The 90s Are All That

[Avaitor]

I'm home, and I decided to watch the block a little tonight, and kept it on for a few CatDog episodes.

Still not very good. Cat can be a jerk, but more often than not, he just wants to do his own thing, which more often than not is blocked by everyone else. And the show wants us to relate with Dog, who's an obnoxious shrill. Blah.

[Avaitor]

In honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary of Nicktoons, Klickstein released this extra series of oral discussion about the first 3. A majority of the key players get into detail here and talk plenty about these shows. You even see some of the talent involved throughout admit that there were certain series that they never liked.

It's a nice read, and really makes me want to finally pick up a copy of Slimed! I do hope that they at least talk about Rocko in the book, though, since as I recall, Klickstein didn't want to go that far forward when he started his work.

Edit: Straight from Vanessa Coffey- "My idea of creating this block was like creating a meal. Your broccoli was Doug. Rugrats was Spaghetti-O's. And then dessert was Ren & Stimpy." Damn.

[Avaitor]

So Nick is getting into the Loot Crate business.

$50 is kind of pricey, but I think I'm actually doing this one. The first box was available at SDCC, and I was impressed. A Spunky plush! Chuckie's shirt and glasses! A Stimpy mug! Rugrats coasters! I'm down.

[Avaitor]

This is a good article, explaining how 1996 was a pivotal year for Nickelodeon.

I think it's interesting that the network was changing its content around this time, and that I somehow must have noticed, since I started watching the network increasingly less at this point.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, that explains that. I had a feeling there was something happening behind the scenes before Nick started to turn.

It eventually slid into what it is now, which is easily 180 degrees from where it started from.

[Avaitor]

You know, I did still watch plenty of Nickelodeon in 96. I was still loyal to Rugrats (which was releasing some specials around this point, before its proper fourth season started), All That, and Alex Mack, and I ate up Hey Arnold!, Kenan & Kel, and Kablam! And while I was getting a little too old for them, on occasion, I would enjoy Blues Clues and the Dr. Seuss show, as well. I didn't really stop paying as much attention to Nick until the next year or so, around when CN started getting more originals and the Powerhouse era was starting.

But the era of overly-corporate Nickelodeon makes sense. Not to say that Nick wasn't always corporate, but there was definitely some change going on here. But it especially makes sense for Nick, since for nearly a decade, their biggest hit was an import that they couldn't technically claim. The early, experimental years of the network had a unique way of letting its audience in, and that's why it still endures to those who grew up with it, and it must have came as no surprise that the network was becoming hugely successful. I don't think this feeling of connection lasted, but enough of the shows were hits where that didn't really matter anymore.

And yeah, they were able to market many of these hits. Say what you will about the later Rugrats episodes, but they milked that show for everything it was worth, and they also made bank off of Arnold and even CatDog. Of course there was SpongeBob, and they also did well with FOP before it became apparent that no one really knew what to do with that anymore, as well as Jimmy Neutron and even Avatar, even though lightning didn't strike twice with TLOK.

[Avaitor]

Oh, and it's funny, Cartoon Network's commercialization period came by much earlier for it, but until recently, they've always seemed to struggle at it.

I'd say that started around 99-00 for CN, right when CCF started and when DBZ became a serious competitor. Granted, they didn't have too many Nickelodeon-level hits, but they had a couple that came close. Of course there's Powerpuff Girls, which focused too far on one particular side of marketing and let go of the fact that it was a megahit for everyone. Ed, Edd n' Eddy really brought huge numbers in as well, but I always felt like they never really knew what to do with that series. And there's Ben 10, but that's basically just a toyline. Scooby has always done well for them, even today, but at this point, it's a brand above all else.

In recent years, they've learned to do better with their shows it feels. Adventure Time is the biggest example, but Regular Show, Steven Universe, and Gumball, as well. And Teen Titans Go! if you want to count it.

[Daikun]

The Splat has expanded to the UK.

[Daikun]

Eugene Pitt, the man who sang Nickelodeon's iconic theme song, passed away this past Friday.

Fred Seibert wrote a blog piece on his legacy and included some of his best moments. Give it a read.

[Daikun]

NickSplat is now on VRV.



Shows available:

AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
All That
The Amanda Show
The Angry Beavers
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
CatDog
ChalkZone
Clarissa Explains It All
Double Dare 2000
Doug
Guts
Hey Dude
KABLAM!
Kenan & Kel
Legends of the Hidden Temple
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
Nick Arcade
Rocko's Modern Life
Salute Your Shorts
The Wild Thornberrys

[Avaitor]

I was pretty excited when I found out, but wow, is the selection paltry. I'm not even talking about the series represented, which have a good number, including most of the ones I want (YCDTOTV, Pete & Pete season 3, and OG Double Dare are my most wanted to come next). But the amount of episodes available for each series is pathetic. Some, like Salute Your Shorts, have as few as 5 episodes up (or "10" as VRV lists it, since they count their captioned editions of the same episodes as separate, doubling their total). I don't see why it would be so hard to put the full series up for these shows, or at least a season or two at a time.

That said, I do like that VRV got the shows at least, so I didn't need to spend money on another streaming service.

[Daikun]

Quoting from Toon Zone Anime Superhero (god, what a dumb name):

So the VRV NickSplat channel is rotating content monthly. Seasons 3 and 4 of Rocko came but seasons 1 and 2 left. Rocket Power came but other stuff left. This is a terrible idea. Hopefully it isn't indicative of Brian Robbin's desire to expand Nick's digital presence and is something leftover from before.

[Avaitor]

Cartoon Network used to do this with their shows on Netflix, and it bugged the fuck out of me. Why is it so hard to have the entirety of these shows? I'm especially annoyed that I didn't get to finish the half of Clarissa Explains It All's second season that they put up- there's nothing for it on anymore.

Besides Rocket Power, they also put the Figure It Out revival on. Why not the original, idk, but I actually kind of liked it as well.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Yeah, I don't get the rotating seasons model. I bet the logic is to encourage people to still buy the dvds/digital downloads, but they should realize it's annoying for the consumer to not have every episode of a show available on a streaming service and makes it less appealing.

Also, when did Toon Zone rebrand? ...And why are they called Anime Superhero?   

[Daikun]

Also, when did Toon Zone rebrand? ...And why are they called Anime Superhero?   

They changed names a week ago, so you didn't miss a whole lot.