No amount of nostalgia can hide the fact that Nickelodeon’s output, even during its “golden age”, was 99% shit. But we needn’t dwell on the negatives. Let’s list some of our favorite shows and moments from this magical time in television history.
My favorite of the shitty sitcoms was probably My Brother and Me. Never has a show explored the racial ramifications of being a minority in mostly white suburban environment through the rampant racism afflicting the Parker family in North Carolina. The best example occurs when young Dee Dee attempts to find his racial identity by getting a haircut of his favorite rapper, Cool Doctor Money. Dee Dee comes to realize that racial attributes are constructs created by the capitalist oppressors, and his haircut fails to give him existential satisfaction. Someone has graciously uploaded this seminal moment in television.
Pete and Pete and Eerie Indiana (was that even Nickelodeon) were two of my favourite things as a kid. Pete and Pete, to my infant mind, was one of the cleverest, weirdest, funniest things I’d ever seen and Eerie Indiana actually used to give me the creeps (despite the fact I was watching Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween around the same age)
I prefer the episode where Dee Dee is being bullied at school, so at the behest of either Alfie or the immortal Goo, he confronts the bully and yells “Hit me! Hit me!” And then the bully proceeds to beat the crap out of him.
Originally Posted by Spike MarshallView Post Pete and Pete and Eerie Indiana (was that even Nickelodeon) were two of my favourite things as a kid. Pete and Pete, to my infant mind, was one of the cleverest, weirdest, funniest things I’d ever seen and Eerie Indiana actually used to give me the creeps (despite the fact I was watching Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween around the same age)
Eerie, Indiana wasn’t Nickelodeon, but it was awesome. Always sad that it was so shortlived. It was also one of my first introductions to meta plots when an episode had the main character trapped in the “real world” and being confused for the actual actor on the show (Omri Katz!)
Pete and Pete is still one of my all time favorite shows. Few kids shows were as weird and yet so true to life.
Hell yes. I kind of give that show credit for featuring an interracial teenage romantic arc without making a big deal about it.
Also the older sister was hot. I just never got why she got so much shit for taking notes when they tried to send her to college early. College students don’t take notes in the Alex Mack universe?
My Brother & Me only had like…7 episodes. Yet Nickelodeon ran them into the ground. Speaking of Alex Mack, I always liked how it turned out (in the final episode) that the truck driver Dave knew it was Alex the whole time. He was too nice a guy to turn her in. That scene where they meet was actually sweet.
Originally Posted by FilmNerdJamieView PostMy Brother & Me only had like…7 episodes. Yet Nickelodeon ran them into the ground.
Man, did they ever. This was true for a lot of their shows. Who knows how many times I saw a given episode of Salute Your Shorts.
Not a sitcom, but I got all of the Are You Afraid of the Dark seasons for a birthday one year and now spend my Halloweens revisiting the wonders of Canadian teen horror.
ETA: Holy crap, I was watching that clip Jake posted of Fifteen for some reason and somehow made out a young Ryan Reynolds amidst the bad transfer quality.
Pete & Pete
Clarissa Explains It All
My Brother & Me
Welcome Freshmen
Salute Your Shorts
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
All That
Keenan & Kel
Hey Arnold!
WILD AND CRAZY KIDS!
Hey Dude
The Tomorrow People (Christopher Lee’s appearance is my favorite!)
Legends of the Hidden Temple
The Secret World of Alex Mack
Speaking of Salute Your Shorts, why exactly did Michael not come back in season two? I always preferred Pinsky, mind you. But Michael was the lead and it was weird at the start of the second year (wound up being the last obviously) him being gone.
Originally Posted by FilmNerdJamieView Post A ton of the early stuff was Canadian. Speaking of Salute Your Shorts, why exactly did Michael not come back in season two? I always preferred Pinsky, mind you. But Michael was the lead and it was weird at the start of the second year (wound up being the last obviously) him being gone.
I didn’t get that either. Didn’t he come back for one episode? I never saw him in anything after that show.
Originally Posted by FilmNerdJamieView Post A ton of the early stuff was Canadian. Speaking of Salute Your Shorts, why exactly did Michael not come back in season two? I always preferred Pinsky, mind you. But Michael was the lead and it was weird at the start of the second year (wound up being the last obviously) him being gone.
He got the chickenpox, character-wise. Don’t know actor-wise. Maybe they just wanted a more dynamic lead? God did these shows dominate my childhood. Sheer repetition is the only way I remember all of this.
I remember the chickenpox being the reason. Just wondering if the kid was fired or something. The character was OK, but clearly the stalest one of the group.
Originally Posted by EnemyoftheStamosView Post ETA: Holy crap, I was watching that clip Jake posted of Fifteen for some reason and somehow made out a young Ryan Reynolds amidst the bad transfer quality.
Yep. He was an angsty little douche, too.
Pete and Pete doesn’t belong here because it wasn’t shitty. It was weird and funny, and gave us early exposure to Michelle Trachtenberg and Heather Matarazzo. Also, elder Pete portrayed Stewart in the Ameritrade commercials.
Hey Dude was shitty, but it introduced a young and tasty Christine Taylor to the world. So its got that going for it, which is nice.