Flashback Friday: Shows That Make Us Miss Vintage MTV From the 90s

Remember the days when watching MTV was the COOL thing to do? When not all of the programming was reality shows, but a mixture of animation, reality shows that made sense to the network, and actual music? You may have to search deep in your memory and push away the Teen Mom dust and Jersey Shore sand, but it’s there! The 1990s were a prime era for MTV, when it was all the rage and the programming had some major gems.

Need a refresher?

Here are shows that make us miss MTV of the 1990s:

Beavis and Butt-head

Quite possibly the raunchiest, dirtiest cartoon of its time, Beavis and Butt-head were like those guys in high school who sat in the back of the classroom and caused mischief, to put it mildly. The show was so popular, it even spawned its own movie, Beavis and Butt-head Do America.

Daria

The angsty teenage cartoon may have been one of the most unenthused characters on TV, but what Daria lacked in enthusiasm, she made up in sarcasm. Did you know that the show was a spin-off of Beavis and Butt-head?

FANatic

A fan’s biggest dream come true in the 90s was getting picked for an episode of FANatic to meet their favorite celebrity. Celebrities that fans were able to meet on the show in the 90s included: Aaliyah, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Missy Elliott, Cameron Diaz, Usher, Tara Lipinski, Carmen Electra, Richard Simmons, Wyclef Jean, Bryan Adams, Spice Girls, Korn, Savage Garden, Melissa Joan Hart, Third Eye Blind, Ben Stiller, and many many more!

Here’s an episode of FANatic with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci:

Loveline

A 17-year-old Justin Timberlake on a show like Loveline? Many *NSYNC fans at the time were probably not old enough to watch a show like this, even though their fave group were guests on it. Based on the radio show with the same name, Dr. Drew Pinksy offered relationship advice to callers with assistance of celebrity guests.

Making the Video

It’s the closest thing to getting a backstage pass on the set of your favorite artist’s music video. Making the Video provided an up close and personal look behind the scenes at some of the most high profile music videos, giving viewers some fun tidbits about their favorite bands and little known music video secrets.

Say What Karaoke

Karaoke was once a shameful pasttime, reserved for dark corners where tone-deaf folks would sing their little hearts out. Say What Karaoke changed that, with many fans’ favorite artists come aboard to judge the competition and have contestants sing current songs from their favorite artists – often in FRONT of their favorite artist! Say What Karaoke made karaoke cool!

Singled Out

Before The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, there was Singled Out. Hosted by Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra after her, the game show was the “love connection” dating show where 50 men and 50 women would compete for a date with one contestant of the opposite sex.

Check out this episode of Singled Out, featuring a pre-Black Eyed Peas Fergie:

TRL

As a kid growing up in the 1990s, no matter what genre of music you listened to, you DEFINITELY ran home after school to catch the top countdown on TRL. Back in the day when Carson Daly was THE man of the hour, if you didn’t watch TRL or know what happened the day before, you were considered uninformed and uncool at school.

Which of these shows did you watch? What other MTV shows from the 90s were you into?