There’s always been something special about TV movies, but the ’90s represented their cultural heyday. Back then, they were practically an event unto themselves and something that was hyped for weeks beforehand that would later transcend itself into water-cooler discussions after viewing. (Take made-for-TV classic Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, for instance.) Yes, the decade defined these movies, but if you look back, there are plenty of instances where these movies defined the era. So here’s a look at some of the TV movies that helped epitomize everything about that magical decade.
All Three Amy Fisher TV Movies (1992-1993)
Back when America was still several months away from the O.J. Simpson trial dominating any and all media, the story of Amy Fisher dominated the headlines in a still somewhat shocking precursor of the wall-to-wall coverage we see today when scandal breaks out. And oh what a scandal it was as Fisher, a 15-year-old girl who, after carrying on an affair with a married man (Joe Buttafuoco), attempts to kill his wife, became a national figure. For weeks on end, no one was able to escape these headlines, and all three major networks decided they wanted in on the action, so they each adapted the story as a made-for-TV movie. The title character was played by Noelle Parker in NBC’s Amy Fisher: My Story, Alyssa Milano in CBS’s Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story, and Drew Barrymore in The Amy Fisher Story on ABC. All three together epitomized the tabloid excess of the era.
Archie: From Riverdale and Back Again/Return To Riverdale (1990)
We were just a few months into the 1990s when NBC Sunday Night At The Movies released this tale of the Archie gang gathering together to celebrate their 15-year high-school reunion. The squeaky-clean characters from the 1960s were all given their own emotional hangups this time around. Jughead (Sam Whipple) was a divorced dad with a crippling fear of women and Betty (Lauren Holly) was constantly put-upon by her boyfriend. It was only when Archie (Christopher Rich) passed through on his way to the big city to start his career as a lawyer that the gang reunited and they begin to recapture that bygone spirit of their youth. Nothing showcases the mix of rose-colored nostalgia and the (then) modern era like the ’90s hip-hop remix of the quintessential Archies tune “Sugar Sugar,” complete with embarrassing dad dancing by a middle-aged and balding Jughead. Because what’s more ’90s than parents that embarrassed us?
Charles And Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992)
While our cultural obsession with royalty has remained prominent, no one seemed to capture the public’s heart quite like the late Princess Diana. Chronicling her high-profile marriage to Prince Charles (Roger Rees), Unhappily Ever After tells the story of their storybook romance, but with a soap opera stylized look at their mutual unhappiness. It wasn’t the first TV movie made about the couple, nor was it the first one where Catherine Oxenberg played the character of Diana, but it captured all the high drama between the Prince and Princess of Wales. It was later re-released with the equally melodramatic title Charles and Diana: A Palace Divided. British Royal scandal, how ’90s.
The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990)
In the period before Dante’s Peak but after Airport!, the disaster movie genre didn’t go away, but it did migrate to the small screen. One of the most memorable endeavors focused on “the big one,” a long-feared earthquake that would be capable of destroying the West Coast. It was only a year before when the Loma Prieta earthquake had caused significant damage across The Bay Area, and as it occurred at the beginning of Game 3 of the World Series, this was something that was still very much on a lot of people’s minds. While the film itself had countless subplots, including an assassination conspiracy, the earthquake scenes themselves were quite impressive, as they set the stage for a heartwarming tale of people coming together to help one-another in the aftermath of a disaster. Though there’s surely no direct connection, one should give some credit to disaster TV movies for laying some of the bricks for the very ’90s (and 2000s) penchant for destroying stuff.
Co-Ed Call Girl (1996)
At the height of Tori Spelling’s success co-starring in Beverly Hills 90210, she branched out to TV movies, playing the role of Joanna Halbert, a typical college student who ends up working for a high-priced escort service in this film. While the appeal of the money and the lavish lifestyle is appealing at first, it doesn’t take long before everything deteriorates into violence and depravity because, you know, being an escort is a pretty scary career path, but also because the ’90s were all about trying to scare the hell out of teens with cautionary tales.
The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992)
Royal obsession had nothing on celebrity obsession, which has, of course, blossomed over the last couple of decades. Based on Kathleen Jackson’s 1990 autobiography, this four-hour movie told the story of the Jackson family, focusing on the Jackson Five’s early days in Motown all the way to the top of the pop music charts. Released months before Michael Jackson’s Dangerous tour, the movie captured a beloved era in one of pop music’s most successful acts. It was nominated for several Emmys, and won for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. Perhaps most importantly, however, was that it co-starred Billy Dee Williams as record mogul Berry Gordy.
The Woman Who Loved Elvis (1993)
In the early ’90s, Roseanne Barr was the undisputed queen of network television, and from 1990-1994, she took Tom Arnold with her along for the ride. It was during their time as a media power couple that they co-starred in a movie about an Elvis-obsessed Iowa housewife who’s convinced that he’s still alive. She tracks down her estranged husband, played by Arnold, to help her on her quest for the truth, which is a pretty ’90s way to take on such a problem. One imagines that now, the woman would have turned to Facebook rants, tried to Go Fund Me her trip to find Elvis, and started a conspiracy theory blog.
Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? (1996)
Another cautionary ’90s TV tale starring Tori Spelling, who is about as ’90s as it gets. In the original Mother, May I Sleep With Danger, she plays Laurel, the college all-American girl with the all-American boyfriend, Kevin (Ivan Sergei). Things seem to be going well at first, as Kevin’s endless devotion is seen as charming and not-at-all creepy. It doesn’t last long, and Kevin’s devotion quickly turns to a dangerous obsession, which itself reveals an even darker secret from his past. Spelling is back in the James Franco helmed lesbian vampire-filled remake of the film. Which is more proof that the ’90s are everlasting.
Check out James Franco’s remake of the ’90s cult TV movie classic, Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? It airs Saturday, June 18 at 8/7c on Lifetime.
