Summer may be winding down (HOW is it August 28th?) but Fan Video Friday is still here to serve all of your dog days Procrastination needs! This week’s post is the child of last week’s montage happy post as we pay homage to the great shows of the 90’s and the Aughts. We are leaving out The X-Files, Friends, and The West Wing because there are fanvids a plenty for these, thanks to their availability on Netflix. These are the shows that may not be able to fill an entire post but still hold a great place in our hearts. Read on and enjoy all the nostalgia. And tweet Netflix and ask them to add Will and Grace and ER, would you? We need to binge-watch them desperately.
— Kim
“Hungry Eyes” – Lois and Clark
Sage: Lois & Clark was the first show I ever truly loved, and maaaaaaaaan was it terrible. But when I watch this video, I can almost convince myself that it wasn’t, and that it could possibly stand scrutiny beyond what sophisticated critique I could offer at the age of 11. What no one can ever take away from this series is that Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher were hot together – her, even in those matronly ’90s hairdos and him, especially in those glasses. If anyone had to make the Moonlighting version of Superman, I’m glad it was them.
“Footloose” – Will and Grace
Kim: I FORGOT how much dancing there was on Will and Grace. Jack and Grace doing “Oops I Did It Again” (how is it not in this?). Jack shoving his son aside to do the full dance break of “Pop”. CHER. Kevin freaking Bacon recreating his iconic Footloose dance. It’s all amazing. But seriously…I need this show on Netflix. I would binge the SHIT out of it. Will and Grace lost me a bit in the latter years when it became all about Grace wanting a baby and who they could get to make a guest star appearance, but when it was good? It was brilliant. I need it.
“The Scientist” – ER
Sage: I kick and scream daily because E.R. isn’t on Netflix yet. I started to fall off in seasons 4 and 5 as characters piled on and quality dipped. But I don’t think it’s coincidental that my interest started to wane not long after Susan Lewis got on a train and left Chicago. As young as I was, I didn’t know why I identified so much with Susan except that I did. Carol Hathaway is also a queen – don’t get me wrong – but there was an unnecessary amount of focus on her fragility and on her being one half of the S.S. Doug and Carol. Susan was always just doing the best that she could, whether with her patients, her friends (MARK + SUSAN 5-EVER), or her family. Warm, funny, down-to-earth…forever my County General hero.
“Sweet Dreams” – Lost
Kim: Having just finished a series re-watch of Lost (a post on my top 15 coming soon), there really isn’t a more perfect song to equal the show’s delightfully trippy nature. This video mainly focuses on Locke/Desmond/Ben/Richard and I can’t really argue with that. “Sweet Dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas…everybody’s looking for something.” Yep, that’s Lost in a nutshell, isn’t it?
“Long Live” – Dawson’s Creek
Sage: Wow wow wow, okay, I’m fine. As Kim pointed out to me, it’s not often that you find a Dawson’s Creek fan video that isn’t ship-oriented. This one is all about the group as a whole, and puts zero focus on the Dawson/Joey/Pacey love triangle. “Long Live” is in my…let’s say top three T. Swift songs. It’s the only track I can think of that makes me feel that instant and bittersweet nostalgia for old friends and our triumphs. This video is a work of art, from setting Jack’s coming out to “you held your head like a hero…” to using a montage of “Detention” and “The All-Nighter” for “for a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world.” Part of my own adolescence will always be wrapped up in Capeside; if that goes for you too, then prepare to cry.
“I Don’t Want to Want You” – Felicity
Kim: Before Team Edward vs. Team Jacob and before Team Peeta vs. Team Gale and before Team This Guy vs. Team That Guy there was Team Ben vs. Team Noel. Who you wanted Felicity Porter to be with said a LOT about you in the late 90’s/early Aughts. Ben vs Noel was like fate vs. happenstance. Me? I was ALWAYS Team Noel (which makes me happenstance? INTERESTING.) What can I say? I’ve always been a sucker for Scott Foley’s giant hazel eyes and I remain so to this day, given my allegiance to Jake on Scandal. I WILL say that I was in the midst of a Felicity rewatch when it got yanked from Netflix (THE PAIN). What team was I on as a 30-something, you might ask? I was on Team Felicity is the WORST and both of these guys are better than this wishy-washy girl who can’t make up her mind.
“What Are You Waiting For?” – Friday Night Lights
Sage: I watched the pilot of Friday Night Lights on a disc that was burned and then sent to me across three states. And anyone who’s experienced this series would do the same and more to get more eyes on Dillon Texas and the Taylor family. Why? Because if everyone watched FNL, this world would be a better, kinder place.
“My Baby You” – Alias
Kim: Last weekend for our friendaversary, Sage and I invited our ConBitches over to my apartment for a day of TV, junk food, and wine. Each ConBitch was responsible for one block of programming, something she desperately wanted to share with the rest of the class. Naturally, Kelly brought the pilot of Alias, as she considers it to be the foundation of the fangirl she is today. I was a BIG Alias fan as well (and this was before Twitter existed, so I felt like I was alone in my fandom), so I was excited for Sage and Shannon to see it for the first time. I am thrilled to say the pilot TOTALLY holds up and Sydney Bristow is just as amazing as I remembered her to be and Vaughn, in his limited time in the pilot, remains a dreamboat. I am also thrilled that the ladies loved it…because how could they not? Alias is my next big nostalgia rewatch thanks to Kelly’s DVDs and I am SO EXCITED. If you wonder why I ship Peggy and Jarvis SO HARD on Agent Carter, look no further than the Sydney and Vaughn dymanic. There are so many parallels I wonder if the showrunners are hardcore Alias geeks too. Also this song is cheesy AF but I care not.
Sage: you’re not allowed to watch this one. SPOILERS.
“Transatlanticism” – Six Feet Under
Sage: Just…triple-check that you’re in a stable emotional state before you watch this, please. The show itself is an fucking Ironman triathlon of feelings; a condensed montage of its most intense moments is worse. I’m tempted to rewatch Six Feet Under in its entirety, but I’m not sure I have the strength to endure it twice. Even though it’s probably the most sublimely beautiful drama ever on television.
“Wrecking Ball” – Sex and the City
Kim: Let it be known that despite the looks of this video, we are totally Team Big when it comes to who Carrie should have ended up with (one day, I promise we’ll write our post as to WHY we think this and why we are right). We can endgame them as much as we want but we also aren’t afraid to admit that these two did a HELL of a lot of damage to each other over the course of their relationship. “Wrecking Ball” is SO Carrie and Big, I can’t stand it. All she wanted was to break his walls, all he ever did was wre-eh-eh-eh-ck her. Also can we discuss how effing handsome Chris Noth is?
“This Love” – ER
Sage: I promise I was not shading Doug and Carol above as I remain a total slut for them. And look: there’s a reason why ER turned George Clooney into an actual sex god among mere men. Doug Ross is the stuff of dreams: a heroic, roguish PEDIATRICIAN who can not only pull off a Caesar haircut but turn it into an international trend. I admit that I still low-key ship him and Julianna in real life, even though both of their spouses are beautiful enough to deserve them.
“Fix You” – Lost
Kim: I am WAY too emotionally raw from watching the series finale earlier this week to properly discuss this video (ALL MY CREYS), but Imma try. Unlike “Sweet Dreams”, which relies more on the mythology of Lost, “Fix You” focuses on the reasons we tuned in to Lost week after week: the characters and their relationships. What made Lost so special was that it could HAMMER you with an emotional wallop in the midst of the most ridiculous of circumstances. What grounded the show was the Castaways. We cared about their tragedies and their triumphs. We cared about their relationships with each other. We wanted them to be okay. I’ll go into this in my top episodes post, but it’s WHY I was completely fine with the series finale…because all I cared about was the characters (please, I learned about mythology and wanting answers from The X-Files.). If you DON’T get choked up by how this video seamlessly integrates the tragedy of the characters and all of their stories from the series finale, I don’t know what to say to you. Are you dead inside? Are you Sayid after he paid a visit to the temple? That MUST be it.
That’s it for this week! What’s your favorite fan video from a 90’s or 00’s TV series? Let us know in the comments!
Okay, I need to do some major binge watching – ER, Dawson, S&TC, Alias – though I did start a semi re-watch earlier this year….I still am not over the fact that Sage & Shannon never watched. I was SUCH a Team Noel as well!
These videos definitely brought out the feels of memories watching these shows. It also makes me think a little that I’m going to end up alone with a cat ;).