Slippin' Freddy

Last time, I talked about the one Nicktoon from a decade I was familiar with that I never really watched growing up. This time, we talk about a Nicktoon from a less familiar decade that I definitely know about. #7. “Your Real Best Friend” – KaBlam! [October 11, 1996] You know, there were a handful of ‘90s Nicktoons I haven’t really caught growing up that I ended up liking later thanks to a little site I found called Nick Reboot. Among the many shows that played on there was this little showcase of cartoons called “KaBlam!” and as you’d expect, I loved it just about as much as everyone else on the site did. I mean, it had cartoons! It had ska! It had They Might Be Giants music videos! And rather than just be a typical showcase like “Oh Yeah Cartoons” was, “KaBlam!” has two animated hosts named Henry and June, who would introduce the sketches as well as have their own adventures. And while the show never really spun off successfully as the other one did, it was definitely the more exciting one. Let’s get to it, shall we? Sniz & Fondue: A Toxic Tail: We get to our first cartoon, Sniz & Fondue, a cartoon about two ferret roommates who can’t get along. In this one, Fondue gets tired of Sniz messing up his room so he decides to buy a Madagascar scorpion from an exotic pet shop. However, the tank accidentally breaks and the scorpion’s wandering around the house and he and the family must stop it. The scorpion ends up on Fondue’s back so Sniz slaps it off using a tennis racket and the little kid in the family kills it using her shovel. In the end, Fondue settles on letting Sniz jump on his bed as long as he charges him for each use. Action League Now: Road to Ruin: Our next cartoon involves a group of sentient action figures who form a superhero team called the Action League and their task this time is to stop the Mayor (who is the main villain of the show) from dropping trash over town. They chase after his car but the Actionmobile ends up falling off a cliff and landing on Thunder Girl (who actually bailed out on him mid-fall). They face off against the Mayor but as you might expect, their tiny car had nothing on the Mayor’s and they get crushed. Think that’s how it ended? Nope! The Mayor ends up driving off a cliff and the Action League surviving laugh. Life with Loopy: Hi-Fi Frankenstein: Our next cartoon is a slice-of-life adventure centered around a girl named Loopy and the adventures she has, narrated by her brother Larry. After she mishears Larry call her a “goober”, she makes her own friend named Frank out of parts from her dad’s stereo system. But Larry’s sensed that something’s going on around the house when all of their other appliances went missing. Turns out Frank has started an uprising against humanity. Larry and Loopy team up and fight them off. Afterwards, they both hang out together and listen to music. Prometheus and Bob: Our last short is arguably my favorite out of all of them. The premise is simple: You’ve got an alien named Prometheus trying to teach a caveman named Bob some of future’s greatest inventions and it either ends up going wrong due to the monkey or Bob’s incompetence. This episode’s shorts revolved around them learning about art and bowling. Funny shit, man. And that was KaBlam! I was gonna summarize some of the Henry and June wraparounds but those ones didn’t really have a specific plot this time. There are more episodes of this show that have more interesting plot points for them. That being said, this show is still pretty solid! Prometheus and Bob, as you’ve read above, is my main highlight of the show but let’s not discount any others like Action League and Sniz and Fondue, which were just as entertaining and have their own share of highlights. In general, it’s just a fun show and an excellent tribute to comic animation in general. VERDICT: 9/10 (No matter which time or network you watch this on, it’ll be KaBlammerific!) RANKINGS: Well, that was fun! Whatever show we've got up next, I'm ready for it!

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon from the 2000s that I was very familiar with. This time, we’ll be talking about a show on the opposite side of that spectrum. Yes, we’re gonna be talking about the most obscure Nicktoon on this list, which is somehow fitting since it’s a Nicktoon about secret agents! #25. “AAIIEE, Robot!” – The X’s [November 25, 2005] (aw yeah check out this low res nick logo quality) Growing up watching Nick in the 2000s, I knew about a lot of shows that aired on the network at the time. Even Catscratch. Even Tak and the Power of Juju. Even Mr. fuckin Meaty. That said, there were also some Nicktoons on my list I never really watched. There’s another example of that on this list but I was able to catch that one a decade later. This one? I know next to nothing about it. I’ve never watched it, I’ve never met anyone who’s really watched it, I haven’t seen it on any Nick Rewinds, I haven’t seen any happy reviews, I haven’t seen any angry reviews, and pretty much the only time I’ve heard it being brought up is in videos talking about lost Nick shows. I only remember it being used for transitions for Turbo Nick’s mashup section, which I was absolutely addicted to using back in the day. And even that never really convinced me to watch the show. Well, it’s been almost 20 years since this show came out so looks like I’ll have to check it out now! Today’s mission? Watch the one 2000s Nicktoon I haven’t seen. But first, we’ll take a look at the intro, which is one of those standard explain the plot intros. Okay so we’ve got the leader, Mr. X, the Patrick Warburton voiced bumbling father. Mrs. X is his wife and a combat specialist of the group. Their daughter, Tuesday, the investigator, and son Truman who’s tech savvy. They form the organization S.U.P.E.R.I.O.R. and must stop the villain group S.N.A.F.U, led by a guy with a bug zapper for a helmet. And all of this is being narrated by Homebase, the TV. This is X-rested Development. We begin the episode with all the X’s facing Glowface (the real name of that bug zapper guy). Mrs. X tries to fight him but she injures her shin by running into a coffee table. Mr. X and Truman try to fight him, but Glowface escapes by taxi. With Mrs. X injured for a few months, Truman comes up with a temporary fix by replacing her with a robot. That way, they could still fight evil as she heals up. Their first mission takes place at an art museum, where they must protect an ambassador from being attacked, though the mission is ruined when Robomom ends up attacking him. Not wanting Mrs. X to think they’re all failures, they lie to her and say the mission was a success. Though this makes her believe the family doesn’t need her anymore. Their next mission continues where they left off when they were fighting SNAFU. Glowface has returned to his base since the X’s forgot to blow it up when they had the chance. The Robomom accidentally destroys the ship’s communication system and Homebase loses touch with the X’s, so it decides to talk some sense into Mrs. X, letting her know they still need her. So she arrives at the SNAFU base on a rocket-powered wheelchair she made. And she manages to wipe out all the people in the base like a badass. Glowface hides behind the coffee table that injured her before but that doesn’t stop her as she just evades it and defeats Glowface just before the rest of the X’s arrive. She gives her family a rousing speech and destroys the robot while doing so. They then return home to watch Spanish soap operas. The end. So that was The X’s! How do I feel about this show? Well…it’s not really a show I would want to revisit but at the same time, I did like some of what I’ve seen. There were some funny gags here and there, some of which include Mr. X dressed up like a child as seen above, the running gag of the robot destroying Mr. X, the Spanish soap operas Mrs. X watches in bed, and her mundane solution I mentioned above. And I definitely dig the 1960s inspired setting of the show. So final conclusion? It’s alright. VERDICT: 7/10 (There are many Nicktoons I would recommend more than this show but I ended up liking this one more than I expected. Though it would definitely be better kept secret.) RANKINGS: And with that, I can now say I have watched an episode of all the Nicktoons of the 2000s. So what's next, Wheel?

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon that was very influential when it came to ’90s Nickelodeon. Not to mention the first Nicktoon to be made into a movie. Which makes it ironic that the next show following that one was the first Nickelodeon movie to ever be made into a Nicktoon. That’s right! This is the theme song of…. #19. “When Pants Attack” – Jimmy Neutron [July 20, 2002] Alright, so we finally get to our first 2000s Nicktoon on my list! I know what I said about Fanboy, but that one started at the end of the decade so I barely count it. Jimmy Neutron, on the other hand, is one of the most quintessential Nicktoons of its decade. Growing up, it was this and two other shows I remember watching a lot on Nick and for damn good reason too! Much like the other two, Jimmy Neutron was responsible for a lot of the meme culture I still enjoy today. So what do you say we take a look at one of those episodes right now? Gotta blast! The episode starts out with Jimmy and Carl trying to test out one of his inventions, which is an emergency escape system that launches Carl into the air with his pants left behind. This reminds Jimmy that he still hasn’t picked up all the pants he has lying on the ground in his room. His mom, Judy, punishes him by not letting him go to the movies with his friends. When she mentions that pants don’t pick themselves up, Jimmy decides to invent a nanochip that allows the pants to pick themselves up so he doesn’t have to. His dad, Hugh, comes in and gives Jimmy a rousing speech on how important it is to pick up pants but he doesn’t need it when the nanochip becomes a success. Thus, his punishment is lifted and he can finally go to the movies with his friends. The next day at school, we get to see some of the other characters on the show, like the very snobby Cindy and Libby, as well as the Ultra Lord fanatic himself, Sheen Estevez. As Jimmy is in class fighting with Cindy over the history of origami, the nanochip in his pants starts going off, making him suddenly move out of control. It starts affecting the pants of Cindy, Carl, and Sheen too, as they all fly off their bodies too. Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen head off to his lab so they can find out what’s going on. Turns out the pants are going all over to control each and every pair of pants there is in Retroville. They set off to downtown and try to stop the situation (with copyrighted music too!) using his patented Pants Eliminator. It works on all the others, except for Jimmy’s, which just reflects the pins back to him. While his is in the House of Blue Pants, it starts growing stronger and starts controlling the other pants inside. Jimmy comes out of Lucky Joe’s Cleaners with a washing machine he’s able to control. He uses the machine’s main functions (starch, iron presses, fabric softener, the works) to stop each and every pair of pants invading the city. When he runs out of weapons to stop his pants, he uses his iconic brain blast to think of a solution based off past events in the episode. With enough static electricity, he’s able to short out the nanochip and save the day! Though as the boys try to head to the movies, Judy scolds him and tells him to pick up all the pants in town. The end. So is this the first Jimmy Neutron episode I would recommend to others? Nah. But it definitely sets up the whole premise of the show. Jimmy has an impractical problem, invents something to solve it, it goes out of control, and he has to fix it before he faces dire consequences. Even as formulaic as it sounds, the show definitely finds a way to make it interesting and funny! That’s not to say that this episode didn’t have its moments too because it definitely did. Some of my favorite highlights include Carl’s “Folding and Hanging” song, Sheen’s incorrect gender Ultra Lord figure and its lines, and last but not least, HUGH NEUTRON. Hugh has some of my favorite lines of the episode, from his inspiring speech about Luke Skywalker and Attila the Hun hanging up their pants to lawn mowing without pants to him interrogating his own pants……is it any wonder why people say he’s the funniest character on the show? So bottom line, this show still ages well! Would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some great laughs. VERDICT: 8.5/10 (Maybe it’s not groundbreaking enough for me to put it up with Rugrats and Rocko but it is definitely a blast! Of the brain kind.) RANKINGS: Well, that was a pleasant trip to the 2000s! I hope the Wheel is generous enough to give me another show from that decade that I totally heard of and remember watching a lot!

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon from the end of a great decade that started a slight decline when it came to quality Nicktoons. Thankfully, we’ve got the opposite situation here as we’re talking about one of the three original Nicktoons! And fittingly, we begin it with its most popular one. #2. “Tommy’s First Birthday” – Rugrats [August 11, 1991] Here’s a history lesson for you alphas out there! Before there was this thing called a “SpongeBob”, this used to be the longest running Nicktoon everyone liked to complain about, spanning a total of 13 years! And we can’t forget about the spinoffs, All Grown Up and the 2021 reboot, either. Wasn’t there another one that took place in pre-school too? Anyways, as someone born at the end of the 90s, my Rugrats experience mainly came from the later episodes where Dil and Kimi were introduced. It wouldn’t be until the 2010s when I watched earlier episodes (one of them being the iconic chocolate pudding one) and suffice to say, it was very interesting seeing them focus more on the adults than the kids in the first season! We’re gonna be tackling one of those episodes of course, because a Nicktoons reviewer’s gotta do what a Nicktoons reviewer’s gotta do. The episode starts off with main parents Stu and Didi Pickles wishing their son Tommy a happy birthday. As they try to feed him pudding (of the chocolate kind, whether it was made in the morning or not is unspecified), Tommy notices an ad for Huskie’s Choice Dog Food and he decides he wants to eat some of that instead of the stuff Stu tries to feed him. He distracts him by spilling pudding over his tie and uses a screwdriver to unscrew him from his baby seat. He crawls over to Spike(TV) the dog’s food bowl and tries to eat it, but he gets stopped by Grandpa Lou. Next scene is where more of the characters enter, mainly the Devilles (Phil, Lil, Betty, and Howard) and Chuckie Finster with a widowed dad. When the parents notice Spike chewing up a teddy bear, they run to him, which gives Tommy the perfect opportunity to tell the other kids about his quest to get dog food. His logic is that if he eats dog food, he’ll act just like Spike (who we see is very energetic). We finally come across the last of the main cast (for now), Tommy’s very spoiled cousin Angelica. She’s known for antagonizing the rest of the babies. That being said, she goes along with Tommy’s idea of getting dog food. As Tommy tries going over to Spike’s bowl again, he is stopped and greeted by his grandparents and Didi’s parents. They take him over to the living room so he can open up his presents, some of what include Drew’s toy truck, Stu’s hover toy, and Howard’s walkie talkies. As Tommy starts crying in an attempt to get out of opening his presents, the doorbell rings and as it turns out, Didi only ordered a puppet stage with no puppeteers. So Stu and Drew (which I now just realized their names rhyme) volunteer to be the puppeteers. The two put on a puppet version of Little Red Riding Hood but then they start fighting like they did the last time they did this. Cue Tommy trying to reach Spike’s food bowl again. Spike exits the kitchen and the babies think Tommy turned into a dog. But Spike’s food bowl was empty, so Tommy tries to reach another can of dog food. Chuckie comes up with the idea of putting batteries into the remote of Stu’s toy and knocking down the can with it. Phil and Chuckie start fighting over the remote as Tommy grabs the toy, leaving him and Angelica trapped. Lil uses the remote to try and save them, though Angelica lands in a bag of flour and the babies end up causing a huge mess in the kitchen. As the hovertoy rolls into the living room, Tommy ends up getting saved by Spike, though the toy also ends up ruining Tommy’s birthday cake. Although it seems the party was a disaster, it doesn’t matter much to the babies because they finally get to taste dog food. Of course, the babies end up not liking it at first (sans Phil and Lil who both don’t mind eating gross things) but they start thinking they’ve become dogs after eating. They crawl into the living room and Grandpa Lou takes a picture of the whole family for their family album, featuring other pictures taken during Tommy’s first birthday. The end. So it’s no surprise this show ended up being the biggest highlight when it comes to Nicktoons! They took the simple concept of childhood innocence and made some pretty entertaining stories out of it. And it also balances those stories with relatable ones featuring the adults too! As much as I was amused with the plot of the babies trying to eat dog food, the other plot with the adults setting up the party had its highlights too. Stu and Drew failing to perform a puppet show gave me some great laughs, along with Grandpa Lou’s rambling stories regarding what he did during his youthful days. Needless to say, this show truly appeals to everyone, including dumb babies. VERDICT: 9/10 (A truly iconic cartoon that would carry off into the rest of the decade! That is, until another Nicktoon took over its crown but we’ll get there when we get there.) RANKINGS: Well, that was a nice show! We'll see if the next show can possibly top that and that show is....

I'll be "The Walking Fred"

Last time, I talked about a show that gave us three iconic cartoons. Similarly, there was another anthology series that came out later called “Random Cartoons” and we also ended up getting some pretty iconic cartoons out of that show! Also, Fanboy and Chum Chum. #31. “Dollar Day” – Fanboy and Chum Chum [October 12, 2009] So it seems we’ve finally reached the 2000s when it comes to this project! I just wish it wasn’t the one 2000s show I was least looking forward to. While it isn’t the worst Nicktoon on this project (spoilers but really, who isn’t expecting what it’s gonna be), it did feel like a stern warning of the Nicktoons to come in the 2010s and the fact it premiered shortly after the new rebrand certainly didn’t help matters. So what is this show about exactly? Well, it’s mostly a Nicktoon about two kids dressed up in superhero costumes. Do they work together and save the town? Well…….I don’t remember a lot of the episodes so I wouldn’t know. But here’s something I do know about the show. Does Fanboy’s voice sound familiar to you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZlKqvJFfqI&pp=0gcJCesJAYcqIYzv Alright, now that I put that funny image of Fanboy going insane inside your head, I guess we should talk about the episode. The episode starts with Fanboy and Chum Chum entering a convenience station owned by a miserable cashier named Lenny (hey the feeling’s mutual). Fanboy decides to spend the one dollar they have on two frosties (which realistically doesn’t make sense), but Chum Chum spends it on playing an arcade game. Not wanting to become thieves……or stealers in this case, Fanboy comes up with idea to pour them back into the tank, only for Chum Chum to drink them both. Their best friend/mentor/Comic Book Guy expy/I actually don’t know their relationship Oz comes into the store. They ask him for help but he ends up spending the $8 he has on random groceries. John Travolt—I mean, Boog, the only other guy who works there, walks into the store. Compared to Lenny, Boog is a complete slacker who spends quarters playing arcade games. He is also the show’s resident bully, as you can tell during the montage of him stealing their quarters. The two are still in peril and as Fanboy tries to escape, he gets stopped by a sentient Chimp Chomp machine named the Dollarnator (geddit because he’s like the Terminator). He’s apparently one of Fanboy’s inventions from the future and he arrives to give Lenny the dollar Fanboy still owes him. So that was Fanboy and Chum Chum! And as you would expect my opinion to be, the show is not that special. In fact, some of it is quite frankly annoying. I could think of like a few jokes that made me laugh, notably the one where Fanboy suggests going home and Chum Chum suddenly running out of the store, but even those were rather a generous chuckle than a genuine laugh. I certainly tried, Mr. EverGreen, but this show isn’t my kind of paint. If it weren’t for Lenny and the fact Fanboy was voiced by David Hornsby, the score would be much lower, so my score for now? VERDICT: 3.5/10 (More like LameBoy and Dumb Dumb (this analysis was brought to you by TV.com)) RANKINGS: Okay I need a Tylenol and a palate cleanser right about now. What say you, Wheel?

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon from the 2010s I actually liked! And best of all, it finally broke the curse that’s been plaguing my thread and we finally get to talk about a 2000s show! Or at least one that inspired a 2000s show. Oh Yeah! #10. “Episode 1” – Oh Yeah! Cartoons [July 19, 1998] While this show wasn’t first on my list when it came to Nicktoons I was looking forward to covering, it definitely left a mark on Nicktoon history. You know how Cartoon Network had a show called “What a Cartoon” and it inspired some of the first finest cartoons that network had to offer? Well, the same thing happened here and we ended up getting three great Nicktoons out of it! I’ll get to those when I get the chance (though Chalkzone’s first episode is literally the first of these) but for now, let’s talk about the show itself and see how Oh Yeah! these shorts actually are. All segments and the show itself will be getting their own grades. ChalkZone: Okay, so you’re all probably familiar with the concept of this one, but for those who don’t know, the concept revolves around a boy named Rudy Tabootie (that’s his real name) with a knack of making various doodles in class. Only problems he faces stem from bullying from school bully Reggie Bullnerd (that’s his real name too) and Mr. Wilter, who is totally not voiced by Norm MacDonald and has a vendetta against cartoons. After noticing Rudy draw an unflattering drawing of Reggie, he sends him to detention and has to draw “Cartoons are not funny” on the chalkboard thousands of times. He picks up a glowing chalk stick and as he draws with it, he opens up a portal to, you guessed it, the ChalkZone, where each drawing that gets erased ends up. Some of which include his wise-cracking friend Snap and the Reggie drawing from earlier that’s terrorizing the zone. Rudy and Snap run away from the Bullnerd drawing and they trap it in a bathtub with a shark, though the drawing is still not stopped. Rudy draws a teeter-totter and stops the drawing but he ends up getting catapulted out of the zone with it and Snap still inside. Back on Earth, Rudy draws a heavy anvil using the white lightning chalk he used earlier and defeats the drawing. And as a bonus, Reggie Bullnerd gets punished because Mr. Wilter thought he was the one drawing cartoons. The end. (8/10) Slap T. Pooch in What is Funny: Our next short is one about a self-aware British dog character trying to figure out how to be funny. Such stunts include getting dropped into a pool of stockbrokers, landing inside a giant nose, and ending up inside a prison for insane gingerbread men. The short ends with Slap ending up in a cell with gingerbread men inside. So was this funny? Eh, barely. The part with the biting stockbrokers was funny but that’s about the only thing I can name. And the running gag with the people singing “what is funny” got annoying real quick. If this pooch has any better shorts then this, I’d be more welcome to see them. Otherwise…..(5/10) Jelly’s Day: Our final short revolves around a little girl trying to show her cousin Hargis around the town. They spend a day at the beach but Hargis has a difficult time adjusting and he ends up freaking out everyone there. He tries digging for clams in the sand but ends up digging up a bunch of random items, including the Eiffel Tower. After seeing the mess they’ve made on the beach, Hargis tries to clean it up by belching underwater, causing an entire tidal wave to wash up the entire beach. As the irate beachgoers chase after him, Jelly gets captured by a giant squid. Hargis scares it off by letting out a giant scream and he gets rewarded with a key to the beach. Now this one I definitely liked better! There were less repetitive gags during this one and the jokes definitely land better here. My favorite highlight was when Hargis dug up the Eiffel Tower itself. It doesn’t really top ChalkZone when it comes to these three shorts but it’s definitely one I would say still holds up. (7.5/10) And that was “Oh Yeah! Cartoons”! What do I think of it? Well, in terms of anthology shows, you really have to stand out in order to get a really high score. That being said, I’d say it definitely earned its place in Nicktoon history. All great cartoons have to start somewhere and we will get to those really great cartoons eventually! Hopefully sooner than later. VERDICT: 7/10 (Oh Kay!) RANKINGS: And now that's all set and done, we turn to the wheel for our next show! It'd be nice if it gave me a Nicktoon from the 2000s. That decade was such an iconic time for Nick that I'd be willing to review any cartoon from that time period. So what do you say we start off this decade with a real banger?

Last time, I talked about a show from 2015 I frankly was quite annoyed with. This time, we’ll be taking a look a cartoon from around that time that is thankfully less chaotic and dare I say “good”. #42. “Pe-Choo!” – Harvey Beaks [March 28, 2015] Well it took as a while but we’ve finally reached a Nicktoon from the 2010s that, while not the greatest, is a show I feel comfortable giving a score above 7. And I do remember liking this one back when it aired. I also remember a specific irate Mario enemy from 2002 that hated this show and to be honest, he’s the first person I think of when I think this show. Good times, man, good times. Though aside from that, I have checked this show’s other episodes too and they were actually kinda good! Harvey Beaks comes to us from CH Greenblatt, the guy behind Chowder and a few of the SpongeBob and Billy and Mandy episodes he worked on. Of course, this show takes a break from the normal absurd humor he’s known for in exchange for more relatable stories. So basically, CH has created his own Hey Arnold. Can’t wait! We start off in the forest where the two other protagonists, Fee and Foo, show Harvey a cool trick where the water in the lake spits them up, but for some reason, it doesn’t seem to work for Harvey. One of the other citizens of the forest, Dade, points out that Fee and Foo are banned from the lake, which explains why that happened to them and not Harvey. Harvey, Fee, and Foo ring up the lake spirit (voiced by Dwight Schultz of Mung Daal, if you’re wondering why that voice is familiar) who Harvey asks to ban him. But the spirit can only ban troublemakers and Harvey is too nice of a person. He enlists Fee and Foo to help him get banned but nearly all of his attempts seem to fail. They suggest to the other forestgoers that they tattle on Harvey so he gets in trouble. As Harvey talks to the spirit again, the others tell him about the “problems” they have with Harvey, sending him into a breakdown that successfully gets him banned from the lake. Now, all of Harvey, Fee, and Foo are able to do the Pe-Choo thing. Well, y’all probably knew my opinion already but yeah, I really enjoyed Harvey Beaks! Maybe its humor didn’t make me laugh as hard as Chowder does but the aesthetics alone made me enjoy this show alone. This episode does also have its moments too, like with Harvey trying to annoy the other people and failing hard, plus some of the other residents of the forest being disgusted towards Foo licking his own eyeballs. So if you’re into a Nicktoon that’s not high on laughs but still manages to hit that feeling of childhood bliss, I would recommend giving it a watch! VERDICT: 7.5/10 (The first 2010s Nicktoon to get an above 7 from me! We’ll see if we can have more of these in the near future.) RANKINGS: Well with about 10 shows from the 2010s left, I'm feeling confident in the Wheel's powers to give me a good ol' classic Nicktoon. So what show am I gonna do next?

Last time, I took a small but well-deserved holiday by talking about a Nicktoon from the 90s. Maybe someday, we’ll get to that decade in the middle but for now? Let’s go back to the 2010s and talk about a show that’s as inspirational as its name. #43. “Pig Goat Banana Cricket High Five!” – Pig Goat Banana Cricket [July 16, 2015] Man, this may be the Todd Phillips in me speaking but I didn’t realize Nick had so many average Nicktoons around this time. There’s a few ones I consider exceptions but for right now, we’re gonna be talking about a show that faded from practically everyone’s mind. Hell, I don’t even remember much from this show (I think Banana was a meme at one point) except that it’s about a pig, a goat, a banana, and a cricket. So this is either gonna be something surprisingly good or really obnoxious. Let’s get to it. ……HOW IS EACH EPISODE 22 MINUTES LONG, THIS SHIT WAS A COMPLETE MIS—okay, now let’s get to it. The episode starts with Pig wanting to go pickle shopping but all of his roommates are either uninterested or busy. Pig goes by himself to Picklemart, a shop that sells only pickles. How that shop makes any revenue for such a specific clientele is beyond me but I guess people in this show really love their pickles! While shopping, Pig comes across a big pickle mountain nicknamed “Mount Picklemanjaro” and decides to climb it, but gets scared by an ethnic stereotype (yes) living in the mountain and falls off, but gets saved by a sentient pickle cart that acts like a pet. So they start shopping and wreaking havoc over the store. As Pig says goodbye to the pickle cart, the cart refuses to let Pig go and they run off together. The store, however, notices the cart went missing and he sends out a bounty hunter (Dog?) to chase them. He tries capturing them as they race down a mountain, only to be stopped by Cricket popping up from the pothole. The hunter catches Pig and Dog Cart at an Ice Cream Awareness Day picnic but gets blinded by ice cream thrown in his eyes. As the two go on the run, we get to a sub-plot featuring Goat trying to play one of her songs on the street. Only problem is she keeps getting interrupted by construction noises. She goes to the forest to perform but gets pelted with eggs by other animals. She goes underwater to perform for others and then comes across Prince Mermeow of Catlantis, who invites her to perform there for Prince Appreciation Day. She does so, but notices that the Prince changed her lyrics to reflect his own ego. She protests against him and the rest of Catlantis do too. The citizens suggest she become their own ruler, but she passes and decides to perform for all of them back at her treehouse. We get to Banana’s sub-plot where he’s a park ranger trying not to lose the kids in his troop or else he’s fired. Okay, I do vividly remember seeing this one. I also remember Banana had some pretty funny lines in this episode and he still does. Definitely my favorite character by far. Also, yes, that’s Thomas F. Wilson voicing him. As Banana teaches the Junior Rangers about the different kinds of nature that live in the forest, one of them notices a dark cave and is very curious to go inside there. Banana suggests the Junior Rangers move on but the rest of them decide to explore the cave anyways. Not wanting to be fired, Banana goes to the cave and tries to rescue them, but gets taken by a bat that drops him into a river full of piranhas trying to eat him. He escapes the pit and finds the Junior Rangers playing in an arcade inside the cave. There, Banana impresses the troop with his mad video gaming skills. And finally, of course, we get to Cricket’s sub-plot, where he invents a goo that makes everything clean. It is a success as everything and everyone in the world is now clean. However, a giant comet falls in love with Earth and causes the world to shake. Cricket solves this problem by making ugly juice, which scares the love comet off and Cricket is hailed as a hero…..though some of the goo lands on Goat’s butt turning it into a monster and she gets pissed at Cricket. OKAY, we’re finally at the final stretch of the episode where Pig and the cart are still running from the hunter. They decide to hide in Goat’s apartment and Pig, Goat, and Banana are ready to face the hunter, though Cricket comes in on his ship and saves the day. The shopping cart has babies, Cricket cures Goat’s monster butt if you ever cared about that plotline, and Goat finally gets to perform her song. The end. …..I feel like I have a hangover after watching this. Like, not all of it was bad, Banana had some of my favorite lines, but it just felt all over the place. The show had too many gross jokes that weren’t that funny and the running gag with the construction dude, while amusing at first, started grating on me. If this show didn’t have any funny lines throughout this episode, it would be much lower, but if I wanted to watch anything with a linear plot, I’ll stick with Pulp Fiction and Hoodwinked, thank you very much. VERDICT: 4.5/10 (A pig, a goat, a banana, and a cricket walk into a bar…….and if that was the plot of this show, I’d probably enjoy it more.) RANKINGS: Well, since asking for a show from a different decade doesn't work, here's hoping this will. PLEASE, for the love of God, give me another show from the 2010s!

I'll be AWESOM-O

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon from the early 10s that didn’t impress me much at first but grew on me a little during my revisit. This time, we’re going to finally leave that decade and tread into familiar territory. And what better way to start it off with its most influential cartoon… #4. “A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic” – Rocko’s Modern Life [September 18, 1993] Well, it took quite a while (actually four shows in) but at last, we’ve finally reached an excellent cartoon! Rocko’s Modern Life is one of those Nicktoons I’ve been looking forward to covering on here, as its influence left an impact when it comes to animation. Most notably, it features the late Stephen Hillenburg, who would later go on to create the very foundation this site was based on! So basically, you have this show to thank for SpongeBob or Camp Lazlo or Phineas and Ferb or *insert name of cartoon featuring similar writers*. I like SpongeBob and Lazlo already so this was destined to be in my wheelhouse. So let’s take a venture into the modern life of this not-so-modern cartoon! The episode starts off with Rocko the wallaby and Heffer the steer. Rocko is having trouble with cleaning his house since his vacuum cleaner is on the fritz. While Heffer scrolls through channels, he stumbles on a commercial for a product known as the “Suck-O-Matic”. Rocko, Spunky, and Heffer are naturally interested in the product and order it. When it arrives, Rocko notices that the vacuum cleaner looks different than what they saw on TV. They use it to clean off all the filth and even bathe Spunky using it. The Suck-O-Matic is even powerful enough to suck up a jet plane, a bowling ball, and Santa Claus, just to name a few. While the two do various chores, the dilemma finally kicks in and the Suck-O-Matic goes on a rampage, complete with the vacuum going into HAL 9000 mode. Rocko plans to return the vacuum but the Suck-O-Matic eats up the receipt. With absolutely no help from reading the manual, the gang looks like they’re about to be sucked in. Luckily, thanks to their……whatever was in their bodies, the vacuum dies. The vacuum died from sucking up a really old potato chip but Heffer, being the resident idiot he is, picks up the potato chip and the vacuum comes back to life and swallows all of Rocko, Spunky, and Heffer, where they remain trapped until the next episode airs. But hey, they still have the shopping channel! So that was Rocko! If you wanted an idea of what the rest of the show is like, this would most likely be the episode. Filled with so many visual gags and bizarre humor, this one is definitely worth a watch! Some of my biggest laughs came from the “Prepare to Die” warning on the manual as well as that tiny world of filth built into the carpet. Oh right, that’s another thing you notice in this series. Pretty much every character or object is going to be sentient. Rocko takes the concept of typical slice-of-life sitcoms and goes in the opposite direction with it in the best possible way, making it easily the best animated sitcom that’s been on Nick. Hey, you don’t see Nick renewing this cartoon with 20 more seasons and I’m damn grateful they haven’t. VERDICT: 9/10 (What’s the difference between this show and the Suck-O-Matic? Only one of them ends up sucking.) RANKINGS: So that was a blast! One wonders whether or not the next cartoon could possibly top that one. Let's see what the wheel has to say!

Last time, I talked about another cartoon that was based off a different IP I also wasn’t very familiar with. Luckily, that streak ends tonight and we finally get to talk about an original Nicktoon! Will it be good? Will it be bad? One thing’s for sure: It’s first episode is mercifully short! #40. “Brett Venom MD” – Sanjay and Craig [May 25, 2013] Well, I guess I’m gonna be stuck in the 2010s for a while, huh? That’s okay, it sure beats the hell of this decade right now. I wonder if those Party Rock Anthem guys have another hit song. ANYWAYS, 2013 was the year I learned that I didn’t have to like everything I watched on Nick. After “Little Yellow Book” aired, it made me realize that there is such a thing as a bad episode of SpongeBob and my cynicism towards this network started to show. That’s right, I’ve enjoyed almost every bad Nicktoon and every bad SpongeBob episode prior to that one yet somehow, this was the first Nicktoon I actually disliked. But all those thoughts were 12 years ago so I think it’s worth another shot. Will I end up liking this show more? Or will my 14-year-old self’s opinion be rightly justified? It’s a crapshoot, with an emphasis on “crap”. The episode starts out with Sanjay’s mom (who’s a doctor) telling him about gross interesting stories at work and she mentions that she’ll be performing the world’s first gluteus maximus (doctor for “butt”) transplant. Sanjay and Craig naturally are interested in seeing this performed and go to her hospital. Sanjay and Craig fake a snake disease so they can go to the emergency room but they have to wait in a waiting room filled with patients with weird deformities. The nurse announces the butt transplant will begin in five minutes so they both Die Hard into the ceiling. It then breaks over the nurse’s desk and Craig pulls a snake-in-the-chest routine to scare them all into the emergency room. While everyone’s away, the two disguise themselves as doctors (PARTY DOCTORS!) and they accidentally end up treating a patient with a giant zit. But they have no time since the butt transplant begins in a minute. They make it into the room where the transplant is being held but just as it’s about to start, Sanjay’s mom comes in with news saying the President needs butt surgery and because of the shortage of doctors, the surgery gets cancelled. That is, until Craig (or Brett Venom MD) volunteers him and Sanjay to perform the surgery. The patient turns out to be Mr. Noodman, their next door neighbor. He freaks out and the new butt starts flying everywhere. Noodman chases after them both since he has a problem with snakes but Sanjay calls saying the hospital has a runner and his mom (who I guess is finished working with the President?) tackles him. Now they finally get to witness the butt transplant take place. The end. So going back to my original query: Did I end up liking this show more? Sort of. The visual humor of the show still turns me off but at the same time, I do think there are some funny moments. My biggest laughs in this episode came from the line “doors are for people who use doors” and Craig naming the giant zit “Lance”. So it’s nice seeing some smart humor redeeming the grosser parts of the show. I can’t guarantee the rest of the series will be like that but as for its first episode, it’s alright. Though if I wanted to watch a buddy comedy show that’s more consistent, I’ll stick with Regular Show or Angry Beavers. VERDICT: 6.5/10 (I’ll be generous to this show for giving me a short episode to work with that I’ll give it an above average 6.5. Wait, this show had a fart baby episode, didn’t it?) RANKINGS: Now with all that said and done, let's see which show the wheel wants me to do next!

deadly sandwiches.mp4

Last time, I talked about a Nicktoon based off an IP I knew nothing about. It looks like we’re getting the same deal here too! Yay. #34. “The Lilo” – Winx Club [August 26, 2012] Okay, first of all, god damn, I did not expect this entire franchise to date back to 2004. Before doing this list, I assumed it was some new concept or something. So looks like I’ll be starting off with Season 5, the beginning of the Nick seasons. My summary here’s gonna be pretty condensed though. Anyway, the episode starts off with foreshadowing of the villains who want to defeat the Winx. It then cuts to Flora doing a practice test by gliding on water. Professor Palladium tells her to be more confident but Flora doesn’t have it in her to do that. Ms. Vergonda (god I hope I’m spelling these names right) tells the Winx that there’s trouble in the kingdom involving a magical plant called the Lilo. The Winx must find the Lilo and then plant it before sunset so the flower doesn’t lose its power (hey that rhymed). The rival group watch her explain the plant through a bubble and they plan to find the Lilo before they do. The Winx land in Gardenia where the Lilo is in the presence of these two girls heading to a flower garden. They head over to a flower shop Bloom’s mother works at. With the help of Flora using her mind powers, she figures out the Lilo used to be there and tries to track it down following the two girls (one of them making random stops at places). They end up at a mall and walking up to the music store, they meet the two girls and the Lilo. Unfortunately, the Trix (that’s the name of the villains btw) arrive too and demand the little girl give them the Lilo. Of course, the girl holding the plant rejects them and then runs away, and the Trix chase after her. Not wanting the Trix to get the plant, the Winx transform into Magic Winx mode. Cue transformation sequence where the characters give their names and their titles. The Trix try to find the girl and they find her hiding in a bush, with the pedal sticking out of it. They try to steal the Lilo but Missy (the name of the older sister btw) stops by to take her little sister back. After one of the Trix suffers a kick to the crotch, all of the Winx members use their powers to fight them off. The rest of the Trix use their powers to distract them all while their leader reaches the Lilo. Aisha and Stella use their powers to fight off the clones one of them set up. However, one of the Trix summons a dark cloud, damaging some of the Winx. The Trix take chase after Missy and her sister as they go towards the community garden the little one wanted to go to. Leader Icy is then stopped by Flora and they fight each other. All members of the Trix grab the girl and the Lilo but the girl throws off the plant. Flora saves Macy (the name of the girl) from falling as the others try to save the Lilo. The plant ends up dropping on the ground and it starts blooming and the Trix try to use it to become more powerful. But with the help of everyone’s belief in them, the Winx defeat them all and save the day. So that was Winx Club! At least the start of its first Nick season. This one was rather okay, though typically these kinds of shows don’t really interest me that much. I’d call it a gender norms thing but there’s one or two Nicktoons coming up on here that’ll disprove that theory. Humor isn’t really strong either but I did laugh when Macy kicked one of the Trix. Other than that, nothing much for me I want to seek here. VERDICT: 5.5/10 (There’s an audience out there for these shows but honestly, there’s other shows I’d rather watch.) RANKINGS: Also before I reveal the start of the next show, I have an announcement. After thinking it over, I've decided to add a new Nicktoon to my wheel. What could it be? ......Action League Now is going to be added! Although it didn't show up on the article I was initially looking at, I did look at the Wikipedia article for Nicktoons and found it on there. So welcome to the party, Action League! Okay, I've stalled enough. What's my next show gonna be?

Chuck E

#39. “Welcome to Area Fifty-Something” – Monsters vs. Aliens [March 23, 2013] Well, this is gonna be an odd way to start off my series. First, unlike the other two DreamWorks movies that Nick made shows out of, I haven’t watched the one this one was based on. I only remember three things: 1. One of the promos had a parody of “Rock This Town” by the Stray Cats 2. The blob was voiced by HUE HUE HUE guy 3. This godly scene And that’s all I know about the movie. Maybe someday I will give that one a full viewing but for now, let’s give the series a shot. The episode begins with a giant ass UFO crashing, with the episode title welcoming us to Area Nineteen Eighty—I mean Area Fifty-Something. Then General Whateverhisnameis points out to his group of monsters (Giant Lady, BOB, Dr. Cockroach, Frog Dude) that the unidentified object has landed in Australia. Then the President points out the damage these aliens caused (to his approval ratings, not the Golden Gate Bridge) and calls upon the monsters to fight these spacemen. The gang then travel to Australia to investigate the UFO crash. Oh right, the name of Frog Dude is Link (as in Missing Link) and he is voiced by Diedrich Bader of Hoss Delgado and Office Space fame. Think I’ll remember more of these characters the more I go on. Naturally, this tough alien suggests going fisticuffs on the aliens but Giant Lady (her name is Susan) decides against it. Susan then touches the object and it absorbs her quantonium (AKA she shrinks down to the other monsters’ size). Conversely, the object targets one of the ants and mutates it into a giant, even freaking out the arrogant yet confident Link. We cut back to the base with the General (his name is General Monger) pointing out the size of the ant. The President also shows up at the base because despite being the President, he isn’t brave enough to stay in DC and shelters in to the base. Back in Australia, the monsters are attacked by the giant ant. Dr. Cockroach attempts to figure out how to defeat the ant while it pummels Link to a pulp. He succeeds by using brains instead of brawn and the machine shrinks the ant back into its original size. The machine then goes kablooey but thankfully (?), our main characters survive. Back at Area Fifty-Something, Monger and President encounter the UFO and the latter person is too cowardly to do something about it. Monger points out that it’s in the Constitution for the President to face the alien. Said alien then pops out of the UFO falling off of the steps. And he uses notecards to deliver his “take me to your leader”. Funny. Back on the plane, Susan is still small and Cockroach points out that there’s still traces of quantonium in her blood meaning that she’s slightly taller than before (lol). But Susan can’t take this since she’s supposed to be Ginormica. Link comes in telling Cockroach and Smallermica that another alien has been spotted back at where they started from. Back at Fifty-Something, the President encounters the alien and to his surprise, the alien is a lad and offers him an apology. Unfortunately, the President’s wife keeps calling him to the annoyance of the alien. He then cuts off the signal to his phone using special alien technology, as cutting off access to technology is the only way for them to achieve diplomacy. At the end of the scene, we finally get to hear the alien’s name (which is great because I’m grown tired of this vague bullshit), which is “Coverton”. Back on the plane, they attempt to travel back to the base but the frequency has been jammed after Coverton cut off all the signals. Dr. Cockroach uses his alien-seeing goggles to spot Coverton and the monsters think the alien’s got the President trapped in a giant bubble, and if his girlish screams are any indication, he’s in danger. ….okay, he’s not in danger, that was just a scream of joy! I honestly do love this President more than our own, can we have him please? Anyways, Team Monster, still thinking the aliens are a threat, attack him despite the General telling them to stop it. Cockroach says aliens are controlling him to say that and they continue beating him to a pulp. This, of course, lands the monsters in hot water by the President and General. Coverton, distressed by the actions done by the monsters, deems the Earth unsafe for him to live there and considers coming back in a century. Knowing he won’t be alive by then, the President decides to fire the monsters in favor of the alien. Honestly a good decision. After being fired, the monsters roam the streets being reduced to simple outcasts. However, the President fucks up when he activates the alien ship’s self-defense system (THE SECURITY SYSTEM TAKES CONTROL OF THE ALIEN’S SHIP) and the only way he can stop it is by saying the code, which is written in an alien language he can’t comprehend. I have a feeling this is gonna be something Dr. Cockroach can solve but we’ll get there. In the event that the President doesn’t make it, Coverton suggests becoming the new world leader instead. But the monsters come back and fight the security system with BOB’s indestructability and Link’s muscles. General Monger suggests Coverton help the monsters but he’s too much of a selfish shit to want to be involved with their antics. Frustrated, he flings Coverton into a cactus, so it looks like he has no choice but to help them! Coverton finally shows up in his ship to describe what the ship’s defense system is. First one’s a trap that slams the gang against the wall, which of course, BOB gets enjoyment out of. Even though Cockroach is able to evade them by climbing up walls, he gets thwarted and tossed out of the ship. So I guess he didn’t save the day after all. The others successfully evade them all and Link breaks off one of the traps to open up the door. Unfortunately, even his brawn couldn’t save him from being paralyzed from the security system’s immobilizer ray. BOB, in a once in a blue moon moment, comes up with an idea to have Susan use him as a shield against the ray. With his sacrifice, it is now up to Susan and Coverton to save the President. They enter the room he’s trapped in but the floor is a motion sensor trap and Susan can’t step on there. She then comes up with a clever idea to tell the President his approval ratings are dropping, causing him to let out a scream that shatters the unbreakable glass. As Coverton tells the President to climb onto his lap, his glasses fall down and trigger the floor trap causing the ship to blow up. The monsters think they’ve all died in the explosion but to their surprise, they are greeted by this giant hand…..of Ginormica! That’s right, the atomic explosion gave Susan back her powers. She also has the power to manipulate her size by thinking specific thoughts. For example: She’s able to shrink down by thinking of tiny objects. The President also welcomes the monsters back to work, under the condition that Coverton works with them! Of course, now that he has the approval of the President, he plots to take over Area 51 and, of course, the world. Final verd—ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ …okay, I wouldn’t put it quite like that. In fact, I didn’t hate this show as much as I thought I would. Out of the characters, I’d have to say the President and Link are my favorite ones from the show. They definitely have my favorite moments from the show. Some highlights including the President screaming and then blaming it on a different person, the owner of the diner turning over the Help Wanted sign when they see the monsters, and while I found him too irritating, the running gag of BOB confusing which news he should boo or cheer made me laugh. That said, this isn’t exactly a series I would want to revisit in the near future. It’s the textbook definition of an “eh show”. Also, the name of the next episode is called “Danger Wears a Diaper”, so I don’t have any plans on binging this one in the near future. VERDICT: 4/10 (Not the worst I’ve seen so far but I would prefer watching the movie instead…….and I never even watched the movie.) Well, that was a snore. Maybe the wheel could give me a better show? One that's an original IP? One that's, you know, good?

Well, there's already a topic about Cartoon Network originals and I barely remember most Disney cartoons so I may as well make a topic myself that I'm totally not ripping off dman. And since I have most of these shows already on my computer for a Nicktoons stream I created, I figured "why not review these?" That's right: I'm gonna talk about each and every Nicktoon from 1991 to 2017 (when I stopped watching altogether)! Some of these I haven't ever watched yet so this will be a new experience for me. Just like dman's thread, I will only be talking about the first episode of each show. And just like dman's thread, I will be using Wheel Decide to decide for me which show I'll review next. So what do we start with? Will it be the first Nicktoon, Doug? Maybe a popular one like Avatar or Hey Arnold? Hell, maybe it'll give me an easy target like SpongeBob. O Great Wheel, what is your decision?

This isn’t a hate comment, I'm just ready for you to watch yet another underrated CN classic.

Deadpan Snarker: Fred Rechid, Wumbo, and Terminoob. Literal Minded: SpongeBob And Patrick

Red represents the state I currently live in, blue represents the states I've visited

I prefer starving crazed weasels