Top 10 Most Controversial Television Shows of the 1990s

There's never been a controversial cartoon quite like South Park. It looked like a cheap construction paper diorama, but what it lacked in production value, it more than made up for with its raunchy humor, tons of violence, and subject matter that many people consider taboo. Probably the most noteworthy running gag was Kenny getting killed in every episode, save for "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo."

As far as series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were concerned, there were no sacred cows in this show. Everything was fair game.

You could tell that this cartoon was going to be controversial from the first short, "Frog Baseball." Even though episodes are only a few minutes long, creator Mike Judge was able to make do with the time constraints he had. They all saw the duo of anarchy get into all kinds of mischief, such as riding a steamroller through the school, crashing a wedding, and Beavis becoming the Great Cornholio after overdosing on caffeine more times than I dare count. It caused quite a stir, so a disclaimer had to be included before each episode to deter people from trying the stunts they pulled.

When Family Guy made its debut on January 31, 1999, it was clear that this animated sitcom was a different beast than The Simpsons. For starters, Stewie the baby spoke with a British accent, was able to craft science fiction-esque weapons and gadgets, and was constantly trying to kill Lois.

There were also numerous cut-away gags, such as the Ernie and Bert bit in "Mind Over Murder," that was a flashing red warning light that this show wasn't child-friendly. Needless to say, the show only got more controversial from there on out.

Aired on August 28, 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers used stock footage from the Japanese show Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger as well as American footage akin to teen sitcoms such as Saved by the Bell. When the show first aired, parents felt that the show was too violent for young children. Canadian network YTV pulled the show before the first season could finish airing.

There were also allegations of racial stereotyping, most noticeably Zack Taylor as the Black Ranger and Trini Kwan as the Yellow Ranger, as well as poor working conditions, low pay, and hostile work environments. That was where the black magic happened to make this one of the hottest shows of the 1990s.

Created by John Kricfalusi and first airing on Nickelodeon, Ren and Stimpy was a dark slapstick comedy about a short-tempered Chihuahua named Ren and a dim-witted cat named Stimpy as they got into all kinds of bonkers antics. It was controversial for its violence and gross humor.

Probably the show's most controversial episode was "Man's Best Friend," where the duo is adopted by a man named George Liquor. I'll let you do the research on that. In 2003, John was able to air some previously unaired episodes on Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon on MTV, which just goes to show how sometimes censorship is necessary.

Even though its first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," technically aired in the 1980s (barely), The Simpsons were an iconic part of 1990s television, for better and worse. It did quite a few things that people never thought would be done in an animated show, like children swearing, seeing characters naked or in some state of undress, and a bunch of other mature subject matter.

Nevertheless, it became one of the most-watched shows of that era, with some episodes like the legendary "Homer at the Bat" episode being the first to beat The Cosby Show in terms of ratings.

There were a few talk shows in the 1990s, but none stood out the way The Jerry Springer Show did. Unlike most talk shows, guests swear like sailors, take off their clothes, and fight like they're in a wrestling ring. There were even VHS tapes people could buy or rent that had no censorship at all.

When "Weird Al" Yankovic's album "Running with Scissors" was released in 1999, there was a parody song based on "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies, which accurately describes what you can expect to see on such a TV show. It was so successful it lasted until 2018.

The show that began Fox Network's rise to power, Married with Children, was not your garden-variety family-friendly sitcom. On the contrary, it was quite the opposite. Even though it aired in 1987, its raunchy and risqué sense of humor helped it become popular enough to last until 1997, ten years after its debut. It seemed to get wilder every season.

The sitcom revolves mostly around the misogynistic patriarch Al Bundy as he struggles to provide for his family and tries to get some respect. His wife Peg has a nasty habit of spending almost as much money as Al makes, his daughter Kelly isn't too bright, and his son Bud is the only one with any intelligence.

One of TV's most dysfunctional families, Al has no qualms about insulting women and is a member of "NO MA'AM," which explains a lot. There are a few YouTube videos on Al's best comebacks, although they are not something you should use in real life.

One of the most controversial episodes of the series is "The Puerto Rican Day," which involves Kramer accidentally burning the Puerto Rican flag during the Puerto Rican Day parade and getting attacked by a mob of people.

What makes this beloved anime controversial is how it was something of a culture clash. The characters engaged in behavior that was normal in Japan but heavily frowned upon in North America, like Usagi and Mamu-chan's age gap and Makoto being a 15-year-old orphan living on her own. Cloverleaf kind of went overboard and tried to Americanize it as much as it could.

Probably the biggest controversy surrounding the show was in season 3, where Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were portrayed as cousins, which is in stark contrast to their lesbian relationship in the original Japanese version. This anime goes to show that you can take the anime out of Japan, but you can't take Japan out of the anime.

I think it was for tackling topics your average Nickelodeon show wouldn't handle, like divorce or real-world events.

There was one episode where one of the beavers said "SHUT UP!" but it sounded more like the s-word because of how it was pronounced.

A show like this probably wouldn't be successful nowadays.

Has always received criticism for teaching kids to behave like whiny little privileged brats, just like the main character himself.

It could get a bit brutal and bloody sometimes.