"Where Are They Now?" Wednesdays Tia & Tamera Mowry

Sister Sister, never knew how much I missed ya. Now that you have that snazzy theme song stuck in your head, it's time for another captivating investigation of "where are they now?" Wednesdays! Tia and Tamera were real life twins who starred in the hit TV show Sister Sister. Yes, they were actually twins, none of that Lindsay Lohan playing two twins in The Parent Trap voodoo magic.

Sister Sister aired on ABC and later The WB from 1994-1999. I'll admit I didn't start watching the show until a few years after it was canceled once it began airing on The Disney Channel. The premise was that two twin girls, Tia & Tamera, were separated at birth and adopted by different single parents. One day, they're both shopping at the mall or something and they run into each other thus realizing that they had been living without each other for fourteen years. Awww. Cute. Yay. Various 90s sitcom shenanigans then ensue. Theme song time!!

Now, both girls have enjoyed moderate and separate success. They recently starred together in their own reality show on The Style Network. The show chronicled both Tamera's engagement and Tia's recent pregnancy. 

Separately, the two continue to act in various shows and movies:

Tamera Mowry most recently starred in a TV movie called Double Wedding. Just listen to this premise from IMdb: 

Two sisters, no love lives. Both end up dating the same man, and inviting him to meet the family on December 17th. He doesn't know there are two sisters or that he committed to two different dates on the same day. 

Oh wait...two sisters? That can only mean...Tia starred in it as well. Seems they'll never break out of that twin typecasting mold. Tamera did find solo success on the short lived ABC Family series Roommates. Tamera just announced TODAY that she's pregnant with her first child. Look at me breaking big news. Top notch journalism right here.

Tia & Tamera Today
I still don't know which is which
Photo Credit: CentricTv.com

Tia Mowry: Already entered the world of motherhood last year when she gave birth to her first child, Cree. Aside from starring in shows with her sister, Tia has found a long term success with the BET Television series The Game. It's apparently been on for five seasons. That's like forever in TV years.

You can follow both sisters on Twitter if you are so inclined to do so.

It seems these two are the most successful "Where Are They Now?" Installment yet. Who should I research next?

"Where Are They Now?" Wednesdays: Kenan and Kel

Whoooo loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! Back in the day, before all this TEENick stuff, we had Snick aka Saturday Night Nick. One of the more popular shows was called Kenan & Kel featuring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. It basically followed the misadventures of these two pals.

Both Kenan and Kel found their start on another Snick classic, All That. The two became standout stars in  sketches like GoodBurger. They were such a hit that Nickelodeon gave them their own show, and even a GoodBurger movie! (Welcome to GoodBurger home of the GoodBurger. May I take your order?) I think the classic everyone remembers is Kel's song "I'm Dude."

Eventually the show ended along with the 90s and most of the Snick line-up. Since then, the pair split off and went their separate ways.

Kenan has been the more successful of the two. After a brief hiatus and work in minor roles, he regained some stardom when he played Fat Albert in the movie of the same name. Shortly thereafter, he became a cast member of SNL. I'd hardly call him a standout cast member on the show, but he does have some pretty good recurring characters. It's fun seeing him going back to his sketch comedy roots. It's like a flashback to those All That days. I can remember sitting in front of the TV staying up "late" on a Saturday night in order to watch the latest episode. Now my "bedtime" isn't an issue, but I'll admit I rarely make it past weekend update.

Where were we? Oh right. The other guy. Kel. Yeah...he hasn't had much success since then. He's been out of the limelight so long that people actually thought he was dead. Sort of rings a bell doesn't it? According to IMdB, he's still acting. However, I don't see any titles I recognize as I browse his filmography list. It's kind of embarrassing and sad.

I'd love to see a reunion of these two on SNL one day. What about you?

Flashback Fridays: Power Rangers!

Go Go Power Rangers!
I'd totally rock those boots.
Photo Credit: FanPop.com

I will preface this by saying if you didn't have a favorite Power Ranger, you were not a child of the 90s. But like really. Ok that may be a little harsh, but these six heros were a huge part of the 90s childhood culture. I can recall many afternoons running around the cul-de-sac imitating killer karate moves in an effort to save the world before dinner time.

I would always fight for my right to be the Pink Ranger. I mean come on, I had brown hair just like she did. Shouldn't that be evidence enough? Anyways, we'd traverse through back yards and around the houses fighting off those imaginary bad guys that of course only we could see.

I always wanted to be the Pink Ranger. I totally had a pink ranger barbie doll, pink ranger costume, and pink ranger morphing action figure. I may have been a little obsessed. We'll chalk up to be embracing my inner theatrical side. 

I don't recall much of the television show, but I do remember that the movie was pretty kick ass. Just watch this clip: 

All those special effects! All that action! All that spandex! 

 OK so yes the girls were given the typical pink and yellow colors, but can we step back and think about how these girls showed just as much power as the boys? They weren't the damsels in distress often found in superhero stories; they actually were a part of the super group. They switched it up though. I think in one of the later series/spin offs the blue ranger was a girl and the yellow ranger was a boy. Yay switching it up from typical "gender appropriate" colors. 

If you're currently wanting to fulfill your dream of becoming a Power Ranger, I found a website selling t-shirts. I still want to rock the Pink Ranger one. Now accepting donations... not really, but my birthday is in July. 

Who was your favorite Ranger? 

"Where Are They Now?" Wednesdays: Your Favorite Cartoon Characters

Alright so this is a bit of a deviation from my standard "Where are They Now?" Wednesday topics. I typically indulge in some hardcore investigative journalism and dig up juicy details on our favorite 90s has-beens. Actually I just spend a few minutes googling, but that did sound pretty legit.

However, this week, I am taking the fictional route. On College Humor, someone posted a few illustrations of what all of our favorite 90s/early 2000s cartoon characters would be up to if they were now in college like most of us.

The pictures were too funny to resist sharing. I'm not going to post all of them because you should totally go give the original artist some love on their site. (The images are split between two posts)  I'm just going to feature a few of my favorites.

All photos are credited to Patrick Merryman of College Humor

All your favorite brainiacs and trouble makers in the library

I'm a little surprised by Timmy Turner in this, but I guess if you spent your childhood with Fairly OddParents this is what happens

Anime Fight Club? I can't decide if I would pick Pikachu or Hello Kitty

Hit the nail right on the head with the "cool black friends" one.

I have to admit, it's odd seeing some characters from my youth in a completely different light. I feel like I've been (POW!) kicked right in the childhood.

What do you think of this "Cartoon University?" Any characters you would have liked to see that Patrick missed? 

Flashback Fridays: Holiday Television

Photo Credit: Nick.com

I'm not Jewish, but I can still write about Passover, right? OK I've never celebrated passover, but I do know about it. How? Not from friends, distant relatives, or good ole Wikipedia, but rather, from some 90s Nickelodeon!

That's right! Rugrats once had a Passover themed episode. Looking back, that was rather progressive of them. I can easily recall at least ten different TV episodes from childhood that featured some Christmas theme, but rarely did anyone approach Jewish holidays as source material.

Some shows typically lampoon the commercialism of various holidays, but this episode takes an appropriate stance. It manages to keep the same charming humor of Rugrats all while explaining this Jewish tradition. The episode tells the story of Passover but with the Rugrats characters in place of the historical figures.  Sure it's a little abridged, but for a half hour episode it certainly covers it well.

So even if you're not celebrating this evening, I encourage you to check it out. As a part of it's 90s Are All That feature, Nickelodeon has put the full episode online. You can watch it here! Even if you don't celebrate it, brush up on your culture a bit and learn something.

However, I am left with one question. (English Major Critical Thinking Skills). If they all end up locked in this attic, then how did they ever get out?

Do you have any fond memories of holiday television? Feel free to share!