You haven’t lived a proper childhood if you’ve never wandered onto watching the Disney Channel. Who could forget going home after school, planting yourself on your living room couch and turning on the TV just in time to hear the famous, “I’m _____ and you’re watching Disney Channel!”
Unfortunately, that time is long over. I’m not usually a cynic when it comes to the “proper” Disney Channel Era, and I don’t pay attention to the quality of each “generation”.
All I know is, there are shows that I have always watched almost religiously. If I missed a new episode, I made sure to scope out the internet to see if it was there. And now they’re gone. Zero, zilch. Nada.
A shoutout and recognition to my personal roster:
1. "That's So Raven"
Yes, I was one of the few people who tried to imitate Raven’s vision face...it didn’t work so good. Every episode brought new craziness and even some managed to pull out a few important life lessons, and pulled them out excellently, a rarity in television. It was a show for comedy, a show with family-oriented themes, and a show that brought diversity issues to the table and impacted their audience.
2. “Phil of the Future”
I really hope someone other than me has seen more than one episode of Phil of the Future so I’m convinced that it’s not off the radar. Who HASN’T had a crush on Phil Diffy? (Remember, this was before HSM and girls’ Zac Efron craze people). Someone who can name himself to be a girl’s first Disney Channel crush. I still wanna get my hand on one of them cool gadgets.
3. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (and “On Deck”)
Whether at the Tipton Hotel in Boston or cruising the waters on the S.S. Tipton, these two boys had the life (and the looks, TBH). I’m not picky; some people veer towards TSLOZAC side and others (few others so I’ve heard) opt for TSLOD. Hey, as long as Zack and Cody were on my screen, I’m okay with anything. I think this was one of the shows I laughed the most at. I was sad to see it end (I was also sad to see that both shows only got three seasons over the four of a majority of Disney Channel shows. Seriously?). Thank you Zack, Cody, London, Maddie, Dylan, Cole, Brenda, Ashley, and all the characters and actors for coming together and making an amazing story.
4. “Hannah Montana”
Remember the time before Miley Cyrus cut off her hair and went a little crazy? But, hey, not to be critical. Hannah Montana was something I enjoyed watching every week. The catchphrases were pure quotable, the characters were hilarious and goofy, and the songs had a catchy beat. It was definitely some worthwhile TV.
5. “Wizards of Waverly Place”:
For a girl who grew up on Harry Potter magic, this was the stuff. It brought magic to a whole different, hilarious, wild level. And the sibling chemistry between David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, and Selena Gomez was just perfect. Sure, some of the characters were a bit hard to handle. But that brought on more of the laughs. And really, who isn’t a bit hard to handle in the real world?
Man, I miss these shows. They’re pretty much the reason I was always glued to the TV. And now, I barely go there. I do like the newer shows after that era and there were some worth watching. But it’s not the same as the classics.
Thanks to these OG Disney Channel shows for television and I’m sure a lot of other ‘90s babies will always cherish. No matter what, the good old days of Raven, Phil, Zack, Cody, Miley, Alex, Justin, and Max will always be something to keep in our hearts.
Honorable Mentions: “Lizzie McGuire”, “The Proud Family”, “Kim Possible”, “Even Stevens”, “Lilo & Stitch: The Series”.
