Nickelodeon's 30th Anniversary Talkback

[Sailor V]

I know this will be locked in the future, but I'll start this thread anyways. The First and used to be Only* Kids' Network, Nickelodeon just turned thirty on April Fool's Day and I think they're planning an anniversary special this June. So, I'm going to ask you some question on Nickelodeon.

What did you like about Nickelodeon?

What didn't like about Nickelodeon?

What are your favorite Nickelodeon shows and episodes? What's your least favorite?

Did you like any of the individual blocks on Nick? If so, why?

What's your opinion on Nickelodeon now? Do you like it or hate it and why?

Do you watch any of Nickelodeon's sister networks#? If you do, what shows do you watch on these networks.

What do you want or think would happen during Nickelodeon's 30th Anniversary Special in June? If it's on, are you going to watch it?

I know the title mislead you, but I want to know how you feel about the anniversary special when it airs. Overall, I used to like Nickelodeon until I became a teenager when Spongebob took over the network like Hannah Montana is doing with the Disney Channel right now. So, what are your opinions on Nickelodeon.

* When I said used to be only I meant that before Disney Channel turned into a teeny-bopper, terribly-written kidcom, Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, cashcow network.

# Nickelodeon's sister networks are Nickelodeon TOO, The N, Noggin, Nickelodeon GAS (Games And Sports), and Nicktoons Network.

[Tobias]

Nick's always going to hold a special place in my heart for being the *first* Kid's Network, even if it wasn't a 24 hour deal, although Nick at Nite could have technically counted since all of it's sitcoms from the 50's and 60's were squeaky clean.

Favorite Shows:

You Can't Do That on Television: Before All That, before The Amanda Show, we had the defininitive kid's sketch comedy series. Sure, it was imported, but nearly everyone who was with Nick from the early days will associate this show with the network.

Invader Zim: This show was... radically different from Nick's usual kiddie fare to say the least, but it was a brilliantly hilarious animated series that got cancelled before it's time.

Finders Keepers/Double Dare: I LOVED these two game shows when I first discovered Nick. Attempts to *update* them with new hosts/concepts never really sat well with me, however, for some reason.

Ned's DeClassified School Survival Guide: I wish they'd bring it back to the main channel. I have no problems with Drake & Josh and iCarly, but Ned's was the best LA show Nick's offered up in recent years.

Honorable mention also goes to Doug, Rugrats, Fairly Oddparents, and of course, a certain yellow sponge.

The one thing I don't like about the current Nick compared to the old one: Too many marathons. It's like they have a handful of shows that are doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. on a daily basis. Between that and not getting anymore brand name aquisitions for the main channel, it feels like Nick's just missing a lot of magic it used to have.

[Darklordavaitor]

Originally Posted by Tobias

Favorite Shows:

You Can't Do That on Television: Before All That, before The Amanda Show, we had the defininitive kid's sketch comedy series. Sure, it was imported, but nearly everyone who was with Nick from the early days will associate this show with the network.

Invader Zim: This show was... radically different from Nick's usual kiddie fare to say the least, but it was a brilliantly hilarious animated series that got cancelled before it's time.

Finders Keepers/Double Dare: I LOVED these two game shows when I first discovered Nick. Attempts to *update* them with new hosts/concepts never really sat well with me, however, for some reason.

Ned's DeClassified School Survival Guide: I wish they'd bring it back to the main channel. I have no problems with Drake & Josh and iCarly, but Ned's was the best LA show Nick's offered up in recent years.

You're awesome.

I don't watch Nickelodeon at all anymore, but I'll always love it for the good memorys I had as a kid, as well as the many shows that I fell in love with on the network. Of course, I'm no longer a child, so it's perfectly understandable why the shows on the first KIDS network don't appeal to me as of late.

If we get repeats of shows like Hey Dude and Pete & Pete for the 30th anniversary like we did for the 20th and 25th, I'll be one happy camper.

[HomeMoviesFan]

Is Nick even acknowledging their 30th this time? Doesn't seem like something they'd do nowadays.

But if they do: oh, please air the third season of Pete and Pete. If you're not going to release it on DVD, the least you could do is air it...

[defunctzombie]

Nick is THIRTY?!

Well, I guess that's about right. I tend to forget how old I am sometimes. I liked Nick back when they played Muppet Babies. That was long long ago I guess. Snick was good as well, but now I hardly ever watch it (except for an occasional Spongebob).

[PC!]

They're thirty already?? It feels like just yesterday they were celebrating their twenty-fifth.

Neat thread idea. Let's see...

What did you like about Nickelodeon?
Well, mainly that it appealed to my demographic when I was younger. So many great shows over the years.

What didn't like about Nickelodeon?
Eh, most of their live-action shows were pretty hit and miss for me.

What are your favorite Nickelodeon shows and episodes? What's your least favorite?
Man, there were so many...but I'd have to say my all time favorite shows are Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, Kenan and Kel, and Invader Zim.

I try to ignore my least-favorite shows, so I don't really have any shows I downright hate.

Did you like any of the individual blocks on Nick? If so, why?
SNICK was a great way to spend Saturday nights. I was also a huge fan of SLAM, if only just to watch reruns of Zim.

What's your opinion on Nickelodeon now? Do you like it or hate it and why?
Obviously it's not as good to me now that I'm out of it's target demographic, but there are a few shows here and there that I'm a fan of, particularly Fairly Oddparents.

Do you watch any of Nickelodeon's sister networks? If you do, what shows do you watch on these networks.
Nah.

What do you want or think would happen during Nickelodeon's 30th Anniversary Special in June? If it's on, are you going to watch it?
Reruns of classic shows, of course! I'd also love to see some classic promos. It doesn't really matter to me, though; I don't get the channel anymore.

[NewcomerDC]

Originally Posted by HomeMoviesFan

Is Nick even acknowledging their 30th this time? Doesn't seem like something they'd do nowadays.

But if they do: oh, please air the third season of Pete and Pete. If you're not going to release it on DVD, the least you could do is air it...

I don't think Nick realizes how old the network is. If they do/did, it'll/ it probably have been notified in Nick Magazine but that's it so don't get ya hopes up for legal DVDs of ya fave old-school/new-school Nick shows since most of them are going the way of MOD on Amazon.com anyway.

[Mist]

Nickelodeon was a great network back in my childhood. My favorite shows were

What Would You Do? A gameshow hosted by Marc Summers. I can't remember much about it other than what the set looked like, the theme music and that pies were a constant theme.

Nick Arcade Nick should still make this show. Videogames are just as popular nowadays as they were back then. I remember wishing I could've been a contestant on this show. That final round where the kids got to be inside a videogame was awesome.

The Ren & Stimpy Show The first two seasons, anyway. Ren with that toothbrush in Space Madness was hilarious. Not to mention the infamous "Happy Happy Joy Joy" musical number in Stimpy's Invention. And the hairball factory episode. Classic animation. Almost every episode in the first two seasons were perfection.

Rugrats I loved the older episodes of this show, Before it got revived in 1997, with bad writing and terrible animation. Classics likes Down the Drain, The Slide, The Box, Destination: Moon, all classics.

Doug Another great show. Killer Tofu. Need I say more? Honk-honk!
I need to get some money so I can buy the DVD. =\

Muppet Babies It is a CRIME this isn't on DVD yet. The title pretty much sums up the plot of the show.

In later years, Nick really went downhill. The success of Rugrats caused Nick to revive the show in 1997, with stale episodes that lost all the charm the first few seasons had, not to mention a serious decline in animation quality.

Rugrats soon became Nick's new mascot, replacing their former mascots, Ren & Stimpy. Rugrats were everywhere, from videogames to movies. Nick soon ordered much more programs from Klasky-Csupo, the studio behind Rugrats. The network quickly became the Klasky-Csupo channel, with terrible shows like The Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power and As Told by Ginger airing all day, not to mention constant reruns of Rugrats.

The network bounced back in the 2000s, with new shows like Spongebob Squarepants (which is now their new mascot, replacing the Rugrats, and thus, the cycle continues), The Fairly Oddparents, Invader ZIM, Jimmy Neutron, Danny Phantom, and My Life as a Teenage Robot.

I'm older now, so I don't watch Nick very often, except for some Spongebob reruns. What i've seen hasn't looked very promising. Commercials for shows that all seem to center around dating. Aren't kids who watch nick too young for that stuff? Every commercial i've seen for the Naked Brothers band is about relationship drama. These kids look like they're in 2nd grade! Then there's shows that are obviously just copies of Hannah Montana and High School Musical (iCarly, Spectacular) Seriously, Nick, be original. Don't just copy the flavor of the week.

Nick was a cool network when I was a kid, but now it just seems like a soulless conglomerate.

[Martianinvader]

Originally Posted by HomeMoviesFan

Is Nick even acknowledging their 30th this time? Doesn't seem like something they'd do nowadays.

I agree; is this special for real, and will it really be for people older than 13?

Usually all they do to mark their significant birthdays is re-air the same one episode of You Can't with Alanis.

[Spike Mcdougal]

Originally Posted by Martianinvader

I agree; is this special for real, and will it really be for people older than 13?

Usually all they do to mark their significant birthdays is re-air the same one episode of You Can't with Alanis.

Are you talking about the one with Ross freaking out about Communists?

And are you taking the "First Episode" marathon the did in 99 into account?

[Rho]

They'd better air a marathon of all their original shows.

[NewcomerDC]

Originally Posted by Rho

They'd better air a marathon of all their original shows.

You can't force Nick to pretty much bow down to the fans. If they get a marathon, they'll make a marathon. We can ask and beg for it but Nick may either don't care about what the hardcore Nick fans want or they know how old Nick is but might throw us a Spongebob/Fairly Oddparents marathon.

[hobbyfan]

Originally Posted by Sailor V

# Nickelodeon's sister networks are Nickelodeon TOO, The N, Noggin, Nickelodeon GAS (Games And Sports), and Nicktoons Network.

Nick GAS is no more. I don't know of a Nickelodeon TOO, unless it's overseas. Back in January, Nick GAS was discontinued, and The N was spun off from Noggin and given the Nick GAS space.

[hobbyfan]

Nick used to be interesting. I'd watch Clarissa Explains it All from time to time if there wasn't anything else on. Ditto with You Can't Do That on Television and Are You Afraid of the Dark?.

Nick has gone downhill in recent years because of what I feel is corporate interference. They're in a ratings war with Disney Channel & Cartoon Network, as we all know, but they refuse to diversify their lineup to get out of the rut of running marathons seemingly every day. Nick was the first network to also abuse their programming by putting shows on the daily schedule that didn't have enough episodes to justify it. Their programmers believe that it won't matter to the kids, thinking that they won't know the difference if the same episode of, say for example, Spongebob Squarepants, is on for the 20th time in the last 2 weeks or something.

Not everyone gets Nicktoons Network, and thus are shut out of the Marvel toons there.

Nick had a good run of sci-fi series (i.e. Space Cases, Allen Strange, Alex Mack), but none really succeeded because the suits kept pushing the panic button every time they saw the ratings dip. Also, like sister network Empty-V, Nick has had a bad habit of making last-second schedule changes for no reason. See for example the sudden demise of their Sunday SLAM! block a few years ago.

Empty-V didn't bother acknowledging their 25th anniversary 3 years ago. VH1 will be 25 next year, but I doubt they'll make too much noise about that, either. If Nick doesn't bother with a 30th anniversary show, it won't surprise me.

[Elven Moon]

30 years?! Well, I really am old. I forgot.

What did you like about Nickelodeon?

I liked their variety - live action, game shows, imports, etc. There was usually something good on to watch. It appealed to my kid self back then.

What didn't like about Nickelodeon?

Hm... I guess a few of the shows were pretty boring.

What are your favorite Nickelodeon shows and episodes? What's your least favorite?

Some of my favorites include:

Double Dare: I loved this show, it was so much fun to watch everybody get down and dirty. Family Double Dare was cool, too, but Double Dare 2000 didn't catch my interest at all for some reason.

Doug: Honk honk!

Hey Arnold: Although I admit I didn't get into it until it had already been on for a few years. It's fun and not really your typical kids show that dared to tackle certain issues other hadn't.

Other favorites include: Muppet Babies, Tiny Toon Adventures, Today's Special, Angry Beavers, and The Little Koala. My least favorite would have to be Ren & Stimpy, and Rugrats after Dil and Kimmie came into the picture.

Did you like any of the individual blocks on Nick? If so, why?

Well, Nick Jr. had a pretty awesome lineup for awhile there - The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, Eureeka's Castle, etc. Yes, I did watch it despite already being a teen by then :P

What's your opinion on Nickelodeon now? Do you like it or hate it and why?

I don't really watch the channel anymore, but that's to be expected since I'm waaay out of their demographic now. It definitely feels like they're so busy trying to compete with other kids networks, they aren't trying to make themselves special anymore. It's been overrun with tweencoms

Do you watch any of Nickelodeon's sister networks#? If you do, what shows do you watch on these networks.

I have Nicktoons Network on almost every day. I stick with Jimmy Neutron, The Secret Show, Kappa Mikey, and maybe Teenage Robot.

What do you want or think would happen during Nickelodeon's 30th Anniversary Special in June? If it's on, are you going to watch it?

I'm not expecting them to acknowledge it, the most we might get is some irrelevant marathon of one of their recent shows (*cough* Spongebob *cough*). But if they did something special I'd watch!

[SuperMegaHyper]

How much ya wanna bet Nick isn't gonna do anything to celebrate.

[Jigen Daisuke]

I have many fond memories of Nick as a kid too. I don't watch it anymore..the channel reminds me of other channels (MTV, VH1, A&E, etc) that have gone to the wayside since those glory days. Some of my earliest memories of Nick were Pinwheel, Today's Special, the weekend movies, You can't do that on television, Danger Mouse, and Ben and Sabastian.

[Light Lucario]

I am surprised that Nick is thirty. I only remember hearing about how it turned twenty, but I didn't think that was ten years ago. I remember enjoying a lot of shows from Nicks in the past and I still enjoy some of their shows now. I'll edit this post later for those answers.

[TMC1982]

Originally Posted by NewcomerDC

You can't force Nick to pretty much bow down to the fans. If they get a marathon, they'll make a marathon. We can ask and beg for it but Nick may either don't care about what the hardcore Nick fans want or they know how old Nick is but might throw us a Spongebob/Fairly Oddparents marathon.

Just about all that I want to say about the current state of Nickelodeon has virtually been pointed out already. My biggest problem with Nick right now is the sheer and utter redundancy and blandness in their schedule. I haven't watched Nick on a consistant basis in quite sometime. However whenever I glance over to check their schedule it's virtually the same sort of set block of shows (e.g. SpongeBob/Fairly Oddparents/iCarly/Drake & Josh etc.). The Nickelodeon that I recall from growing up had way, way, way more variety and diversity (in terms of the assortment of genres) in its line up. Nickelodeon is now, too caught up in what Disney Channel and/or Cartoon Network is doing, hence they need to pretty much duplicate the formula that made those channels successful in recent memory (i.e. live-action tweencoms for Disney and coping High School Musical with Spectacular!).

[Sailor V]

Originally Posted by SuperMegaHyper

How much ya wanna bet Nick isn't gonna do anything to celebrate.

Since I looked at the TV schedule and saw that Nick is airing three hours of Spongebob, I'd be saying nothing much.