Skip To Content

    13 Reasons Canada Dominated '90s Children's TV Shows

    The golden age of TV everywhere, tbh.

    1. '90s YTV Wackiness

    2. The Zones (Both Breakfast and Regular)

    3. Local Game Shows

    4. All The Smashing Intro Music

    5. The Peppering In Of Our Now (In)Famous PSAs

    6. Two Words: Mr. Dressup

    7. Computer Animation

    8. PUPPETS. All. The. Puppets.

    The early '90s were the prime puppet era. I think it's safe to say that 98%* of Canadian preschool programming consisted of full-grown adults and crazy-looking puppets.

    AND WE LOVED IT. We probably should have been terrified of some of the creatures, but nope. Adults + weird anthropomorphic puppets = a winning combination.

    *Not actual data.

    9. Shows That Pushed The Envelope

    10. Shows That Gave You A Thrill

    OK, let's be honest... Are You Afraid Of The Dark and Goosebumps were more likely to give you lasting nightmares than a simple thrill.

    But that was the best part.

    11. We Were Treated To Some Really Great Imagination

    By the way, this is what Franklin looks like now ...

    12. We Got To "Clown Around"

    With Loonette and Molly, a clown and her dolly...

    ...OK, I'll stop.

    But seriously, who didn't aspire to (and even try) the Ten Second Tidy?

    13. And Finally, We Were Introduced To Some Of Canada's Future Stars

    Namely, Ryan Gosling.

    Long before Gosling was making us say "But I'm a bird too, Ryan!" in The Notebook, he popped up in Are You Afraid Of The Dark?, Goosebumps, and — of course — Breaker High. All of the Canadian gems that defined '90s TV.