90's Summer Time Toys and Commercials

There was something truly spectacular about the toys of the 90's. The neon colors, the odd contraptions, the BLARING COMMERCIALS THAT FLASH COLORFUL BRIGHT LIGHTS AND TELL YOU TO RUN TO TOYS R US AND BUY IT NOW! NOW! NOW! And boy did they make the need to buy whatever it was right NOW absolutely imperative. I can recall a few full blown, laying in the floor, screaming, crying, yelling fits brought on by those commercials.

Some of the greatest, most memorable summer toys from my childhood are listed below. It was tough to pick favorites, and even harder to leave out gaming, but expect a fabulous post when I finally get to the gaming side of the 90's.

1. Super Soaker- In the early 90's, the water gun reached is peak. The Super Soaker was originally released in late 1989. It was constructed by NASA (yeah, I'm not kidding, NASA came up with the Super Soaker... Thanks, NASA!) The Super Soaker actually just had it's 20 year anniversary, and in honor, they re-released the original. What a great toy? It had amazing range, so whatever... or should I say "whoever" you where aiming for, always got soaked.

2. Slip N Slide- What an absolutely awesome summertime toy. I remember seeing that commercial and being absolutely blown away by the awesomeness. There have been lots of variations on this toy, but my favorite from when I was a kid was "Crocodile Mile". It had such a great commercial, and it had the added bonus of the part where you get to the end of the slide and you go flying because of the way the water pool at the end inflates. I grew up in a neighborhood where there were many kids in my age group, and when one of us had a certain toy, it was the hit of the neighborhood and everyone would go to that persons house to play. If you had a Slip N Slide, you were definitely a popular kid on my street!

3. Skip-It- This toy was originally released in the late 80's by Tiger Electronics (the people who brought you the Giga Pets and the Furby), but was re-released in the early 90's with a counter on the ball to count how many revolutions it makes around your ankle. That counter was SUPER important to 6 year old girls. I gotta say, I had so much fun with this contraption. The best was trying to hula hoop and skip it at the same time.

4. Nerf Blaster- One of the greatest toys ever invented which I still own! The Nerf company emerged in 1969 carrying footballs, kick balls, etc. However, it wasn't until the early 90's when this company came up with the ultimate idea, the Nerf Gun (but we use the word "Blaster" today for PC reasons). I can recall games of search and destroy from my child hood that were truly epic because of the Nerf Blaster. For a truly epic experience, mix it up by giving half the kids Super Soakers and the other half Nerf Blasters.

5. Power Wheels- This toy was the ULTIMATE outdoor toy. If you had one of these, you were the coolest kid on the block. A friend who lived down the street from me got a red Corvette Power Wheels. I have a picture of us in the car just after he told me he was going to take me to McDonald's to get a Happy Meal (and that meant love for me, McDonald's has been my fav for a long time). I was a Barbie fanatic as a child, just like most girls, so when the Barbie Lamborghini released, I wanted one pretty badly, but I was deprived (and probably for good reason, they were pretty expensive for that time).

Netflix Brings Back Afternoon Cartoons!

Over the last week or so, I've been terribly excited to discover the addition of several of my favorite childhood cartoons to the Netflix.com Instant Library. I hope that they gave a raise to the person who came up with that idea because someone was using their noodle when they decided to add the titles listed below:

• Rugrats- Classic! Who didn't watch this show when it was on Nickelodeon? It encompassed 9 full seasons and even ended up with a not so awesome spin-off show called All Grown Up.
• AAAHHH! Real Monsters- It seems that the world took on a new interest in the strange, gross and downright disturbing in the 90's, which brings me to my next entry
• Ren and Stimpy- One of my absolute favorite shows of the 90's. The disgusting dynamic duo have yet to be topped in their strange adventures.
• Hey Arnold!- This show was a great watch on a Saturday morning or after school. It had one of my favorite "odd" characters, the beautiful uni-browed Helga. Not to mention the main character had a football-shaped head.
• Angry Beavers- which sounds really dirty, almost like a lesbian porn flick. This is another take on the "odd-couple" idea. You have the stupid laid back guy, then the uptight angry one.
• Rocko's Modern Life- which, after watching a couple of episodes really makes me think of Spongebob. This show was great for so many reasons, especially Rocko's canine companion, Spunky.

Not only did they add these spectacular kids' shows, Netflix also added a few other not so kid friendly 90's gems to look out for:

• The State- sketch comedy at it's best
• Kids in the Hall- another fantastic sketch comedy that everyone should watch. While this show actually began in the 80's it didn't reach full force until 1990, and ran until 1994.
• Beavis and Butthead- Do I really need to explain the greatness of this one? However, there was some disappointment with the releases of Beavis and Butthead because they were released without any of the music video's. It's a little strange watching the show without those wonderful tid-bits, but still worth watching for obvious reasons. They also put Beavis and Butthead Do America in the instant library!
• The X-Files- Yet another show I should not have to explain the greatness of. I missed this show the first time around because it scared the bajesus out of me as a little girl (I have a very very over-active imagination). But I've been watching it, lately, and I gotta say, it's one of the best shows, ever.

So, grab a bowl of Lucky Charms, Cap'n Crunch or Fuity Pebbles and spend some time on Netflix remembering what it was like to be brought up on junk food and tv by watching a few cartoons. Then, spend an evening with a bowl of popcorn paying homage to they MTV used to be when it was good with Beavis and Butthead. Then grab a beer and watch some Kids in the Hall!

I just can't close out this entry without mentioning a few other Nickelodeon titles I'd like to see emerge on Netflix Instant. Some of which have yet to be released on dvd/blu ray.

• Hey Dude- That's right, I said it... that show was great. I'm not a fan of the so called "cowboy way", but this show had a couple of 90's tween heart throbs, and it was pretty funny.
• Salute Your Shorts- This show was the perfect 90's Nickelodeon show. I've never met anyone near my age who didn't love this show.
• Are You Afraid of the Dark?- This show scared me as a child, my big brother made fun of me for it, but I watched the show anyway because it was just so darn good!
• Pete and Pete- Okay, so this one is out on dvd. This show was another one with a strange sort of premise for each episode. I loved that the younger Pete had a tattoo that he could make dance. And does anyone remember the ear wax episode? hahaha!
• Clarissa Explains It All- I loved this show, and I kind of forgot about it until my friend Tracy brought it up in a facebook thread. (Thanks Tracy).
• Doug- This was another awesome animated show with a great dog character called Pork Chop. Actually, everyone but Doug had a weird name. Patty Mayonnaise... Skeeter, etc.