The last Australian thing I watched was that new-ish sitcom about the ad agency. Which I can't even remember the name of, apparently...

@ sd because u genuinely care abt a niche show and want more ppl to hear about it? or bcz u would like the list overall to better reflect your taste?

Father Ted looks pretty dire to me. I think I tried to watch an episode when I lived in the UK and gave up pretty quickly.

Yeah, I guess. I knew Simpsons didn't need my vote but it just would've felt weird if I didn't put it in the top 3 where it really belonged in my heart of hearts. I suppose if I'd voted more tactically The Adventures of Pete & Pete would've jumped a place or two and made it into the top 50, but there was no way of knowing that show of all shows on my ballot was on the borderline like that.

When I was in Australia last year the only native show I watched much of was some funny thing w/ people improvising and riffing on current news headlines.

Speaking as an American, there's very little Australian telly that I'm even aware of.

Yeah I wouldn't even know where to start with Australian tv.

while I'm at it, my ballot w/ ones that missed the top 50 in bold:

1. The Kids in the Hall
2. Seinfeld
3. The Simpsons
4. MST3K
5. Saturday Night Live
6. Northern Exposure
7. Homicide: Life on the Streets
8. Newsradio
9. Sports Night
10. Boy Meets World
11. Star Trek: TNG
12. Batman: The Animated Series
13. The Adventures of Pete & Pete
14. Get a Life
15. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
16. Late Night With Conan O’Brian
17. The Tick
18. Dr. Katz
19. Red Dwarf
20. Mad About You
21. Roseanne
22. Animaniacs
23. Talk Soup
24. Everybody Loves Raymond
25. Politically Incorrect

I mean, just in logistical terms...I at least have access to a killer British television torrent site, so I can poke around and try out stuff that I've never heard of and would never have had any access to otherwise. I'm not even aware of an Australian analogue, although I'm sure one exists.

And just poking around Wikipedia's listing for the various Australian network channels, it looks like y'all are largely inundated with American imports. I apologize on behalf of my country.

Newsish sitcom about ad agency? Not Frontline? Or perhaps um... er heh.

surely everyone knows Kath and Kim? (or was that a 00's show only?)
The stuff I voted for I assume is more local: anything Sean Micallef-branded is highly recommended though.

We also have http://www.abc.net.au/iview/ however, like the BBC version I imagine its region-restricted.

Shows I recommend: Frontline, Kath and Kim, Micallef Program, Full Frontal (esp if you're interested in Eric Bana before he got a fat head). Some other stuff's too dated and localised: the Late Show, Acropolis Now, etc

Oh! Mother & Son is very good (but thats an 80s show I think?)

Disappointed Bab5 didnt get any showing but it was a niche show even at the time.

― millivanillimillenary (Trayce)

Babylon 5 wasn't even nominated. I gave it a write-in at #25 on my ballot.

Newsish sitcom about ad agency? Not Frontline? Or perhaps um... er heh.

I looked it up: 30 Seconds, it's called. On The Comedy Channel, apparently?

Oh, yeah, you lot also had Summer Heights High recently, which was pretty brilliant.

Shit I forgot B5 was a writein, sorry.

Here's how I voted, FWIW:

Brass Eye
Father Ted
Simpsons
House of Cards
I'm Alan Partridge
Day Today
Cracker
The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer
Fast Show
Royle Family
Beavis
Knowing Me Knowing You
Red Dwarf
Futurama
South park
King of the Hill
Spaced
The Adam & Joe Show
Friends
Top of the Pops
Eurotrash
Jeeves and Wooster
The Word
American Gothic
Neighbours

Do John Safran's shows ever get broadcast outside Australia?

I don't know who that is, so probably not.

Shame if so, he'd go over well in the UK i reckon.

Its curious that the US and UK each seem fairly focussed on their own countries tv and are unaware of each other's shows outside of big guns like Simpsons/Seinfeld etc... Australia otoh is inundated with tons of both. At the expense of much of our own programming, sadly. For example at the moment one channel's biggest rating show is "2 and a half men" ffs.

I think the UK is more aware of US shows than the other way round, tbh. I am basing this on a very limited demographic of me and people I talk about telly programmes with, right enough, so this may be way off.

I might be the only person on ILX who likes Two and a Half Men. It consistently brings the lols.

No, I like it too. And it's the highest rated (comedy) show in the US too, so it's not like Australian popularity is a fluke.

I dont mind it tbh :) My ffs was more the fact its always US comedies we're flooded with here. And on ABC, all the UK shows. Any of our own? Hardly. Its no wonder no one's seen any Aus TV, there isnt any! :/

I have no idea who won this since I haven't looked at the thread for several days and my laptop crashes when I try to open it up, but this was my Top 20 (I'm leaving out 21-25, which I hereby recant anyway):

1. Northern Exposure
2. My So-Called Life
3. Freaks & Geeks
4. The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
5. Seinfeld
6. The Wonder Years
7. Roseanne
8. The Simpsons
9. Caroline in the City
10. The Fresh Prince of Bell Air
11. Blossom
12. The Critic
13. King of the Hill
14. Quantum Leap
15. Twin Peaks
16. Clarissa Explains it All
17. Get a Life
18. The Adventures of Pete & Pete
19. Fraiser
20. Married… With Children

Spoiler: The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd was the surprise winner.

Seriously, though, for the sake of your aching browser (and mine, which threatened to turf out when I loaded all messages):

100 – Home Movies (410 points, 3 votes)
99 – Tom Green/Tiny Toon Adventures/Jeeves & Wooster (410, 4)
96 – Dancing in the Streets (420, 3)
95 – Nevermind the Buzzcocks (420, 5)
94 – The Crystal Maze (420, 6)
93 – Absolutely Fabulous (430, 3)
92 – Top of the Pops (430, 5)
91 – Yo! MTV Raps (440, 4)
90 – The Drew Carey Show (450, 3)
89 – Smack the Pony (450, 5)
88 – Picket Fences (460, 4)
87 – Gamesmaster (460, 5)
86 – The Late Show with David Letterman (470, 3)
85 – Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (480, 4)
84 – Riget (490, 3)
83 – The Cops (510, 5)
82 – An Interview with Dennis Potter (540, 2)
81 – Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (540, 3)
80 – Dr. Katz (540, 5)
79 – Eastenders/Ford Super Sunday (550, 3)
77 – Saturday Night Live (550, 6)
76 – The Tick/Liquid TV (560, 5)
74 – Millenium (570, 3)
73 – Harry Enfield’s Television Programme (570, 7)
72 – Pride & Prejudice (580, 3)
71 – The Critic (610, 5)
70 – Have I Got News For You (610, 7)
69 – Fist of Fun (650, 5, 1 first place)
68 – Married with Children (660, 5)
67 – The State/Pop-Up Video (660, 6)
65 – The Royle Family (670, 7)
64 – Sports Night (690, 4)
63 – A Bit of Fry & Laurie (690, 5)
62 – Whose Line is it Anyway (UK) (700, 8)
61 – Rock Family Trees/Fishing with John (720, 5)
59 – Prime Suspect/Inspector Morse (750, 5)
57 – Our Friends in the North (760, 5)
56 – Get a Life (780, 6)
55 – Absolutely (780, 7)
54 – Law & Order (790, 8)
53 – Sifl & Olly (810, 6, 1 first)
52 – This Morning with Richard Not Judy (850, 5)
51 – The Adventures of Pete & Pete (850, 6)

50 - The House of Cards Trilogy
49 - Frasier
48 - Vic Reeves Big Night Out
47 - This Life
46 - Quantum Leap
45 - G.B.H.
44 - The Wonder Years
43 - Batman: The Animated Series
42 - 120 Minutes
41 - The Maxx
40 - Late Night with Conan O'Brien
39 - Animaniacs
38 - Freaks & Geeks
37 - Red Dwarf
36 - Oz
35 - Daria
34 - The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer
33 - Shooting Stars
32 - The Adam and Joe Show
31 - The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air
30 - Space Ghost Coast to Coast
29 - Knowing Me Knowing You... with Alan Partridge
28 - Friends
27 - Roseanne
26 - Mystery Science Theater 3000
25 – Cracker
24 – Newsradio
23 – My So-Called Life
22 – Spaced
21 – Futurama
20 – The X-Files
19 – King of the Hill
18 – Mr. Show
17 – Northern Exposure
16 – Beavis and Butt-head
15 – Ren and Stimpy
14 – The Fast Show
13 – Star Trek: The Next Generation
12 – The Larry Sanders Show
11 – Homocide: Life on the Streets
10 – The Kids in the Hall
9 – South Park
8 – The Day Today
7 – I’m Alan Partridge
6 – Brass Eye
5 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4 – Twin Peaks
3 – Seinfeld
2 – Father Ted
1 – The Simpsons