1. Salute Your Shorts : Think back to the glory days of Camp Anawana, with Budnick, Donkey Lips, Dina, ZZ, and Ugh their
counselor. I can't remember the name of the token black girl and I know there was like Sponge and stuff too, but who the hell
cares. Everyone join me in reciting the anthem, Camp Anawana, we hold you in our hearts, and when we think about you It makes
me wanna fart. (Its I hope we never part, now get it right or pay the price!) Man, whatever happened to those kids, and you
know for a minute there they were the coolest kids in their neighborhood, until they turned 17 and their show got cancelled.
There's an attachment of the theme song.
2. Hey Dude : This was by far the worst show on TV in those days. By the time I turned 10, I realized how bad the writing
was, but still couldnt tear myself away. What were Brad and Melody up to this week? I simply had to know. I remember Mr. Earnst,
and the Bar None ranch. What always confused me is that they were like 30 then, were they supposed to be teenagers? I never
got it. Well, it seems Christine Taylor, AKA Melody, did ok for herself, she married Ben Stiller and even played Marcia Brady.
There's an attachment of the theme song.
3. Clarissa Explains it All : This show was so kick ass, its almost stupid to talk about it. I used to wear leggings under
my shorts just like her. I loved how her parents were ever so typical 1950s types, but she was the ultra cool 90s chick. I
also used to like how her best friend was a guy. I think it really paved the way for other shows, like Alex Mack, and all
that super PC Nickelodeon crap that came later. What I never got, why did Ferguson have red hair if no one else in the family
did? Looks like her mom might have some splanin to do. And how did they find the time or technology to formulate elaborate
plots to sabotage each other all the time? Remember how she used to make everything into a computer game? I always wondered
where she learned to write computer code at age 12. What I liked the most about this show, and something that a lot of todays
shows have copied, is the way little captions would appear on the screen, giving comments from her perspective, and naturally
the way she traced her name in the introduction. I still remember the totally 90s theme music. Nah nah nah nah
4. Ren and Stimpy : This was by far my favorite show of the time, in fact, what the hell, its my favorite show today too.
I used to love the adventures of Ren Hoek, the Asthma Hound Chihuahua, and his friend Stimpson J Cat. There were way too many
good episodes to name, but heres a few of my favorite: Rens Pecs- this was the one were Stimpy got lipo in his ass and the
made it into pectoral implants for Ren, then he ditched Stimpy to go live it up as a hot guy, eventually he realized he should
stick with his friend, after all, Stimpy did give up his ass. Jerry the Belly Button Elf- this was so trippy. First of all,
Stimpy was obsessed with picking his bellybutton, he even sharpened pencils in it, Ren kept telling him to quit, than one
day, he got sucked into it. When he was there, he met Jerry, the bellybutton elf. At first, he was nice, but, like most elves
living in someones bellybutton, he freaked out and tried to kill Stimpy, Ren had to save him. I also liked to one with Wilbur
H. Cobb, the animator. His body parts kept falling off because he was so old. Another great one was The House of Next Tuesdy-
they lived in a future house where you could get any kind of beef jerkey you wanted all the time. Then there was the one with
the Salve salesman. He was a weirdo! How do you think George Washington fit into his party dress? SALVE!!! Then theres the
safari one, the one where they go into space and Ren goes crazy, the Muddy Mudskipper one (he was a lot like Krusty the Clown
now that I think about it) , the Horse that always said, No sir, I dont like it, the pound and the big sleep, I loved the
Happy Happy Joy Joy one too. I always remember the part where the guy yells, I told you Id shoot, but you didnt believe me!
Let us not forget Log, or Powdered Toast Man, loaded with vitamin F. I like the one were they pretended to be babies too,
and the one where Ren becomes a hermit. Oh, and lets not forget Gritty Kitty Cat Litter, and Stimpys nose goblins. Now that
I think about it, that show was totally fucked up. Im surprised Im not a psycho today.
5. Doug : This show marked a turning point in Nickelodeon. It was still cool , but it just wasnt the same as all those
other shows. Plus the animation was weird. I remember him and his best friend Skeeter, I remember Rodger was the mean guy
and Dougs late name was Funnie. I know he had a sister, I think her name was Judy, and his dog was named Pork Chop. They were
obsessed with the Beets, oh and every episode began with him writing in his journal. I remember his purple neighbor had a
weird voice, and his teeth stuck out. And their principal sounded a lot like Mr. Mackey from South Park. I remember a few
of their teachers, but barely. The episodes that stick out are: the one where he gets a haircut, the one where he buys a new
outfit, the one with the dance (I think this was a Halloween one), the one where they meet the Beets, the one were he breaks
his neighbors BBQ grill, the one where his beatnik sister learns to parallel park, and the first episode. I see how they were
trying to make a cartoon that showed a more normal life, but they had to do something to make it more exciting.
6. Rugrats : I remember Angelica and her doll Cynthia, Chuckie, Tommy and Phil and Lil, I remember the parents were like
Stu and Dee Dee Pickles, and Angelicas mom was always on her phone. I know their grandpa was in charge of them all the time.
This was one of those shows that centered around the imaginations of kids, a cute concept. It was the same way with Muppet
Babies, in fact Im even gonna go so far as to say it was a total rip off of Muppet Babies. I remember the one where they went
camping in the back yard, and how Angelica was always making the babies get her cookies. Oh, fun fact, the guy who does the
voice for Stu is also one of the voices in the Country Crock commercials I shit you not.
7. Rockos Modern Life : This show totally ruled. I always remember stuff like laundry day, is a very dangerous day. I
also remember the nudist one, and how someone had to chew grandpa wolfs food for him. I remember Mr. Bighead was always mean
to Rocko and Spunky, and he worked at Conglomo, I always liked the way it was done in all pastel colors. I had a totally different
look than the other cartoons. I remember going, what the hell is a wallaby? I remember the B52s singing Rockos Modern Life
(Rockos Modern Life) and then hed yell Spunkeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! I also remember some of the subjects being kinda gross, like
the one with the toenail clippings. And that turtle was so Woody Allen.
8. The Secret World of Alex Mack : Oh man, for so long I was like, 'I wonder if I found some toxic waste if I could get
cool powers like her'. That girl went on to be pretty famous, shes in 10 Things I hate About You and that also had Heath Ledger
so there you go. I remember the first season was cool; the corporation was always trying to catch her and perform weird experiments
on her. Then once she started growing up, it got so dramatic and lame. I loved the Terminator rip off special effects.
9. Are You Afraid of the Dark : this show scared the living shit out of me for like a year. I still have nightmares about
that fucking clown! EEEEEEH! I cant even think about it now. I dont know a single person who was not scared shitless by that
particular episode. The rest of them sucked but that one like, got inside your head and messed with you all night. I remember
The Midnight Society always started by meeting around a campfire and naming the title in a spooky voice while throwing glittery
sand into the fire. Then at the end theyd put the fire out (youll find no cavalier attitudes towards forest fires here) and
theyd all just walk away. I always wanted to know, did they sneak out? Were their parents letting them creep into the woods
in the middle of the night to hand out around a fire and tell scary stories? There was one where there was a poltergeist,
and one where the kid was inside a pinball game in the mall, thats about the only other one I can think of. Hey, you cant
expect horrifying clown nightmares every night right?
10. Roundhouse : this show was cool but weird. It was like In Living Color and Saturday Night Live and this was before
All That premiered. They always had dancing and skits and stuff. I remember thinking they had such cool props for all their
stuff. Oh, and the dad guy that had a motorized recliner with a grill attached to the side. Those kids were real entertainers;
they could sing and dance and act, well sort of. I think there was only one season of this show, because I sure as hell dont
remember any others. One thing I know, my mom thought it was beyond stupid.
11. You Cant Do That on Television : I remember so little of this show because I was like 6 when it aired. I remember
it was Canadian and all the kids had weird hair and bad outfits (but thats really all of Canada in the 90s right?). One thing
I remember is the slime, it had that nasty consistency, and it was like they kept gallons of it ready at all times.
12. Ducktails : this was one of those UPN or WB after school cartoons. It was like Huey, Dewey and Louie or something
and their Uncle was scrooge. He was rich and used to dive into a pool of gold coins. I bet that would hurt like hell in real
life. I remember the theme song was so 80s, it was like a Wham song.
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Heroes in a half shell! Turtle power! And they were all named after famous painters
and stuff. And pizza was like their crack. I love crime-fighting mutants who are addicted to Italian cuisine.
14. Darkwing Duck : Lets get dangerous! Damn, how many duck spin offs did they do?! He was cool though, he always wore
purple and I liked that. I had one of those not-quite-Nintendo Disney video games of him. I remember this was part of a huge
line up of kids shows, but you knew it was all over when F Troop or I Dream of Jeanie came on. Oh, and god awful Night Court
and Coach came on after it too.
15. Pee Wees Playhouse : the genius of Paul Rubens remains burned into my personal history for all time. I remember his
furniture talked to him, and he had a robot, and all kinds of cool stuff. His house was totally the shit, it was all art deco
and colorful. Laurence Fishburn was Cowboy Curtis, ah and then came the Matrix. He had a genie that granted him a wish if
he aid the magic word. God, I could go on for hours about the kick-ass-ness of that show.
16. Beavis and Butthead : I remember there was a warning that said Beavis and Butthead are not role models, theyre not
even human, theyre cartoons. Some of the things they do could cause a person to get hurt, arrested, or possibly deported.
To put it another way, dont try this at home. Me and my best friend were so into this show, it was kind of wrong.
17. Double Dare : Parents, cream pies, challenges, the red team and the blue team. How could they possibly go wrong? Marc
Summers doing a fine job hosting. I remember the set was weird, everything looked like a bathroom, lots of tile and linoleum.
I guess its pretty hard to clean up all that slime and pudding and stuff.
18. What Would You Do? : this show so ruled. His podium looked like it had hot dogs on it, or was that Double Dare. The
networks saw a good thing and kept it coming. Marc Summers, parents, pies, reality TV. God those were the days. All those
theme songs are permanently taking up valuable space in my brain.
19. Wild and Crazy Kids : Man, this show was cool, but only in the summer. They always has a water challenge and it made
me wanna go to the pool. I hated them as soon as it got cold because my tiny little 8 year old brain filled with envy at the
fun they were having in the Orlando weather. I remember they had teams too, but not red and blue, they had shit like teal,
pink, and purple. They were so revolutionary. The format and everything was pure reality TV, they even had some episodes where
they tool over malls and stuff. Man, that show was cool. I remember that Donnie Jeffcoat kid, and there was some girl too.
20. Animaniacs : Dot is cute and Yacko yacks. This show started, and was cool, then at my school it was like you still
watch cartoons, well Im almost 11, and Im so mature I have to watch My So Called Life on MTV. Then the whole depressed teen
angst thing came into play. It was like, with the way the world is right now, how could I be happy, Im 11 and Im so depressed,
everythings ironic, its like, totally, like, sad, like yeah. Later on in life, South Park would reference it saying, the
way I see it, there are two kinds of kids in this world, kids who like Animaniacs, and kids who dont like Animaniacs
21. The Adventures of Pete and Pete : the one thing I totally remember, well the two things really, are Mr. Tasty the
ice cream man, and Artie, the strongest man in the world! There was the one episode where they tried to stay up for 11 days,
and the one where he had to make cue cards to talk to his dad during a road trip. I remember thinking that show was really
weird when I was little, but older kids really liked it. There was a Halloween one where big Pete had to decide if he was
going to go out and smash pumpkins with the local teens or have kiddie fun with his family.
22. Legends of the Hidden Temple : It was a lot like Tomb Raider. I remember the room of the silver monkey. It was such
a horrible blasphemous cash in on like the religions of the Aztecs and the Mayas and stuff. Ah, commercialism.
23. AAAHHH! Real Mosnters : I remember this show started just as Nick was like not cool anymore. It wasnt bad though,
I think Monsters Inc. is a rip off of this but I cant be sure. I remember the characters were Ickis, Oblina (who looked like
a black and white snake, ala Tim Burton) and Krumm who had arms on top of his head that held his eyes.
(c) 2000-2005 Alexis Gentry
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