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In 1999, The Sopranos debuted. Why am I starting a piece about television in 1998 with that fact? Because the debut of The Sopranos was a sea change in television. It changed HBO, and that changed the landscape of TV. This helped bolster the move away from network TV, which was still the stronghold of programming of substance in 1998. That makes this sort of the last year of an era, which makes it interesting to discuss. That is exactly what I shall do.
The year 1998 was big for two cable networks, Nickelodeon and MTV. This was a massive year for MTV moving away from music videos, though it was also the year Total Request Live debuted. We got shows like Celebrity Deathmatch, Say What? Karaoke, Sifl and Olly, and more. Over on Nick, the new shows including Cousin Skeeter, CatDog, and The Wild Thornberrys. I would call both slates overall solid for both networks, though not great by any means.
The WB, then still its own network and vying for audience share, introduced a few new shows, including Charmed, Felicity, and Dawson’s Creek. The most-successful new network show? That has to be Will & Grace, though I have never been a fan. The best new network show in 1998? That ‘70s Show, which is probably the only one I watched at the time.
Nickelodeon gained some new shows, but also saw a couple head out in Secret World of Alex Mack and Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. That being said, there are some higher-profile shows that ended in 1998. Family Matters, yes, and also Murphy Brown. However, 1998 is the year Seinfeld ended. The Seinfeld series finale was actually the first episode I ever saw. It was, and remains, polarizing. Is it a little slight? Perhaps, but I still like it. It doesn’t bother me the characters were effectively held on trial. The gang of Seinfeld were always awful people. Why did you like them or care about them?
I said that 1998 was the last year of an era, in part because in 1999 The Sopranos debuted. Then, you add in the fact Seinfeld ended. Maybe you could argue the 1998-1999 inflection point is one of the biggest in television history. It’s certainly up there.
