I always preferred Cyclops to Wolverine, actually.

Before I get into The 90s Are All That, I want to say how pissed I am at my cable provider about it. I've got 9mb internet and 59 channels (with DVR). I pay $110 a month for that combination alone. When I heard about what Nick was doing, I called and asked what it would take to upgrade to the next cable package, because Teen Nick wasn't included in those base 59 channels. Well, they told me that in order to get those channels, I'd need to sign up for home phone service first, then I could get the bigger package. I had to contractualize that agreement and keep that service for a period of one year, or pay a $250 cancellation fee.

Needless to say, I will not be watching The 90s Are All That anytime soon. Sad to admit.

Anyway, here's what I have to say.

I'm a late 80s/early 90s Nick watcher. When I started, Today's Special, You Can't Do That On Television, Double Dare and Inspector Gadget were just about the only shows on there. When the lineup expanded, I was enthralled with shows like Salute Your Shorts and The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Of course, I still to this day love Doug and Melissa Joan Hart will always be Clarissa before Sabrina in my mind. Never did love Rugrats (or the other Nicktoons) all that much.

If I had to program a block of television with old Nick shows, it would be made up of:

1. The Adventures of Pete & Pete

2. Salute Your Shorts

3. Doug

4. Clarissa Explains it All

Why? Because those shows were really the embodiment of what it meant to be a child in the 90s. That decade was truly an amazing time to be alive. The world was hopeful, the economy kicked ass and children understood the concept of story instead of flash.

I think what made Pete & Pete so successful was that it was this proto Malcom in The Middle. I'm not a huge fan of the latter, and I don't think the writing was the same caliber, but it was in the same vein as P&P. The show didn't talk down to viewers. It took a real slice of life and dramatized it in such a way that you were deeply enthralled in what you were watching.

As for Salute Your Shorts, this show was what being a kid was all about. It was crass and in a humorless kind of way, was what being 11 was all about. We laughed at fart jokes and the fat kid. None of that is possible today. This show embodied our humor level as children.

Doug, oh man, I could go on for hours about Doug. But I will stop myself from deralining the topic by saying I saw so much of myself in Doug. He was the real Everyman and you ideitified with him.

Clarissa Explains it All taught me about girls. It really did. At least girls in the 90s, which is what people my age are still looking for. Or at least, I am.

I think it would also be cool to intersperse the old Stick Stickly commercials between the shows. Those were awesome. Write to me, Stick Stickly, PO Box 963, New York City, New York State, 01018!

I remember that, but can't even remember any of my addresses prior to college.

I would mention Guts and Legends of The Hidden Temple, but those already come on Nick GAS, so there's no reason for them to come on The 90s Are All That.

I don't give a rip about Angry Beavers, Rocketpower or Cat Dog. Those shows came on when I got out of watching Nickeloden and had moved on to reruns of Saturday Night Live on Comedy Central. Hell, I never liked Rocko's Modern Life or Ren & Stimpy. I've got this phobia of creepy animation. Those two shows set me off.

Growing up in the 90s was really nothing more than a pre-anime childhood. I think that's when everything changed to this fast-paced style of entertainment where it overloads your brain with images instead of giving you the opportunity to enjoy it. Now, I'm not bagging on early dubs like DBZ or Pokemon, but that's when child entertainment really started to change.

To this day, I'm still looking for the Ellen to my Pete. I stay convinced every day that she's still out there.

The reason I really didn't like The Village, is because I started watching it, and called it in the first 15 minutes. 

The problem with Shyamalan is that he hasn't evolved as a writter / director. Sixth Sense good movie, Unbreakable.. he used many of the same devices as in Sixth Sense, but still a good movie. Anything since then, He just keep recycling all his 'twists' and 'hints' which has made him predictable, and not very entertaining. 

About Batman, It really changed when they decided to get rid of Tim Burton. Batman, and even Batman Returns were pretty good. After that though, no more burton and what do we get? Yeah just goes down hill from there.

Onto the wringer(s).

Well sorry I was away last week, busy week at work and all. So I'm not going to go into it, too deeply but say that the most disappointed I've been? Star Wars Prequels.

And this week. Well being one of our resident Canucks, we didn't have a Nickelodian station, But YTV did show a lot of nick shows. So while my pool of titles is limited I think I'd call on the following:

The Angry Beavers... Cause it was awesome, even if it was canned early
Ren & Stimpy... How can you POSSIBLY have this list withou Ren and Stimpy?
Rocko's Modern Life... Well Since I listed it as one of my favourite Nicktoons, it'd be a poor showing of me not to have it here.

And fourth.. um.. Yeah sure Doug sounds good, people seem to like it. why not.

Again with Nickelodeon, anyhow I been glancing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_Nickelodeon for an ideal block but nothing is coming together.

One thing though I have been thinking of a show with the name "E...'s Castle" and came across Eureeka's Castle which is the show I am interested in re-watching since I remember it but I don't.

Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! Is it true? Is it true? Ohyesohyes oh yes it's true-ooo! IdoIdoIdo I do-ooo!

NO KENAN AND KEL! NO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ahem. So I don't think Kenan and Kel ever needed a spin-off show, there's a big difference in a short skit with them, and a whole damn show. And from what I've heard so far they do plan to keep the block going and mix up the shows per audience vote, so there's a chance you'll get to see your ideal block.

Personally I think they should have about equal parts cartoons and live action shows, since there's a bunch of both. I'd start off with

1. Oh Yeah! - It was a decent sketch comedy show, basically Saturday Night Live for kids. Plus it gives you a good mix of actors so it's the best way to start the block.

2. Ahh!!! Real Monsters! - One of my favorite cartoons back in the day, it was funny, the art style was a refreshing twist on the really bland and simplistic style of shows like Doug, and it was a well-scripted show.

3. Rocko's Modern Life - Another favorite, this one had a simpler style but it had some of the more memorable episodes, like the one where Rocko goes to where Mr. Bighead worked and was testing experimental products, I'm pretty sure he was seriously trying to kill Rocko.

4. Hey Dude - I'd probably finish with a live action show, which would be a toss-up between Hey Dude and Salute your Shorts, but I figure I'd mention Hey Dude since no one's brought it up yet. I didn't really like the character-centric ones (like Clarissa explains it all) as much since they didn't really develop their supporting characters as much, and it just seemed like a long inner monologue about how good or bad their life was that particular day.

As a footnote, I really didn't like Doug or Hey Arnold much growing up lol, Skeeter was the only saving grace about the show, and even then I only liked the earlier seasons, the later ones just got more confusing. I think the big problem was Doug's relationship with Patty just wasn't well written, it came off like a bad romantic comedy. Hey Arnold I just never like and I don't know why. I just remember the opening creeping me out, the one with the bully chick calling out to Arnold, then they get into a West Side Story showdown, I was so dissappointed no one pulled out a zip gun.

Aw yeah! I called it! You picked The Lost World, Commodore! Yeah, he knows what I'm talking about, having read the books. And thanks for giving Crichton a little salute there, Commodore. God rest his soul, indeed.

And thanks for the shoutout again, too!

As far as whether TLW was a better book than JP.....you know, I probably wouldn't....entirely agree on that. It's been a while since I read either one, and I enjoyed reading both, but I think there's just something special that Crichton really captured in JP that isn't, and probably can't be, in TLW. But you know, it was the first and only sequel he ever wrote, if that made any difference. As far as the movies go though, there was just no excuse. It should have been a lot better, instead of Spielberg evidently trying to use it to make a 'Save the Animals From Evil Humans' statement. I also just....don't think it needed to be turned into a story of...essentially a big-game hunter tracking down dinosaurs. Really?? Egh...Although Crichton did write the screenplay with a co-writer, I do wonder how much of what Crichton intended was axed. It's far from the worst movie ever made, and overall, I would now say it's....not overly dreadful, but considering what it should be, it's not great, and just makes me wish they did a better job,  if I do happen to see it.

I didn't mention some movies that others mentioned, like Avatar or any Transformers movies, because I knew they would be bad. I just didn't want to do it. Or rather, I knew Transformers would be bad, and I watched it on video later, and...I was right. I didn't want to see the other two, thusly, especially because the second one sounds even worse, from everything I've pretty universally heard.  For Avatar, I just wasn't interested enough to see it in the movie house, so I skipped on it. I watched that one later, too, and I was so disappointed in James Cameron. I did expect more from him than that. But that doesn't count, since I didn't watch it theatrically.

Eh, I can only really name Ren and Stimpy as a show I'd line back up on Nickelodeon. I...don't care too much to watch most other shows I used to watch, again, so I don't really care. :P I guess they have camp-and-cheese factors to most of them, but I'll....still pass on this one!  You know that the Commodore is going to name Hey, Dude. We're waiting for it! Oh, did you know that the show is also on disc now from Shout Factory, the same company that currently has Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Transformers (even Beast Wars), and Rocko's Modern Life, on the subject of 1990's Nickelodeon? It's true!

HOW COULD I HAVE TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT HEY DUDE AND ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?!?!?!

I'm lame.

About Batman, It really changed when they decided to get rid of Tim Burton. Batman, and even Batman Returns were pretty good. After that though, no more burton and what do we get? Yeah just goes down hill from there.

I dunno. I actually liked Batman Forever.

Sorry Mr. K.  Being forced into a telephone service just to get more cable channels is completely outrageous!  Maybe Hulu or Netflix will pick these shows up.

Now, in no particular order..

1. The Ren and Stempy show.  I agree with Aestolia! No way you can have an "all that" 90s block with out this!

2. The Tomorrow People.  I really liked this when I was younger.  I thought teleporting would be the most awesome thing ever.

3. Are You Afraid of the Dark.  Definitely good for that time slot and my favorite show on "SNICK".

If I were to replace Clarissa Explains It All, I would have to pick...

4. The Secret World of Alex Mack.  This was one of the only shows with a female lead that I didn't feel was just "some girls show".

Really I have no defense for these shows to be in the lineup other than I used to actually watch them!

Damn, another one out of my reach. Since I was born in '97 I of course don't know much 90s Nick shows, I've just heard of a lot of them. I might check out some of the shows if I get the chance. For now though I am only here to discuss Avatar and give out hugs.

Avatar (James Camorone) wasn't as bad as you said. I will say it wasn't great but it had a decent story, like Native Americans in the future. I didn't care for the visuals, I didn't hate them but I just looked at them and waited for a story. Like I do with video games, like people complained Duke Nukem looked bad, I didn't notice. I didn't love its visuals but I didn't look and say "This game is ugly". So visuals are never an issue for me except in cartoons and stuff where just bad art style kills it for me. But as for Avatar, remember what I said last week (2 days ago) about me not caring too much about how good it actually was. That might be where Avatar falls for me. Allright, if that didn't make any sence I am sorry I am crouched in a fucking bunk bed typing this and half asleep. So I'm gonna stop now before I do a something.

*HUGS*

The woman that the Commodore (clang! clang!) mentioned who gained the ability to see depth in her 40s is Susan Barry, a neuroscientist. She wrote a book on the subject titled Fixing My Gaze. She also has a blog called "Eyes on the Brain" (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/eyes-the-brain). It's a subject of interest to me because, like as she had, I have strabismus (cross-eyedness) and have never developed depth perception. I started taking vision therapy this year after reading her book.

That's the first cut on the Wringer? How someone can do a 30 minute video and speak the whole time without cutting boggles my mind. I can't go on 30 seconds without losing my train of thought. :D

Oh right, the question of the week. I guess Pete & Pete, Hey Dude, Clarissa Explains It All and... actually, I can't think of another. Maybe I'd show two episodes of Pete & Pete in a row. I enjoyed watching re-runs of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Mr. Wizard on Nickelodeon in the 90s, but I'd guess those are out of bounds.

Commodore, you definitely DO NOT want to see the Micheal Bay Transformers films. Please please please please save yourself the pain and avoid those movies at all costs! But on to my answer.

 Now, I gotta be honest, the choices that Nick picked for their block, I would not watch any of them. So I would have to completely re-arrange the order for myself here. And I have to warn you, I grew up in the 90s as a kid so the shows I pick will pretty much be children shows, but shows that I have fond memories of nontheless.

1) Blue's Clues - Now, I know what you're thinking. Blue's Clues?! I mean, I'm in the 20's but even I can't ignore the child inside me and rewatch a couple episodes. I mean, I remember sitting down to watch this show and follow along with it, even though I probably knew what would happen in the end. But it was kind of fun when I was kid to follow along with Steve and his dog, although now not nearly as much since I'm much older. But I think it would be kinda fun to remininsce on that nostalgia I have for this children's show and I hope that someday, if I ever have a kid of my own, that he/she will watch and enjoy this like I did when I was a tot.

2) Franklin - I live in Canada so I never really got to watch much of Nick but there are a lot of shows from Nick that appeared on Canadian stations and even Canadian shows that appeared on Nick. I had to look into it but Franklin was a show that aired on Nick, (to my surprise). I don't know if anyone here saw this show but it was a children's show, (I promise this is the last one), about a turtle dealing with daily problems that most kids would face in their childhood span. I'm not exactly sure if I would watch this one again, but it would be nice to see at least one more episode. Again, it's all about nostalgia. Being able to escape the daily problems of life and being able to re-experience  something from your childhood can be nice. I remember disussing this show with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago. This show goes a long way with me and my friends.

3) Are You Afraid of the Dark? - I watched this show a fair bit back in my day and man, was this show popular. I picked this show as part of my block because I remember watching this show when I was really young but I never fully understood everything about it because it was a little more mature than most cartoons or kids shows, I felt. I'd like to go back and watch this show with my adult mind and see if this show can bring something different to my mind. Maybe I'll understand some things more, (I can't really make any specific examples; it's been too long), or maybe the show will be in a completely different perspective in my mind than it was 10 years ago.

4) Space Cases - This show I just had to bring up! I absolutely loved it when I was a kid, and I still love it now. I actually went back and watched the show on youtube many months ago but it's still quite fresh in my mind. This was one of my favorite shows growing up, (probably since the only exposure I had to space was Star Wars), and it's a shame when it was cancelled after the second season. It would be nice to see this show on air again. The show was basically a spin on Lost in Space but with kids, I guess. The characters were somewhat interesting, since a lot of them were aliens and had special powers, like sensitive-hearing or the ability to create destructive sounds waves. The show was quite B-rated but man, I loved it. This show is the juggernaut for my list.

I haven't even seen this video yet, and the title alone makes me want to comment.  I think the movie that I was most disappointed in was Avatar.  The one with the blue cats, not the bald kid.  Personally, I found this movie insulting to my intelligence.  The story was that bad and cliched.  Their seemed to be a lot of padding scenes, to show off the 'new' technology.  And honestly, I found I could get the same sort of enjoyment from watching my screen saver.  This movie seemed to be all about the graphics and the 3d effects.  Nothing more.  The Pocahontas/FernGully/DancesWithWolves/NativesgoodInvadersbad/BIG BAD MILITARY 'story' was nothing more than an excuse to show off technology.  It felt more like I was watching a bad video game.  Oddly, it reminded me of FFXIII. 

Anyways, that's my two cents.  Keep up the great site.

Sincerely,

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Antichrist

I've never seen a movie in the Theature that truely pissed me off or made me feel angry.  That said, I have seen my fair share of movies off the big screen that truely and utterly pissed me off for one reason or another. 

the bniggiest offender has to be The last Airbender.  being a fan of the series, It truely pissed me off to see such a poor job done for a movie based on a critically acclaimed series.  I downloaded the series having been to unwilling to use Netflix and put it in my Quae.  I gotta say, even though I didn't pay for it, it made me feel like I wasted my time not only downloading it, but also watching it.  I often regreat downloading something for free when it costs money....this was the one AND ONLY time I felt absolutly no guilt for not supporting it finacially.  I do not think that movie deserves to even be seen.

Earlier than that, I saw a movie, you might know, called Napolian Dynamite.  Everyone, I mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E told me it was a hilarious movie.  So I rented it on PaperView one day and watched it.  I was trying to find humor in it, and by the 40 minute mark, having been mboard out of my mind, I turned off the TV, said to my self "Waste of a dollar and time" went to my friends and said, "Napolian Dynamite sucks".  I was so board of the movie I coudlnt sit through it fully.  The whole deal with my friends liking it and me not reminded me of the South park Episode that aired recently where Stan turns 10 and suddenly all the crap his friends like start sounding....well, like Crap to him.  Well that's what it was to me.  *(though I at least had one other friend who understood.  Safe to say, he;s the only one of my friends I still stay in touch with to this day.(though that movie had almost no impacto n that realization though.) 

Just thought of one Movie I did see in theature that i hated afterwords; two actually.  The Doom Movie, and Epic Movie.  Both Movies I thougth were gonna be awesome and funy respectivly.  Unfortunitly, they were both total garbage.  Thought, Epic Movie would have to be the one I thougth right away was stupid.  At least with the doom Movie, I had to let the Adrenilen rush from the action drop down a bit. 

I thought James Camerins: Avatar was a pretty fun movie to watch.  It's not terrible to me.  Now dont get me wrong, I didn't think it was anything special.  I thought it was a good movie though.

I have never seen a movie that never wroked in 3D alone.  Yeah it was a nice look, but adds nothing, liek you said.

I don't get 3D period.  the onyl 3D I liked was in DisneyWorlds Muppet's 3D Movie, and the reason that worked was because they made it feel so immersive with smells (At least i remember the smells) The Realism they added (like Bubbles actualyl floating around during a Bubble scene) and the fact that its the Muppets., come on, they are awesome. 

when they do Make a Halo Movie, I will go watchi t and pray its aweful.  Im sorry comadore, but I am not at all a fan of Halo.  My friend says its the only shoot she'll play because she likes the story.  the only problem is the games have virtually no story.  A friend of mine pointed out that Halo's story is not uniqe at all and it is jsut generic as all hell, right down to the Personalty of Master Cheif.  I think the Arbitor is the only thing that comes clsoe to havign a character and the only character he has is that he messed up big time, and the army/cult he is in decides, "oh you are going to be one of our symbols and strike down those who do not beleive in our cause.". 

don't get me wrong, I like the gameplay, but then again, I also like the gameplay for transformers, War for cybertron, Fallout 3, Area 51 a lot better. 

Speaking of Transformers.  I will say this.  the Bay films...ehh your not missing much trust me.  The first ones okay, the second one is terrible, and i've yet to see the 3rd one. 

Speaking of Transformers, again 9Can you tell I love Transformers yet?), my 90's Week Block would look like this

12:00- ReBoot- This is a show I grew uop with and love even to this day.   the setting wowed me, I mean come on, the computerworld anthropomorphised, how cooler can you get.  Years later I watch Tron and think, "yeah its good, But ReBot is better."  i know that will probably piss a lot of Tron Fans off, but One thing to consider, ReBoot's not only a series, but Tron was also a generation before mine.  Also, with ReBoot, the animation was top notch.  especialyl for 3D Animation witch, at the time, was a challenge to do.

12:30- Beast wars - Im a transformers Fan, Where else to start than the series that got me into Transformers in the first place.  This was made by the same company that did ReBoot, Rainmaker Studio (then Mainframe entertainment), and the quality in the 3D CGI definitly shows.  I eman this series was the Bomb.  Tell me any kid in that era who didn't love Beast Wars.  Seriosuly, I knew No one who hated the series (Aside from the kids who, ironically, called me and everyone else childish for liking the show, but then again, those kids never stopped talking about South park and making Fart Jokes.)  Beast Wars had, like ReBoot, great story telling and uniqe and lovable Characters, both good and Bad.

1:00- Animaniacs- what better way to kick off the next hour than to show the best animated childrens comedy that was made Jsut as much for kids as it was for adults.  Do I really need to go any further than this?  no, but Im gonna anyway!  Animaniacs was one of those shows that stick to you like Glue for the rest of your life.  Cleaver writing, memorable Characters (Hello Nurse, Slappy the Squairell, Dr. Scratchensniff, and need I menton the Warnor Brothers, and Sister.) and again, fluiod animation.  I suppose the Fluid animation coems into play with a good series.

1:30- Batman- This one is actualyl gonna be three series, but they all take place in the same univers.  Batman, The naimated series, Batman and Robin (wich I beleive is the same series jsut with different animation i beleive) and Batman Beyond (Wich is a countinuation of the series in the...some what near future.).  the main thing these shows have going for them is the Dark atmosphere that treated us kids at the time, well, morel like an adult than the movies did.  the reason im putting these three together liek htis is because, well, they all really belong together being that each series countinues from the last, also I couldn't pick just one of them.  Again, with good writing, comes great animation and visuals.  The...strange 50's esqe Noir setting of the original series really makes you feel like your watching an old Noir film.  the future of Gotham you seen in Beyond, makes you feel liek you're watchign Blade Runner, cept replace Psycho Androids with Pyscho Gangsters.  As for Batman And Robin, Well, like I said, if Im not mistaken (and I could be) its part of Batman, the Animated series and just countinues from that so, similar setting.  another thing I loved about these series, is the fact that even the villians were relatable.  I mean they wern't just shells of Pure Evil (Well the Joker was, but thats probably because he was played by Mark Hamel.  lol), they were people with problems that only got worse.  Freeze has always been memorable to me.  I mean, think about it.  In the original series, he was a man looking for a cure to his wife's Illness.  He was forced to turn to crime because he had no where else left to turn to to fund his research.  In Beyond he comes back as a man who just tries to live a respectable life, only to gain Future Shock and go crazy.  probabyl did't help that a heat wave struck during that time as well and he hates the heat (Like me!).

Edit: I noticed a lot of people putting just Nickalodion Shows in there list.  On the off Chance I missheard the commadore and he said Nick shows from the 90's (io didnt hear him say specificly Nickalodian Shows but i was also typing and it could have sliped past me) Im gonna go ahead and put up a line up for nick shows.  think of this as the Weekend Block

12:00- All That- You cant Deny, one of the few Varity shows we had as  kids were ANimaniacs and all That.  simply put, All That was indead all that and a Bag of chips.  all That had some of the best comedy from a live action kids show and some of the most talented Kids at the time.  10 years later....well, the show kinda goes south from there.  So maybe jsut the early years.

12:30- Doug- If for only the Reas that the Nostalgia Critic himself, Doug Walker, hates the show.  Nah Im kidding.  doug was one of those shows I thought was good as a kid (and as an adult I still think it is).  It always taught us somethign and while the story was a litle dry most of the time, I understood why.  The story wasn't what the creators were showcasing.  it was the uniqe characters.  this show is what started my love for vibrant Uniqe characters.  It made me proud to like Cartoons and Video games even to this day.

1:00- Rockos Modern Life- what can i say about it besides, I thougth the show was funny.  My parents didn't care for it, but at least it wasn't as bad as Ren and Stimpy.  I never cared much for Ren and Stimpy, wich is odd, because rockos Modern life is like a Mild form of it.  mayeb thats why i like it.  Its Like Ren adn Stimpy toned own to a level I could handle. 

1:30-Rugrats- You know, for a show lasting over 10 years it was pretty good.  I mean how many shows lasted 10 years and then got a spin off later? rugrats was one of those shows everyone knew back then and everyone loved to watch.  for usch a simple premise they manage to squeeze 10 years of content out of it.  I especially remember the sequences where they had imginative adventures and the world became like a different world.  I loved those parts. 

The thing is, going back and watching a lot of those Nick shows, they don't hold up. I'll use Rugrats as an example-I really liked it when I was a kid, went to see the first movie, but now if you put it in front of me I'd have to change the channel.  The premise wears thin after just a few episodes, the humor is completely toothless (hur hur) with few exceptions, and all in all it's clear the show was written entirely with little kids and their mothers in mind. It has a lot of what I'd call soccer mom humor, and anything my mom would have called "cute" isn't worth watching anymore.

So with that laid out there, it severely limits my choices, especially since it's all Nick shows. The 90's cartoons that held up really, really well all seem to be in Disney's camp-Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, Talespin, Bonkers. I can still enjoy most of the old Nick lineup but there's no question that nostalgia is entirely responsible for that... With these exceptions:

1. Pete and Pete

This show was absolute genius. It reeks of the 90's but somehow transcends it because its weirdness and its insight place it into an era all its own, kind of a "what the 90's could have been if everyone was on LSD and society was way more awesome."

That's why Clarissa Explains it All won't be on my list-it was a great show at the time and if I was making a bigger block it would definitely be on there but it's so entrenched in the decade that it's hard to appreciate it now unless I'm willing to step back into that 90's mindset. Pete and Pete kind of grew up with me because there are subtle things within it that can only be appreciated as an adult. The same thing is true about Clarissa to an extent but when the two are placed side by side, Clarissa is the show that feels like a relic.

2. Are You Afraid of the Dark

This should require no introduction or explanation. Ghost stories are timeless, and while it could be really cheesy at times there's something very appealing about it even now.  Plus the fact that it was aimed at an older audience means it has a bit more substance while keeping a broad appeal. It's the Pixar quality at work. While none of the Nick shows are really on the same level as a Pixar film, the best kids content always breaks down the barrier and appeals equally to adults, usually while transcending the contraints of the cultural era even as it celebrates them. That applies almost as much to this as it does to Pete and Pete.

3. Rocko's Modern Life

This is a show that's gotten far better with age, though it's primarily because I didn't understand most of it when I was younger. The things they got past the censors is just mind-boggling-Rocko working a phone sex line, Heiffer getting "milked". It shows a lot of that 90's sensibility but in a good way; the color palette was bright but cool and everything was kind of disproprortionate, kind of dirty, like everything in that universe was covered in grime yet somehow that made it more appealing. 

4. Hey Arnold!

This show beat the ever-loving crap out of Doug. I really don't understand why anybody liked Doug. I don't know why I watched Doug. It's so bland with weird characters that generally don't have a lot of depth. It was never very clever and it was never laugh-out-loud funny; the "drama", what there was of it, was very predictable, and I remember even as a kid I got really annoyed with it. 

Hey Arnold took that template and fleshed it out. There was a wider variety of characters and all of them were relateable in their own way. The romance subplot between Helga and Arnold was also incredibly predictable but somehow fun to watch. Arnold's grandparents were a damn riot, and it was actually pretty interesting to watch the struggles of a poor inner city kid.

In fact, I think that's what makes this so much better than Doug for me: Doug didn't have any real problems. He was a white, middle-class kid in a nice neighborhood. Arnold was an activist, he got mugged and learned karate, he fought with his friends to preserve an unused lot they used as a baseball field-I cited all of that from memory after not seeing the show in over a decade. I couldn't tell you the plot of one  episode of Doug.  That says a lot. Doug was both too bland and too surreal to make an impact whereas Arnold felt distinctly human-all of the characters struck a chord with me and I think that's why I remember it over most other cartoons that aired at the time.

I think something like All-That might have a place on a larger block-and it's probably something a lot of people remember fondly so I can see why they put it on there-I just don't see much point in watching old variety shows or sitcoms. Yeah, I enjoyed stuff like Family Matters when I was a kid, but the only 90's sitcom I can sit down and enjoy outside of pure nostalgia is Boy Meets World. Again, while it's very wacky and kind of surreal at points, it grounds it in an overarching story that makes the characters feel human. Kenan and Kel was a 90's laugh fest and though I won't dispute that it was a good show at the time I'll bet you it has not aged well. 

There's an NPR show about this:

http://l.nintendo-news.com/r/BNIPOG/HYA0O/K9TIK/6TJAM/2A9LJ/D4/h

I'll comment later. :-D

I think I'm too old for this one. Reading what everyone has talked about so far, I watched none of these shows.

In 1993, the debuts of Star Trek: DS9, The X-Files, SeaQuest DSV and (because I was young, once) Boy Meets World took place.

Over in Animation, Exo Squad and Animaniacs joined Batman: TAS and X-Men from a year earlier.

My tv schedule was pretty full, and back then, there weren't as many shows like Spongebob that had gained acceptance among older people. Nick was for kids, back then. Animaniacs really started the trend of having adult humor regularly show up in younger programming.

And I always liked history, so after the 91 Gulf War, I started watching news quite a bit. Some current events shows, also.

By 1996, we were one year into Star Trek Voyager, and The Daily Show with Craig Kilborn started up. Back then it was more about pop culture, similar to what The Soup is these days, which back then was Talk Soup hosted by Greg Kinnear or John Henson, depending on who you asked.

Graduated high school in 1998.

Nowadays don't watch much tv at all. Pretty much Mythbusters, and Venture Brothers.

Looking through the list of shows that have been on Nick through the years, the only two I ever really watched were The Adventures of Tintin, and Samurai Jack. I always loved the Tintin comics (not really comics, not really graphic novels) so that was a good show. And Samurai Jack was awesome, though I'm still waiting for them to get back to it.

Still waiting...

Anyway, Samurai Jack was 2004, so Tintin, though it first aired in HBO and was rebroadcast on Nick, it started in 1991, so there's the only connection I have to the 90's.
 

Tintin MEGABLOCK.
All Tintin, all the time.

http://www.ernestcline.com/spokenword/wiwak.htm

Go here and click play, assorted young people.
And stay off my damn lawn!
*shakes fist and grumbles*

*EDIT*
Turns out, Samurai Jack was on Cartoon Network.  What, that's not Nickelodeon? I don't know how this stuff works. So, doesn't count even more than before, I guess. Zing-a-ding.

Space Cases how it is shame that it lasted only two season. When it was first on I watched reruns time and time again and when I watched them all again (thank you internet) within the last two years the show is still great, also when re-watching it the show reminded me of Star Trek Voyager/DS9.

"It would be nice to see this show on air again."

That and a complete series DVD and Blu-ray box set release.

1) The Adventures of Pete & Pete

I actuually have season 2 of this show on DVD. I listed it as my favorite Nick Show in a previous wringer, and it's at the top of the list here again. A bunch of eccentric characters getting into surreal and inventive situations in a small town. Awsome.

2) Salute Your Shorts.

I freakin' loved this show. It makes memories of camp less horrbile for me. I HATED summer camp as a kid, and even tried detailed escape plans a couple times, so this show resonated with me.

3) All That

It's a staple of 90's Nick. It's silly and funny with good casting.

4) The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo

I've always been a big fan of mystery movies and books, and I remember really liking this show. I'm curious to see how it holds up.

I was going to say Are You Afraid of the Dark, But I watched a few episodes online recently and they HAVE NOT aged well. not at all.

An other close entry was Rugrats. watched that a lot as a kid, and it has some humor for adults thrown in too.

Invader Zim is the best Nicktoon ever in my book though.

1) Rocko's Modern Life - Better comedy and pop culture references than Ren & Stimpy, and just great characters and story lines! That was a HOOT!

2) Beetlejuice - Great movie, great cartoon. Loved the Neitherworld scenes and characters, especially Jacques LaLean -  the French, body-building skeleton.

3) Hey Dude - So what if the stories were a bit lame. How can you ignore a couple of hot chicks in shorts - or the occassional swimsuit?!? Mmmmm, Melody....

4) The Adventures of Pete and Pete - I left for college just as I was starting to appreciate this show. Don't remember it much, but I do recall thinking it was pretty good.

If only Nick had The Tick and The Critic, but it's not the case.

We'll have to go with this instead...

1. Invader Zim. Three words: Ultra Pee Pee.

2. Angry Beavers. THE CRAWLING SPLEEN!!!!

3. Rocko's Modern Life. I just watched the DVDs for this, still funny to me.

4. The Adeventures of Pete and Pete. We could all do with more Arnie, The Strongest man....In The World!

Wow, already been quite a conversation. I think except for Kenan and Kel, the lineup that they chose is pretty solid. I enjoyed All That. I actually wish I could chose from some of the 80's shows on here since I still have a soft spot for much of their early programming and cartoons, which were largely borrowed from other countries.

My line-up would probably include

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Pete & Pete

Clarissa Explains it All

Doug

But that leaves out so many great shows, and I think I see how and why I like Anime a bit more when these things get brought up. Doug, Clarissa and the Pete show really had a penchant for getting inside the heads of their main characters and you really got to know where their passions lie. A kind of Anime I like is called "Slice of Life" which tends not to be action oriented, but focussed in one way or another about enjoying life and some of its more mundane aspects.

With Pete and Pete we had two characters who looked through the world with fantastical imaginings. I remember they had a school bully called Open-Face because he always ate open faced sandwiches. Do kids remember the names of the bullies that picked on them, or the characteristics they had? I liked how they overdramaticized things like peeing in the public pool. In they end, they never really accomplished much, and even some of the things they tried to do turned out wrong, but at the end of the day they could still smile and you wanted to see what they got into next. And also there was a lack of control in their lives, like having to go on a family vacation cross country - How does a kid keep their sanity in that case? Just, really well done.

Doug was another one that I really liked, and part of it was the cast of characters. Aside his wild fantasies (which is a theme of Nickelodeon shows from that era it seems, in varying flavors) he was left handed which was another way that he didn't quite fit in and his love interest Patty Mayonaise was home schooled. I could actually relate to Patty a bit since I have been home schooled for part of my education. He had a weird neighbor with a kind wife, a bully to contend with who was actually a coward and putting up a front (which is common of bullies in real life too often enough), an older sister who was a pretentious art student, and a very well rounded cast of characters.  It also had the fat girl everyone recognizes, and the rich snobs to boot. And did I mention Doug's dog Porkchop? Or that Patty's dad is in a wheelchair? How many cartoons did those things?

The town Doug lived in was a smalltown USA type, and that meant it wasn't very exciting either. The local swamp had its own mysterious Loch Ness type monster, a kind of legend you get the feeling was created out of boredome rather than facts. And something Doug had in common with his quirky friend Skeeter was a love of the not-the-beatles group, The Beats. It was the larger than life aspirations of a small town hick wanting to even be able to meet his idols, a completely relateable goal.

The show did not have a gut busting kind of laughter, but I appreciate that. It makes watching it again more fulfilling than say, Shrek. The first time I saw Shrek, I burst out laughing at almost every joke, but after the second and third watch throughs? Not so much. Something that starts with a lower key humor may not get immediate attention, but on a rewatch I find myself smiling again and again, sometimes appreciating the jokes and funny bits even more.

Doug was the only one of Nick's original line of Nicktoons that I really liked, and trust me, it wasn't for the animation style. After Nicktoons' debuted I really got turned off to many of their shows based on the animation style. Not saying I didn't give them all a fair shake, but Rocko's Modern Life, AH! Real Monsters, all those shows just had the same animation vibe and it's what I call -lazy-. I give Doug a pass because I genuinely identify with him and right in the opening theme, a hand draws the cartoon, so you could almost imagine a left handed Doug sketching the whole thing - much like his hero Quail Man.

I loved Clarissa Explains it all. She had the annoying little brother, and oddly a best friend who kept appearing in her window. It was basically a long inner monologue but at the end of the day you knew where she was coming from on things. It had some imagination in her 'what if' sort of scenarios and I wish I remembered more of it. There also weren't too many shows at that time starring girls like that, and the fact is she wasn't totally ga-ga girly trying on clothes every two seconds.  She was an intelligent girl who was just biding her time until she could get out on her own and have freedom.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? was great. I loved this show sooo much. First off, I have to say that it wasn't until recent years that I've started watching a lot of horror movies, so when I was little, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was my Goosebumps, my Twilight Zone, my first real exposure to suspense, and I still think it was really well done. Outside of the school library I didn't have a chance of bringing home any horror or suspense in the form of novels and there's no way I would have seen horror based movies because my dad was at the time somewhat overprotective.

The Tale of the Twisted Claw and Tale of the Phantom Cab were a very strong start to the series, with one of them being a cautionary story of "Be careful what you wish for" and the Phantom cab just being creepy with the addition of Dr. Vink "with a Vuh vuh vuh". The 'specimin' jars full of body parts and strange colored liquids all added to the atmosphere. The eccentric doctor would be one of the very few recurring characters in the series, as each story was pretty well self contained,  being 'told' by the only regular cast, the Midnight Society. These two shows actually gave me nightmares. :)

I love a good story, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? delivered a ton of good ones. Ghosts were often involved in the stories, but they weren't the only things, and it had to be good because TV (for the audience they were targeting) wouldn't allow them to show blood and gore.  It's a long standing belief of mine that it's what you don't see that is worse than what you do in many cases. I could name a long list of supposed horror movies which are such gore fests that you easily get desensitized to what's going on. But when something is well done and gives impressions but doesn't show exactly what's going on... it's up to your imagination to fill in the blanks. And your imagination is more often than not worse than what could be shown anyhow. It didn't have to hack people to bits, it just had to provoke thoughts in your mind, leaving it up to you to end the sentence.

I still wish I could go back into the 80s for this lineup though. I'd recommend Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics in a heartbeat. ... As usual that's more than I planned on saying. Ciao!

Btw, if it was just 90s' as a whole I would have to put Gargoyles on the table along with Batman TAS and .. I think I'd have to research other series around at the time though Animaniacs was definitely great.

Hey Fred, Invader Zim was 2001 otherwise I'd of said it as well.

As for my choice of Ren and Stimpy. I can understand why Nick didn't put it in the line up. While it was 90's it was very early 90's. As such I think R&S had more of an 80's feel to it.

I'd like to add this quote from the book I mentioned in my last post, because I think it supplements the earlier discussion of depth perception  and movies well. Keep in mind Revenge of the Sith was shown only in 2-D. (By the way, "stereopsis" is a word for depth perception experienced from using both eyes together.)

"Just as I could not imagine a world in stereo depth, an individual with normal stereopsis cannot experience the worldview of a person who has always lacked stereopsis. This may be surprising because you can eliminate cues from stereopsis simply by closing one eye. What's more, many people do not notice a great difference when viewing the world with one eye or two. When a normal binocular viewer closes one eye, however, he or she still uses a lifetime of past visual experiemces to re-create the missing stereo information.

"I became convinced of these ideas on the day that the Star Wars movie Revenge of the Sith opened in movie theaters. My husband and children insisted that we attend the first screening at midnight. I like Star Wars, but until that night, I couldn't understand my family's fascination with the special effects. I was not thrilled with watching the new movie in the dead of night, but that evening, I saw something different. I was overwhelmed by the sense of space and volume created in the movie. Scenes of spaceships flying through the universe were fantastic! My new appreciation for the film didn't stem from my watching the movie in the wee hours of the morning or from significant improvements in cinematography since the previous Star Wars films. Instead, I was seeing the movie in a whole new way. Skilled cinematographers had used monocular depth and motion cues to create scenes on the flat, two-dimensional movie screen that suggested dramatic depth. Before my vision transformed, I could not experience this sense of space and volume while watching a movie because I had never experienced this sense of space and volume in real life."

(Fixing My Gaze by Susan Barry, pages 102-103)

That seems like an interesting book. Might have to add it to my list.

She seems good at describing what she was experiencing, which makes sense, because she never grew up with it, so doesn't take for granted the brains' ability to construct three dimensions like we do.

Also a good point for movie making in general. I wouldn't say the Star Wars prequels had the best cinematography ever, but the point here is that it wasn't really them trying to. Movies are just shot this way, to always give enough visual cues to the layout of the scene that you can incorporate depth of field.

The only times it's ever visually ambiguous are when the director is intentionally doing it that way, for the purpose of forced perspective, or some sort of big reveal. Otherwise, there is never any doubt what is where, spatially, and you can't make me ever think that paying more for a 3D experience at a movie is worth it.

The glasses, they do nothing!

Sorry but my memory of the 90s is a little fuzzy, (was born in 1995) but if I had to make a list this would be it.

1. Rugrats

2. Kenan & Kel

3.Hey Arnold!

4. The Ren & Stimpy Show, (if u didnt put this on ur list u should be ashamed of urself. jk)

All of these shows bring back massive nestalgia and would really like to see them again,

But yet again, the channel that makes me th most nostalgic is CartoonNetwork.   Commordore, wheeeeeeennn will you do a CN question? PLLEEEAAASSSSEEEE.

I was never a particular fan of Nickelodeon growing up (we didn't get satellite TV till I was 13/14), but I'll cast all my votes for Ren and Stimpy.

I think when looking back on the stuff of your childhood, we tend to wear rose-tinted glasses; it's amazing how easily entertained I was as a kid, and how by-the-numbers most kid's TV plots were. 

But saying that, the early 90's X-men cartoon ruled (I know it's not Nickelodeon, but still), even despite the fact that I never saw the episodes in sequence, so most plotlines were totally baffling ("Why is everyone trying to kill Jean Grey?  And why is she on fire?")

I guess Zim was...oh well. REVISION TIME!

1. Angry Beavers. THE CRAWLING SPLEEN!!!!

2. Rocko's Modern Life. I just watched the DVDs for this, still funny to me.

3. The Adeventures of Pete and Pete. We could all do with more Arnie, The Strongest man....In The World!

4. Ren and Stimpy.

I completely forgot about Angry Beavers, but I'd still keep my list. Angry Beavers would easily be show #5 for me if I could expand the block.

Rugrats i have all the episodes and movies on vhs tape. picked them up at a second hand store for 10$

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters i loved it but now i cant remember 

Angry beavers. was my favorite show right after rugrats and has my favorite voive actor of all time, richard horvitz who voiced dag 

Ren and Stimpy, its just like one big long acid trip

invader zim would be on here if it started earlier. richard horvits was also in this as zim

I'm keeping this post simple and short with just my top 5. 

1. The Adventures of Pete & Pete

2. Salute Your Shorts

3. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

4. Kenan & Kel

5. Rocko's Modern Life