Oftentimes when we talk about the TV shows we watched growing up, we’ll list off whatever we can remember of our Saturday morning cartoon lineup, some sitcoms we watched before bedtime, MTV music videos our parents probably didn’t want us watching and then of course, there was Nickelodeon. When I started to go through the list of Nickelodeon TV shows I watched as a kid, I realized two things. 1) I watched way too much TV as a child and 2) a good chunk of my TV watching routine was dedicated to Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon has been around almost as long as I have. We had the channel in my family’s household for as long as I can remember so my recollection of favorite Nickelodeon shows goes back pretty much as far as the network does. I couldn’t stay a child forever though so the list ends around the early 90’s.
Here are some of my favorite Nickelodeon shows:
Pinwheel - aired 1979-1989
This show could be described as Nickelodeon’s version of ‘Sesame Street’ in that it involved humans interacting with puppets. My memory of this series is pretty fuzzy, although I do recall the theme song, which went something like “Pinwheel, Pinwheel spinning around – look at my pinwheel and see what I found…” I remember there was a guy who had little boxes that held different sounds. He’d open the box and hear a lion’s roar or the sound of rushing water. I can also remember Coco the mime. If anyone else can remember anything about this show, please feel free to leave a comment!
You Cant Do That On Television - aired 1979 – 1991
Anyone who had Nickelodeon in the 80’s probably remembers this Canadian based show. There was the weird mother with the crazy red wig, the firing squad, locker jokes, Barf and his questionable burgers (“What do you think’s in the burgers?” – “Duh, I heard that!” – “meow.”) and of course, buckets of slime falling onto the head of whichever kid foolishly uttered the words “I don’t know.” The other magic word was “water,” which yielded similar, though less slimy, results.
Mr. Wizard’s World - aired 1983-1990
I have always been terrible at science but even I couldn’t help loving this show. There was always some kid who didn’t seem to know much about anything, there to help Mr. Wizard (who wasn’t really a wizard) perform some simple science experiment. The only episode that I can clearly remember involved Mr. Wizard trying to figure out how to use three narrow boards of wood as a balance beam. Why he needed to do this, I don’t know but by the end of the experiment, he and the child figured out how to arrange the boards so that they didn’t crack when standing on them.
Double Dare - aired 1986-1988
A game show just for kids! In this show, which was hosted by Mark Summers (in his pre-‘Unwrapped’ days) kids would compete in teams of two, trying to answer a series of questions. When they didn’t know an answer, they could dare the other team to answer it. The other team could either answer it or double-dare the original team. Usually that resulted in a physical challenge. Generally these physical challenges involved things being flung from one end of the stage to the other or a bucket that needed to be filled up to the red line by water or some other liquid substance being shot from something the kid had to control. At the end, the winning team had to go through a crazy obstacle course to collect flags. They’d have to dig through giant pancakes or try to find a flag in a giant hourglass that spilled tennis balls on them making the task more and more difficult. In the end, they’d win prizes that ranged from new backpacks to bicycles and other fun things.
Salute Your Shorts - aired 1991 – 1992
This short-lived series centered on a group of kids away at summer camp. The kids of Camp Anawana got into all sorts of mischief, mainly playing pranks on one another and on their camp counselor, Ug. Bobby Budnick (played by Danny Cooksey) was the rude kid, and then there was Donkey Lips, who was kind of dumb and loved to eat. There wasn’t much of a story to the show; mainly it just made me wish I could go away to summer camp.
Snick - aired 1992 – 2004
Snick wasn’t actually a show. It was a two-hour block of shows that aired on Saturday nights. When Nickelodeon introduced Snick, I had almost outgrown the network. Basically, I knew I was probably too old to watch Nickelodeon and would’ve never admitted to my friends that I did tune in on Saturday nights but because I went to parochial school 30 minutes from where I lived, most of my friends were scattered across Long Island. Weekend socializing was pretty limited for me during my early teen years so what else was there to do but watch TV? Excuses aside, I’ll admit that I did enjoy Snick when it first premiered on the network:
Clarissa Explains It All - aired 1991 – 1994
Clarissa, played by Melissa Joan Hart, was as cool and confident as any young teenager could be. Her bedroom was decorated with lots of funky stuff that would probably look ridiculous if we were to watch the show now but back then, she was cutting edge. She had an annoying little brother named Ferguson and a best friend named Sam, who entered the house by climbing up a ladder outside her bedroom window. When she saw him she’d say “Hi Sam.” and a guitar sound would play.
Round House - aired 1992 – 1995
‘Round House’ was almost like a kids version of ‘In Living Color’, which would make sense as it was created by a former ‘In Living Color’ writer. It was a sketch comedy show that also included musical numbers and dance routines. The theme song went, “Whenever my life gets me so down, I know I can go down – to where the music and the fun never ends. As long as the music keeps playin’ you know what I’m saying… I know that I can find a friend – down at the Round House!” I’m kind of embarrassed that I can actually remember the song.
The Ren and Stimpy Show - aired 1991 – 1996
There was just something so hilariously gross about ‘Ren and Stimpy.’ The animated dog and cat were an odd match. Ren was always abusing Stimpy for being an “eediot.” Poor Stimpy was a good-natured cat, though not the sharpest tool in the shed. In addition to the irritable Ren and goofy Stimpy, there were a few recurring characters like Mr. Horse and Powdered Toast Man and of course the ridiculous “Log” commercials.
Are You Afraid of the Dark - aired 1992 – 2000
This show involved a bunch of kids sitting around the campfire telling scary stories. In each episode, one kid would take the special stone seat, toss some black powder into the fire and then tell a story. It was sort of like a really watered-down ‘Tales From The Crypt’ type of show. The stories involved kids encountering some strange, dark occurrence in their house or neighborhood. It wasn’t really scary but it was kind of fun to watch anyway.
I also watched ‘Guts,’ Legend of the Hidden Temple,’ ‘What Would You Do?,’ ‘Hey Dude,’ and quite a few other shows semi-regularly but this list is already too long and I think I managed to cover the best of the best, so we’ll leave it at that.
I invite you to comment below with any of your favorite Nickelodeon shows, mentioned here or left off the list.
Office Space (E!) 8:00 pm
Have you seen my stapler? Dreading Monday morning? Celebrate the joys of office-work with this hilarious Mike Judge movie about a guy who gets fed up with the 9-to-5 cubicle life.
Entourage (HBO) 10:00 pm
Malibooty - (New!) Billy submits Medellin to the Cannes Film Festival. Eric probably wont be pleased with this. Meanwhile, Vince has some problems in Malibu.
Flight Of The Conchords (HBO) 10:30 pm
Mugged - (New!) Bret and Jemaine get mugged. Hilarity ensues.
’Hell’s Kitchen’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
(New!) – The seven remaining chefs purchase and prepare food for a wedding in the hopes of winning the bride and grooms approval and of course, not getting eliminated at the end of the day.
’America’s Got Talent’ (NBC) 8:00 pm
New York Auditions - (rerun) – In case you missed it last week, catch the New York auditions again. Next week the show will return with new episodes as the next round starts up in Vegas.
’Bad Girls Road Trip’ (Oh!) 10:00 pm
Bad Wheels Keep On Turning - (New!) –The girls head to Nashville to guest on a radio show and meet up with DeAnn and Kerry.
Drive(FOX) 8:00 pm
The Extra Mile (New!) – Yes, that’s right. I said “new.” Apparently Fox has decided to air the remaining two episodes of their cancelled series, ‘Drive’ instead of ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ In this second-to-last episode, Leigh gets a new partner and Ivy puts Wendy’s baby in danger.
Drive(FOX) 9:00 pm
Rearview (New!) – The series finale of the shortlived show. Set your DVR since its airing on the 4th of July and chances are, you’ll have better things to do.
’Big Brother 8’ (CBS) 8:00 pm
(Season Premiere!) – ‘Big Brother’ is back! In the premiere, we’re introduced to the 14 houseguests. One HG will be America’s Player and challenged to perform whatever tasks America votes for them to do. Sounds fun.
Painkiller Jane (Scifi) 10:30 pm
Something Nasty In The Neighborhood (new!) – Jane and Connor go undercover as a happily married couple in suburbia.
Monsters, Inc (ABC) 8:00 pm
Mike Wazowski! This is a great animated Disney movie about a toddler who finds herself in the world beyond her closet where the monsters live.
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