Why I’ve been watching 90s TV shows

One of my favorite ways to truly relax is to watch clips of old TV on YouTube.

I was born in 1989, so many of the programs I remember from childhood are from the 1990s (or earlier, if they were reruns). Some of these programs are internationally known, like the Power Rangers, The A-Team, and the Thunderbirds. Others are specific to Dutch television—I am Dutch and grew up in The Netherlands—like Bassie & Adriaan, Eigen Huis & Tuin, Oppassen, and the Droomshow. This second set of show names won’t, of course, mean anything to you if you’re not Dutch. But they really put me at ease.

It’s been a rough year for me—a five-year relationship ended in April and two months ago my dad passed away from lung cancer—and that has had me dwelling in nostalgia. Watching old TV shows gives me a sense of familiarity and peace. There’s so much happening in the world, from the war in Ukraine to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to advances in AI to climate change, that it feels good to calm my nervous system by thinking of a time when life was easier for me—because I was a kid and had no responsibilities.

Dwelling in nostalgia also feels good because it makes it seem that not all good things that used to be part of my life are gone. Yes, my long-term relationship has ended, my dad passed away, and the apartment I lived in last year (with a wonderful recording studio) is no longer mine—but at least my childhood still exists! Part of it, anyway. The TV I used to watch. The old games I used to play. (Red Alert, anyone?)

These blasts from the past are fun but, I’ve noticed, are also my way of trying to hang on. My way of clinging to a “simpler” life with, seemingly, more certainty. There’s a lot of change in my life and much of it is good change, like my newfound hobby of skydiving. Other change, like the loss I’ve experienced, isn’t as enjoyable.

The reality is that life moves on. Whatever happens, life moves on. Everything is always coming and going: people, events, interests, routines, rituals. Nothing lasts forever and few things last a lifetime. If you examine this even briefly, you realize it’s true. But it doesn’t usually feel that way. We certainly don’t want it to be that way. That’s why it shocking when we lose something, or someone, even though it is in the very nature of things and people to come and to go.

Clinging to the past is futile. The past is not coming back. It sure feels nice to remember it, though. When I watch some of these TV shows from the 90s, I sometimes find myself thinking, “life seemed gentler and more innocent then”. Politics is a good example—watch some presidential debates from the 1990s and compare them to the recent Republican presidential primary debate. The difference in civility is astounding.

Of course, 3,000 years ago some Ancient Egyptians were surely complaining to each other that everything was better in the past and that people were now becoming less and less civil every year! The world was not, in fact, better in the 90s than it is now. It’s just my selective memory at work. I’m sure you know the feeling. Still, I’m grateful that I get to re-live parts of my childhood through the magic of video recording and through the success of YouTube.

But while I like to dwell in nostalgia, I make a point of not getting stuck in it. Some things are just gone. It’s fine to enjoy memories, but it’s more important to make new memories. When you face loss, add new things to your life. It doesn’t make up for the loss, exactly, but it will make you happier.

Do I have a message for you today? Not really. Sometimes my musings are just therapy. Thanks for listening.

Happy diwali!