Friday Five – Nickelodeon Shows

Welcome to the Friday Five! Each week I help you get to know me a bit better with the help of a top 5 list. This week’s topic: Nickelodeon Shows

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when Nickelodeon wasn’t just reruns of SpongeBob and Dan Schneider tween-sitcoms. Not that either are bad, I actually like both of the just fine. But when I was a kid, Nickelodeon was in the middle of a children’s television renaissance, redefining the very nature of what a childrens’ show was and could be. Some of the greatest shows ever came from the slime factory in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

1. The Adventures of Pete and Pete – I went to summer camp with the kid who played Paper Cut. Yes, he was that weird in real life too. I’ve also vaguely contemplated the idea of getting a Petunia tattoo. A great show that taught kids it was OK to be weird, just they way you are.

 

2. Roundhouse – I’ve stated before my love of musicals, and who didn’t want that barcalounger you could drive around?

 

3. Legends of the Hidden Temple – The whole reason I got digital cable back when there was a Nick GaS channel. I spent many a drunken night yelling at the screen “HOW HARD IS IT TO PUT THE DAMN MONKEY TOGETHER!!! IF YOU HAVE BOTH PENDANTS, IT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE!!!!!”.

 

4. Guts – American Gladiators for kids? Sign me up! No seriously, I wanna do it. I also want a glowing piece of that radical rock. There should be at least 126 of them, but I have only heard of one guy trying to sell it for 35 thousand dollars and this one. While I don’t have $35k lying around right this second, are you kidding me on the second one? 1 bid of $1500. I’d gladly pay triple that, but I’d want the medal too. Below is as close as I ever got. 

 

5. You Can’t Do That on Television – Do today’s kids even know where Nickelodeon’s fascination with green slime comes from? I don’t know <cue wacky sound effects>. It comes from this oddball Canadian show. On a side note, I was once slimed on the Nickelodeon Studios tour (my dad had inside connections. They were taping Clarissa Explains It All, but they were all on break. I did see them throwing a Frisbee around the backlot though). Slime is just tapioca pudding colored green.

 
Special Runners up mention to Pinwheel and all the random foreign crap it showed that started the network in the first place. And the real old school shows like Mr. Wizard’s World, Eureka’s Castle, Today’s Special, Maya the Bee, Out of Control, and David the Gnome, all shows that at the time, we didn’t realize were teaching us valuable life lessons.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, I present myself in my full Guts cosplay!

It’s no AggroCrag, but it is a reasonable facsimile

JohnScott is the proud owner of a life size replica Captain Kirk Chair. He is a hoarder of Comic Books, Transformers, and Star Trek action figures. He attended Space Camp as an adult. He has taken vacations to the closing of the Star Trek Experience and the final night Shuttle launch. He has been known to yell at his television when the kids can't put together the damn statue in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. When not writing for InsufficientScotty, he is a Software Engineer for a major healthcare communications company. You can Email or follow on Twitter @NotEnoughScotty or Facebook