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Last night, I read Slimed!, and it got to thinking: What made Nick so great back in the day? Was it because it appealed to kids so perfectly, with the shows and bumpers? Is it because they had a little something for everyone, with cartoons, live action shows, game shows, and even a news show? What was it?

I can't necessarily say it's better or worse, because anything seems better when you associate it with being younger. What I can say is that 'Nickelodeon' felt like more of it's own entity back then. Like, there were shows that were directly associated with Nick. I dunno.

Probably helped that TV was bigger? Like, of course people still watch shows now, but it's more common for people to look up episodes online rather than just watching it on the tube. It probably helped networks make more of an identity for themselves, rather than individual shows.

Might be making this up but I feel like that's the case

It was (as far as i can tell) the first 24-hour cable channel made solely for children's programming (or at least the first super-popular one). So it had a little bit of a headstart over Cartoon Network. Also CN was its only real competition for the longest time. Disney Channel didn't show up as real competition until the late 90s/early 00s because it was always premium cable until then (I don't think we had it in my house until like 2001), whereas now its on basic cable.

The variety of programming definitely helped. Programming for young kids in the morning, cartoons and game shows for kids, tween/teen programming in evenings and on weekends, family entertainment at night. It's a good formula.

I think all of the graphic violence helped.

According to interviews with Will McRobb & Chris Viscardi (Pete & Pete, Inside-Out Boy, KaBlam): From the mid-80s to mid-90s, Nickelodeon was basically a TV laboratory. Writers could try out almost any idea they wanted, as long as it was aimed at & appropriate for kids. The Adventures of Pete & Pete, for example, came out of a request for some 60-second spots that advertised the "tone" of the channel, rather than any specific show or event; they invented these characters & short stories which became so popular that a set of holiday specials were then developed from them, followed by a 3-season series.

Steve Burns told a similar story: When he was cast on Blue's Clues, the show wasn't fully developed yet. Steve & the creators all contributed to the process of where his character lived, how he behaved (including how he would treat the viewers), how Blue would interact with him, & even some of the plot patterns.

It was pretty much akin to the golden-age Looney Tunes. Chuck Jones famously said, “We weren’t making them for kids or for adults; we were making them for ourselves." Allowing the creative talent on Nick shows to craft a product they were satisfied with resulted in higher-quality programming that didn't insult kids & that parents could watch with their children without getting bored.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

How far back are we saying?

like IMO it was still something I would regularly watch until sometime 2013, I've always been a huge Dan Shneider fan but sam and cat just really annoyed me, and henry danger is rightfully a kids show and not a teen sitcom as all of his others.

I think part of it is also that, by now, most of us have forgotten the garbage shows that came on when we were younger. You look at Nick now, and you might seem some of their shows (like Sanjay & Craig or Breadwinners) and think that all Nick makes is garbage. I personally can't think of any awful shows or cartoons that came on Nick when I was younger, but I'm certain they were there. Time has just buried them and all we remember is the good stuff.

You know what, actually, I do remember an awful Nick show: Butt Ugly Martians. Good. Heavens. That show was a special abomination of grossness and early 2000s CG.

[QUOTE="Thanous, post: 1514602, member: 38553"]How far back are we saying?

like IMO it was still something I would regularly watch until sometime 2013, I've always been a huge Dan Shneider fan but sam and cat just really annoyed me, and henry danger is rightfully a kids show and not a teen sitcom as all of his others.[/QUOTE]

Does Henry Danger have this little sister character that shouts all of her lines? I saw some show with a little girl screaming and being a little ****. I just wanted to punch her. It wasn't even humorous, it was just annoying.

^Au contraire, I remember the crappy stuff too. Fifteen? Don't Just Sit There? Rocket Power? Two-thirds of Hey Dude? Awful.
It's not that there weren't lows back then or that there aren't highs now; it's just that there were more highs back then.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

I liked Rocket Power...

That said, all of the other shows you've mentioned were before my time. I think you have a point; it does seem like there's not as many great shows.

I didn't think Sam & Cat was too bad. Most of those style shows (iCarly, Victorious, etc.) are decent. They're honestly not different from the good shows that were on when I was younger. Now Nick is dominated by that crappy witch soap opera, Henry Danger, and some of the Nick at Nite-esque crap that bleeds through (like that show about quadruplets?).

I just realized that I could complain about the utter injustice Nick dealt to Legend of Korra. You know what? **** Nick.

Edit: You know what other show I just remembered existing? I can't even remember the name. It was about a teenage girl who wanted to be "famous" and I think her name was Tyeesha or something. Literally can't find anything about it. I liked it until the second season; they switched to a new lighting scheme and it made the show unwatchable. I swear it came on Nick at the same time as Caitlin's Way and 100 Good Deeds of Whatshisface.

[QUOTE="CaptHayfever, post: 1514629, member: 25169"]^Au contraire, I remember the crappy stuff too. Fifteen? Don't Just Sit There? Rocket Power? Two-thirds of Hey Dude? Awful.
It's not that there weren't lows back then or that there aren't highs now; it's just that there were more highs back then.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"[/QUOTE]
Rocket power was the shiz bruh XD
[QUOTE="Sonic 5, post: 1514624, member: 26922"]
Does Henry Danger have this little sister character that shouts all of her lines? I saw some show with a little girl screaming and being a little ****. I just wanted to punch her. It wasn't even humorous, it was just annoying.[/QUOTE]
I think so XD yeah, it's a nice test for the creators I think, but they should stick to what they are best at imo[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE="Sonic 5, post: 1514634, member: 26922"]
Edit: You know what other show I just remembered existing? I can't even remember the name. It was about a teenage girl who wanted to be "famous" and I think her name was Tyeesha or something. .[/QUOTE]

You mean Taina?

THANK YOU. You have no idea how long I've wondered what the name of that show was.

All I remember about that show was there was a commercial where she crossed over with Spongebob.

And I remember that I used to like Rocket Power when I was a kid. But I watched it recently and realized it kinda sucked.

filthy casuals look at you all, it was all about the CN cartoon cartoons hype train.

(we could only afford cartoon network when i was younger, so never watched nick)

^Ah, here they're both on basic cable packages, so we either get both or neither. (Nickelodeon predates Cartoon Network by about 15 years, though.)

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

I found catdog genuinely unappealing as a child

yeah catdog was pretty ****

[QUOTE="CaptHayfever, post: 1514717, member: 25169"]^Ah, here they're both on basic cable packages, so we either get both or neither. (Nickelodeon predates Cartoon Network by about 15 years, though.)

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"[/QUOTE]
XD 2 days ago was the first time I've ever had cable :P as a kid I just had the VHS's of the shows lmao

I liked CatDog. I even had a CatDog toy that talked.

Also, my local cable company didn't carry Cartoon Network when I was younger. In my area, you could only get it if you had satellite. So, I hung out with my friend that had satellite a lot.

Eventually, that cable company lost all Viacom channels (some big kerfuffle about the new SpikeTV being not up to their moral standards) and then they got CN. As I understood it, they didn't ever get Viacom channels back and eventually went out of business.

For real though, 10-11 year old me was devastated about not getting to watch SpongeBob and Fairly OddParents.