Watching TV in the 90s was fun for everyone. It was the golden age of television with sitcoms, classic shows and a lot of fun and educative kids’ shows that kept everyone entertained. Children who grew up in that era looked forward to Saturday mornings when most TV channels would air their shows the entire morning, something that does not happen now. These days, kids who want to watch those 90s shows can only watch the countless reruns of years ago.
In the 90s, producers of kids' shows got away with a lot from racial slurs, violent scenes, smoking as well as the use of every stereotype in the book. Today, what was considered entertaining in the 90s could not generate that much interest or laughs. Some of the shows would be considered totally inappropriate considering that society nowadays is more aware of certain issues. These 15 kids’ shows from the 90s would never fly today.
15 Reading Rainbow Focused Too Much On What To Read, And Not Enough On How To Read
Reading Rainbow was a children’s television show that was a hit in the 90s because it encouraged kids to read. Each episode focused on a topic from a book. According to ScreenRant the show was canceled because it focused more on what kids should read as opposed to teaching them how and why it was essential to read.
14 Clarissa Explains It All Had Issues With Language, Sibling Rivalry, And Showed Kids Could Get Away With Almost Anything
This 90s sitcom was very educative. This show would never fly today because of the use of words like "hell" and "sex drive" repeatedly; and their focus on sibling rivalry as Wiki reports. In one of the episodes, Clarissa shoplifts lingerie and was never caught by security or punished by her parents. Which suggested that kids could get away with such behavior.
13 The Ren & Stimpy Show Had Dark Humor, Adult Jokes, And Inappropriate Insinuations
This famous 90s animated show followed the adventures of title characters Ren and Stimpy. Ren was an emotionally unstable Chihuahua and Stimpy a dumb cat. According to ScreenRant, throughout its run, the show had a lot of dark humor, adult jokes and sexual insinuations for a kids' show.
12 Smart Guy Was Funny But Not Quite Relatable
Smart Guy aired in the late 90s and was quite popular. The sitcom followed a child genius who skips several grades which puts him in the same school as his older siblings. This show would not fly today because it's not exactly a relatable show. It is common to have kids skipping grades, but we agree with ScreenRant in that skipping six grades is a bit of a stretch.
11 Rocko’s Modern Life Had Too Much Adult Humor And Sarcastic Commentary
Another kids’ show from the 90s that would never air today is Rocko’s Modern Life. Rocko was an Australian immigrant who faced many adult issues than we realized at the time. According to TheTalko, it contained a lot of adult humor with double meanings and sarcastic commentary, which were not appropriate for kids then and even now.
10 Hey Arnold! Had Main Characters With Seriously Dark Pasts
So many 90s kids loved Hey Arnold! However, some basic issues would never be allowed on a kids’ show today. The show was about a fourth grader named Arnold who navigates life while dealing with the problems he and his friends encounter. The show includes the story of a character named Stoop who was abandoned as a child and Helga a bully raised by an alcoholic mother.
9 Courage The Cowardly Dog Was Too Dark And Creepy
For a show that targeted kids as the audience, it was too dark and creepy. It followed the adventures of a farmhouse dog that was anything but courageous as he encountered monsters, demons, aliens, zombies, and vampires in order to protect Muriel and Eustace, the elderly couple that took him in as a pup.
8 Johnny Bravo Had No Respect For Women And Too Much Adult Humor
Another kids' show only the 90s could get away with was Johnny Bravo. The show focused on popular culture and contained a lot of adult humor, which was inappropriate for kids. Johnny the main character was a pervert who had zero respect for women except for his mother. He always harassed any women he met.
7 The Original Pokémon Exposed Hundreds Of Children To Seizures And Focused On Contemporary Disasters
Pokémon was a Japanese animated kids’ show that premiered in 1997. According to Wiki, the show aired an episode, which exposed 685 children to seizures due to repetitive flashes of light. That and some other the episodes were canceled due to focusing on contemporary disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the events of September 11th, 2001. Its spin-off airs to date while avoiding the mistakes made on the original release.
6 Cow And Chicken Was Too Sarcastic, Had Weird Characters For Parents, And Was Really Confusing To Its Audience
Cow And Chicken originally aired in the late 90s. What was really weird about it was that Cow and Chicken had delirious human parents who were only seen from the waist down. According to Wiki they kept the other half of their parents in a closet. Their speech was full of sarcasm and misuse of words, which really confused kids.
