To know the history of Nickelodeon, we must first know the history of cable television, and of QUBE, Warner Communication's massive experiment in interactive television.
This is where it all started. Pinwheel, QUBE's popular puppet show that became Nickelodeon first flagship program. Join Jake, Ebeneezer T. Squint, Plus and Minus and the rest of the gang as they sing some songs, sing some songs, sing some more songs... for a while there it was just songs.
We kick off the Nickelodeon 1979 starting lineup with a tribute to film serials. Flash Gordon, Rin Tin Tinn and Gene Autry entertain, and a host whom kids of the 80s might recognize walking us through it.
There isn't a whole lot to say about this show, so instead we spend most of the time talking about Nickelodeon's weird pre-World War I aesthetic. Also, more mimes!
Sometimes things are forgotten. Sometimes forgotten things are found again. This is the story of Brad Williams, Pinwheel performer, Hocus Focus star, and one of the hardest working puppeteers of the 1980s.
What once was lost, now is found. An episode of Hocus Focus has surfaced, and now we can finally see what Brad William's headline show was all about. Also, Jim Jinkins as a sleazy filmmaker!
Today we look at a cheap filler show where a guy reads comic books to kids, and along the way, we explore the history of the motion comic and discover Nickelodeon's mob roots. No, seriously.
In the spirit of Halloween, we're jumping ahead to 1986 for Marc Summers' Mystery Magical Tour! Marc Summers and his friends discover a spooky castle full of magicians. It's cheesy, but in a good way.
Happy Thanksgiving! Or, okay, a few days after Thanksgiving. Sorry this one's late guys, got super duper sick. But hey, the best part about Thanksgiving is the leftovers! Here's a Nickelodeon Thanksgiving special from 1989, not much to look at, but super important in the development of Nicktoons!
Today we look at Nickelodeon's first variety show, it's origins with QUBE, and what it meant for the future of the channel!
Being a channel for children, Nickelodeon didn't have a reason to be on after bedtime. But what should we air in those early AM hours? Before Nick at Nite, there was Star Channel.
This holiday season, we look at the very first piece of animation produced by Nickelodeon, Christmas in Tattertown! This secret pilot comes to us from Ralph Bakshi. Yes, that Ralph Bakshi! Merry Christmas!
Join Boney, Dottie and Socko as they try to save a couple of latke aliens, who are almost metaphores of the Jewish people, from Shining Time Station's Schemer. It's an obnoxious Chanukah miracle! Happy Hanukkah!
It's Nickelodeon 1980! Warner Communications get bought by American Express, a guy in advertising becomes the new head of the station, and someone decided that what a bunch of six year olds really want to watch is a bunch of BBC costume dramas from the 70s.
Nickelodeon taps into the library of the Children's Film Foundation, or CFF, an attempt in British cinema to bring wholesome, charming films to children across the country. It actually had a lot in common with the cable station would ultimately end up on.
Nickelodeon continues down its path of "PBS you pay for" by acquiring this Canadian technology program, What Will They Think of Next! It was originally called Scientific International, but I guess clunkier, grammatically-incorrect titles with in fashion at the time.
This is the story of PopClips, a half hour music video show that might have been the origin of MTV. Or it might not have been. It's also the story of network executives, exploitation film directors, and ex-Monkees.
Several additions and corrections to the first eight episodes of Nick Knacks. Topics includes a LOST 1979 Nickelodeon show, more works by Brad Williams, the discovery a lost Pinwheel short, and one viewer's amazing eBay find!
In order to flesh out their lineup, Nickelodeon picked up one of the sweetest, most charming and wholesome children's show from the 1970s. Join Dusty and his puppet friends, Maxine the Crow, Scooter the Squirrel and Stanley the Spider as they learn about the world and themselves. Of course, someone had to come around and corrupt it.
America Goes Bananaz is out, Livewire is in. Just how did this children's talk show differ from its predecessor? What did host Fred Newman bring to the table? And oh my god, baby R.E.M.!
Today we look at Nickelodeon's junk drawer, Special Delivery, a programming block that aired whatever the hell Nick felt like airing. You might get a fairy tale, a rock concert, an after school special, a sports documentary, a really neat Canadian show about First Nations people, or maybe just garbage.
At some point in the last five years or so, people got it into their heads that BET used to air as a two-hour programming block in 1980. I thought it was true too, but after further research, it turns out not the be the case. Time to set the record straight.
Nickelodeon had had a serious lack of narrative television in its first two years, but 1981 is here to correct that. First up, Adventures in Rainbow Country, a wilderness adventure show from Canada! It's got rivers! It's got fish! It's got evil clowns!... wait, what?
We look at Matt and Jenny, the sister show of The Adventures in Rainbow Country, both shows about two kids having adventures in the Canadian wilderness. I suppose Nickelodeon could get them cheaper as a package.
Nickelodeon embraces its early "PBS You Pay For" idea by just airing old PBS shows. Studio See is a show for kids, about kids, and by kids, which isn't always as good of an idea as it sounds.
Nickelodeon gets its first celebrity endorsement with Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson. Kids are playing all kinds of sports these days, and Reggie's here to help you find the sport that's right for you! It's probably a great show, but did reruns hurt its image?
In 1975, a mere seven years after the Civil Rights Movement, PBS released a show about race, culture, and prejudice. It's amazing how little we learned from it.
Once upon a time, children would write stories and poems to Nickelodeon, and five acrobatic grown-ups would perform them on TV! How legit was it? Who was behind it? Let's find out!
What do you get when you mix a children's comedy writer, a computer scientist, and David Bowie lyrics? Well, whatever it is, it was on Nickelodeon in the early 80s, as odd as that seems.
Well, it's the big one, You Can't Do That On Television. A show that's already loved by millions of 80s kids, a show that saved Nickelodeon from self-destruction. But you knew that already. With a show this celebrated, is there anything more to say? Yes, but it's not all pretty...
Happy Halloween! Today we look at possibly the first spooky thing Nickelodeon ever produced, 1983's U.F.O. Kidnapped! Starring the cast of You Can't Do That On Television, this pilot features aliens, black holes, and cute doggies!
With Star Channel gone, Nickelodeon needed something to fill their evening hours. Before Nick at Nite, though, they were approached by ABC and Hearst with ARTS (Alpha Repertory Television Service), a programming block offering fine arts programming. How well do ballet and opera fit with Nickelodeon? Let's find out.
Additions and corrections to Nick Knacks episodes #9-15. Topics include episodes of Dusty's Treehouse being discovered, a misplaced show, and an attempt to appease upset Monkees fans.
We kick off Nickelodeon 1982 with Spread Your Wings, a 26 episode Canadian production profiling kids from around the world as they try to create and perform. Stay tuned for the full interview with the show's creator, Paul Saltzman!
A conversation with filmmaker Paul Saltzman, the man behind the show Spread Your Wings.
We celebrate Christmas with Magellan, Batly, and the rest of our friends at Eureeka's Castle!
We never thought we'd find it, but here it as, actual footage of By The Way, one of Nickelodeon's premiere shows in 1979. We learn exactly what the show was, who Josie was, and just what role it filled for Nick forty years ago.
Based on the classic book (sort of), these are the adventures of Black Beauty, Vicky and the rest of the Gordon family. Does it hold up to the book's messages of justice and kindness and fighting against animal abuse? Or is it just a bunch of pony fluff? Let's find out!
And now we reach Against the Odds, the history show created by Cy Schneider himself. Is it really as boring and dreadful as its reputation? Why was Bill Bixby looking for the easy paycheck? And what's the show's connection to Donny and Marie Osmond?
We jump forward to 1999, with Mo Willem's sendoff to The Off-Beats, a series of animated shorts for KaBlam! Tommy falls in love with on the Populars, August makes a dancing robot and September pines for lost kitty love.
Join Leonard Nimoy as we learn about the making of the coolest new movies, like Return of the Jedi or the Secret of NIMH. We explore Nickelodeon's relationship with Starlog magazine, and meet the guy who did those singing dinosaur commercials!
It's after hours at the department store, and you know what that means? It's time for Jodie the display manager, Sam the security guard and Muffy the Mouse to bring Jeff, the store mannequin, to life! We explore the origins of Today's Special, how it was born from a once-in-a-lifetime deal between TVOntario and Roger's Cable, and just what made it tick.
Nickelodeon picks up a Canadian show about young prodigies in the fields of music, sports and teddy bear collecting, starring Chris Makepeace and Keanu Reeves. But more than that, we explore 1983, where a LOT of things happened to Nickelodeon in-directly. How did Ronald Reagan, Mickey Mouse and Atari effect the channel? Let's find out!
Nickelodeon makes it's oldest pull ever by bringing back Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard, television's first "science guy." We explore the original 1951 show and see how times changed when Mr. Wizard came back in the 80s.
It seems Nickelodeon had some spooky foreign serials laying around, so why not put them together and make yourself a show? There's the Haunting of Cassie Palmer, about a girl who summons a ghost; Under the Mountain, where two psychic children face off against alien invaders; Children of the Stones, where a small English village is not what it seems; Into the Labyrinth, where two sorcerers battle across space and time; and The Witches and the Grinnygog, a mystery involving magic, gargoyles and spirits.
We've reached Nickelodeon 1984! Cy Schneider is out, Gerry Laybourne is in, and we see the introduction of the Nick Splat, commercial breaks, and animation to the channel. We also discuss Powerhouse, a PBS show about a bunch of kids who hang out at a community center and solve crimes. It's surprisingly intense!
Borrowed from ESPN and sponsored by Honeycomb cereal, Vic's Vacant Lot was Nickelodeon's next attempted at bringing sports and organized play to the channel. Was tennis instructor Vic Braden a good fit for a kid's show?
Hey, who doesn't love music videos? With Nickelodeon now part of the MTV Networks, it might as well start looking a bit more like MTV, which includes playing the newest videos that kids want to see, AND a new look and attitude from Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman, the creators of "I Want My MTV"! We explore the birth of the orange splat, AND the Nick Jr. version of the show brought to us by none other than Shelley Duvall.
In 1984, Nickelodeon started airing reruns of Lassie, the story of a boy and his faithful collie dog. Lassie is arguably the most famous fictional dog of all time, but how did she get there? We take a deep dive into the history of Lassie, from Victorian England to the golden age of Hollywood to soup-sponsored television.
Dave Coulier tries to get a band of misfits to make a television show with him, with very obnoxious results. The last show greenlit by Cy Schneider, Out of Control is a one-of-a-kind program, but is it any good?
So, I may have completely missed a show that aired on Nickelodeon in 1981. It's not a big deal, just a movie show called Nick's Family Picks, but my face sure is red. Also, what some of the cast of Kids' Writes have been up, new footage of America Goes Bananaz, and George James from Pinwheel!
Finally, it's time to talk about animation on Nickelodeon! A Japanese anime adaptation of a French actress's tv show she made for her son to star in, these are the exciting adventures of a boy and giant white dog as they cross the French mountains into Spain. It's surprisingly anti-cop!
He's the greatest! He's fantastic! He's the first animated show to air on Nickelodeon, and one that would prove popular and influential. We explore Danger Mouse's origins, and the surprisingly tight relationship the show had with the first cable network for kids!
We begin Nickelodeon 1985 with Bananaman, a silly superhero cartoon Nick picked up to fill a hole in certain episodes of Danger Mouse. We discover it's origins in British comic books, the tiny studio that made it, and the merchandise trends that fueled it. Also, the history of Viacom and their purchase of Nickelodeon!
Between April and May of 1985, Nickelodeon aired a Canadian sitcom that, at first glance, didn't seem to have any business being on a cable channel for children. At second glance, it still had no business. So just what was Hangin' In's deal? What did it represent for Canadian television? And why was it such a poor fit for Nick?
Just when you thought Nickelodeon might have been leaving the educational, green vegetable image behind, here comes a three-hour block of nature and geography documentaries! We take a brief tour through the history of National Geographic, you know, the guys who make those yellow magazines you see in every thrift store? They made TV, too.
After the success of Belle & Sebastian, Nickelodeon went looking for another Japanese anime adaptation of French literature about boy cross the European countryside. We explore The Adventures of the Little Prince, from it's origins as a book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, to its rough journey to animation, and finally its hack-and-slash English localization.
In 1973, Gene Roddenberry and Filmation teamed up to make an animated sequel to Star Trek. What followed was a story of writers strikes, cheap animation, hurt feelings and colorblind directors. And despite all of that, it somehow came together and laid the groundwork for serious all-ages animated programming.
On October 2019, Are You Afraid of the Dark came back with a three-part mini-series. Was it good? Did it do the original series justice? And just what it say about Nickelodeon's near future? It's a Nick Knacks about a new thing! Holy crap!
In 1959, CBS looked to comic strips to come up with a competitor to Leave it to Beaver. There, they found Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace, a super popular gag comic about a well-meaning but destructive little boy named Dennis. Casting Jay North in the title role, the Dennis the Menace sitcom was a huge success. But was it good? And was it worth through what Jay North would have to go through?
Nickelodeon's biggest original show of 1985, Turkey Television saw original shorts from the cast and crew of You Can't Do That On Television, comedy from around the world, stand-up routines and weird music videos! That sounds neat, right? So why isn't it so well remembered?
Nickelodeon needed to find something to air during their late night/early morning hours, when the little ones were in bed. They decided on reruns. But not just any reruns, cool, nostalgic retro reruns of show from the 50s and 60s! It's Nick at Nite, a Baby Boomer's paradise!
There aren't many Hanukkah specials out there, but out of what there is, Rugrats just may have the gold standard. We discuss the show's relationship with Judaism, how A Rugrats Chanukah came to be, and see to just what the Anti-Defamation League was objecting to.
Welcome to 1986! With Nickelodeon now a twenty-four hour channel, there were going to be time slots that just needed to be filled, it didn't matter what you put there. Like 6 a.m., nobody's watching TV that early! May as well dump a bunch of Curious George shorts there!
Straight from Australia, it's Zoo Family, a good-but-not-great show about the inner workings of the very real Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens. Doctor David Mitchell and his children, Susie and Nick, will save animals, outsmart capitalists, fend off annoying kids and play Dungeons and Dragons.
For episode FIFTY of Nick Knacks, we look at Rated K, a young person's film review show. Thirteen year old children give their opinions on films like Stand By Me, Soul Man, and That's Life. You know, that movie where Jack Lemmon feels really bad about being sixty? Kids love that stuff!
For eight weeks in the summer of 1986, Nick aired Nickelodeon Summer Camp, a ninety minute weekday block consisting of three of their biggest Nick at Nite shows, a little daytime preview of their evening offers. Today, we look at the first of these three, The Donna Reed Show, the quintessential 50s sitcom about the quintessential 50s housewife.
We continue our look into Nickelodeon Summer Camp, Nick's summer programming block to entice parents to get more interested in Nick at Nite.
And now we look at the third and final show for Nickelodeon Summer Camp, Miser Ed. A show about a talking horse has to be more interesting for the children of 1986, right? Well, that's debatable...
A band from the 60s finding a second wave of popularity in the 80s wasn't weird, the nostalgia market for baby boomer adults was huge. A band from the 60s finding success with KIDS in the 80s? That's a whole other story. A winding, complicated story of a TV band who became a real band, and how they returned to be the darling of MTV and Nickelodeon, at least for a while.
Nickelodeon continues its trend of introducing two animated shows to their lineup. 1986's theme? French Weirdness! It's 1532, and Spain has gold fever! Join Esteban, Zia and Tao as they get kidnapped, get taken to South America, and end up joining shady explorer Mendoza on a quest to find the fabled seven cities of gold!
From the "was that real, or did I just make it all up" part of your brain comes Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. We've got secret underground civilizations, we've got cartoon anteaters, we've got punk pirates, and we've got the same two songs repeated over and over and over and over and over...
The year was 1986, and Gerry Laybourne had done a lot to clean up Nickelodeon's image, making it a fun place for kids. But Laybourne still lacked a career-defining hit show. So, she locked four people in an office and told them to make the best children's game show ever. This is the story of Double Dare, from it's humble beginnings filming in Philadelphia, to it's star role at Nickelodeon Studios, to its unloved revival, to it's second, much-more-well-loved revival. Over thirty years of questions, physical challenges, and obstacle courses where you pick a giant nose.
Can a movie about a foul-mouthed little league baseball team and their alcoholic coach work as a family sitcom? Only one way to find out.
Shari Lewis was one of the most versatile and creative people in children's entertainment in the 20th century. Today, we look at her life and works through the lens of The Shari Show, a twelve-episode puppet program from 1975 that might be a bit more personal than you thought.
The year was 1987, and Nickelodeon was in the mood for cute anime shows about anthropomorphic animal children. The first of these was Maple Town, a show about a little rabbit girl's adventures in a small Canadian Town. Also, it's a blatant ripoff of a successful toy line, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Japan went through a bit of a koala craze, which resulted in two koala-themed anime shows in 1984, and Nickelodeon would eventually air both of them. First is Adventures of the Little Koala, where a little blue koala boy plays sports, learns life lessons, and falls madly in love with a moon goddess.
We break continuity for a new series, Nick Knack Sample Platter, where we look one episode of a show as requested by my Kickstarter backers! Today, it's SpongeBob SquarePants, season two, episode thirteen, Shanghaid! An episode where YOU got to vote on the ending!
It seems somebody got the rights to a few too many afterschool specials. Well, only thing to do is to give them their own dedicated hour every Sunday.
Sample Platter takes a look back at the only episode of You Can't Do That On Television to be banned on Nickelodeon, "Adoption." Did it deserve to be banned? Was there a larger context that made this episode iffy? And how should we consider offensive comedy in children's programming?
In the 80s, fitness tapes and television programs were all the rage, so it only made since that Nickelodeon would tap into that. But more than that, Kids in Motion is the tale of one dedicated woman bringing creative movement into the living rooms. And also Scott Baio is there.
A conversation with Julie Weissman Markovitz, the creator and on-screen instructor of Kids in Motion.
We jump way ahead in the timeline to talk about The Loud House, Nickelodeon's biggest animated hit in ages, and the episode "Really Loud Music," where we talk about how Luna Loud is the best character ever.
It's October, of course Sample Platter is going to talk about Are You Afraid of the Dark. Today, we focus on a season one story that's about murdering children, and why that was important for the franchise.
Just a few months shy of the premiere of Nick Jr, Nickelodeon imported their best preschool program yet. Join Sharon, Lois and Bram as they sing non-stop and let the whims decide where the episode is going to go.
Nickelodeon used to be very careful about what animated shows they added to their schedule. It had to be cartoons you couldn't get anywhere else, and you could only add two every year. But then, in 1987, along came Inspector Gadget, and everything changed. We explore what the show meant for Nick, its origins as a last-minute replacement to a Lupin the Third spinoff, and how it put DIC on the map.
A look at Hey Arnold's Christmas episode, which is about as melancholic as anything else in this show.
We close out 1987 with a look at Finders Keepers, Nickelodeon's attempt to make lightning strike twice with a children's game show. Why didn't it seem to work? Why did the host change between the cable version and syndicated version? And where did the show find the most success?
We kick of 1988 with a look at Nick Jr, what it meant for the channel, as well as explore one of its earliest programs. Doctor Snuggles is an eccentric inventor who is friends to everybody, and in a world where every single thing is alive and can talk, that's saying something.
What's better than one Japanese cartoon about the adventures of an anthropomorphic koala and his little sister to cash in on Japan's koala fever, which was then dubbed to English and broadcast on Nick Jr? TWO Japanese cartoons about the adventures of an anthropomorphic koala and his little sister to cash in on Japan's koala fever, which was then dubbed to English and broadcast on Nick Jr!
With the Muppet Show making its way to Disney+, now seemed a perfect time to look back at the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational show ever!
We return to Nickelodeon's children's horror show to ask the question: Is this or is this not trying to riff on that Robin William's movie, Toys?
When Nick Jr. premiered in January of 1988, it brought along with it a new animated show from Spain about gnomes! Follow David as he helps his friends in the forest, teaches life lessons, and shows you what being a gnome is all about. And along the way, maybe, just maybe, you'll learn a little empathy.
On a sweet little episode of Maya the Bee, we try and reconcile the role humans have in talking animal stories, and discover the show's connection to Gamera, friend to all children!
Nickelodeon's third talk show ditches the adult hosts in favor of an all-kid cast! That's a good idea, right?... Right?
Think it's unfair that your sister gets to do all the easy chores and you have to do gross stuck-on dishes? Don't have a productive conversation with your parents, take them to court!
We took a look at "Clarissa" or "Clarissa Now," a pilot for a Clarissa Explains It All spinoff series for CBS. Clarissa Darling has graduated high school, and is now starting an internship for a New York City tabloid! How well does the beloved Nickelodeon sitcom character carry over to a more adult comedy?
We take a deep dive into the history of Looney Tunes airing on television, a history involving endless buyouts, bankruptcies, mergers and even a little backstabbing among family members.
We get a taste of one of Nickelodeon's more well-loved shows of the early aughts, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and an episode involving Dungeons & Dragons and the Star Wars Kid.
It's the 30th anniversary of Nicktoons! To celebrate, we take a look at, well, not the first Ren & Stimpy cartoon, but the first Ren & Stimpy cartoon the people making the show thought was any good. Don't press the history erasing button!
We take a look at Heathcliff, the snarky orange cat from the comic strips that premiered five years before Garfield! We explore the cat's origins, the DIC show that aired on Nickelodeon, and the weird turns the franchise has taken lately.
I didn't PLAN on this video being up for October, but I won't pass up the opportunity. Today we look at Count Duckula, a Danger Mouse spinoff starring a reincarnated vegetarian vampire duck, his evil butler and clueless nanny. We discuss the surprisingly long history of vampire ducks, how Duckula ties into a larger horror monster trend, and ponder the greatest philosophical question of our time: What exactly is a Nicktoon?
It's the entertainment awards show where KIDS pick the winner! We look at the evolution of the Kids' Choice Awards from its shabby origins in the late 80s to the celebrity and slime stew it is today. PART ONE covers the Kids' Choice Awards from its origins in 1988 up to the beginning of the 21st century. Part two coming soon!
It's the entertainment awards show where KIDS pick the winner! We look at the evolution of the Kids' Choice Awards from its shabby origins in the late 80s to the celebrity and slime stew it is today. PART TWO covers the Kids' Choice Awards from the Rosie O'Donnell era, up to it's ratings peak, and to the modern day, with a look at how the awards show is currently dealing with COVID.
It's Nickelodeon's 10th anniversary! We kick off 1989 with a show that's a little bit new, a little bit old, and a lot like some old show from the 50s. It's Total Panic!
Today, we take a look at the third episode of Nickelodeon's goofy space show, Space Cases. It's okay, and hey look, Luke Skywalker! It's just, you know... ONLY okay... "okay" is tough to write about.
With Double Dare packing up and moving from WHYY-TV to Universal Studios, the people behind the show looked at the empty studio space and went, you know, we could make another game show here for the heck of it. It's Think Fast, where you never know what's going to happen and that's probably not a good thing.
Nickelodeon is known for it's fast paced, messy game shows. But what if you took away the mess and the energy and just made a game show about answering academic questions? Could that possibly work in a post-silver ball Nickelodeon? Let's find out.
Today on Sample Platter, we take a look back at the weirdest, most absurd, and probably the best episode of Danger Mouse, Custard! It's about custard.
Today's we're jumping ahead to 2010 with a look at Nickelodeon's official boy band, Big Time Rush. In this video, the boys make a music video, and hijinks ensue.
Nickelodeon airing one of their Nick at Nite offerings for the daytime crowd had become a yearly tradition, and for 1989's offering, we had The Patty Duke Show, a 60s sitcom about identical cousins! Hope you like split screens!
Nickelodeon had found a couple of real gems among Canadian preschool television, it only makes sense that they go to that well again. Meet Fred Penner, folk musician who loves sandwiches. Join him through the hollow log for a day of songs to make you feel confident in yourself.
An episode of the long-lost Vic's Vacant Lot has been uncovered! With a better idea of what the show was about, we take a look at its strengths, weaknesses, and it's place in Nickelodeon's history of sports programming.
By 1989, Nickelodeon finally had the money to make a show with some production value. We explore the Nick Jr classic, Eureeka's Castle, from its obscure origins to its influence on just about every preschool show of the 90s!
Look out for those man-eating jackrabbits, and that killer cacti! We close out 1989 with Hey Dude, Nickelodeon's first sitcom! Does it hold up? How did it pave the way for future comedies on the channel? Let's find out.
We start an epic 40-year journey into the history of Nickelodeon, the first cable channel for kids! How has it changed over the years? What exactly was its golden age? And is it really as bad today as some people seem to think?
Nick Knacks has finished the first decade of Nickelodeon's existence. But before we get into the 1990s, let's take a moment to reflect, cover a few minor topics we skipped over, and daydream about winning the Super Toy Run.
We've finally reached the 1990s! Well, 1990, a slow warmup to the so-called Nickelodeon's golden age. We look at Outta Here, the first show produced exclusively at Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios, Florida. And that's probably the most noteworthy thing about it.
We take a jump back to Out of Control, and look on an episode built around a very bad joke, both in construction and culturally.
We take a look at the very first television show about skateboarding, the history of the sport, the career of Matthew Lillard, and bask in some irreverent air-catching vibes.
We take a look at the first episode of Angry Beavers, including the beloved "Up All Night" short, and talk about the different ideas the show had when it started.
We take our first peak at the Avatar franchise with the introduction of my personal favorite character: Toph!
Today we take a look at an episode of The Littl' Bits, a show about tiny sprites who live in the forest and promote democracy and collective action.
We finally touch on the weird and wonderful world of Pete & Pete, and it's third special, which is mostly about football but is also about friendship and stuff.
In 1989, Cable in the Classroom was formed as a way to take on the gross commercialism of Channel One News. Nickelodeon wanted in on the new education initiative, but didn't have their own children's news show to contribute. Well, why make one when you can get the syndication rights to one! This is the story of Kidsworld, a thrifty children's news show from the mid-70s that basically made itself!
In the summer of 1990, the first cable network for kids brought back Camp Nickelodeon, and with it another retro baby boomer-era sitcom, Camp Runamuck, a forgotten show made from grown-ups, sold to kids. But it turns out this brief six-week run of the show was a small part of a larger plot, one battlefield in the war between Viacom and HBO. We're going down a rabbit hole in this one, folks.
A brief discussion on what makes SpongeBob SquarePants so perfect for internet meme culture.
We take a look of at a show that aired on Nickelodeon, but an episode that probably didn't. An adaptation of Bluebeard that goes full-blown horror mode!
This is the story of Flipper, a Lassie ripoff created by the actual Creature from the Black Lagoon! We take a look at the show's gorgeous setting, its wholesome charm, and it's unfortunate place in the history of marine mammal abuse.
This is the story of two animation companies, and the one obscure Nickelodeon show that brought them together. UPA, a new home of artistic expression. Paramount Cartoon Studios, a corporate takeover trying to squeeze out every dollar it could. Let us compare and contrast, and ruminate as to what Nick's relationship to these cartoons were.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Nickelodeon's first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, we take a look at the season four finale (and sort of the show finale). Spoilers ahead.
We return to The Loud House with a double feature on the balance between leadership and friendship. Also, Nickelodeon makes a cringe tweet.
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Tia and Tamera step away from the twin siblings antics of Sister, Sister to give us this spooky tale of a girl replaced by an iguana, but we're just going to pretend it's a chameleon.
We take a look at the one and only time Hanna-Barbera touched down on Nickelodeon. This is the story of Yogi Bear, the men who created him, and the cartoon network that bought him.
Nick Jr continues it's trend as the number one spot for anime somehow with Maya the Bee, a cute little cartoon about a cute little bee girl based on a book written by a big time Nazi supporter. Uh-oh.
On November 7th, 1991, Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson told the world he was HIV positive. One of the first things he did after was to film a special for Nickelodeon and Linda Ellerbee, aiming to put a human face on the disease.
I was going to make a video about Power Rangers Super Megaforce, but then Jason David Frank died, and what else could I make this video about?
It's Wild & Crazy Kids, Nickelodeon's sorta-game show going out to the park and making a mess! We take a look at the show, its creator, its 2002 reboot, and ponder why we haven't seen any more of this franchise in the last twenty years.
We take a look Hey Arnold's attempt at a 12 Angry Men reference, whether or not it works, and if this kind of thing is a good idea at all.
Marc Weiner essentially plays himself as a substitute teacher at Ned's school. Is there a deeper meaning to all of this? Probably not, but it's fun to pretend there is!
We take our first look at children's soap opera Fifteen, with an episode about a talent show, but not the episode called Talent Show, that's the next episode.
We take a look at Stimpy's Invention, arguably the best Ren & Stimpy short, and also the one that doomed the show.
We take a minute to explore one of the more obscure corners of early 90s Nickelodeon. A pilot-turned-television special from Rich Hall, a man known for sniglets who was desperately hoping to not be the man known for sniglets.
We take a look at another outdoorsy show from 1990 (technically, I know most think of it as a 1991 show), a year full of outdoorsy shows. We look at how it pushed boundaries, where it probably shouldn't have, and its unfair ending.
We have a nice chat with Thomas Hill, the co-writer of the Salute Your Shorts book, screenwriter of "The Call" episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and the creative director for on-air promotions for Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite and TV Land through the 90s and 2000s. The man who came up with the name SNICK!
We return to Space Cases to introduce Elmira, Warlord Shank and the Spung. It's kinda like a metaphor or something.
Ginger's absent father makes contact for the first time in a long time. Strap in, because this episode is all the feels.
We take a somewhat odd look at Rugrats, covering two related two-minute shorts, and how they shook up the format of the series.
Just in time for spring, we take a dive in the Angry Beaver's Halloween special, a wild mess of sci-fi b-movie tropes, animated improvisation and broken ankles.
We take a look at my personal favorite episode of The Last Airbender, and question if the term "filler" is appropriate.
We take a look at the infamous beer episode of Tiny Toon Adventures, a cartoon so controversial it was banned from television!... Right? It was banned, right? Surely, the internet wouldn't lie to us about it being banned...
We take our first dive into Invader Zim with an episode all about how being fleshy organic creatures is pretty gross, actually.
We celebrate the life of Harry Belafonte through the lens of his guest appearance on The Muppet Show.
We take a long, year-by-year look at Nickelodeon Studios, the center of Nickelodeon's operation and the prize attraction of Universal Studios Florida. In what ways was it a good idea? In what ways was is it a bad idea? And just why did it ultimately fail?
We kick of 1991, the biggest year in Nickelodeon's long history, with a look at their newest Cable in the Classroom offering, Launch Box. Kids love learning about space and astronauts and NASA and stuff!
We return to the world of Pete & Pete and ask, when in a series should two characters' first kiss be? Because episode two is waaaay too soon!
We take another look at a banned episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and this time it is actually is kind of banned! But is it banned for a good reason? Let's discuss.
Oh, to engage with the politics of your own episodes, or not to engage. That is the question. Hey Arnold talks about strikes and union actions.
We try our best to talk about one of Nickelodeon's more lost 90s shows, The Nick Hit List, where tweens are asked about their favorite movies, music and celebrities.
We take a look at another episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and its guest stars, a band that was trying to make a comeback and a young comedian trying to break out.
We take a look at the season one finale of Space Cases, featuring the "death" of one of its main characters. It's quite dramatic, but is it as dramatic as many seem to remember it being?
We take out first look at My Brother and Me. Alfie and Dee-Dee are in the midst of a prank war! And... that's it, really.
Nickelodeon continues its tradition of airing select Nick at Nite shows on daytime Nickelodeon. This time, we look at the Happy Days spinoff that put Robin Williams on the map, Mork & Mindy! Is this goofy sitcom about an alien among humans any good? And was it a good fit of Nick? Let's find out!
We take a look at another classic Ren & Stimpy cartoon, but this time, I'm not sure I agree with the consensus. I'm gonna complain about it, yeah, that's what I'm going to do.
We take a look at one of the most shocking and violent moments in the Avatar franchise. While Korra is off sandsurfing, Henry Rollins is killing queens!
Little Pete discovers his favorite song, and goes on a quest to make sure he remembers it. We talk about the show's relationship to music, the band Polaris, and... wait, THAT'S what the song is about?
We take a look at Cry Baby Lane, Nickelodeon's first horror movie, a film based on the real urban legends that the the director grew up with, a film that inspired many urban legends of its own. With a legacy like that, you kind of wish the movie itself was better.
We take a look at CatDog, a show that you wouldn't think would be very political, but then you find it has an episode about how the prison-industrial complex sucks and capitalism will trap you in speculator bubbles. Yeah, it's going to be one of those videos.
Everybody knows Superman, so when Nickelodeon got the opportunity to air some Superman, they took it, even if it was a forty-year old television show with a tragic story attached to its main star. We take a look Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves! Where does it fit into Superman's legacy? Does it still hold up? Let's find out.
Happy Thanksgiving! We take a look at the history of Nickelodeon's participation in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, from its early failures to its long absence to going all in. I wonder if there's a narrative to find OOOOO BIG BALLOON!
Kenan and Kel accidentally bench Ron Harper of the Chicago Bulls. Just for fun, we see how Harper slipping in some orange soda might have affected the Bull's 1996/1997 season!
I'm not gonna lie to you, I have no idea why Nickelodeon aired this. It's F Troop! The 60s sitcom about a Union army fort on the edge of the frontier, with a lot of dated jokes and a LOT of white actors in redface. So much redface, you guys.
We take a look an almost Christmas classic, the story of a dog that thought she was a flying reindeer. Merry Christmas!
We return to Hey Arnold, with perhaps the definitive Helga episode. It's the kind of cartoon that gets you talking about mental health, Robin Williams movies and Edward Hopper paintings.
John K was out, but his backlog of ideas remained. We look at the most meta Ren & Stimpy cartoon, but perhaps its purpose became a little lost in a post-Spumco show.
John K was out, but his backlog of ideas remained. We look at the most meta Ren & Stimpy cartoon, but perhaps its purpose became a little lost in a post-Spumco show.
Big Pete, Ellen and their class are going on a field trip to a milk museum! What follows is a tale of secret love, temptation, betrayal, and a death-defying finale! Man, this show has everything!
For many years, Nickelodeon just didn't know how to incorporate sports into the channel. Then, someone had the brilliant idea: why not just air a football game? We take a look at Nick's first attempt at broadcasting the NFL ahead of their airing of the Superbowl this Sunday.
Whoo! Episode #100! Today we talk about Nickelodeon's first true mutli-camera sitcom, Clarissa Explains It All, a popular 90s hit that introduced the world to Melissa Joan Hart. We talk about the show's origins with Mitchell Kriegman's artistic early days, the show's grueling filming schedule, and how the show gave Nickelodeon a new blueprint for success.