The ‘90s: The Last Great Decade? On Nat Geo
Category: Television and Streaming
National Geographic channel looks at the 1990s in a three-night event that dissects the politics, culture, and pop culture of the last decade of the 20th century. The ‘90s: The Last Great Decade? is filled with almost everything you can think of from that decade.
Rob Lowe narrates this three-part series. The 90s are described as “a vacation from history,” however many historic incidents occurred during those ten years. Just some of the many things that happened during the 1990s are: the rise of CNN, the use of GPS, smart bombs, Desert Storm, the LA Riots, the Internet, reality TV (yes, you can attribute this decade to this horrible pop culture item), the first World Trade Center bombing, the OJ Simpson debacle, the X Files, Prozac, the Oklahoma City bombing, the rise of Starbucks, Google, and TV’s Friends. Oh, and how can we forget Viagra?
Also during the 90s was the Clinton administration with all that it entailed, including the Monica Lewinsky affair and the impeachment.
Apple’s rise to popularity with the iMac and the relationship between Apple and Macintosh are not ignored in the show, and the Y2K (remember that?) scare is also discussed.
All in all, there are many things that happened during the 1990s, and this TV show covers most of them. If you lived through those years, this is a good way to relive the events and inventions, and if you were not alive then or were too young to know what was going on, this is the way to understand what occurred during those last ten years of the twentieth century.
Here’s a brief timeline of some significant events of the 1990s:
- February 11, 1990 – Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
- August 2, 1990 Desert Storm began
- April 29, 1991 – The LA Riots began
- December 26, 1991 – The Soviet Union was dismantled
- November 3, 1992 – Bill Clinton was elected
- February 26, 1993 – The World Trade Center was bombed
- April 19, 1993 – The Branch Davidians standoff ended
- January 6, 1994 – Nancy Kerrigan was attacked
June 17, 1994 – The OJ Simpson white Bronco chase unfolded on live TV- September 22, 1994 – Friends premiered
- April 19, 1995 – The Oklahoma City Federal Building was bombed
- July 5, 1995 – Dolly the cloned sheep was born
- August 31, 1997 – Princess Diana died
- May 6, 1998 – the iMac was introduced
- December 19, 1998 – President Clinton was impeached
- April 20, 1999 – the Columbine school shootings
Episode One of The ‘90s: The Last Great Decade? premiers Sunday, July 6, 2014 on Nat Geographic Channel. Episode Two airs the next night, with Episode Three rounding out the event on Tuesday.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
Follow her on Twitter
Like her on Facebook