ROSEANNE RESONATES WITH AMERICA

Roseanne Barr, an actress, comedian, writer, and producer had a hit show with the self titled "Roseanne". The show first aired in 1988 and lasted until 1997. The show centered around a working class family in Illinois trying to get by with a menial income. The show was also noted for a controversial lesbian kissing scene in 1993 and for showing marijuana use the same year. Yet, despite all the controversy and notoriety (please also see her singing the Star Spangled Anthem in 1990), the show was in the top five in  its first six years running and number one in 1989-1990. Roseanne Barr also got critical acclaim as she won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1993.

SEATTLE BECOMES AMERICAS CULTURAL GOLDMINE

In the early nineties, the city of Seattle became America's enclave. It was here that the rest of the country was collecting its ideas of fashion, entertainment, and business. Grunge music was dominating the music scene and most of its prominent bands were from Seattle (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl jam). This created the return of flanel fashion which was inspired from the clothes that these bands were wearing from their local thrift shops. TV shows and movies were based on Seattle (Sleepless In Seattle, Singles, Frasier). Two major companies from Seattle, Starbucks and Microsoft, were redesigning the nation's social and technological atmosphere. And even the sports teams in Seattle from that time were doing well. 

COFFEE PROVIDES MORE THAN JUST CAFFEINE

A trend that was starting in the 1980's, took off to exponential amounts in the 1990s. This was coffee culture. Meeting for coffee now became hip as coffee varieties increased and became trendier. A large part of the boom was the Seattle culture with it's many coffee shops and  the expanding rise of franchise mega coffee shops, such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean. People would now hang out at coffee shops to socialize and study. The trend was seen in pop culture as the characters of the hit shows "Friends" and "Frasier" socialized at local coffee shops. Soon the trend spread like wildfire as bookstore franchises such as Barnes N Nobles and Borders began to serve coffee.

INTELLIGENT WIT BECOMES COMEDY

In the fall of 1993, "Frazier", premiered on NBC. This sitcom was a spin off of Cheers (which had its last episode earlier in the year). The show was based on Dr. Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, returning to his hometown of Seattle after his failed marriage in Boston, the city where Cheers was based. Dr. Crane is a psychiatrist on a radio show. Crane's father  moves in him and Crane's  bother develop a close yet rival relationship. Joining this ensemble, is the live-in care giver of Crane's father and the producer of Crane's radio show. The brothers' struggling to find love and struggle to  escalate in the Seattle cultural elite are recurring themes of the show. Frasier aired until 2004 and went on to become one of the most successful spin-offs of all time.