Nickelodeon's Live Action

[Kiddington]

Well, that's OK; as long as they continue to air episodes they haven't shown yet (caught tonight's Clarissa; yeah, it's a "new" one), I'm fine with both of these being back on. As you know, I was pretty disappointed when they took them off without finishing their respective runs anyway.

On a different note (and one that isn't so negative), looking forward to see how they handle the "UPick with Stick" deal they've got coming up. Pretty cool that they brought back his original voice actor and everything; it's almost like he hasn't changed a bit in the 13-14 or so odd years he's been off the air. Can't wait.

[Kiddington]

So according to Nick and More's Twitter, Hey Dude is supposed to be joining the lineup starting October 3rd. Not sure what it's going to be replacing, at this point; they didn't provide a link, and I'm not seeing any sort of conformation on the website or Facebook account yet, so... yeah. Take this info for what it's worth.

Tremendously disappointed, if this is indeed true. Another show that's already on DVD (well, one season's worth anyway, which is where I'm sure they're going to start), and after having sat down and watched Season 1 in its entirety, it just... doesn't hold up. At all. It feels so dated in comparison to the rest of the 90's Nick output, and truth be told, I don't even really have any nostalgia for this show like I do All That, K&K, Clarissa, Legends, etc. It's just sorta "there", and not in a good way. I would have much preferred Legends or Salute Your Shorts being given the green light instead.

[Avaitor]

I remember when the FB page posted a link to the season 1 DVD back when it came out, and saw one person make a very good remark- Hey Dude was the show you'd tolerate in order to wait for the shows you actually wanted to watch were on.

It's boring, but stuck around for as long (the last batch of episodes aired before Salute Your Shorts started in 91, and the show was taken completely off the channel in 99) as it did on the channel because it had enough episodes (65) to repeat on a regular basis. And it made that many episodes because it was Nick's first original sitcom, and they didn't know any better at the time.

I can say that I didn't expect for any of the shows with votable episodes in the first poll to make it on the next schedule change (Clarissa and Doug not-withstanding). While I would have preferred SYS, Legends or Rugrats to Hey Dude, they could have gone with something worse, like CatDog or The Amanda Show. And I didn't buy season 1, so I might just watch it anyway.

Edit: Apparently it's airing at 1, so I'm guessing Rocko is going. Between it and Arnold, I'd probably replace that too, since that's starting season 2 this week, which isn't planned to come out on DVD soon, and hasn't aired on Nicktoons in ages, as opposed to Rocko.

[Kiddington]

I can say that I didn't expect for any of the shows with votable episodes in the first poll to make it on the next schedule change (Clarissa and Doug not-withstanding). While I would have preferred SYS, Legends or Rugrats to Hey Dude, they could have gone with something worse, like CatDog or The Amanda Show. And I didn't buy season 1, so I might just watch it anyway.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you lump The Amanda Show in the same class as CatDog? I've seen you mentioning that you didn't like it a couple of times before, but I dunno; I think because, for me, it is one of those shows that I have a lot of nostalgia for, I just can't hate it. It is pretty dated though, I'll give you that much.

...but yeah, I suppose you're right; they could have gone in a worse direction with this. Hell, they've got My Brother and Me on the UPick poll for starters; if they actually put that in the regular rotation, with its lowly episode count and all...

[Avaitor]

The Amanda Show was a series that  liked a lot as a kid, but seeing it now, it just doesn't really hold up to me. A lot of the sketches feel like All That leftovers, and the castmates weren't really that talented outside of Amanda and maybe Drake. There are some funny bits, like Blockblister and Moody's Point, but most of the time the show feels too juvenile and random for me.

I guess compared to CatDog, Rocket Power and Wild Thornberrys, it's the best option, but I lump all of those together because they're barely 90's to me, and don't hold up as well as a lot of other shows that can air on the block.

[Rynnec]

I wouldn't mind them putting My Brother & Me on the block for a short period of time (long as it doesn't replace K&K, which I'm sure it won't), I honestly have more nostalgia for that than I do for Hey Dude (which I honestly didn't even remember until an episode reran again in 2004, must've been one of those shows that I changed the channel on to watch something else).

[Avaitor]

Welp, my schedule says that Hey Dude is airing at 1, and Doug is staying at the 1:30 slot. For only 2 weeks, then The Amanda Show will air then for another 2 weeks, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? for another 2 weeks.

Seems like a random decision to take off Rocko and Arnold so soon and leave All That and K&K still on. K&K's even going to stay on after it goes back to season 1. But whatever. I'll be recording them all.

[Kiddington]

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Well hey, now there's something I can get behind.

Still sucks that they're taking off Arnold, though (while leaving the already zombified remains of All That's second season at the top of the rotation). I'm telling ya; either get the rights to some of the other later seasons, or drop it from the lineup. No sense keeping a stale dog going simply because the block is named after the show in question (I know that's why they're keeping it on... and hey, I wouldn't have a problem with that if they were airing something beyond Season 3).

[Avaitor]

Yeah, it doesn't even get much better ratings than the others. In fact, usually it and Arnold end up being the last, while K&K more often then not takes the top, while Rocko follows just after.

I kind of like the schedule change, now that I think about it. You have a show that the oldest viewers of the block look back on (Hey Dude), one that slightly younger fans around our age are more ecstatic on (AYAOTD), and one that the youngest fans want to see again (Amanda). Why they're choosing to put them on at that time is questionable, but it's not a bad combination.

[Avaitor]

Wow, there are a lot of LOTHT eps up on the server. Four, to be exact.

Imma watch some of them later.

[Avaitor]

Triple post, but no Hey Dude this week. Clarissa's staying for now.

IDK, maybe they're going to wait for it, Doug and maybe even K&K to finish up before making another schedule change. I sure hope so.

[Avaitor]

Big changes coming up.

Am I the only one that liked where the block was running as is? I don't want it bumped up so soon, because it might interfere with my other recordings. But hey, airing all 7 days is a good thing.

[Kiddington]

The block must be doing well if they're giving it a better timeslot (not that they'd even be losing much in the process, but I digress). Although I have no scheduling conflicts with it airing in the overnight hours, I'm all for moving it up if that means it'll get better exposure (and thus, better ratings).

...and yeah, the 7 days a week thing is pretty cool. Ultimately, I'd like to see them switch things up a bit on the weekends, though, rather than just running the same shows that are also airing on weekdays. Maybe air some of the game shows on those nights, or perhaps some of the older shows with low episode counts (My Brother and Me, etc.).

[Avaitor]

You see, I think they're making the right decisions, but not the way they should be. It's good that they're bringing new shows on like Hey Dude as well as ones that didn't get to finish their runs like Doug, but it shouldn't be at the expense of series with plenty of eps left to air, like Clarissa, Rocko, and Arnold. All That's still in seasons 2&3 purgatory, and Kenan & Kel's almost done with its run, so those should be the ones to go.

And I agree that they should maybe spice up the block on weekends a little more, instead of just airing the same shows for 6 days of the week. Maybe air shows with lower episode counts, like My Brother and Me (and Kablam!, depending on how many episodes they have left), or do Stick Stickley on the weekends as well. It kind of seems like they'll run through episode counts even faster this way, and have more dead space.

Also, I think these 3 shows might air tomorrow, based on the questions asked on the block's FB page:

Salute Your Shorts
AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
The Angry Beavers

One more show to guess. I could be wrong, though.

[Avaitor]

Welp, here's the next set:

Family Double Dare
The Wild Thornberrys- "Rebel Without a Trunk"
Wild and Crazy Kids
Rugrats- "Naked Tommy/Tommy and the Secret Club"
The Journey of Allen Strange- "A Burp in Time"
The Ren & Stimpy Show- "Black Hole/Stimpy's Invention"
Space Cases- "It's My Birthday, Too (Yeah!)"
Rocket Power- "Ice Queens/Secret Spot"

Huh, pretty interesting haul. Some of these shows I haven't seen in years, and none of these are on DVD yet aside from Ren & Stimpy (the Thornberrys ep will be on the upcoming season 2 set, though). I don't remember caring much for Allen Strange or Space Cases, but since they're not likely to air on the block and deserve some love, I'm voting for them both, along with Double Dare.

But I'd probably like to see all of these but Rocket Power or maybe TWT air next week.

Also, I'll be out tonight, so in case my DVR acts up again and doesn't record, can someone post what aired on the U-Pick block tonight?