What Killed "SNICK" for You?

[TMC1982]

SNICK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNICK) for those who don't recall, was the Saturday night block on Nickelodeon spanning from 1992-2004. It was a key component in what I would otherwise consider to be the "glory days"/golden age of Nickelodeon. SNICK (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SNICK_Tribute_Page/?yguid=201668823) went hand and hand with TGIF on ABC (both were essentially, weekend appointment TV if you were a kid growing up in the '90s).

SNICK had shows such as (but not limited to) "Clarissa Explains it All", "Roundhouse", "Ren & Stimpy", "Are You Afraid of the Dark", "The Secret World of Alex Mack", "All That", "Space Cases", "The 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd", "KaBlam!", "The Journey of Allen Strange", "Kenan & Kel", "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo", etc.

To me, SNICK started to go downhill when they got rid of the big orange couch (which around June of 1999). Believe it or not, the orange couch was the heart and soul of SNICK (and helped create SNICK's identity in the first place).

Another thing that hurt the block in my estimation was when Nickelodeon started to drift away from the formula (besides the couch getting tossed aside). SNICK worked best when the block was made up of one live-action sitcom (e.g. "Clarissia..." and "Kenan & Kel"), one Nicktoon (e.g. "Ren & Stimpy" and "Rugrats"), one musical-comedy-variety show (e.g. "Roundhouse" and "All That"), and one wild card show (e.g. "Alex Mack", Space Cases", "Allen Strange", "Eddie McDowd", etc.).

Things were only made worst, when Nickelodeon tried to take SNICK into a completely different direction, with the "SNICK House" concept (with Nick Cannon as the host). It seemed like Nickelodeon was trying to copy what MTV was doing at the time with "Total Request Live". What people seemed to forget was that the shows themselves are what made SNICK not celebrity guests or music videos.

By the time that the SNICK House had run its course around the summer of 2001, it seemed apparent that Nickelodeon wasn't really trying anymore. There were basically, throwing shows around at random, with the SNICK name attached. At this point, they were using "elevator music" in the background with still photos and "talking bubbles" of the various SNICK stars.

By the fall of 2002, SNICK introduced a segment called "The On Air Dare", in which the cast of "All That" would perform acts that resembled does seen on "Fear Factor". Once again (as with the case with the SNICK House), Nickelodeon seemed to be throwing stuff in the air to see if they would stick (instead of simply following the tried and true formula and essence of SNICK in the past).

By the fall of 2004, Nick got rid of SNICK completely in favor of a second night of their TEENick block (which with in itself, resembles the SNICK House concept). The problem that I have with TEENick (not just because, the purist in me wishes that Nickelodeon had kept a hold of the SNICK brand) is that a lot of the shows on their schedule are already overexposed (like "iCarly" and "Drake & Josh" for example). Nickelodeon's programming has become awfully homogenized by this time (virtually every note worthy live-action show has to be a tween-oritened sitcom, like those on the Disney Channel at the moment).

[Silverstar]

What killed SNICK for me was the termination of Space Cases. Granted, the show's second season wasn't quite as good as the first, but once that show left the lineup, I just lost interest.

I had already severed my ties with SNICK once they got around to the "SNICK House" format hosted by that walking ego, Nick Cannon, and based on what I've heard, I wasn't missing anything.

[Jedigreedo]

I think it was in 1998 that I became disenchanted with Snick and stopped watching it completely, which pretty much ended my fascination with Nick in general. I highly enjoyed their shows at the time, but they began introducing shows such as My Cousin Skeeter and Animorphs which were plenty boring. Then laden with reruns through the handful of episodes that existed.

Fortunately, my abandoning Nick shows was before Lori Beth Denberg left the cast of All That. I cannot imagine not having her on the cast, as she was often the highlight of an episode.

[DarthGonzo]

I only watched SNICK for Ren and Stimpy. When that show was over I don't think I ever turned on Nick on Saturday nights ever again.

[email2003]

Is there a, "all the above" choice?

[Lord Dalek]

The Day The Couch Died

[PC!]

As soon as SNICK House was introduced. It was an attempt at getting the viewers more involved in the block, and it just didn't feel like the kind of "atmospheric" SNICK of old.

[Classic Speedy]

When Rugrats debuted. I'm sorry, but Rugrats had no place on Snick, especially the post '96 episodes, which I wasn't a fan of.

[Temple Fugate]

It started when Roundhouse and Space Cases were canceled, and eventually other shows were rotated out in favor of things like Rugrats. I slowly lost interest in the block over time, as I did with Toonami in its final years. There wasn't one specific event that made me throw up my arms and walk away.

But man, when SNICK was good, it was GOOD.

[Kazuya Prower]

I stopped watching SNICK after the orange couch left. It hasn't been the same since.

[NewcomerDC]

Fortunately, my abandoning Nick shows was before Lori Beth Denberg left the cast of All That. I cannot imagine not having her on the cast, as she was often the highlight of an episode.
After her appearance on The Steve Harvey Show, what else has she been doing? I read that she helped write some of the episodes of the new 'All That' a couple years back but I don't know if that stands to be true.

[Dunder-Bird]

Around 2004 or 2005, when they renamed it "Saturday Night Nickelodeon":yawn:,
but the new All That contributed to me losing interest.

[GrayGhost]

The quality of the shows were going down and the quality of the Disney Channel was going up (Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens).

I didn't like the Amanda Show (thankfully Amanda Bynes grew up and became a fine actress that doesn't annoy me anymore) and my favorite cast members from All That were basically gone. I hated Spongebob and didn't care for 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd.

[All Star Blitz]

Wait, if SNICK debuted in 1992 how did the couch retire in 1990? Typo time.

[Raidon Makoto]

Ah, SNICK, I remember that. The Big Orange Couch and SNICK House were fun. I always wanted to have the SNICK House be my at my house when I was younger.

I miss those days... ;_;

[Ishtar]

I'm one of the few who somewhat enjoyed the Snick House era, actually. To me, it slowly started going downhill when All That decided to change the entire cast, but it pretty much died when the On Air Dares started. What place does Snick have for a Fear Factor ripoff? It was a complete waste of bumper time. However, Snick was completely non existent when TEENick decided to move to Saturdays and replace Snick. TEENick never seemed to capture the true magic Snick managed to have for many years.

[Lonestarr]

After her appearance on The Steve Harvey Show, what else has she been doing?

I remember last seeing her in Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story and man...she kind of let herself go.

Beats me what she's done since then.

[Ishtar]

They actually did start using the couch again shortly after Snick House, iirc. It may have been a different couch, but the couch being used was definitely the focal point in the bumpers, which mostly just had stills of actors from each show appear over it. During the summer of 2000, they did have show stars actually sitting on the couch to promote the TV movie being aired (which included Kenan & Kel's Two Heads Are Better Than Now, Are You Afraid of The Dark? The Tale of the Silver Sight, and the Cousin Skeeter Movie).

[G. Wen]

When they got rid of "Roundhouse". "All That" never clicked with me, I didn't find it as funny, and the kids just didn't perform as well as the adults (understandably). I don't want to watch performers I can relate to, I want to be impressed.

[TMC1982]

Wait, if SNICK debuted in 1992 how did the couch retire in 1990? Typo time.

Fixed it!

[TMC1982]

I remember last seeing her in Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story and man...she kind of let herself go.

Beats me what she's done since then.

It's not like Lori Beth Denberg was physically fit to begin with.:p

[NewcomerDC]

It's not like Lori Beth Denberg was physically fit to begin with.:p
I thought she was okay. I mean ignoring the size, she was a pretty cool person to laugh at when I was with the family watching Steve Harvey Show when she first made her TV appearance since All That.

I doubt she's bigger than she was back in the day anyhow. She could've done the 'Josh Peck Manuever' by losing weight and becoming increasingly and surprisingly thin because of the risk of her health failing on her.

[Light Lucario]

I don't remember much of SNICK House actually. What really ruined SNICK for me was when they changed the entire cast of All That. Few of the jokes and gags were funny, if at all, in my opinion, and it felt like the new cast never clicked as well as the original. Granted, they weren't on the show for nearly as long, but it still felt like there wasn't enough effort being put involved. That's when I started to lose more interest in SNICK.

[Master Toon]

I can't say for sure. I think I moved away just as they were getting rid of SNICK. And when I moved, we didn't have cable for a while so I missed out on some stuff.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Snick ran until 2004? That's crazy. My main memories of it were my little cousin, who was afraid of the dark, liking it. I remember being told a story about how his dad and my grandpa took him fishing at night and he got nervous and said "I could be at home watching Snick." He's in the Air Force now and stationed in the Middle East. This kind of thing makes me feel very old.

[Ishtar]

I don't remember much of SNICK House actually. What really ruined SNICK for me was when they changed the entire cast of All That. Few of the jokes and gags were funny, if at all, in my opinion, and it felt like the new cast never clicked as well as the original. Granted, they weren't on the show for nearly as long, but it still felt like there wasn't enough effort being put involved. That's when I started to lose more interest in SNICK.
Well, to be fair, the original cast was losing it's flair too as it lost castmembers such as Lori Beth and Kenan & Kel. Nick Cannon wasn't that great of an addition, and some of the skits were getting a little too random and not as funny. Gabriel Iglesias wasn't that bad of an addition, although the season he appeared in was the last season of the original cast. I was always surprised how Josh Server managed to last all the way up till the entire revamp. I mean, he was around 20 years old by the time he was last on. I actually saw Josh Server guest star in an episode of Drake & Josh and Ned's Declassified not that long ago.

[Light Lucario]

Well, to be fair, the original cast was losing it's flair too as it lost castmembers such as Lori Beth and Kenan & Kel. Nick Cannon wasn't that great of an addition, and some of the skits were getting a little too random and not as funny. Gabriel Iglesias wasn't that bad of an addition, although the season he appeared in was the last season of the original cast. I was always surprised how Josh Server managed to last all the way up till the entire revamp. I mean, he was around 20 years old by the time he was last on. I actually saw Josh Server guest star in an episode of Drake & Josh and Ned's Declassified not that long ago.

That's a good point. I still found that some of the skits during the later part of the original cast funnier than most of what came with the new cast. I definitely missed Lori Beth when she left, as well as Kenan and Kel. I was surprised with how long Josh Server lasted on All That myself. I saw that episode where he gust stared on Drake & Josh a few times and a bit of him on Ned's Declassified once. It was nice to see that he was still doing a bit for Nick after coming back for the All That tenth anniversary special.

[TMC1982]

That's a good point. I still found that some of the skits during the later part of the original cast funnier than most of what came with the new cast. I definitely missed Lori Beth when she left, as well as Kenan and Kel. I was surprised with how long Josh Server lasted on All That myself. I saw that episode where he gust stared on Drake & Josh a few times and a bit of him on Ned's Declassified once. It was nice to see that he was still doing a bit for Nick after coming back for the All That tenth anniversary special.

Season 1-2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbtdyMkRyr4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbtdyMkRyr4)

Season 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEbT63cZ6Xw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEbT63cZ6Xw)

Season 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InqP1fXHozE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InqP1fXHozE)

Season 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NPtd4PqebY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NPtd4PqebY)

Season 6 (the last season of the "Golden Age" era):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK8AK_ccXiE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK8AK_ccXiE)

"All That" started to really suck when they completely overhauled the cast, and started pandering strictly to small children. Chelsea Brummet is hot thoughhttp://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/biggrin.gif:
Season 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM-_a1i25H4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM-_a1i25H4)

Season 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rD1JiNfWDY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rD1JiNfWDY)

Season 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzqhgBiYZbI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzqhgBiYZbI)

Season 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AtH4A7oY40 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AtH4A7oY40)

[TMC1982]

I don't remember much of SNICK House actually. What really ruined SNICK for me was when they changed the entire cast of All That. Few of the jokes and gags were funny, if at all, in my opinion, and it felt like the new cast never clicked as well as the original. Granted, they weren't on the show for nearly as long, but it still felt like there wasn't enough effort being put involved. That's when I started to lose more interest in SNICK.

The SNICK House was bad because it was at a period in which Nickelodeon was losing focus on what made SNICK work in the first place (the shows and the quirky, but simple and warm presentation). It was like, Nickelodeon was starting to follow whatever the felt that the kids liked at the time, instead of setting the tone themselves like in the past. Also, Nick Cannon being front and center was also terrible, because he's the type of person who seems to be more interested in putting himself over (like a walking, talking ego if you will:anime: ).