The '90s Was The Golden Age Of Television, And Has Filled My 2020 So Far

The '90s was the golden age of television. Nothing will sway me from this opinion. Could I be slightly biased in that the '90s were my formative years? Absolutely. Were my years from the age of 1 to 11 based solely around that box in the corner and whatever was projected on the screen? Definitely. Did I learn to read age 3-ish by using the TV guide so I knew when my shows were on? Odd but true. It worked and I could read to a level where my nursery school ran out of books for me, all because I needed to know when The Crystal Maze and Fun House were on. However, it doesn't alter the fact that all the best TV was around during the '90s.

One of the perks of living in the here and now is that everything is online somewhere. Whether officially available through services like iPlayer and All4, or if it's a forgotten series that's just been uploaded by a YouTube user who enjoyed a show, had it recorded on VHS and wanted to share. 

With the recent situation seeing a lot of increased TV time, I've found myself trawling a lot of older TV shows. Sitcoms like 'Drop the Dead Donkey', 'Red Dwarf', 'Bottom' and 'Absolutely Fabulous' have kept me amused and dramas such as 'Crime Traveller' and 'Jonathan Creek' have filled a few hours. I found a show I'd forgotten existed called 'Harry' which was a BBC One drama set in and around Darlington, a town I'm very familiar with. I spent most of it infuriated by moments where I found myself saying "...and that street doesn't lead into there" far more often than I'd have liked to.

Don't Forget Your Toothbrush - No Adventure But Suitcase-fuls of Excitement courtesy of @achrisevans

Saturday night TV is a tricky product to master. Sometimes producers get it right and a format comes along people remember for decades such as Gladiators or Noel's House Party. Then again sometimes they make Scavengers.

Over the years there's been a range of variety shows that have gathered audience participation, games, surprises and excitement in one weekly show to generate some fun on a Saturday night. Noel Edmonds invited us all to a House Party with a surprising amount of gunge and his big pink lodger. Ant and Dec have invited us to win the contents of ad breaks, prank celebrities and win holidays with dozens of other competition winners. Michael McIntyre has even been in on the act luring unsuspecting members of the public on stage, surprising his audience, and hijacking celebrity phones.

One show I rediscovered through the magic of Youtube, however, is Chris Evans' (not the Marvel one) first show post-Big Breakfast: Don't Forget Your Toothbrush.