The ’90s was a decade of great television. It was the beginning of one of the most popular sitcoms in the world, “Friends.” It was the decade when Ellen made TV history by coming out as gay on her sitcom. Will Smith moved to Bel-Air, and Buffy started fighting off the vampires. But when you look back on these ’90s shows, how much do you actually remember?
The ’90s was a decade of great television. It was the beginning of one of the most popular sitcoms in the world, “Friends.” It was the decade when Ellen made TV history by coming out as gay on her sitcom. Will Smith moved to Bel-Air, and Buffy started fighting off the vampires. But when you look back on these ’90s shows, how much do you actually remember?
Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton, said that two things inspired Carlton's signature dance move. Courtney Cox, who appeared in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video along with Eddie Murphy, who performed his "white man dance" on his Delirious comedy special.
In 1987, a sitcom starring Haley Mills aired called "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." The show ran for one season on Disney Channel before NBC picked it up. NBC revamped it by changing the cast and the focus to teenagers, and the title was changed to "Saved By The Bell."
"Seinfeld" is known as 'the show about nothing.' However, when Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld pitched the idea to NBC, the show was about how a comedian gets their material. To this day, both men are surprised that people describe the show in such a manner.
In the pilot episode of "ER," Carol Hathaway, played by Julianna Margulies, was not supposed to survive her suicide attempt. However, the audiences loved her so much that the producers kept her character alive.
The production team hired a teacher to help Lisa Kudrow play the guitar, but the lessons didn't last long. Lisa only learned a few chords before calling it quits. But it worked so well for the character of Phoebe that we wouldn't want it any other way.
"Buffy" could have been a totally different show. Katie Holmes turned down the role of Buffy to go to high school. And Ryan Reynolds passed on playing Xander. He had just graduated high school, and it was so awful that he couldn't stand pretending to going back.
French Stewart came up with Harry's distinctive squint. He brought it into his audition, and the production loved it so much that it became a signature part of his character.
The original title was "Jump Street Chapel" after the location of the Jump Street program headquarters. And originally, Johnny Depp was not in the leading role of Tom Hansen; instead, it was Jeff Yagher. Luckily Fox made some changes to the show.
Matt Camden, played by Barry Watson, left the show in 2001. Unfortunately, the following year he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Barry was soon able to return to the series and appeared in the final episodes.
Chris Carter, the creator of "The X-Files," came up with the idea for the show after reading a report on the effects of an alien abduction. He went on to pitch the idea to Fox, and after passing some hurdles, "The X-Files" became a reality.
Richard Karn, who played Al Borland, landed the role after landing in traffic school. Richard got a ticket after rolling through a stop sign in LA. When he arrived at traffic school, he met an agent who told him about "Home Improvement."
The original show title was "The Drew F. Carey Show," and the letter F did not stand for Drew's middle name. Producers were wary of this type of humor, so they changed it. The theme song also changed throughout the first seasons before they settled on "Cleveland Rocks."
When Niles divorced his wife Maris, he stayed at an apartment complex called Shangri-La. It was filmed in the same set from the TV series "Everybody Loves Raymond." It was Robert's apartment, just with different furnishings.
Steve Urkel was only going to appear on one episode of "Family Matters." He made his first appearance around the middle of the first season. His character was such a hit with audiences that the writers just kept bringing him back.
No other actresses were considered for the role of Sabrina besides Melissa Joan Hart. She did not have to audition as her mother, Paula, was a producer of the show and owned the rights to the Archie comics adaptations.
Topanga had a confusing family life. Her older sister, Stacy, appeared in only one episode. After this, we never saw nor heard from her again. Her mother was played by Annette O’Toole and Marcia Cross; while Peter Tork, Michael McKean, and Mark Harelik, all played her father.
"In Living Color" had an in-house dance troupe. This group of dancers consisted of some talented ladies, including Cari French, Carrie Ann Inaba, Deidre Lang, Lisa Marie Todd, Michelle Whitney-Morrison and Jennifer Lopez. Their choreographer for the first few seasons was Rosie Perez.
Nana Visitor, who played Kira Nerys, became pregnant during production. The show incorporated it into the plot by saying that Kira became an emergency surrogate for Keiko O'Brien's baby.
When Shannon Doherty left "Beverly Hills 90210," Drew Barrymore was offered to take over the role of Brenda Walsh. However, Drew turned it down to focus on her film career. Actresses Alyssa Milano and Alicia Silverstone were also considered.
Doogie and Vinnie were supposed to be the same age. However, Neil Patrick Harris is six years younger than Max Casella. When they first began filming season one, Neil Patrick Harris was 16, and Max Casella was 22.
The Iowa State University Cyclone Football "Varsity" Marching Band performed the theme song on "Coach." The band won a national contest, and the prize was playing the song for TV.
Ellen DeGeneres was one of the many actresses considered to play the role of Phoebe Buffay on "Friends." However, she turned it down in the hopes of having her own show take off. Luckily, ABC picked up her sitcom "Ellen," and the rest is history.
The first actor to audition for the role of Clark Kent/Superman was Dean Cain. But the series creator, Deborah Joy LeVine, felt that he was too young. She told the casting director that they were looking for "Superman, not Superboy."
Ray Ramano hated the show's title. The producers made a deal, if the show made it into the Top 10, they would change the name. When the show made it, Ray approached the producers, and they said that they couldn't change the name because it was a Top 10 show.
Megan Mullally was hesitant to play Karen, so she initially auditioned for the role of Grace. She feared that Karen was too familiar. However, when she took another look at the role, she felt that she could put a fun twist on the character.