The Simpsons

The Simpsons - December 1989 to present

Originally created by cartoonist Matt Groening, "Our Favorite Family," has graced the small The Tracey Ullman Show in April of 1987. The Simpsons remained a staple on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons until they premiered in their own half-hour series, on December 17, 1989. With the help of Jim Brooks and Sam Simon, Matt Groening's cartoon family turned into an instant success.

screen in one form or another for over 20 years. The Simpson family first appeared on television as the subjects of interstitial "shorts" on

Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.

Currently in its 19th season, The Simpsons has piled up over 400 episodes, 23 Emmy Awards, a handful of music albums, countless endorsements and merchandise, and even made the jump to silver screen in the summer of 2007 with The Simpsons Movie. And according to Matt Groening, "There is no end in sight."

Byker Grove

Byker Grove - 8 November 1989 – 10 December 2006 (1989-11-08)


Byker Grove is a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround (later moved to 5pm) on CBBC onBBC One. It was aimed at an older teenager and young adult audience, tackling serious and sometimes controversial storylines.

The show ran between 1989 and 2006, and was set in a youth club in the Byker district of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Byker Grove was the original idea of the TV executive Andrea Wonfor. In 1987, she approached soap writer Adele Rose. Together they created a single pilot episode featuring children aged 8–11 at an out-of-school club (transmitted on BBC in 1988). In autumn 1988, Wonfor gained the backing of Anna Home, then Head of the Children's Department at BBC Television. Home gave the go ahead for a run of a series of six 25-minute episodes to be broadcast by the BBC. The age of the main characters was raised to 12-16 after support from first producer-director, Matthew Robinson. The first series therefore centred on young teenagers crossing the bridge from childhood to adulthood. Although some of the action took place outside the youth club, the series was unusual among dramas in that the characters were rarely shown in school. One of the major settings was the foster home run by the kindly but strict Lou Gallagher, the longest-running character.

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers

Chip N Dale - September 1989 to September 1993

Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers was mainly about Chip and Dale's adventures in fighting crimes that the police think are too small to handle. Together, with the help of Gadget Hackwrench, the inventive and industrious girl mouse, a blue fly named Zipper, and Monterey Jack, a husky, strong mouse with a killer addiction for cheese, they match wits with evil scientists like Professor Nimbul and crooked cat underworld leader Fat Cat and his gang.

This series first began on the Disney Channel in the spring of 1989, and then it had a long life on The Disney Afternoon block of shows.

Saved By The Bell

Saved By The Bell - August 1989 to May 1993

The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which later retconned into the history of Saved by the Bell. The series follows the exploits of several students at Bayside High School, along with their principal. The show stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies and Dennis Haskins, who appeared in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, as well as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, who joined the cast for Saved by the Bell. The show brought fame to the cast members and launched most of their careers.

The fact that the show often incorporated dramatic elements into episodes by dealing with "real teen social issues", such as drug use, drinking and driving, homelessness, financial issues, divorce, first love and love lost, graduating, college, sibling rivalry, taking responsibilities for one's actions, being bullied, death, and environmental issues made it a precursor (with other teen sitcoms of the time like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) for networks of more recent shows such as The O.C. and Dawson's Creek to introduce young target audiences to critical moral matters. Notably, sexual relationships were alluded to but not actually dealt with. (See also Very special episode.)

The show's popularity allowed for two spin-off series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years, which follows several of the original characters' college experiences, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which follows a new group of students at Bayside High School. The series also spawned two TV movies and a short-lived comic book series.

Round The Twist

Round the Twist - April 4, 1989 – May 2, 2001

Round the Twist is a Logie Award-winning Australian children's television series about three children and their widowed father who live in a lighthouse and become involved in many magical adventures.

Only four series were made despite the show having an eleven year run. The first two series were based on fantasy stories written by author Paul Jennings; the latter two were based on a variety of authors' work. Its first series was made in 1989. A second series, with many roles re-cast, was made in 1992. A third series, again re-cast, was made in 1999, followed by a fourth (with some roles again re-cast) in 2000.

The show's distinctive theme song, with the lyrics "have you ever... ever felt like this?..." was sung by Tamsin West, who played the lead female role of Linda in the first series. It borrowed lines from popular nursery rhymes such as "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", "Humpty Dumpty" and "Rain Rain Go Away".

Many external scenes were shot around the region of the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet, Victoria, Australia.

Mike & Angelo

Mike & Angelo - March 1989 to March 2000

Mike and Angelo is one of Britain's longest running kids' sitcom/dramas, producing over 130 episodes in its run, and a classic of the 90's. The adventures of Angelo the Inventor Alien and Mike the American Kid have been enjoyed by so many British children since 1989.

Michael King is a level-headed American youth inhabiting England with his mum Rita. Rita has been a writer in America. They buy number 8 Larskwood Lane, Crickelwood, an old house. However, life is changed by the arrival of Angelo, a humanoid creature from another dimension in a desperate hurry to escape his planet about to self-destruct.

Angelo has good intentions, but wild ideas, and the ability to make a lot of surreal things happen such as bringing back Cleopatra, turning their house into a Victorian household and flying sheds above the town. Angelo also a bit of an inventor, decides to invent strange and surreal things like hopper boots and steam powered moustache strimmers! Over the years people have gone and came and in 1994, Katy Anderson, from Glasgow took over as Mike's permanent career. Along with Angelo!

Poirot

Poirot - January 1989 to November 2013

Welcome to the Poirot guide at TV.com. This is a British series which brings to life Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (played by David Suchet), whose sleuthing, for the purposes of this series, belongs chiefly in the 1930s. Based in London, with the very English Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) as his Dr Watson, Poirot's field of operations ranges around the world.

The series has strong story lines, good production and acting, and a real period flavour. Poirot won two BAFTA awards in 1990, then had more BAFTA nominations as Best Drama Series in 1991 and 1992.

Nearly sixty of Agatha Christie's seventy-two Poirot stories have been produced in this series, so there are a more still to look forward to. David Suchet has said he hopes to film them all.