When it comes to the era of classic ’90s sitcoms, Blossom is often overlooked. People remember it because it marked the start of Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik’s career as an actress. Blossom aired from 1990 to 1995 on NBC. The series was significantly overshadowed by wildly popular sitcoms that aired around the same time, such as Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saved By The Bell, and Boy Meets World. Blossom did have several unique and defining qualities though, and the show didn’t shy away from tackling controversial issues such as eating disorders and addiction.
Blossom’s infamous “very special episodes” didn’t exactly age well, though - and neither did various aspects of the sitcom. Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that just do not hold up today.
10. JOEY’S HOMOPHOBIA
It’s pretty much a given that typical ’90s sitcoms present rather skewed views on people who are LGBTQ+.
What sets Blossom apart from other sitcoms of its era is that in many ways, it’s ahead of its time. Blossom is the titular protagonist and is portrayed as being very forward-thinking and progressive. However, that’s not true for some other characters. When Joey’s friend comes out, Joey is very disrepectful and says it’s offended by his friend’s “choice.”
9. THE MAKE-OUT PARTY
In Blossom’s generation, make-out parties were all the rage for rebellious teens looking for ways to anger their overbearing parents. This trend would of course eventually die out, so the early episode of the series that revolves Blossom and Six going to a make-out party has really aged poorly.
The episode itself looks very dated (even more so than most) but one memorable thing about it was the fact that a very young Johnny Galecki guest-starred as Blossom’s date.
8. GUN SAFETY
Blossom is fairly infamous for being borderline “preachy” to teens and at times taking on the tone of an after-school special. Degrassi is a good example of a show that managed to get important messages across to the viewers, all the while maintaining storylines, characters, and relationships that felt intriguing.
Throughout several “very special episodes,” Blossom managed to get an important point across, but it almost always fell short in every other department, trading good writing and character development in for the moral at hand. This is exactly the case with the episode “Gun Safety.” This is obviously an extremely important and relevant message, but its the series’ execution of this that dates it terribly.
7. SHELLY’S COUSIN
In season four, Blossom made the progressive decision to introduce Shelly, a black woman, as Tony’s girlfriend. The two would go on to have one of the most significant relationships of the series, a fairly impressive choice for the show.
In the episode “Blue Blossom,” Shelly’s cousin, Robin, comes to visit and is appalled to discover that Shelly has married a white man. Despite being one of the better “very special episodes,” this one still falls short in its execution.
6. BLOSSOM & DRUGS
A season two “very special episode” is all about marijuana. This is a pretty typical storyline for ’90s sitcoms, and since the topic wasn’t really as controversial or touchy as some of the other issues Blossom tackled, you can probably imagine that “The Joint” was pretty dull.
The storyline is that Blossom and Six want to experiment with marijuana, but Blossom’s dad ends up finding a joint and immediately thinks it’s Tony’s, who was a former drug-addict.
5. BLOSSOM DELIVERS SHELLY’S BABY
The season 5 episode, “Oh Baby!” was probably the craziest episode in Blossom’s entirety. It was one of the more rich, exciting storylines, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it aged well. The whole episode revolves around the concept of Blossom delivering Shelly’s baby.
This is at best, a big stretch, and at worse, completely ludicrous. Tony, an EMT, does talk Blossom through the labor (while being held at gunpoint by one of his patients, of course) but “Oh Baby!” was definitely not grounded in reality.
4. SIX’S FAMILY
Blossom may have portrayed the Russo family as being somewhat dysfunctional, with the mom walking out on them and leaving Nick to raise them on his own, but nothing quite compares to Six’s family. In the pilot, which is often regarded as being non-canon to the rest of the series, Six actually explains that her peculiar name was given to her because of the number of beers her parents drank before conceiving her.
Throughout the series, Six’s family is often portrayed as being ridiculously dysfunctional, and yet it’s often swept under the rug. That’s why this storyline has not aged well at all. Girl Meets World actually managed to handle a similar topic in a much better way.
3. THE DANCING
It only takes one glimpse of a Blossom intro and theme song to understand why Mayim Bialik recalls the series as being the “biggest embarrassment of her life.” That statement may seem harsh, but it does make more sense once you realize just how much the crew had Blossom dance.
The “Blossom Dance” had a more prominent presence in the early seasons, when Blossom and Six would dance spastically in nearly every episode. That’s not to say that this spectacularly ’90s dance died out in later seasons, though.
2. BLOSSOM & VINNIE
Blossom’s relationship with high school bad boy, Vinnie, was meant to be the main romance of the series, but their true dysfunctional, rather questionable nature is hard to ignore. The dynamic between the two characters was tepid at best, and they had nowhere near the chemistry to be the leading couple.
Audiences were supposed to root for Blossom and Vinnie, but the constant drama, cringe dialogue, and questionable portrayal made that almost impossible.
1. JOEY’S WOMANIZING
It seems to be a trend in sitcoms that Joey is a womanizer. You could apply this statement to so many different sitcoms, and that’s pretty ridiculous. Blossom’s brother, Joey, had the stereotypical Joey personality and lacked almost any depth.
Blossom’s Joey brought the comic relief but was one of the flattest Joeys ever to appear on a series. Not to mention, the womanizing was just plain disrespectful and in bad taste.
