Nick Yearly Recap 1992: Arcades, Sketches, and Guts

Nickelodeon Yearly Recap 1992: Arcades, Sketches, and Guts

Nick Arcade

In the early 90s, Phil Moore hosted a video game themed show for Nickelodeon. Back then, video games were still seen a fad to certain group of people and they were barely escaping their arcade era (which the early years of gaming were arcade themed). Not too long after this show came out, video games went to the third dimension. But I am going off topic, we’re supposed to be covering a game show on Nick, not the history of gaming. Every episode has two teams of young contestants getting tested with two questions before the winning team get advanced to the gaming section of the show. Mikey’s World revolves on a boy named Mikey and you control as him in different situations, but you have to be on the lookout for any bad guys. Then towards the end of every episode, we are treated to a hybrid segment called The Video Zone where the winning contestant are teleported inside a video game and have 30 seconds to reach the goal. The winning prizes are what you typically see in other Nick game shows. Well, as a video game lover, I can say I love this game show and it's one of the best game shows Nick has ever produced. Phil Moore is a fantastic host and he's super passionate about the job. Casual viewers will just see this as a normal game show, but game lovers will see Nick Arcade as a one of a kind game show. You still have your usual quizzes, but once the question section is over, we are treated to a simulation of a game (one made for the show and one that is actually an arcade game). The arcade sequences are great, but I especially love the one towards the end of every episode where the winning team are teleported inside a game. It's just so cool to watch. There isn't much else to say about this show other than the fact you'll be recognizing a few games like a beta version of the 2nd Sonic game, where Nick star Melissa Joan Hart infamously failed at game for not being an experienced gamer. Though otherwise, younger gamers won't really know much of them, but it doesn't matter as long as you read gaming history articles. So yeah, this has been one of the first things I watched through Paramount+ when I joined and it's worth the hype. Some people want this show back on the air, but honestly, Nick has enough reboots as it is and I don't think arcades are relevant anymore unless you go to places that have them. But even if it were to happen, I'll be down to it. Maybe with newer technology it will make it cooler.

(10/10)

Roundhouse

Before All That and after the days of You Can’t Do That on TV reruns, there was another sketch show called Roundhouse that was part of the original SNICK lineup. It was pretty much identical to YCDTOTV, but modernized for the 90s and there’s a musical twist as well as an emphasis on pop culture references. The titular roundhouse provides the main setting for the show and it's where all the fun stuff happens, from telling jokes to singing and dancing. I got to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting much with a show like this. When I sat down and binged the first season, I asked myself, will this be worth watching since it's a product of its time? And when I did, I got mixed results. On the bright side, the pop culture references, while dated, kind of worked as they feel a bit less dated than the ones told in YCDTOTV (even though I preferred that show and its jokes more). And I could tell, the actors had a great time performing their lines. But on the other hand, when the jokes fail, they really failed and really show you how 90s it could be at times. But if I have to give out the biggest problem with the show is that it's a semi-musical. Am I supposed to be watching a musical or a sketch comedy? What  purposes do these songs serve other than to fill up the time? Most of them don't make sense to me and they sound as old-fashioned as they can be. I mean, when you look at the other sketch comedies, they did have some musical aspect, but they weren't the main focus, they were usually used at the end of an episode. These numbers feel like a chore to sit through and sometimes I just feel like I want to watch the show for the laughs and nothing else. I don't know why but that's just me. It's not the worst thing ever of its kind. Welcome Freshmen (which was a sketch comedy during its first two seasons) was more nihilistic than Roundhouse and at least I could enjoy some aspect more here, even if the flaws hold it back. For being one of SNICK's first shows, it's so forgettable and even I've forgotten much of the show and when I wrote this review, I was trying my best to remember what I saw. Overall, while not a bad show, it's not something I want to watch the entire run and I personally like YCDTOTV, All That, and especially The Amanda Show more. It says a lot when we haven't heard from the cast members of this show compared to the others (then again, Welcome Freshmen's cast are even more obscure than this show's cast) other than the fact one of them died at a young age.

(6/10)

Wild Side Show

(Skipping because I couldn’t find full episodes)

Nickelodeon GUTS

This is about the Nick game show, if the title makes it clear, not that new pop album that came out this year. After previously hosting a game show for Nickelodeon (Get the Picture), Mike O’Malley would become the host of GUTS. Moira Quick serves as the referee, reporting on the status of the contestants. Three young contestants compete against each other in four different athletic events. Instead of pop quizzes, this show has an athletic spin to it, and just like Marc Summers with What Would You Do being a departure from that format in Double Dare, the same thing apply to O’Malley (except that it’s more about sports rather than comedy). Except this time, O’Malley ended up being on a slightly better game show than the previous where as Summers’ second game show wasn’t as good as Double Dare. Both O'Malley and Moira did a great job as host and referee, and while I am not much of a sports myself, this is one of the few times I'm willing to watch something athletic. There isn’t much else to discuss about the show although it is one of the few game shows to pop up in a Nicktoon many years later with Sanjay and Craig. The writers took a rather interesting direction with it. All in all, for the Gen Z folks, I definitely recommend giving GUTS a watch if you want to experience how 90s it was.

(8/10)

Nick Yearly Recap 2022: Good Content, Bad Schedule

2022: Good Content, Bad Schedule

As we enter the third year of the 2020s, Nickelodeon has another good year under their belt, but there’s two hiccups down the road: a crappy live action show of The Fairly OddParents and the live feed becoming more and more of an afterthought now that their content are thriving on Paramount+ (which makes up most of their profit aside from Star Trek). So in shorter words, good content, bad schedule. Let’s get right to it.

Warped!

It only had 13 episodes, but I reviewed the whole thing here: https://felixsaenzreviews.blogspot.com/2022/10/its-warped-review.html?m=1

It was easily my favorite Nick show to come out of 2022, as you can tell.

(9/10)

The Tiny Chef Show

The second collaboration between Imagine Kids, this show follows Tiny Chef hosting a show as prepares to cook various of plant based foods. During the climax, he struggles to make a food and gets interviewed with a celebrity (such as Tabitha Brown, Josh Dela Cruz, Kristen Bell, etc.). He is accompanied by his friends, Olly, Henry, and Ruby, who helps him succeed at cooking. Every segment has an educational segment on the episode’s food. Well, judging from what I described, it’s another laid-back Nick Jr show that will obviously be cancelled after a season or two because it’s not hectic like Paw Patrol and Blaze and the Monster Machines. But if you’re a show of these type of shows, enjoy them as much as you can because they will be gone before you know it. And from the first season I watched on Paramount+, I had a blast. Not only it is cozy as heck, but it is also educational for the young ones who want to cook food. And as a food lover, it sure gonna make hungry thinking about the food Tiny makes.

(9/10)

Big Nate

I wanted to do a separate review for the show, but I realized there isn’t much to talk about every episode. It is the first time Lincoln Pierce’s comic book series got adapted to a television series, and as someone who read very little of them while passing by the library store at the local mall, I can see the appeal. Big Nate, just like The Peanuts Movie, really translate well from comics to 3D animation. I know people have grown wary of computer animation, but please believe me when you take a look at this show. It’s so uniquely animated that I thought I was watching something theatrical. Speaking of big budgets, I’m surprised to see the show playing a good amount of licensed music. I guess being on a streaming service takes more risks in addition making more PG rated jokes. Yes, they have some of them, which is reminiscent of 90s Nicktoons. Who knew how different this show would be if it was on cable as originally intended? Nate Wright himself is a portrayed as a troublemaker, but he’s more toned down here. His sister Ellen is voiced by the girl who played twins on a Disney Channel sitcom (despite being a Nickelodeon production).

Transformers EarthSpark

Separate review coming soon:

(8/10)

Face’s Music Party

Remember that face who took up the entire screen when you were watching Nick Jr as a child? Well, many years later, he is back with a brand new show for today’s generation of preschoolers. This series revolves on Face functioning as a video jockey, playing various of pop songs and nursery rhymes, all matching the themes of an episode. For example, in the first episode, Friendship/Bugs, they played songs that had to do with friends and insects (such as Together by Sia, The Ants Go Marching). They even get permission to play actual music videos, if they don’t provide actual animation or a rerecording the music video with kids. All of the remixed nursery rhymes are accompanied by animation. All of music box segments are live action segments featuring kids recording music. Every episode ends with a dance party segment. Sometimes, there will be music videos from Nick Jr shows, and I was really surprised seeing Backyardigans in the show considering it ended many years ago. I’ll be honest with you - when I first heard about this show, I didn’t expect much with it. Nick have been too much on a nostalgia trip lately that I feel tired from all the stuff that were being brought back for sake of it, but I ended watching the whole season on Paramount+ and ended up enjoying more than I expected. Just like a lot a majority of modern Nick shows, it’s very comfy and serves as background noise if there’s nothing interesting to watch. Face makes his long awaited return with a brand new voice - Cedric L Williams (as Chris Phillips is better known as the Nick Jr announcer nowadays, something he’s been doing for the brand for nearly 3 decades now), and he does a great job as the role. The live action/animation hybrid is utilized well just like in Blue’s Clues as you have Face interacting with actual children. The musical sequences are a good watch, although it gets points off for playing a few lame songs (but they don’t have a choice since some of them have to match the theme of an episode). Overall, it’s a decent addition to the Nick Jr block, but I doubt they’ll ever renew it because of their Paw Patrol addition lately. 

(7/10)

Monster High

Monster High has been around since 2010, and went through a couple reboots. This is just the second reboot, making it the third generation. G1 lasted about 6 years and spawned a bunch of media. But G2 was short lived and fans hardly remember about it. So the franchise took a break for a little while until Mattel and Nickelodeon team up to produce the next generation. G3 focuses more on Clawdeen as opposed to Frankie in G1 and Draculaura in G2. And before anyone asks, this is mostly focused on the animated series, but I suppose I will get my honest opinions on the live action adaptation out of the way. They are on the same level of quality as the Zombies movies on Disney Channel. They were only made just so the costume department can make the corniest wardrobe ever. And not to mention, to cash in the musical aspect that Kenny Ortega popularized with High School Musical and later Descendants. In shorter words, they simply suck and I don’t know why Nick prioritize them more than the cartoon, but that’s Hollywood for you. They always favor cheap drivel. The show’s premise is basically the same as the other media they done (monsters living their daily lives at a high school), except with a big emphasis on Clawdeen’s life and of course, some great representation done by Maya Lichian. And while I never had time to keep up with the show’s premieres, I have to say, this is the best piece of Monster High media ever produced, period. Yes, even better than the movies they made previously, which were alright, but they suffered from being cliched teen movies.

(8/10)

The Really Loud House

Hadn’t seen it yet, will do a separate review of live action Loud House content.

The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder

A separate review of the show can be found here: https://felixsaenzreviews.blogspot.com/2022/05/fairly-odder-is-waste-of-everyone’s-time.html?m=1

Easily the worst Nick show of 2022 by a margin.

(2/10)

Liv & Maddie Scorecard

Liv & Maddie Scorecard

Season 1

Twin-a-Rooney: 7/10

Team-a-Rooney: 8/10

Sleep-a-Rooney: 7/10

Steal-a-Rooney: 6/10

Kang-a-Rooney: 7/10

Skate-a-Rooney: 8/10

Dodge-a-Rooney: 6/10

Brain-a-Rooney: 7/10

Sweet 16-a-Rooney: 9/10

Fa-la-la-a-Rooney: 9/10

Switch-a-Rooney: 8/10

Dump-a-Rooney: 7/10

Move-a-Rooney: 7/10

Slump-a-Rooney: 6/10

Moms-a-Rooney: 8/10

Shoe-a-Rooney: 8/10

Howl-a-Rooney: 7/10

Flashback-a-Rooney: 9/10

BFF-a-Rooney: 7/10

Song-a-Rooney: 8/10

Space-Werewolf-a-Rooney: 9/10

Season 2

Premiere-a-Rooney: 8/10

Pottery-a-Rooney: 7/10

Helga-a-Rooney: 8/10

Kathy Kan-a-Rooney: 7/10

Match-a-Rooney: 8/10

Hoops-A-Rooney: 7/10

New Years Eve-a-Rooney: 8/10

Bro Crave-a-Rooney: 5/10

Upcycle-a-Rooney: 7/10

Rate-a-Rooney: 9/10

Dention-a-Rooney: 8/10

Muffler-a-Rooney: 8/10

Gift-a-Rooney: 8/10

Neighbors-a-Rooney: 8/10

Repeat-a-Rooney: 8/10

Cook-a-Rooney: 7/10

Prom-a-Rooney: 9/10

Flugelball-a-Rooney: 7/10

Band-a-Rooney: 8/10

Video-a-Rooney: 8/10

Triangle-a-Rooney: 6/19

Frame-a-Rooney: 9/10

SPARF-a-Rooney: 6/10

Champ-a-Rooney: 8/10

Season 3

Continued-a-Rooney: 9/10

Voltage-a-Rooney: 8/10

CoStar-a-Rooney: 7/10

Haunt-a-Rooney: 8/10

Cowbell-a-Rooney: 8/10

Grandma-a-Rooney: 9/10

Meatball-a-Rooney: 7/10

Ask Her More-a-Rooney: 7/10

Joy-a-Rooney: 8/10

Ridgewood-a-Rooney: 8/10

Coach-a-Rooney: 7/10

Secret Admirer-a-Rooney: 7/10

Viva-La-Rooney: 8/10

Dream-a-Rooney: 8/10

Home Run-a-Rooney: 8/10

Scoop-a-Rooney: 5/10

Choose-a-Rooney: 8/10

Friend-a-Rooney: 6/10

SkyVolt-a-Rooney: 9/10

California-a-Rooney: 8/10

Season 4

Sorta Sisters-A-Rooney: 8/10

Linda & Heather-A-Rooney: 7/10

Scare-A-Rooney: 8/10

Sing It Louder!!-A-Rooney: 8/10

Slumber Party-A-Rooney: 6/10

Cali Christmas-A-Rooney: 8/10

Standup-A-Rooney: 7/10

Roll Model-A-Rooney: 9/10

Falcon-A-Rooney: 7/10

Ex-A-Rooney: 6/10

Tiny House-A-Rooney: 9/10

Big Break-A-Rooney: 7/10

Sing It Live!!!-A-Rooney: 9/10

Voice-A-Rooney: 9/10

End-A-Rooney: 8/10

The Schneider's Bakery Child Stars - Where They Are Now?

The Schneider's Bakery Child Stars - Where They Are Now?

            Nickelodeon is known for having child stars who tend to be more stable than Disney Channel stars when they grow up as adults. However, there are some exceptions to the rule as we all know the stereotypes of child stars having a troubled adult life after their childhood. But I’m starting to notice a pattern - most of the Nick stars that had gotten into trouble or some sort of controversy was associated with Dan Schneider, who has become a hot topic when it comes to the work environment. This journal will take a look at which child stars from Schneider’s shows is faring right now. I’m not counting former stars from All That and Kenan & Kel as he didn’t created the shows. But most of them have either faded to obscurity or still have an active career in entertainment.

The Amanda Show

Amanda Bynes

The former All That star had a great successful post-Nick career that would last until 2010. Her next television show was What I Like About You, which aired on the WB from 2002-2006. She mostly did movies, like Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, She’s the Main, Sydney White. Her last acting role was on Easy A. Since then, she has sadly retired to take care of her mental health. I’m a big fan of Amanda, and it bums me that she won’t be getting a Lindsay Lohan-esque comeback any time soon. Before 2012, for the longest time, she was looking to avoid that curse of popular Nick/Disney girl not going crazy only to subvert that. I hope it’s not too late for Amanda to truly get her stuff together. I blame her ex Paul Michael for not improving her mental health because it's like we're back to square one again (minus the drugs). I think we need all of her former costars to support her because she isn't getting the help she needs, even after her freedom.

Raquel Lee

The only person of color cast member of The Amanda Show. She was only on the first season of the show, before getting hired (most likely for racist reasons, knowing Dan’s attitude with women and Poc). Like Alisa Reyes, Raquel ended up voicing a character for The Proud Family, a show from Disney Channel (ironically, it was supposed to be a Nick show but rejected). She was not a bad actress, but like Angelique Bates, she deserved better and could’ve stayed if it wasn’t for Dan’s racism.

Drake & Josh

Drake Bell

Both Drake & Josh were former Amanda Show cast members, and their outstanding performances led to their own show. After Drake & Josh ended, Drake actually did work for the ICarly theme song. He even made cameo appearance in iCarly and Victorious. Then, he got cast as Timmy Turner for the live-action Fairly OddParents movies. Yeah, he didn’t got much of a post-Nick adult career, as they kept him around a little longer. Thankfully, he was able to branch out beyond Nick and become the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the animated shows that aired on Disney XD. However, once his time as the spider hero was done, he hadn’t done much work since then. Eventually, Drake has gotten into some hot water, and sadly he joins Amanda as another cast member from a Schneider show who has a troubled adult life. Unlike Amanda, who I show concern every time something bad happens to her, I have lost respect for Drake and while I still love Drake & Josh, it might be hard to rewatch the show now because of his actions lately.

Josh Peck

Both Drake & Josh were former Amanda Show cast members, and their outstanding performances led to their own show. Before he joined the cast for The Amanda Show, he was on Snow Day. Unlike Drake, Josh was able to branch outside of Nick. He was casted as the voice of Eddie the possum for the Ice Age movies. He has a good amount of movie roles as well. His latest film role is Kenneth Bainbridge on Oppenheimer. Like Drake, Josh did had a couple of post-D&J role on Nick. He was the voice of Casey Jones on the 2012 reboot of TMNT (Nick’s first show for the franchise). And many years later, he reunited with his costar Miranda Cosgrove on the ICarly revival. You can tell Josh has a more successful career than Drake ever did because he was able to still show up on tv. He has main/guest/recurring roles for shows such as The Mindy Project, Grandfathered (a short lived FOX show), Fuller House, Turner & Pooch, and How I Met Your Father (which stars former Disney star Hilary Duff). So, if Drake wasn’t able to live a stable life as an adult, then I’m glad Josh hasn’t gone off the deep end…for now. He was always the funnier titular character for Drake & Josh.

Zoey 101

Jamie Lynn Spears

Before Zoey 101, she was a main cast member for All That (which came back after a year hiatus, and retooled with a new younger cast). Before that, she was simply known as Britney’s little sister. Nepotism at its finest. I'll be honest, after what we know about her, JLS is among one of Nick's worst stars. Not because she's Britney's sister or anything, but her acting came off as flat throughout Zoey 101. Her character was the weakest as a result (though Austin Butler wasn't as memorable as well). And the show's ending coincided with Britney's conservatorship coming into effect after her public breakdown, meaning she and JLS weren't on good speaking terms. When it comes to the debate of freeing Britney, JLS shows no support to her big sister whatsoever and that caused me to sour my opinions on her. I'm sorry, but Jamie Lynn is just shady and I really hope she doesn't ruin Zoey 102 too much. On the topic of her career, she went to become a stay at home mother for a while, until she came back in the spotlight as a country singer and ended up marrying a man with the same name as her (so basically Jamie Squared). She has returned to acting starring in a Netflix show called Sweet Magnolias.

Alexa Nikolas

Sharing the same birthday as Jamie Lynn, Alexa played Nicole Bristow, who became Zoey's best friend. See the irony in that? She was only in the first two seasons until she was written off the show, for being boy crazy. In reality, her actress had a nasty incident behind the scenes, all thanks to family matters (yes, Britney was there the day Alexa was fired from the show), and based from what she recalled, everyone were bullying her, and that's how the feud between her and the rest of show cast started. Since 2019, Alexa has become vocal on the situation and will try to do anything to expose the cast of Zoey 101 for the way they treated her. Of course, it wasn't a surprise when the sequel movie got announced and she was not happy about it happening. While she did eventually patched things up with Britney, it's look like JLS and the rest of the Zoey 101 cast members are Alexa's worst enemies forever...

Kristin Herrera

She was only a cast member in one season. Kristin played Dana, and I honestly forgotten about her (but she is still more memorable than James, Austin's season 4 character). I remembered her and Nicole not getting along at first, but that's about it. Like JLS, her performance came out as flat, and I feel like the reason for my low opinions on season 1 is because of her. No reason is given on why Kristin left the show after the first season, but some might say her age played a factor. She was the oldest main cast member at the time. Despite this, the cast somehow still remembered her and reunited with her many years later for the All That revival.

Erin Sanders

Erin played my favorite female character on the show, Quinn who was a science nerd. Her acting talents were good enough for Nick to cast her in another show, Big Time Rush, in which coincidentally, her character dates someone named Logan. She's so unrecognizable nowadays that in the sequel movie, Quinn's hair is blonde and no longer wears glasses. Then again, Quinn had some of the best character development for Zoey 101.

Sean Flynn

Sean hadn't done much acting (that I'm familiar with), so I won't comment too much. His character was alright, but the whole “will they or will won’t” situation between him and Zoey wasn’t going anywhere so they had to write him off the cast during the final season. Just watch the season 4 premiere (or was it Goodbye, Zoey?) and you know what I mean 

Matthew Underwood

Like Sean, Matthew didn’t really do much acting before and after the show (although he was also on an episode of Avatar The Last Airbender whose character he voiced was similar to his Zoey 101 character). With that said, he was still memorable performance wise, although I’m not too fond of Logan myself as he was rather jerkish for most of the show’s run.

Christopher Massey

JLS isn’t the only cast member to be related to a famous person. Here, we have the older brother of Kyle Massey, playing Michael Barret, who is one of my favorite characters on the show. Like with most of the cast, Chris hasn’t done much acting elsewhere, limited to just guest appearances (including one episode of That’s So Raven).

Austin Butler

Ah, yes, we have the guy who was omnipresent on Nickelodeon and Disney back in the day. You should see his resume, he was really everywhere. He was in Ned’s Declassifed, Hannah Montana, ICarly, Out of Jimmy’s Head, you name it. For Zoey 101, he actually played a character in a season 3 episode before getting a main role for the final season, replacing Chase. Not gonna lie, James was not that memorable of a character and he was as bland as Zoey. But I’m not surprised that one of the actors for the least interesting characters on the show has ended up being a big star with Elvis being the role that Hollywood finally took notice of his talents. We deserved more famous Nick stars.

ICarly

Miranda Cosgrove

Before Nickelodeon, Miranda was on School of Rock starring Jack Black. Then, she got casted as troublemaker Megan Parker on Drake & Josh. As divided as her character was, Miranda’s performance was outstanding enough to be casted as the lead role of Carly Shay for ICarly, which would become Nickelodeon’s most popular sitcom while having some guest appearances of various Nick sitcoms throughout the years. As a result, Miranda became the highest paid child actress. While I wasn’t too fond of her performance as Carly (the show is when Schneider and co-writers started to emphasis on loud humor), Miranda was a main cast member for Nick for nearly a decade, which was impressive for someone her age (she was around 9 when she was first casted as Megan and already became an adult by the time ICarly ended). Once her time at Nick was up, she went to college for a while and took a break from acting (though, she was already voicing Margo on Despicable Me movies when ICarly was still in production). She eventually returned to TV on a short lived show called Crowded (funnily enough, the same time her former costar Josh Peck was on another short lived sitcom). Several years later, after appearing in some music videos and other stuff, she would return to her most iconic role with the ICarly revival for Paramount+. While Miranda is no means my favorite Nick star, she’s among the most iconic of them all and I’m glad she’s still doing well because you don’t see many child stars living long enough to live a stable life.

Jennette McCurdy

At the time ICarly was big, Jennette was just an actress who was doing her job and have a dedicated fandom. Her character Sam Puckett was proven popular that she and Cat Valentine from Victorious were given their own spin-off series. But one day, Jennette and Ariana weren’t getting along and it led to the cancellation of the show, despite being a success. It’s just to show you that just because your show is a hit doesn’t mean it’s immune from behind the scenes controversies. And many years later, we finally found out that Jennette didn’t have a strong passion for acting because it’s all thanks to her now decreased mother pushing her to be an actress at such a young age. As you can tell, Jennette has quit acting to become a bestselling author. Last year, she published a memoir about her life and why she’s glad about her mother being dead. I won’t go into details, but if you have the memoir, it will sum up what she’s been up to since Sam & Cat concluded.

Nathan Kress

Seeing how his character on iCarly was a director for the webseries, it was only fitting that once the show ended, Nathan himself became a director for Schneider’s next shows (Henry Danger and Game Shakers). He even appeared in a Game Shakers episode, addressing the whole shipping wars on ICarly. Acting wise, he haven’t done much of importance, other than voicing one of the main characters on Pinky Malinky. So yeah, technically, Nathan has never left Nick after all these years, even before he reprised his role as Freddie for the revival.

Victorious

Victoria Justice

Prior to Victorious, she was Lola Martinez on Zoey, joining during the second season. Then, she went on to play a main role for a tv movie called Spectacular. She was popular enough to be cast as the lead role for Victorious as well making various appearances at Nick (including a theatrical movie that was rated PG13). Once the show wrapped production, Victoria went to do a short lived series for MTV. She had a few more television appearances before moving on to focus on movies. Not gonna lie, I wish Victoria made it as big as Ariana because her fans are insufferable whenever Victorious gets brought up. And only because she one of my favorite actress/singer to come out of Nick. But as you read the Victorious section, you’ll notice this show had the most successful cast as they barely went through shady situations.

Daniella Monet

She was already an adult when the show premiered but prior to that, she guest appeared on Zoey 101 as Rebecca in three episodes. She had various of roles pre-Victorious, including a main role in a short lived sitcom during 2004. But it wasn’t until Victorious that she became more well known. Like Victoria and Miranda, Daniella was pretty much everywhere at Nick, also making a bunch of appearances (whether it was main or guest). She was the live action version of Tootie for the Fairly OddParents tv movies (remember those?) She was Bertha in those Fred movies (and even appeared in the show itself). Even after Victorious was long over, she was still appearing on Nick, her biggest role was being the host for Paradise Run. Her most recent acting role was Cousins for Life, another Nick production. Since then, she has became a mother and is now focusing more on motherhood.

Elizabeth Gilles

One of the youngest cast members of Victorious played a moody character (who wasn’t my favorite, despite  nailing at the role). Liz didn’t do as much projects as Victoria and Daniella, but she was on Winx Club (when Nick produced the dub). She would reprise the role as Jade in a Sam and Cat special, and it would be her last contribution at Nick until she did a voice role in Welcome to the Wayne of all shows. Since then, she got casted as the role of Fallon Carrington on the CW show Dynasty (yeah, the CW has became a dumping ground for former Nick/Disney stars). During her time at Dynasty, she guest starred on both Family Guy and The Orville, which were created by Seth MacFarlane. As you can see, Liz and MacFarlane have collaborated with each other several times and it’s an odd pair.

Ariana Grande

The most well known example of a successful Nickelodeon star. Before her, Kenan Thompson was arguably the most successful Nickelodeon veteran thanks to SNL. But, at the time Victorious came out, she came straight from Broadway. Little did we know in 2010, Ariana Grande was going to make it big as a pop star. During her time at Nickelodeon, she did a voice role on Winx Club and from what I heard, she was really miscasted. She was on a TV Movie called Swindle, which featured a bunch of current Nick stars at the time. Let’s be honest, the only reason why Sam & Cat came to be was because Jennette and Ariana shared a birthday and their characters were super popular among the fans. The show in particular was a hit but was cancelled once the stars got into an argument. It’s no coincidence this all happened when Ariana’s music career was taking off. Despite her busy career, she still make tv appearances. She hosted SNL a couple times (which is funny considering she gets to appear with Kenan, the most successful male former Nick star). She has guest judged on RuPaul’s Drag Rave a few times. She was on Scream Queens for a few episodes. The rest of her tv filmography are self appearances. She’s currently filming the Wicked movies as the role of Galinda Upland, so she’s taking her singing career on hold for a while. I’ll say this, I have no ill against Ariana and I’m glad to see someone from Nickelodeon made it this big, even if I’m not the biggest fan of her music (as it’s basically diet Mariah Carey). I doubt we’ll ever get someone from Nickelodeon made it as big as her again. I mean, Disney Channel already birthed out a bunch of successful pop stars.

Matt Bennett

He’s the least popular of the entire cast, but even after his time as Robbie Shapiro was over, he was still appearing on tv. He got to reunite with Ariana and Liz a few times, though. He’s one of the best aspects of Victorious, so he deserved a little more exposure. These days, if you’ve been following Matt, he’s doing some sort of comedy tour.

Leon Thomas III

Leon is without a doubt the most successful male cast member of Victorious. He did a few stuff before the show came out, most notably the voice of Tyrone from the Backyardigans. Even during his time at Victorious, he did the singing voice of Monster from Robot and Monster. Since then, his acting career has slowed down somewhat, but he’s more well known for being a songwriter. I always knew Andre Harris has it in him because his character was the only one that genuinely got along with Tori.

Avan Jogia

Before Victorious, Avan was in a couple Nick Tv movies, one of which had Victoria Justice as a cast member, so basically he met Victoria before Victorious was greenlit. He would later do another movie with Rags. After the cancellation of Victorious, he starred in Twisted, which of course was an one season show. Since then, his resume mostly consists of movies with the occasional television appearances. Beck may’ve been the least memorable character of the show, but his actor sure have a bigger career than Robbie’s.

Henry Danger

Jace Norman

Nickelodeon’s biggest star during the late 2010s. Henry Danger was proven to be really popular that they gave Jace a whopping five TV Movie between 2014-2018, one of which was given a sequel because dogs are profitable. The funny thing is, before he was on Nick, his first acting career was on Disney. But after a guest appearance on the superhero sitcom The Thundermans, I guess they saw potential in Jace so they casted him to play a superhero. Just like any other popular actor, Jace has made plenty of appearances on Nick, that it’s hard to list his non-Nick roles during his time at Henry Danger (Spark A Space Tail and another movie but he was credited under an alias). You can tell Nick won’t let the guy go when he became a producer for the DangerVerse and have his character appear on Danger Force every now and then. He’s talented, sure, but he need to expand beyond Nick. He can’t be known as Henry Hart / Kid Danger for the rest of his career.

Riele Downs

Prior to being cast as Charlotte Page, Riele was in a bunch of stuff as a little girl. I’ll be honest with you, Riele’s acting is good but I really dislike how her character on Henry Danger is the butt of jokes. For someone who’s the only non-white main character on the show and arguably the smartest of them all, it just comes off as racially motivated especially when your writing room is full of whites. Unlike Jace, Riele did moved on from Nick. She did a movie called Darby and the Dead, playing the titular role. And she’s also on Bel Air. And I’ll say, good for her. Let her be more than just the smart girl who was constantly abused by her peers.

Sean Ryan Fox

Around the same he got casted as Jasper, Sean was originally going to be Lincoln Loud on The Loud House, but his voice dropped (this was pilot only). He did, however, was the voice of Jake in the Disney Junior show Jake and the Neverland Pirates. So what is Sean up to nowadays? One look at his IMDb and he hadn’t been acting since Henry Danger ended. I guess he’s busy with college and stuff. You know, for a show so popular, it’s surprising to see someone fade from obscurity so quickly. And I’ll be honest, Jasper became my least favorite character during the final season because he wasn’t as useful as before.

Ella Anderson

Ah, Ella Anderson, best known for being typecasted as a spoiled brat. Even before viewers know her best as the loud and obnoxious Piper Hart, she was already playing characters that just as spoiled as her, such as Hazel on ANT Farm, Darcy Stewart on Dog with a Blog, Jenny Kenne on Liv & Maddie (all Disney Channel shows, mind you). I blame Schneider and writers for why most viewers has such sour opinions on Piper, myself included. They forced Ella to shout every single of her lines as Piper and I feel like it wasn’t good for her vocal cords. But come the fifth season, Piper has significantly mellowed out and was no longer the worst character on the show. Her tone went from shrill to just sarcastic. I’ll admit, the final season gave Ella a potential to finally break out the stigma of playing brats, but right now, she hasn’t much work since the show ended. Like Riele, I’m rooting for her to play better roles in the future that won’t be wasted by poor writing.

Game Shakers

Madisyn Shipman

Pre-Game Shakers, she was on the Peanuts Movie (this is animation so it must’ve been recorded before that show was even a thing) and was on an episode of Sesame Street. After Game Shakers was cancelled, she would later have roles for Red Ruby and Call Me Kat. I’ve been actively following her on social media, and nowadays, she’s been a singer (surprise, surprise) and a brand ambassador for Playboy of all things. The Playboy job surprised me, but hey, it’s cool to see child stars literally grow up to do adult stuff. I just wish her character Kenzie Bell was more interesting, because she wasn’t bad, but she suffered from wooden acting.

Cree Cinnicho

Out of all the Game Shakers kids, Cree’s acting career surprised me the most. She’s still active, having roles for Mr Iglesias (which featured another former Nick star in Gabriel Iglesias, who was briefly on All That), the Sex and City continuation series, Stay Awake, Robot Chicken (that show attract so many actors), and Big Sky. It’s a shame her Game Shakers character is only remembered for having a strange name (Babe isn’t kid friendly). As I mentioned, the kids all suffered from poor scripts, leading their performance to come off as flat, so I hope Cree’s acting has improved since then.

Benjamin Flores Jr.

Henry Danger didn’t reused any cast member whatsoever, but Benjamin is among the two veteran cast members for Game Shakers (the only being his tv dad, Kel Mitchell). He was on The Haunted Hathaways and a couple of tv movies for Nick. During his game as Triple G, he was cast to be the new voice of Gerald from Hey Arnold for the Jungle Movie. After the cancellation, he’s still doing work, although it’s hard to tell if it’s the same level as Cree.

Thomas Kuc

He played the least important character on the show. One look at his IMDb shouldn’t be a surprise that he done so little with his career. He was in a Nick seasonal special, some random movie, and since the cancellation of Game Shakers, he has only showed up in some random short film, a music video, and a teen show. Calling it now, just like Sean Ryan Fox, he’s going to fade from obscurity pretty soon.

Nickelodeon Movies Scorecard

Nickelodeon Movies Scorecards

Harriet the Spy: 8/10
Good Burger: 10/10
The Rugrats Movie: 8/10
Snow Day: SKIPPED
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: 10/10
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: 10/10
Clockstoppers: 7/10
Hey Arnold: The Movie: 6/10
The Wild Thornberrys: 7/10
Rugrats go Wild: 5/10
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: 9/10
Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events: 4/10
Mad Hot Ballroom: SKIPPED
Yours Mine & Ours: 4/10
Nacho Libre: 8/10
Barnyard: 8/10
Charlotte's Web: 6/10
The Spiderwick Chronicles:
Angus, Thongs Perfect and Snogging:
Hotel for Dogs:
Imagine That:
The Last Airbender: 1/10
Rango: 9/10
The Adventures of Tin Man: 7/10
Fun Size: 6/10
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water: 9/10
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows:
Monster Trucks:
Wonder Park:
Dora and the Lost City of Gold:
Playing with Fire:
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run:7/10
PAW Patrol: The Movie: 7/10

The Loud House Movie:

The J Team:

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank: 5/10

Rise of the TMNT: The Movie: 10/10

Blue's Big City Adventure: 10/10

Fantasy Football:

Snow Day (2022): 5/10

Zoey 102:

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem: 8/10

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie: 8/10

Under the Boardwalk:

Good Burger 2:

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie:

Untitled Smurfs movie:

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants:

ATLA movie: 

TV Movie
Shredderman Rules:
The Last Day of Summer:
Gym Teacher: The Movie:
Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh: 10/10
Spectacular!:
Fred: The Movie: 1/10
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf: 4/10
Best Player: 8/10
A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!: 4/10

Night of the Living Fred: 1/10
Big Time Movie: 9/10
Rags: 9/10

Camp Fred: 1/10
A Fairly Odd Christmas: 3/10
Nicky Deuce: 5/10
Swindle: 7/10
Jinxed: 6/10
Terry the Tomboy: SKIPPED
A Fairly Odd Summer: 2/10
Santa Hunters: 7/10
Splitting Adam: 5/10
One Crazy Cruise: 4/10

Massively Mixed-Up Middle School Mystery: 2/10
Liar, Liar, Vampire: 3/10

Rufus: 7/10
Lost in the West (miniseries):
Legends of the Hidden Temple: 9/10
Albert: 8/10

Rufus 2: 5/10
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library: 6/10
Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie: 10/10
Blurt!: 6/10
Bixler High Private Eye: 8/10
Lucky: 7/10
Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling: 10/10
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus: 9/10

A Loud House Christmas:

Monster High The Movie: 4/10

A Really Haunted Loud House:

Monster High 2:

Paramount Animation (includes children movies from Pictures/Players)

The Little Prince:

Anomalisa:

Monster Trucks:

Sherlock Gnomes:

Sonic the Hedgehog: 7/10

Clifford the Big Red Dog: 

Rumble: 6/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: 8/10

The Tiger’s Apprentice:

Transformers One:

Under the Boardwalk:

Sonic the Hedgehog 3:

Boy/Girl Meets World Scorecard

Boy Meets World

Season 1

Pilot: Okay

On the Fence: Decent

Father Knows Less: Good

Cory’s Alternative Friends: Decent

Killer Bees: Good

Boys II Mensa: Good

Grandma Was a Rolling Stone: Decent

Teacher’s Bet: Good

Class Pre-Union: Decent

Santa’s Little Helper: Good

The Father/Son Game: Good

Once in Love with Amy: Decent

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Good

The B Team of Life: Decent

Model Family: Good

Risky Business: Good

The Fugitive: Okay

It’s a Wonderful Night: Decent

Kid Gloves: Good

The Play’s the Thing: Decent

Boy Meets Girl: Good

I Dream of Feeny: Good

Season 2

Back 2 School: Good

Pairing Off: Decent

Notorious: Okay

Me and Mr. Joad: Okay

The Uninvited: Good

Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf: Good

Wake Up, Little Cory: Good

Band on the Run: Decent

Fear Strikes Out: Good

Sister Theresa: Good

The Beard: Okay

Turnaround: Good

Cyrano: Good

I Am Not a Crook: Decent

Breaking Up is Really, Really Hard to Do: Decent

Danger Boy: Good

On the Air: Good

By Hook or By Crook: Good

Wrong Side of the Tracks: Decent

Pop Quiz: Good

The Thrilla’ in Phila: Good

Career Day: Great

Home: Great

Season 3

My Best Friend’s Girl: Decent

The Double Lie: Okay

What I meant to Say: Good

He Said, She Said: Good

Hometown Hero: Okay

This Little Piggy: Decent

Truth and Consequences: Good

Rave On: Great

The Last Temptation of Cory: Okay

Train of Fools: Good

City Slackers: Good

The Grass is Always Greener: Decent

New Friends and Old: Good

A Kiss More than a Kiss: Good 

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: Good

Stormy Weather: Good

The Pink Flamingo Kid: Okay

Life Lessons: Great

I Was a Teenage Spy: Great

I Never Sang for My Legal Guardian: Good

The Happiest Show on Earth: Great

Brother Brother: Amazing

Season 4

You Can Go Home Again: Good

Hair Today, Goon Tomorrow: Great

I Ain't Gonna Spray Lettuce No More: Good

Finding For Virna: Good

Shallow Boy: Great

Janitor Dad: Good

Singled Out: Okay

Dangerous Secret: Good

Sixteen Candles and Four Hundred Pounded Men: Great

Turkey Day: Great

An Affair to Forget: Good

Easy Street: Good

B& B's & B' N' B: Good

Wheels: Great

Chick Like Me: Good

A Long Walk to Pittsburgh (1)(2): Amazing

Uncle Daddy: Good

Quiz Show: Okay

Security Guy: Good

Cult Fiction: Good

Learning to Fly: Great

Season 5

Brothers: Great

Boy Meets Real World: Great

It's Not You ... It's Me: Okay

Fraternity Row: Decent

The Witches of Pennbrook: Good

No Guts, No Cory: Great

I Love You, Donna Karan (1): Good

Chasing Angela (2): Good

How to Succeed in Business: Great

Last Tango in Philly: Good

A Very Topanga Christmas: Great

Raging Cory: Good

The Eskimo: Good

Heartbreak Cory: Decent

First Girlfriends' Club: Okay

Torn Between Two Lovers (Feeling Like a Fool): Meh

And Then There Was Shawn: Great

If You Can't Be with the One You Love...: Decent

Eric Hollywood: Good

Starry Night: Good

Honesty Night: Decent

Prom-ises, Prom-ises: Good

Things Change: Great

Graduation: Great

Season 6

His Answer: Great

Her Answer: Great

Ain't College Great?: Good

Friendly Persuasion: Great

Better Than the Average Cory: Decent

Hogs and Kisses: Okay

Everybody Loves Stuart: Okay

You're Married You're Dead: Good

Poetic License: An Ode to Holden Caulfield: Decent

And in Case I Don't See Ya: Decent

Santa's Little Helpers: Good

Cutting the Cord: Good

We'll Have a Good Time Then: Great

Getting Hitched: Great

Road Trip: Decent

My Baby Valentine: Decent

Resurrection: Good

Can I Help to Cheer You?: Good

Bee True: Okay

The Truth About Honesty: Okay

The Psychotic Episode: Good

State of the Unions: Great

Season 7

Show Me the Love: Good

For Love and Apartments: Good

Angela's Men: Decent

No Such Thing as a Sure Thing: Great

You Light Up My Union: Good

They're Killing Us: Great

It's About Time: Great

The Honeymooners: Great

The Honeymoon is Over: Good

Pickett Fences: Decent

What a Drag!: Good

Family Trees: Great

The Provider: Good

I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad: Great

The War (1): Decent

Seven the Hard Way (2): Great

She's Having My Baby Back Ribs: Good

How Cory and Topanga Got Their Groove Back: Great

Brotherly Shove: Great

As Time Goes By: Great

Angela's Ashes: Great

Brave New World (1) (2): Amazing

Girl Meets World

Season 1

Pilot: 6/10

Girl Meets Boy: 5/10

Girl Meets Sneak Attack: 4/10

Girl Meets Father: 7/10

Girl Meets the Truth: 5/10

Girl Meets Popular: 6/10

Girl Meets Maya’s Mother: 6/10

Girl Meets Smackle: 5/10

Girl Meets 1961: 6/10

Girl Meets Crazy Hat: 5/10

Girl Meets World of Terror: 8/10

Girl Meets the Forgotten: 7/10

Girl Meets Flaws: 6/10

Girl Meets Friendship: 5/10

Girl Meets Brother: 4/10

Girl Meets Home for the Holidays: 8/10

Girl Meets Game Night: 7/10

Girl Meets Master Plan: 6/10

Girl Meets Farkle’s Choice: 5/10

Girl Meets First Date: 4/10

Season 2

Girl Meets Demolition: 7/10

Girl Meets Gravity: 6/10

Girl Meets the New World: 3/10

Girl Meets the Secret of Life: 5/10

Girl Meets Pluto: 7/10

Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels: 5/10

Girl Meets the Tell-Tale Tot: 5/10

Girl Meets Rules: 6/10

Girl Meets Hurricane: 6/10

Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Go to Washington: 7/10

Girl Meets the New Teacher: 6/10

Girl Meets Yearbook: 4/10

Girl Meets Semi Formal: 6/10

Girl Meets Creativity: 7/10

Girl Meets I Am Farkle: 3/10

Girl Meets Cory and Topanga: 5/10

Girl Meets Rileytown: 3/10

Girl Meets World of Terror 2: 7/10

Girl Meets Rah Rah: 6/10

Girl Meets Texas (1)(2)(3): 6/10

Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project: 6/10

Girl Meets Belief: 5/10

Girl Meets the New Year: 5/10

Girl Meets STEM: 6/10

Girl Meets Money: 6/10

Girl Meets Commonism: 6/10

Girl Meets the Bay Window: 5/10

Girl Meets Legacy: 7/10

Season 3

Girl Meets High School (1)(2): 5/10

Girl Meets Jexica: 5/10

Girl Meets Permanent Record: 6/10

Girl Meets Triangle: 3/10

Girl Meets Upstate: 5/10

Girl Meets True Maya: 6/10

Girl Meets Ski Lodge (1)(2): 4/10

Girl Meets I Do: 6/10

Girl Meets Sassy Haltertop: 4/10

Girl Meets Bear: 5/10

Girl Meets the Great Lady of New York: 8/10

Girl Meets She Doesn’t Like Me: 4/10

Girl Meets World of Terror: 7/10

Girl Meets Her Monster: 6/10

Girl Meets Hollywood: 5/10

Girl Meets a Christmas Maya: 6/10

World Meets Girl: 7/10

Girl Meets Sweet Sixteen: 7/10

Girl Meets Goodbye: 8/10

Why Nicktoons Are the Best at Crediting Voice Actors' Roles?

Why Nicktoons Are the Best at Crediting Voice Actors' Roles?

         Back in the good old days, being credited for doing a voice role in animation was brutal. A voice actor's name is only credited while their role isn't listed unless you have a script. (This is still a widespread problem for some preschool shows and it's notoriously bad with adult animation) It wasn't until the 1990s that they finally get credited for voicing characters, even if it just for one line. However, as the years go on, I start to realize Nick Animation is the best at crediting voice actors' role as opposed to their competition. They always find a way to credit every single character in an episode. Of course, there are the occasional exceptions, so let’s look over at which shows doesn’t properly credit voice actors.

Not Crediting the Characters Roles

         Doug, the first ever Nicktoon, does not tell you who voiced a character, so you can tell it’s such a retro show. It might’ve been greenlit during 1989, since not showing the voice roles was still a common practice. Ren & Stimpy also did this practice sadly since it, too, was an old fashioned show. However, the only difference was the titular characters and guest stars only get the credits while the rest are limited to the “other players.” Since then, there has not been one Nicktoon to do this practice, except for the preschool shows, like Bubble Guppies and Blaze & the Monster Machines.

Additional Voices for Incidentals

          If you’re watching a Cartoon Network or Disney Channel show (produced within the past decade, though Disney is a tad worse at this) you’ll always notice the rest of the credited cast members that don’t voice a main or guest will be listed under “Additional Voices.” Very often it will be incidentals with only a line or two, but sometimes it can be used wrongly and credit a guest character under that category even if they play a major role in a particular episode. For Nick, the only times they ever caved in to the “Additional Voices” practice was Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Crediting Every Single Role

           This is what Nick's animated shows are primarily best known for. Rugrats is one of the first ever shows to credit a voice actor's role, and the success of that led to literally (almost) every subsequent Nicktoon to adapt this strategy. Rocko's Modern Life does this as well, but only with one or two characters, as the show had a very limited voice cast (the same handful voice actors are casted as recurring characters). But other than that, there's no major exceptions to the rule. 

        So yes, it's pretty obvious Nick wins when it comes to crediting voice roles (a couple of other animation studios have some strong competition). Sucks because Cartoon Network used to be okay with this until the 2010s. It's very important for shows to do the "crediting every single role" strategy. If not, you either need to look up a script consisting the voice cast or ask a voice director for the roles.

Why Does the Nick Jr Block Needs to Shut Down?

Why Does the Nick Jr Block Needs to Shut Down?

        On January 4, 1988, a new programming block dedicated to kids aged 2-6 was born. It was called Nick Jr. During its early days, Nick was no stranger to airing educational shows like Pinwheel and Today's Special. Preschool programming was becoming more common by the late 80s, so a preschool block was inevitable. The shows that aired during its first week were Today's Special, Pinwheel, Sharon Lois Bram, Maple Town, Belle and Sebastian, David the Gnome, and Little Koala. As you can see, this block was known for playing anime during its early days. But once Nick started producing more original shows for the little kids, they left the lineup. And thus, shows like Eureeka's Castle, Allegra's Window, Gullah Gullah Island, Blue's Clues were their established originals. The Nick Jr block was a success and it led to a 24/7 educational channel called Noggin (before it was changed to Nick Jr in 2009). During the 2000s, it had shows such as Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Go Diego Go, The Wonder Pets, Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Then the 2010s came and there were shows like Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Shimmer & Shine. Throughout the years, Nick aired a bunch of acquisitions, some of them coming from Canada (like Little Bear and Franklin).

        However, as many of you are aware, since the mid 2010s, it is normal for cable television networks to overplay a show because it makes ratings for them. That wouldn't be too bad if certain shows didn't take half of the entire schedule, screwing other shows in the progress. Cartoon Network was hit by this the worst during 2017, and they've recovered since then. Nick Jr was once a safe haven from shows being overplayed, but one show stood out. That show is PAW Patrol. It is a cash cow and it makes a ton of money for Spin Master and Nick. You can't escape from this show at all, whether it's from the merch and the scheduling. So why do I want this block to go away even though it's been one of their longest running blocks next to Nick @ Nite? The answer is simple (and the same thing applies to Disney Junior as well) - it's pointless as it already has a 24/7 channel. Toddlers can watch their favorite shows any time they want. The big problem comes from the availability as Nick Jr and Disney Junior are in less homes than their parent channels. It's not gonna happen any time soon, but my fantasy schedule for Nick this year downright removed preschool education so that Nick can be an actual channel for older kids for 14 hours. It doesn't help that PAW Patrol's turning 10 this year and they're going to keep milking those marathons for all their worth (even on the Nick Jr channel, which the nighttime schedule is just this show). John Flannery just can't run a kids network lineup for beans, and his adoration for PAW Patrol is the worst of them all (though the movie spam is just as bad). It will be a sad day when the Nick Jr block finally comes to an end, but it's for the best. Thanks to today's tv climate, shows that aren't popular barely gets to shine these days. This journal's very short, but the reason I provided is self explanatory to anyone reading this.

Austin & Ally Scorecard

Austin & Ally Scorecard

Season 1

Rockers & Writers: 9/10

Kangaroos & Chaos: 8/10

Secrets & Songbooks: 7/10

Zaliens & Cloud Watchers: 8/10

Bloggers & Butterflies: 6/10

Tickets & Trashbags: 7/10

Managers & Meatballs: 8/10

Club Owners & Quinceaneras: 9/10

Deejays & Demos: 9:10

World Records & World Wreckers: 8/10

Songwriting & Starfish: 9/10

Soups & Stars: 8/10

Burglaries & Boobytraps: 7/10

myTAB & My Pet: 8/10

Filmmaking & Fear Breaking: 9/10

Diners & Daters: 9/10

Everglades & Allygators: 8/10

Successes & Setbacks: 10/10

Albums & Auditions: 10/10

Season 2

Costumes & Courage: 9/10

Backups & Breakups: 8/10

Magazines & Made Up Stuff: 7/10

Parents & Punishments: 8/10

Crybabies & Cologne: 9/10

Big Dreams & Big Apples: 9/10

Ferris Wheels & Funky Breaths: 8/10

Girlfriends & Girl Friends: 9/10

Campers & Complications: 8/10

Chapters & Choices: 8/10

Partners & Parachutes: 8/10

Freaky Friday & Fiction: 9/10

Couples & Careers: 8/10

Spas & Spices: 9/10

Solos & Stray Kitties: 9/10

Boy Songs & Badges: 8/10

Tracks & Troubles: 7/10

Viral Videos & Very Bad Dancing: 9/10

Tunes & Trials: 8/10

Future Sounds & Festival Songs: 10/10

Sports & Sprains: 8/10

Beach Bums & Bling: 8/10

Family & Feuds: 7/10

Moon Week & Mentors: 9/10

Real Life & Reel Life: 8/10

Fresh Starts & Farewells: 10/10

Season 3

Road Trips & Reunions: 9/10

What Ifs & Where’s Austin: 8/10

Presidents & Problems: 8/10

Beach Clubs & BFFS: 6/10

Mix-Ups & Mistletoes: 9/10

Glee Clubs & Glory: 7/10

Austin & Alias: 9/10

Princesses & Prizes: 8/10

Cupids & Cuties: 8/10

Critics & Confidence: 8/10

Directors & Divas: 7/10

Hunks & Homecoming: 8/10

Fashion Shows & First Impressions: 9/10

Fanatics & Favors: 8/10

Eggs & Extraterrestrials: 9/10

Proms & Promises: 8/10

Last Dances & Last Chances: 8/10

Videos & Villains: 6/10

Beauties & Bullies: 9/10

Horror Stories & Halloween Scares: 9/10

Records & Wrecking Balls: 10/10

Relationships & Red Carpets: 9/10

Season 4

Buzzcuts & Beginnings: 9/10

Mattress Stores & Music Factories: 8/10

Grand Openings & Great Expectations: 8/10

Seniors & Senors: 9/10

Homework’s & Hidden Talents: 8/10

Duos & Deceptions: 7/10

Wedding Bells & Wacky Birds: 8/10

Karaoke & Kalamity: 8/10

Mini Mes & Muffin Baskets: 6/10

Dancers & Ditzers: 8/10

Mysteries & Meddling Kids: 10/10

Comebacks & Crystal Balls: 8/10

Burdens & Boynado: 6/10

Bad Seeds & Bad Dates: 7/10

Scary Spirits & Spook Stories: 9/10

Rejection & Rocketships: 9/10

Cap and Gown & Can’t Be Found: 9/10

Santas & Surprises: 9/10

Musicals & Moving On: 10/10

Duets & Destiny: 10/10

Nick Yearly Recap 1991: The Year Nickelodeon Became Nickelodeon

 Nickelodeon Yearly Recap 1991

Fifteen

(SKIPPED AS I COULDN’T FIND ANY FULL EPISODES)

Welcome Freshmen

As you can tell from the title, the show is about a high school, primary focusing on freshmen students (although they would become sophomore in the final season). The first two seasons focused on various situations, akin a sketch show, and often had a theme to it (especially the first season). The final season changed into a sitcom format, akin Saved by the Bell. As it’s one of those shows that is only accessible to old recordings back in the days, I’ll have to rely on Dailymotion to watch this show. What did I think of Welcome Freshmen? I do not liked the show at all. Despite having a good run, I don’t blame its obscure status. It’s such a generic show with a generic school setting. It contained so much many cliches you seen in these type of shows. You have yourself an authority figure who is a freshman hater (and that’s his only punchline), and of course, the jocks. But the weird thing is that the main group of friends are surprisingly rude to each other. Other than the girls (when they’re together), they are constantly at each other’s throats for no real reason. If it wasn’t for that, the show would’ve been a lot more bearable AND memorable. It’s so forgettable that I don’t even remember the characters other than the smart boy. That’s how bad of a show it is when nearly all of the main characters are a bunch of unlikable jerks. This is one of those shows that gets worse every passing season. I didn’t find the first season that bad because all of the episodes followed a theme and every episode ended with the friends discussing what they learned. Admittedly, the sketches were slightly funnier. However, the quality of the sketches and the show itself started to dip by the next season that I have to drop after a few episodes. Every running gag like hating on freshman and picking on the smart boy became extremely stale and annoying fast. I try to stay patient when I watch bad shows, but it was the most I can endure. For the third season, I stopped after 10 episodes. And yes, if you’re wondering, the shift to the sitcom format did not help make the show better. It became even worse. Even with the main cast becoming sophomores, it’s the same old crap, without the sketches. You know, I find it sad that Welcome Freshmen is such a trainwreck because it had a bunch of creative writers who went on to work for various Nickelodeon shows, like Bob Mittenthal, Michael Rubiner, and Tim Hill. It said a lot that I find myself enjoying Hey Dude slightly more, but that’s not saying much. All in all, I don’t recommend this show whatsoever for all the flaws I mentioned. It’s proof that Nick in the 90s wasn’t without its duds. 

(3/10)

Get the Picture

The first Nick game show of 1991 is all about images. Before Nick viewers knew him as the GUTS host, Mike O'Malley hosted this game show. It consists of two teams (orange and yellow), who are competing with each other to guess the right hidden pictures on a 16 square video wall. During the first season, kids are required to connect the dots, uncover Power Surges, engage in some physical activities (such as Toss Across, Jigsaw Puzzle) before heading to a bonus round. The second season changed all of its rules drastically. For example, it was now played for points rather than money. As it only aired new episodes throughout 1991, this game show wasn't as memorable as the others. I personally preferred the first season more only because it's more exciting. Mike was a good host, but you can tell he didn't really perfected his role until his next game show.

(7/10)

Clarissa Explains It All *

The show will has its own separate journal due to its importance.

(9/10)

The original Nicktoons *

They will have their own journal because of how impactful they were to the channel.

Salute Your Shorts

Remember when summer camp shows used to be fresh and original and didn't feel exploited? Well, back in the 90s, Nick used to have one of these shows. Salute Your Shorts take place at a fictional summer camp, Camp Anawanna (a play of "I don't want to"). It focuses on teenage campers as they try to get through summer by getting into crazy situations while dealing with their counselor (played by the late Kirk Bailey). The first season was more about the struggle between newcomer Michael Stein and  camp bully Robert 'Bobby' Budnick as they try to win over the girls. By the second season, though, Michael was replaced by Ronald "Ronnie' Foster Pinsky, so the character dynamics changed somewhat. You know, after watching modern summer camp shows like Bunk'd and Summer Camp Island, they just feel hackneyed. When I decided to stream this show on Paramount+ last summer (despite missing some episodes), I was a little cautious, but since it's a classic show, I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. The characters had a better chemistry than the ones from Hey Dude and Welcome Freshmen. I mean, they’re still assholes to each other, but it’s not frustrating to watch because they have more friendly moments. And it worked, and it gave the show a good experience, something that the aforementioned shows failed to do. Every character is unique in their own ways instead of being copies of each other. The kids can be a bit of bad influences for the young viewers, but this is fictional. And the counselor do suffer through a lot throughout the show, which may be a tad hard to watch with his actor now decreased. Comedy isn’t the show’s strongest aspect and as I mentioned before, it’s the character interaction that made the show an enjoyable viewing. If you ask me, I liked this show and it’s pretty much Hey Dude and Welcome Freshmen done right. Maybe it’s no wonder 80s and 90s kids have more fond memories with this show, despite its shorter run.

(8/10)

What Would You Do?

As we all know, Double Dare was a huge success for Nickelodeon. So, it was only a matter of time before they decided to give the show's host (Marc Summers) another game show, called What Would You Do?, which aired from 1991-1993. This time, Summers is joined by Robin Marrella. The format for the show is a bit different this time, focusing on what the audience would do in a situation. After tallying the results, the outplay was shown. Segments included Anything You Can Do, WWYD medley, Wall O'Stuff. Other stuff featured in the show were musical pies, family challenges, pie-athons, and roving cameras. The cream pie was central to the show's premise and was often used as punishment. The show is alright, but it certainly does not beat Double Dare. You can tell it's a lot more comedic, as it involves more weirdness. It's also more interactive than the other game shows Nick has done so far. Not to mention, adults are more involved with this since the other game shows usually just had kids as contestants, so I'll give it some points for being different. Based from the first 9 episodes I saw through Dailymotion (the only way to watch a full episode of the show), the silly situations people have to get into include doing stunts, impersonating Elvis, driving a monster tuck, eating the worst pie, and feeding a tarantula. They were funny to watch, but they were definitely not fitting for game show format. Overall, while still a decent show, it’s not something that I rewatch, but I still appreciate it for trying something different.

(6/10)

Nick News (including new version)

Kids needed to stay alert on what's going on with the world. So Nick decided to produce a monthly news show. The viewers were introduced Nick News on January 1991, and the first episode was about the Middle East. Linda Ellerbee serves as the host of the show. Growing up, I never saw much of it because it always aired during Sunday night (the night before kids head back to school). I don’t recalled seeing commercials for it because it was a monthly show. This won’t be much of a review, but rather what I think about the show itself. It’s a miracle this show managed to last this long. Up until the 2020s, it was the longest running Nickelodeon show until SpongeBob obviously dethroned it (even though Nick News was already revived). The target demographic will find it boring, but let’s be honest. Since 9/11, America has been divided  more than ever, and this bleed over to the cable news networks who thrive on biased reports to stay afloat. Yes I am talking about CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, and other lesser news media like Newsmax and OANN. There’s no point watching them in 2023 nowadays, so younger people, I’d suggest to check out the revival of Nick News if you want a fair and balance report of the current events. Though I wish the current host wasn’t a younger version of Linda since she also has a pixie cut. In shorter words, if there’s nothing to watch on tv and you want to have a less cynical take on the news, I suggest this show instead of 24/7 news.

(6/10)

Are You Afraid of the Dark? *

Separate journal coming October 2024.

(9/10)