Nickelodeon's Live Action

[Avaitor]

Still have no plans to reactivate my Facebook any time soon, but I do occasionally check the block's page just to keep updated. They just recently announced the schedule change, and the reception isn't too great.

If so many people wanted the block to stay on at 10... why weren't they watching it when it was on at that time? I guess that ratings were slipping anyway since the first hour of the block is comprised of episodes that have already aired, but even then, the 12-2 set did better than the 10-12. Seems weird.

[Kiddington]

Still have no plans to reactivate my Facebook any time soon, but I do occasionally check the block's page just to keep updated. They just recently announced the schedule change, and the reception isn't too great.

If so many people wanted the block to stay on at 10... why weren't they watching it when it was on at that time? I guess that ratings were slipping anyway since the first hour of the block is comprised of episodes that have already aired, but even then, the 12-2 set did better than the 10-12. Seems weird.

You probably answered your own question.

I know that's not the primary reason, but the staleness of All That/K&K has to be taking its toll on viewership interest; heck, I know it is for me. All That especially; having only two seasons to work with is ridiculous, and they've shuffled through certain episodes a couple of times already.

...anyway, I voted for Salute Your Shorts, Alex Mack, and Real Monsters this week. 'Twould be the freshest lineup we've had in ages; I hope we get it, but somehow I highly doubt we will. CatDog is on the queue this time, and for whatever ungodly reason, people seem to like that show (and I bet it wins at least one of the four slots; just you watch). You can't have a fuzzy 90's Nick moment without someone always chiming in "Oh hey, remember CatDog? Dat show is AWESUM!!!!1". I don't get it, but whatever.

[Avaitor]

I think the staleness of 3/4 of the block is hurting it a little, but I think another reason the schedule change didn't go over so well was that it wasn't that well advertised. I didn't see any adverts for it until the Monday before they decided to go back to the old schedule. Sure, the FB and Twitter pages acknowledged the change, but not that well from what I recollect.

Also, based on the video posted on the Facebook page, it seems like this weekend, they're airing AYAOTD mini-marathons, as well as one or two episodes eligible from the pick. So the schedule should be different on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From what I could find though, no one's really updated this change in schedule, so idk what's going to happen.

[Daxdiv]

I just assumed that most of the people complaining about it are probably not Nielsen's families or anything. Let's face it, do we even know anyone that has that elusive box installed in their home? I sure as hell don't. But I do see how the repeats of All That and Kenan and Kel would get tiresome, along with how I learned about the 10 PM change. If it wasn't for this board, I probably would have been unaware.

[Avaitor]

If my guide's correct, it seems like on Friday, Salute Your Shorts will air after the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes, while Real Monsters does on Saturday, and "Two Heads Are Better Than None" will on Sunday after one episode of AYAOTD.

Pretty good haul if true. I've been wanting to see the K&K movie again, since it's been ages, and the other two eps are classic. I know that some of you guys were hoping for the Hey Arnold! episode to air, but hey, SYS has been off the air longer and A!RM is a more traditional Halloween show. Plus, IMO, they're both better episodes, although that HA! ep is still a classic.

Oh, and also, they're going to air Cry Baby Lane on Monday. You know, I've never actually seen this, which isn't surprising, since apparently they never reaired it. It may be a 2000 movie, but hey, at least it's appropriate enough for the block.

[Avaitor]

And here's the setlist for next week:

My Brother and Me- "Donnel's Birthday Party"
The Ren & Stimpy Show- "Cheese Rush Days/Weiner Barons"
Salute Your Shorts- "Toilet Seat Basketball"
The Angry Beavers- "Kandid Kreatures/Fakin' It!"
The Secret World of Alex Mack- "The Videotape"
The Wild Thornberrys- "Pack of Thornberrys"
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo- "Two Faced"
Hey Arnold!- "Longest Monday/Eugene's Pet"

You know what, I'm voting for Alex Mack, Shelby Woo, and My Brother and Me, if only because they could use more attention. But I really want to watch some Alex Mack again. I remember watching Shelby Woo somewhat regularly, but I don't think it was ever a favorite or anything, and while I never liked MBAM, it can't be worse than Rocket Power, and it has just about no chance of airing weekly, due to how few episodes it has.

[Kiddington]

Did anyone catch what was on last night? Unfortunately, I missed it this week.

[Avaitor]

I called it earlier when I said that there were 3 AYAOTD episodes and Salute your Shorts. Tonight will be the same, except swap SYS for Real Monsters.

[Kiddington]

I called it earlier when I said that there were 3 AYAOTD episodes and Salute your Shorts. Tonight will be the same, except swap SYS for Real Monsters.

Ah, right. Sorry, must've missed that.

...anyway, as far as next week goes, I'm going with SYS, Alex Mack, and Shelby Woo as well (and hopefully I won't miss it this time). I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen Shelby Woo (I don't recall it ever airing during the early years of Teen Nick or anything like that, and it hasn't been on Nick-standard in eons), so that'll be interesting, provided that it actually wins.

[Avaitor]

So I'm going to make a post on this thread that isn't 90's Are All That related. *gasp!* I know, but the Disney thread gave me some typical late night thinking, and this thread is about Nickelodeon in general, not just one block.

Anyway, I think that of the three main kids networks, Nickelodeon has changed the least in terms of concept, and thus has gone downhill the least. Ideally, the channel was made as a network for kids, and it's still that, give or take Nick@Nite.

I know 90's die-hards tend to complain about the lack of variety, that it's nothing but SpongeBob and kidcoms. But honestly, there is more to it than just that. There's at least 4 or 5 other cartoons currently airing now, and Nick has been trying game shows (BrainSurge), adventure-esque series (The Troop) and serials (House of Anubis) again. They even have Power Rangers, Winx Club and TMNT to keep the tradition of having licensed series air alongside originals. Granted, none of them are really making a dent in the ratings, but at least they're trying.*

While if you were to say that Disney Channel is nothing but Phineas & Ferb and kidcoms... you'd be entirely right. I guess there's another cartoon or two on as well, but the pickings are much more slim than on Nick. What's funny is that Disney started off as an outlet for their classic library and to start original programs that could live up to the family name. Ever since the Zoog days though it just became a Nickelodeon clone. Even though it seems like in recent years Nick is the one copying off of Disney, it's still sad to see what has become to the channel as a lover of the mouse house.

And honestly, everyone's had their say on Cartoon Network in the past few years, so why bother? At least they're starting to realize that live-action is best saved for special occasions than regular series, or so we think.

That said, I think Disney Channel has the best scheduling motif for it's series. They seem to give every show a fair shot, and unless they do really poorly, almost everything they've made in the past decade or so gets at least a second season. Obviously there's some favoritism (Suite Life, Hannah Montana, P&F) and if ratings start to plummet after a while , they get less attention and less hope of being renewed, but that's to be expected from everyone.

I think they do it better than Nickelodeon, which basically has a business motif stating "let's just air SpongeBob and whichever 2 or 3 live-action shows are popular this year multiple times in the day between Nick Jr. and Nick@Nite, while the rest of our shows just get a weekend slot or two if they're lucky" or CN, whose ideal seems to be "let's throw as many shows as we can on the wall and see what sticks before our next upfront, then try again".

*to further prove that these shows aren't really catching on, The Troop is canceled. Everything else seems to still be in production (House of Anubis is a British import, otherwise, idk if it'd stay on), but that's one down.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Nickelodeon has the same problem YTV currently has up in Canada, and that's the lack of variety. YTV used to air shows and cartoons from all over the world from every decade back when it began up until the last decade began. Then suddenly they did exactly what Nick did, and that's do nothing but air the same three shows all the time (Which three? Guess) and oddly enough they are the same three shows Nick over-airs.

I'm not asking them to go back to only airing 90s programming, but kids used to watch anything as long as it was good. Stuff like Rocky & Bullwinkle right before sliding into an episode or Power Rangers, or the Raccoons, or maybe an airing of Secret Of Nimh was what made YTV work. Now they air pretty much those three tired shows every time I turn on the channel.

Nick does the same thing, only with the same three bloody shows.

As for the Troop, well it was a decent attempt, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. And it is arguable shows like this aren't that popular because Nick chased this audience away years ago and now have to build it back up. You can't air nothing but Kidcoms and expect action adventure to just take off- especially when said show is merely decent at best.

[Avaitor]

(Which three? Guess)

SpongeBob and iCarly for sure, and I'm guessing the other is either Victorious or Big Time Rush. Those are really the only 4 our Nick is currently promoting.

The thing is, I think kids would be into adventure shows or even classics, if they were given more of a chance to watch shows like that. The climate is set up so only kidcoms and the most audience neutral cartoons can succeed, but if they put actual effort into the quality of their other shows and when they air, kids would be more into them.

[Spark Of Spirit]

(Which three? Guess)

SpongeBob and iCarly for sure, and I'm guessing the other is either Victorious or Big Time Rush. Those are really the only 4 our Nick is currently promoting.

The thing is, I think kids would be into adventure shows or even classics, if they were given more of a chance to watch shows like that. The climate is set up so only kidcoms and the most audience neutral cartoons can succeed, but if they put actual effort into the quality of their other shows and when they air, kids would be more into them.

That's true. I mean, my friend's nieces watch that stuff because they feel they should, not necessarily because they like them all that much. But last I heard they enjoy stuff like Rugrats and Darkwing Duck just as much if not more when given the option to watch them.

(And yeah, you got the first two right. Oddly enough the third I was thinking of was FOP, but BTR is starting to overtake it even here.)

[Avaitor]

FOP really doesn't air on regular Nick anymore. It gets a couple of slots during the weekend and they occasionally put it on in the morning before Nick Jr, but that's about it. It airs a lot more on Nicktoons, but even then, it gets overshadowed by the action shows. And it's been like that for a while.

And yeah, I know that kids still like the classics if they get acquainted with them. The ratings for Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry are still respectable in the afternoon, and kids are still somewhat aware of who The Flintstones are, even if it's just because of the vitamins and cereal. I've also lent my DuckTales and TaleSpin tapes to my cousins (they range from 4-13 in age, but I did this when they were younger; I don't think the youngest was even born then), and they loved them. They're also big Phineas & Ferb fans, so I guess there's room for everything.

[Avaitor]

Now I'm going to make another 90's Are All That post.

I'm really enjoying watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? again. It's not at all scary (at most, it gets a little creepy, but more in the weird stalkerish way than the spooky way) and the acting can get lame often, but I still have to give the show credit for trying to be this type of series for children, and doing so with at least some amount of effort and interest. It can be hokey and silly at times, but at least it isn't boring too often. I would like it if the show stuck around on the block after this, but tonight's the last night for it.