Best of ‘93: Memorable TV Series Turning 30

I don’t care how cheesy you think it is, there’s always going to be something special about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Yes, the effects are ridiculous and stories are predictable, but if you were a kid in the ‘90s, it was appointment television.

The Wire never would have been possible without the groundwork laid by Homicide: Life on the Street. It was the type of gritty realism you didn’t see on network TV. It also launched Andre Braugher into the mainstream, letting the whole world see what a spectacular talent he is.

DS9 is so crucial to the Star Trek universe, because it gave us Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko, the franchise’s first Black captain. It also skewed from the establish Star Trek formula, taking episodes and stories to fresh, fascinating places.

This cult classic that was definitely ahead of its time. The way it blends comedy, sci-fi and western would fit in perfectly with today’s genre bending programming. Plus, Julius Carry’s Bowler is a superb tribute to Black cowboys.

CBS airing a three-part miniseries about the life of a biracial slave was a big deal in 1993. This star-studded series would definitely be told in a more nuanced way nowadays, but at the time, it felt very significant.

In the ‘90s, if you were a mildly popular stand up comedian, you got your own sitcom. One of the more underrated entries in the pack was Thea. Thea Vidale starred as a no-nonsense single mom who was supermarket cashier/hair stylist. The fact that this show only lasted one season is still puzzling. I understand low ratings, but ABC could have had something special if they’d given it a little time.

Sinbad’s entry into the sitcom world came in the form of a confirmed bachelor who suddenly decided to adopt two orphaned siblings and become a father. It followed the typical “new family” comedy format, and didn’t showcase Sinbad the way it should have. Look, not everything from 1993 was pure gold.

Yes, there are absolutely episodes and storylines of NYPD Blue that have aged poorly. However, this is another trailblazing drama that set the table for series like The Wire, The Sopranos and OZ. Its popularity showed that audiences were ready for more realistic, adult themes to be tackled.

Frasier is one of the most acclaimed shows in TV history. I’m not going to claim that any of those awards were for being overly diverse. Somehow Frasier and Niles lived in a major city like Seattle and came across very few Black people. Maybe things will change in the upcoming revival, but since it’s set in Boston, we’re not holding our breath.

Seems like it was only yesterday that Mulder was assuring us that “the truth is out there.” Though you needed multiple advanced degrees to follow the mythology at times, it’s still a classic and one of the few shows on this list that still holds up. Mulder and Scully will always be fun to watch.

After Oprah hit it big, everybody had a talk show in the ‘90s. One of the most entertaining to watch, in a trainwreck sort of way, was Ricki Lake. While the issues were occasionally serious, it really was about waiting for things to break down and for the audience to start chanting “Ricki, Ricki, Ricki.”