There are so many things to love about '90s TV, but there is nothing I loved more than a '90s TV crossover. Sure, there are still crossovers today, but aside from the recent totally bonkers Bones / Sleepy Hollow crossover, when characters from different shows meet these days, it is usually already established they exist in the same universe. There's nothing surprising about seeing Arrow's Oliver Queen hanging with The Flash's Barry Allen, you know? The same cannot be said for Sabrina the Teenage Witch randomly showing up on Boy Meets World, though.
In the '90s, there were all manner of crossovers between television shows. NBC's Must-See TV lineup sometimes included events like the infamous blackout that affected characters on all of the Thursday night sitcoms (minus Seinfeld) that linked shows to the same universe without a physical crossover. The TGIF lineup did something similar when Sabrina's Salem sent the entire night's lineup back in time. Personally, though, my favorite crossovers were the more tangible ones. Seeing two characters you never imagined could meet hang out together is a special TV pleasure you just don't get to experience much anymore.
It is completely possible that you have forgotten about most of the '90s TV crossovers. As cool as they are, they happened a long time ago. All the more reason to take a look a back at the awesome '90s TV crossovers you probably forgot.
1. Rugrats/Aaahh! Real Monsters (1999)
A ghost story gets totally out of hand thanks to Angelica, who doesn't think the babies are telling a scary enough story — enter Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm. While the Aaahh! Real Monsters trio are conjured up within the ghost story, they make a real world appearance at the end to terrify Angelica, which is oh so satisfying.
2. Full House/Family Matters (1991)
Steve Urkel is one of the defining TV characters of the '90s, and love him or hate him, his appearance on Full House was undeniably fun. Not only was it an unexpected crossover (Steve was from Chicago while the Tanners lived in San Francisco), it included a sweet bonding moment between Steve and Stephanie who is bummed about having to wear glasses.
3. Seinfeld/Mad About You (1992)
Seinfeld and Friends are more iconic, but Mad About You is the glue that links them together. Phoebe's twin sister Ursula originated on Mad About You, and Kramer wouldn't have had his apartment if not for Paul. This is my way of saying you should definitely watch Mad About You.
4. Friends/Caroline In The City (1995)
First, Chandler failed at flirting with Caroline's friend Annie at a video rental store (those were the days) and then on the same night, Joey and Chandler flirt with Caroline in the famous Friends episode "The One with the Baby on the Bus." Yes, that does mean Chandler struck out with both of the Caroline in the City women.
5. Full House/Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (1992)
The second episode of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is basically an episode of Full House. Mark Cooper is the substitute teacher for Michelle's class and they put the poor guy through his paces. He ends up suffering an embarrassing injury after trying to do a trick to calm the class down, but he also gets to meet Uncle Jesse so it kind of evens out.
6. Boy Meets World/Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1997)
Boy Meets World witchy Halloween episode featured Full House's Candace Cameron as a witch with bad intentions, but if you watch until the very end you get to see how wonderful Sabrina and Eric would be as a couple.
7. Blossom/Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (1992)
Hilary wins a date with Blossom's brother Tony in Season 2 of Blossom... but this is one of those crossovers that will give you a headache if you think about it too hard because Blossom is a huge fan of the real Will Smith. In fact, Smith guest starred as himself in an episode and gave Blossom his hat. That can only mean one thing: there are two Will Smiths in Blossom's reality. Can I live there, please?
8. Friends/The Single Guy (1995)
The Single Guy was not the most popular '90s series, but Ross Geller did show up for an episode that suggested he might actually have a friend outside his core squad.
9. Roseanne/Absolutely Fabulous (1996)
This crossover likely made no sense to you in the '90s unless your parents let you watch the hilarious British comedy Absolutely Fabulous. The ladies of Ab Fab meet Roseanne during the lottery season, so it is technically all a dream, but does that really matter since it gave two great comedies from different continents a chance to mingle?
10. Kenan & Kel/Cousin Skeeter (1999)
Hey, live action comedies can hang out with puppet-centric comedies if they want to. Kenan and Skeeter end up saving Kel and Nina when they all end up at an evil dude ranch in this impressive crossover. The only thing that would make it better? If the dude ranch had been Bar None.
11. Fresh Prince Of Bel Air/The Jeffersons (1995)
The Jeffersons end up buying Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian's house in the final episode of the series, but George and Louise appeared in another episode when they went to the same counselor as Will and Lisa. Both episodes paid respect to the classic couple while also being hilarious episodes of Fresh Prince.
There may never be another decade so full of weird, but undeniably entertaining TV crossovers as the '90s, so treasure your memories of TV worlds colliding, my friends.
Image: Warner Bros. Television; Giphy; ABC
