The '90s was an amazing period to be alive and wait every week for a new episode of your favorite TV series to come out. Unfortunately, being born at the tail end of the '90s, I didn't get the real experience. However, now I have the opportunity to binge watch life-altering series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, Firefly, Gilmore Girls, Freaks and Geeks, Doctor Who and Charmed, that all premiered from 1990-2005. Each of these series have a few common threads that make them comical and admirable.
1. The special effects.
Shall we never forget the bravery with which the '90s approached creating demons, aliens and spells. They didn't care if it looked overdone; they were going to make a giant snake-person coming out a manhole in the basement of a frat house. Or possibly a family of gigantic, fat, green aliens that climbed into humans' skin and subsequently had horrible gas because of the compression. 
2. The one with FLASHBACKS.
I would say Friends is the most iconic for flashing back to not just a few moments that happened in the past, but to every single moment with extended dialogue that could possibly be related to an incident. Past Thanksgivings, turning 30, reflections on relationships. However, we can't forget all of Buffy's reflections on near deaths or the tense moments where the Doctor remembers how much he misses Rose.
3. Being gay wasn't a big deal.
Now it seems like every show has to have ONE gay couple from start to end that is so outwardly gay that rainbows seem to explode out of their pores. In the '90s sometimes people just happened to be gay. Willow went through a transition period, Ross' ex-wife found true love, . They weren't painted as a perfect couple, but individual people that could make mistakes and choose to date whomever they pleased.
4. Extensive opening sequences.
The opening sequence consistently included photos of every single character that appeared more than once in a season. But the photos had to be minimally faded with the character staring just slightly off-camera with a small, and slightly creepy, smile at the end. They also included slightly sad background music that was extremely relevant and usually recorded by a famous band.
5. FEMALE EMPOWERMENT.
Not only were women the stars or co-stars of all of these shows, but there were also multiple women starring. The Charmed sisters (eventually 4 of them), the Gilmore Girls, Buffy (The chosen one) and Friends (even gender divide). A repetitive sister dynamic also dominated the '90s. Women could take on the world if they stuck together (Eventually we'll understand the message that the '90s was sending us).
6. Witty banter during a fight scene.
We all lived for the one-liners during Buffy's slaying or The Charmed girls' battles. There was nothing better than replaying those scenes over and over again while ignoring the fact that they should have just been attacking one another.
"I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots here." -Buffy
"No. The fact that you're fat makes you look fat. That sweater just makes you look purple." -Sunday
"Life isn't a garden so stop being a hoe." -Piper
7. The wisdom imparted.
Acceptance of every kind played a huge role in all of these shows, moral ambiguity aside, everybody was worthy of second chances and proving themselves. It didn't matter what race anybody was (Alien or human); they all deserved the same opportunities. Most of the shows completely ignored skin color and only focused on the bigger picture: true evil.
8. Cliff. Hangers.
Nobody could make a good cliff hanger life the '90s could. Sometimes an entire season would even end with somebody on the brink of death just to make viewers wait months to find out what actually happened. The writers were brutal in maintaining viewership so they made their shows irresistible. Without On Demand or Tevo, every teen and preteen was guaranteed to be at the TV at the right time to not miss a single second.
