20 Years Ago…

Before I begin, I want to say I love modern television. The last few years of TV have been far, far better than TV had been 10 years ago. But TV 20 years ago? That shit was off the hook. Check out what was going on:

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was in its last season; the last episode was May 22, 1992. Johnny Carson was the absolute king of late night; as good as Conan O’Brien, David Lettermen, and even Jimmy Fallon are, they are nothing compared to Carson. Virtually everything we think about late night talk-shows came from him.

Seinfeld was finishing it’s third season and would start its fourth in the fall. To put this in terms useful to people who don’t obsess over Seinfeld: this time 20 years ago was the two-part episode with Jerry having a crush on Keith Hernandez and George pretending to work for Vandeley Industries. The season ends with Kramer going to Los Angeles. Sure, maybe not the best season of Seinfeld, but probably the one that ensured it would be a pillar of pop culture.

The Simpsons was on the same time frame as Seinfeld. Again, in practical terms; this week 20 years ago was the episode where Homer and Lisa bond over Lisa’s ability to predict the outcome of football games. Every episode this season was funny but still sweet. Again, I am willing to concede that later seasons were overall better (though I’d say it’s more contentious than Seinfeld), but this season was fundamental.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was also on the air. Holy shit was there a lot of good TV on back then. Specifically, though, 1992 was Joel Hodgson’s penultimate year. Whether you prefer Joel or Mike, you certainly will at least accept that Joel got better as time went on — thus, this was Joel almost at his peak. Two of my favorite episodes were from the summer of 1992: Attack of the Giant Leeches, and The Killer Shrews.

Star Trek: The Next Generation was in its 5th and 6th seasons in 1992. This period included some of TNG’s most though provoking episodes, like the one where they discover a lost Borg that develops its own personality and they have to deal with the question of whether one life is worth sacrificing to destroy the Borg. To be fair, it had some of their most ridiculous episodes, including a lot of bullshit with Deanna Troi, but that’s pretty endemic to the show.

Though it had been on the air for years at this point, Saturday Night Live in 1992 featured the talents of Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Kevin Nealon, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Victoria Jackson (in her last season), and Mike Meyers. Again, there have probably been better seasons of SNL, but holy shit is that an awesome cast.

Meanwhile, other shows on the air included Roseanne, Full House, Family Matters, The Wonder Years, Home Improvement, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Matlock, Cheers, with MacGuyver and The Cosby Show finishing their runs. THIS IS NOT EVEN A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE GOOD TV.

So, suck it, TV today. You will never live up to what you were 20 years ago. Probably unfair, but there it is. The solution to that is clearly for today to get better TV today. Let’s get on that, everyone.