Dill Clyntin

Last time on this thread, I talked about a Klasky-Csupo show with mixed reception I ended up liking! Coincidentally, we’ve got the same deal here! Although I don’t think I enjoyed this one as much… #13. “New Squid on the Block” – Rocket Power [August 16, 1999] Well, it’s the first day of summer, folks! At least, that’s what I would’ve said if I haven’t slacked off on this entry so much. Real life priorities. Anyways, we’ll be kicking off the season with a summer show! I only wish it was a better summer show though… Some people are Rocket Power people, some people aren’t. I guess you can put me in the latter category. I think the problem I have with Rocket Power is less “I don’t like this” and more “I don’t get this”. I didn’t really grow up on extreme sports and I barely grew up watching it outside of its theme song. However, I did catch some episodes of the show like the Christmas special and the New Zealand movie and they were pretty good! But much like the other shows on here, I’ll be looking at its first episode and I’ll dissect what works about this show and what doesn’t. So let’s go ahead and……uh…..hang a loogie? Is that a thing cool kids say? Three kids are practicing their skateboard skills and they notice a new kid named Sam moving into town. One of the residents, Violet, shows him around the area. She introduces Sam to her husband Merv, who is working on some toy train. She also sends Sam to meet the Rocket kids (and Twister) and Sam helps Reggie on her magazine, or zine as she refers to, using his laptop. Otto and Twister appear and tells the two they’re about to play street hockey at the pier. Sam and Reggie go and meet them and they play a game of street hockey. The only problem is that Sam isn’t good at it, so he storms off. He comes back with the cover of Reggie’s Zine and Twister hits the puck so hard, it flies into a trash can and flies around. However, Sam slaps the puck and the others see his potential as their goalie. All the kids play a game of street hockey against their rival team which features Twister’s older brother. Twister hits the puck into a mailbox, which made his team lose the game. But Sam uses his tech savviness to shoot the puck out of the mailbox and he catches it. The kids decide to make Sam their new Squid. You know, I was expecting much worse from this episode but honestly, I didn’t think this episode was too bad! That said, this really isn’t a Nicktoon I would want to actively binge. The show in general is too innocent to really hate, but it’s also too dated for me to endorse completely. It does have its moments though and a lot of the characters are pretty fun too. And while I’m on the topic of characters, WHERE THE FUCK WAS TITO?! I really feel upset he didn’t appear in this episode because I was looking forward to seeing him and his ancient Hawaiian sayings. I guess the show’s more exciting than Ginger and I totally understand why people would watch this one over that. Though in the end, I’d probably take the calm, boring As Told by Ginger over the too exciting Rocket Power. Now if you need me, I’ll be in the bunker hiding from all the Rocket Power fans on this—I mean, I’m going to bed because it’s late. VERDICT: 6/10 (Not a hang ten but it isn’t a wipeout either. Put it into the “passable” category.) RANKINGS: Okay! So with that two month delay, we can only hope our next show is more simpler to talk to. Perhaps one I should know by heart. Got anything for me, Wheel?

Episode 1: Reef Bloer [Opens with SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward Houses.] 'Squidward opened his door, immediately noticed that the sky was not standing and then repaired it.] [The show shows that everything is clean in many places, with only one peel open.] [The camera shows Squidward angry. He walks into the ocean, looks next to him and kicks SpongeBob Lawn as he falls and hits it.] 'Then the movie changed. When the window opened, SpongeBob's face was revealed. He went out of his window and sat down in the corner. He found the shell hard, grabbed the idea and lay down in the back of the garage. When we locked the container cover, it looked like a jet engine, with a power switch and a pull starter.] [The video shows Squidward lying on a hammock.] 'Squidward heard the sound of the bottom of the reef moving. He saw SpongeBob come out of the garage,' Squidward said and he was able to rest on his ears again.' [He reached for the shell of the sea and tried to use it forcefully. He did it twice, and then exploded loudly and a huge sand was thrown into the air.] [Scene Changes: Squidward eats fruit and then a huge sand falls from the sky and buries it. SpongeBob runs to Squidward and throws Sand away.] [Squidward sees the leaf on his plate.] 'SpongeBob washed the leaves in front of Squidward's head. He sliced the leaves in half and washed the grass in Squidward's eyes. Squidward washes SpongeBob's eyes and touches on the rest.] [The process changes and SpongeBob Lawn is a big sand show.] [SpongeBob pointed at it and looked at the word and the inscription read: "You!" He walked into the sandbox, got out of the reef bottom, and used it to eat the sand.] [The spongebob lawn was washed to show the process of change, but then the bottom of the reef began to break and a piece of sand and machinery was thrown away.] 'SpongeBob removed the bottom of the reef. After locking the container lid, he threw the container away. The reef blower coughed when he was absent. He came back, carrying big hands. He unzipped it again and tried to pull it off. The motor malfunctioned and he subsequently died.] [The camera shows him getting angry or angry. The scene changes, and he is holding an arm and the arm is very far away.] 'Spongebob lost his arm in motion. Spongebob washed his hands together. He grabbed the arm again. SpongeBob pulled him away, SpongeBob dissolved quickly. He passed the SpongeBob intersection and stopped at two different angles. He passed a few yards and finally returned to the bottom of the reef, where he was tied up. 'I sucked all the water into the sea,' Squidward said as he sat in front of the door, unable to breathe the gas. His eyes become X, too.] [The explosion was like a water balloon, hiding on the screen. When the water stopped, it showed a large sand everywhere, but the spongebob lawn was almost clean.] [SpongeBob leaves one glass, washes his hands and is happy to enter his house.] 'Squidward was at the door, with only his head in it. The sea fell on Squidward's nose. Squidward ended his eyelids.]

Episode 1: Need Help [When this episode begins, the coral reef changes to the bottom of the ocean. The Zoom camera shows the town of Bikini Bottom, each showing a brown rock, a moai head, and a pineapple. The focus shifts to the second scene.] French speaker: Oh, sea... It's very interesting. It's wonderful. Here we see the bottom of the bikini full life. My favorite dog home today is SpongeBob SquarePants. Yes, of course he lived in a pineapple, he was an idiot. 'The movie goes to the bedroom next to the newspapers, a snail named Gary sleeps on the floor next to the newspapers, a snail named Shelley is seen sleeping in a bird cage, and SpongeBob is seen sleeping in his bed. Then Essie goes off to make a noise. He blows up everything in the room and removes the carpet. He wakes up but doesn't bother with the noise and he has a smile on his face. He climbed the ladder from his bed, often went aboard.] SpongeBob: Today is the big day, Gary! Gary: Megan. Spongebob: [jump board] Look at me, me... [Jump and leave the underwear]..... Money! [He landed inside his pants, then ran to the dance floor. his head out of his pants] Today, Gary is a member of the Board of Trustees. Gary: Megan. SpongeBob: 'Taking a deep breath, he prepared to take a closer look at it. He stood up in his shirt but almost fainted because he couldn't hold it tightly. He dropped it and made a "scream" sound, ready for it! [Running outside] I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready. [As Stone spoke, Stone rose and called the star Patrick.] Patrick: Come on, SpongeBob! [Falls] Who! [Crash Sound Effect] SpongeBob: It's there. The best bands that have been set up: Krusty Krab, Krabby Patty's House... And he just signed for help at the window. I've been dreaming about this for years. I went into the room, went straight to the manager, and as soon as I saw the eyes, [broke the fourth wall and the eyes were seen] put it in the line. I can not! [He started running home but Patrick blocked him] Patrick! Patrick: Where do you think you're headed? SpongeBob: I want to... Patrick: No, you're not. You're going to go to the Coronation Street and get it, Damn it! SpongeBob: I can't care, don't you see? I am not good at it. Patrick: Who were the first words "Will you let me take your orders?" SpongeBob: I have. Patrick: Who made the spatula in the wood shop? SpongeBob: yes. Patrick: [Grimaces and contorts twice as he tries to ask another question] Who is uh, uh! So, who has the biggest green cube? SpongeBob: Me! Patrick: Who's Coaching? SpongeBob: I'm ready! Patrick: Who's Coaching? SpongeBob: I'm ready! Patrick: Who's Training?! SpongeBob: I'm ready! I'm ready to go to Denmark. I'm ready! I'm ready! [Squidward's name is outside the door, and then SpongeBob hears and sees it.] Squidward: [Inaudible] Oh, no, SpongeBob. What could he want? Spongebob: [When Squidward talks about it] I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! Come on, spongebob! Come on, spongebob! Come on, spongebob! Let's go! [Squidward sees only help and screams and alerts the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Krabs.] Squidward: [As SpongeBob says "I'm ready," he repeats it once in the background] Mr. Krabs! [The Krabs came to the window, and there was a little money. Squidward ran towards him.] Hurry up, Krabs, I've got to tell you before it's too late- [SpongeBob says] Spongebob: Let him go aboard, captain! [Deep voice] I've been able to join Danes for training my whole life and I'm ready to train now! [After SpongeBob stabbed him to the floor, he bounced to the ground and screamed and seemed unable to understand what he was saying. Krabs and Squidward looked at each other, causing the ceiling to fall, SpongeBob screamed again and seemed unable to understand what he was saying, bouncing around the building and ricoching. Then he stopped at the feet of Squidward and Mr. Krabs.] SpongeBob: So, when do I start? Mr. Krabs: Well, I guess you don't even have the legs of the sea. SpongeBob: Dear Krabs! I proved it by frying pan and frying pan! Ask Squidward. 'SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs and Squidward are leaving quickly. Krabs sees Squidward.] Squidward: [Squidward] No. [winks Mr. Krabs. SpongeBob seems to be very confused about SpongeBob going back to Squidward and Mr. Krabs.] Mr. Krabs: Well, boy, if you're going to try it out a lot, you're in Denmark. Come and bring me... a... [SpongeBob pulls out the notepad] uh, hydrodynamic spatula... [SpongeBob writes the words quickly.] And when we locked the lid of the container and... Encourage it, good sir. [Editor's note] And don't go back until you get it. [Krusty Krab puts a helmet on SpongeBob's head] [SpongeBob looks in the mirror, there's a sparkle in his hat, and he's very satisfied with his smile.] Spongebob: [Salutes Krabs] yes, Captain! [Read] 1 hydrodynamic spatula and power attachments, Turbo, good sir. [Greeting] Mr. Krabs: Go ahead. [Exit Spongebob] We'll never see that story again. Squidward: [Smiles] You're taking a lot of risk. But what about hydro? 'Squidward and Mr. Krabs laughed. Squidward laughed, his nose moving and breathing. He laughed like a crime. SpongeBob laughs when Krusty Krab leaves. When SpongeBob was out of sight, five of the buses, with the SpongeBob, walked out of the windows. Bus Driver: Hey! Pay attention! What do you want! Passengers should not sit and put their knees on the window! 'The buses surrounded the castle and opened their doors. Krabs stopped laughing. Squidward also stopped laughing, but he stopped making me feel embarrassed. Krabs: [Immediately] it sounds like a door hatch! [There is a repeat] Do you smell that? That smell... The smell of the peasant... The smell... Stink... 'His eyes were shocked and he whispered,' he whispered. Squidward: [Confused] What? Mr. Krabs: 'Oh, anchovies! [Anchovies got off the bus and hurried to the window and crowded and repeated the word "meep.] Squidward: Shut up. [Anchovies stops talking] Isn't that the way it is today? Anchovy: Meep. Squidward: Can we show a little bit more and create a line of the file line in front of the file? 'The anchovies stared at him for a moment, and then they picked up the boat and began to cry very hungry. SpongeBob enters Barg'N-Mart.] SpongeBob: [Sings] ♪ Barg'N-Mart, meet all of your line-ups. ♪ 'He went back to the window. Anchovies are now like sea waves. Mr. Squidward and Mr. Krabs are still on the list of ships, and they are like a ship in a storm.] Mr. Krabs: All hands are on deck! Get the anchors out of your pockets. Squidward: I'm just asking for one file! Mr. Krabs: Whoa! [He and Squidward are thrown into the air] Don't sit down, Squidward! 'They were thrown back in. Boat access] We're taking water, Squidward! [Squidward grabs Krabs again] I want my mother, Squidward! [Barg'n-Mart trim] Spongebob: [Sings] ♪ Don't interfere, spatula, spatula, port-and-starboard attachments. ♪ 'He went back to the window. Staff were sent to Mr. Squidward and Mr. Krabs.] Squidward: Help! Mr. Krabs: Man overboard! Climb, Squidward! Climb! [Mast climbs, anchovy rises: then anchovies creates a double big wave] Anchovies: Meep! Plastic! Mr. Krabs: That's the last one! [Squidward's hands] Good-bye, Squidward! Squidward: Oh, Mr. Krabs! [Krabs and Squidward cried, and then SpongeBob walked in with a red light and a flying spatula.] SpongeBob: Let the captain board. Da da da da! Da da da da da! Has anyone ordered the spatula? Squidward and Mr. Krabs: [Spongebob is shocked and gets a hydrodynamic spatula] Spongebob: That's right! One hydrodynamic spatula and [two side spatulas] port-and-starboard attachments! And don't forget the good guy. 'You two of you are going to rotate and Mr. Squidward and Mr. Krabs are in the face, do you think they only have one? Galley! [He said to the anchovies] who's hungry?! [Tiny Tim's "Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight" game and SpongeBob flew out the kitchen window. Krabby Patties is produced and produced by Krabby Patties. SpongeBob bumped into a box of potatoes and smashed it into the grill with his eyes.] Tim: ♪ Things that never bother me, I'm happy and I feel good, right? Living in the bright sunshine, enjoying the moonlight, enjoying it! ♪ 'Essim flew over to the training table and held his mouth in his mouth. The onion was made with lettuce and tomatoes, and then it fell off and flew again.] Tim: ♪ I don't have a lot, I don't need a lot, it's just a cup of coffee. He loved living in the bright sunshine, enjoying the moonlight. ♪ ''SpongeBob locked the lid of the container. SpongeBob and buns pump, mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.] Tiny Tim: ♪ Take it away from me, it's the freest thing I've ever done. ♪ [Dancing with different colors and blue arms to hide] Tiny Tim: ♪ I do what I love, just what I love and what I really like! ♪ [The SpongeBob number "1" was followed by the SpongeBob number and "4.] He grabbed a bottle of ketchup and mustard at Krabby Patty. Pat made Krabby Patty and added more toppings. SpongeBob uses Krabby Patty in Anchovy's mouth. The anchovies notice and the Krabby Patties look out the window. Krabby Patty then served Krabby Patty. He cut the fruit again and served Krabby Patties again. The Krabby system has been used by the Gravity Window. Tim: ♪ As I got older, I stayed with Gray and Brown. Living in the bright sunshine, enjoying the moonlight, enjoying it! ♪ [Hmm] 'The anchovies started eating the Krabby dishes that they used for them. All the anchovies were finally served and they were happy to leave for the buses. The bus gates closed. SpongeBob goes to Krabby Patty's last anchovy. SpongeBob blows up the spatula. SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs went to the SpongeBob Room.] Mr. Krabs: It's one of the best fast-foodmanships I've ever seen, squarepants. Come aboard. [SpongeBob gives the name label] Squidward: B-But Krabs... Mr. Krabs: SpongeBob still screams! Hip-hop! Squidward: [Weakly] Good-bye, Mr.— Mr. Krabs: Hip-hip! Squidward: [Quick] Goodbye. Mr. Krabs: Hip-hip! Squidward: [Quick] Goodbye. Mr. Krabs— Mr. Krabs: I'm here to count the boots. [Ruth Wheelbarrow had a huge amount of money in his office, and Patrick walked into his office.] Patrick: Hello, Krusty Krew! Squidward: What do you want to order, Patrick? Patrick: One Krabby Patty. [The instrumental "Living in the Sunshine, Moonlight Love" is used to play with the instrumental "SpongeBob Flying" in the kitchen.] Squidward: What? 'Squidward scored a goal for Krabby Patties in the first half. The Kremlin is the only country in the world that has a knack for killing people. Crashing sounds.] Squidward: Mr. Krabs! Mr. Krabs! [Chants of various kind] Krabs, visit your new co-worker. Tiny Tim: [Same with Squidward] ♪ I stayed with Squidward until I was old and Gray was still around. Living in the bright sunshine, enjoying the moonlight, enjoying it! ♪ [Tiny Tim's "Livin' in the Sunlight" is the final instrumental (xylophone solo, followed by timpani beat and final note), and Krabby Patties shoots additional sounds and plays Smashed Glass at the same time.]

I'm back and making another SpongeBob spinoff! You've heard your favorite yellow sponge in English, German, Spanish, French, German, whatever, now get ready to hear him in a completely different language: all of them. That's right: I'm gonna be translating every SpongeBob episode and breaking all the English in the original! I'll be translating between English, French, German, Spanish, and even Klingon, which is apparently a real language on Google Translate now. It's gonna be the best spinoff made using Google Translate! Mostly because it's the only spinoff made using Google Translate. EDIT: Just realized this was a spinoff before. Reboot time then!

Last time on this thread, I talked about a show that was on during my childhood that I remember watching. This time, we’ll be talking about a show that was on during my childhood I don’t remember watching. Remember when I mentioned there were two Nicktoons I haven’t watched in my X’s entry? Here’s the other one: #14. “Ginger the Juvey” – As Told by Ginger [October 25, 2000] Happy one year anniversary to this thread! I’m happy that I’m ringing it in with a pretty good show rather than a mediocre or bad one. Now as a kid, I knew nothing about this show other than its catchy title. I wasn’t sure exactly why it was in my blind spot, maybe it’s because I was an alpha male who didn’t like this woke garbage, maybe it’s because it came on too early, maybe a combination of both but it wouldn’t be until 15 years old when I finally watched an episode of it on the great late Nick Reboot and you know what? It wasn’t as bad as I expected. Maybe it’s not the most exciting Klasky-Csupo Nicktoon out there but watching it in a chat room full of millennials and seeing them react to or quote the episode certainly helped my experience! Even years later, I find myself thinking of a random funny moment from this show. So yeah, ever since then, this show has left an unexpected impact on my life. Now this cartoon in particular (along with another KC show we’ll get to eventually) has left many divided. You have people who think it’s a pretty decent slice-of-life show that’s not afraid to go heavy in some episodes. You also have people who think it’s a cringy snoozefest that’ll make you wanna sleep until SpongeBob or Rugrats comes on. As you see, I’ll be making my case for the former, so let’s go where the grass is greener (on the other side)! Popular girl Courtney Gripling is planning her surprise party with her friend, Miranda. She’s thinking of inviting main character Ginger Foutley to the surprise of Miranda who thinks she’s a total wannabe. Her little brother Blake overhears this and tells Carl (Ginger’s smaller brother) and Hoodsey (Carl’s friend as well as the best character in the show) his sister will be over at his house for Courtney’s party. Carl barges into Ginger’s room with her two best friends Macie and Dodie and tells her she’s invited to Courtney’s party, which excites Dodie since she has always wanted to hang with the popular kids. The next day at school, Ginger runs into Miranda in the bathroom and the latter tells her that Courtney will be expecting a really great gift from her. She gives her an idea to steal an entrance sign from a bank for Courtney’s house but if she does that, she risks going to prison. After a small talk with another one of her friends Darren, Ginger calls Miranda and says she’s up for it. Both of the Griplings are prepared for Courtney’s party: Courtney because it’s her surprise party and Blake because he’s going to get access to Carl’s petrified eyeball for spying on the party with Carl and Woodsey Hoodsey. After Ginger’s mom takes off, Ginger, Macie, Dodie, and Darren break into Carl’s room for disguises and head off to the bank. At the party, as Carl and Hoodsey are taking pictures of it, Miranda sneaks off and calls her father who’s a cop and tells him about a robbery taking place at 1st Federal Bank. Later on, Ginger and company get arrested and she lets Courtney know she got arrested trying to get her a present. This surprises Courtney and disappoints Miranda, who wanted her reputation sabotaged. In the end, Ginger narrates and writes in her diary about her experience and she gets a voice mail from Dodie who tells her excitedly that everyone in school is talking about her, so she might be grounded for a while but at least she got one positive out of it. Well, that was Ginger’s first episode and if you couldn’t tell already, I enjoyed a lot of it! Yes, it does have its many share of flaws. The animation is a bit ugly compared to other shows, Dodie is an insufferable character, there’s an episode where Ginger asks out someone way older than her, and the principal looks like an NFT monkey. Some of these reasons are why I can’t endorse it completely. That being said, I think there’s enough good in the show to outweigh the bad. I definitely enjoyed a lot of the characters and the dynamics they have with each other. The show doesn’t aim for much laugh out loud moments but the ones that land really do land. My favorite highlight from the episode being Hoodsey’s long-ass introduction to the news that Ginger’s invited to Courtney’s party, complete with the timpani beat in the background. In fact, Hoodsey is just the best character of the show. I always enjoy seeing him play the straight man during Carl’s antics. Plus, that purple hoodie he wears is just adorable. I also really enjoy Courtney and how she’s actually really sweet and nice as a rich popular girl compared to her opposite in Miranda. So while the show still does follow typical tropes, it also finds way to subvert them as well! I can imagine if it didn’t do that, the show would be much lower, maybe even Bottom 10 but stuff like that, combined with the funny antics from the Carl and Hoodsey plotlines, makes this a much better show than All Grown Up. And just like Harvey Beaks, the setting and music is so soothing and relaxing that it makes you feel like you’re taking a break from the insanity of life. “As Told by Ginger” really is a show for anyone to enjoy and no matter how you feel about the rest of the show, I’m sure you’ll find a thing or two that will stick with you today. VERDICT: 8.5/10 (What a total and complete surprise!) RANKINGS: Well, that was a nice write-up. Let's see which show the Wheel will give us next!

Last time on this thread, I talked about a great show. No, an awesome show. No, a FREAKING AWESOME show about a superhero family named after cats. And you know what I just learned now? Jorge himself has stated he wants to revive the show! With Jenny from Teenage Robot, no less! This is awesome news and I doubt there will be any news that will disappoint me! Days later… ……you know, there’s probably a reason behind the saying “never meet your heroes”. Though let’s be honest: Did any of us really see this coming? So I guess I gotta deal with the fact that the creator of one of my favorite Nicktoons is an AI bro now. This is gonna haunt me for the rest of—wait, I’m getting word from a reliable source…….so he canceled his AI series? He apologized for it? So I don’t have to worry anymore? Oh thank god. Sorry about the long ass intro here, but I seriously did not expect this series of events to occur days after I reviewed El Tigre. Well, I am grateful that my conscious is cleared now and I’m ready to go back to talking about Nicktoons created by likable and very reasonable people! Anyways, let’s talk about Catscratch. #24. “Bringin’ Down the Mouse” – Catscratch [July 9, 2005] Welp, we’re back in 2005 and ready to talk about another oft-forgotten Nicktoon! Although unlike The X’s, this Nicktoon I definitely have more memories of watching. Actually, I think most people remember watching this one, it just doesn’t get acknowledged as much. But I’ve had experience watching it at my grandma’s house and there’s surprisingly a lot of things from this show that stuck with me through the years. The theme song, Waffle and his catchphrase, the one with the go-kart races, Hovis, Gomez the Newt, the human Kimberly, the root beer one, the Spindango Fundulation one, and most of all, it was the first Wayne Knight role I remember hearing. Back before I knew him as Newman on Seinfeld, I knew him as Mr. Blik on Catscratch. So yeah, I still have a lot of information about this show absorbed. We’re gonna be talking about the show’s first episode and we’ll see if this show has aged well or not. Mr. Blik and Gordon are preparing for a visit to the Mouse Hunter’s Ball. Waffle wants to go too but he can’t because he hasn’t caught a mouse yet, compared to the many mice the other two captured. Mr. Blik and Gordon teach Waffle how to catch a mouse but he fails to catch one and ends up bringing in other random objects. Turns out he was tricked by Squeakers the Mouse, who is very clever and dangerous as described by the other two. Waffle gets angry and meets the mouse, who does not sound and look like what they described. He gets captured and is explained that his own brothers are the mice he’s looking for and, of course, Waffle believes it. He plays an actual game of cat and mice with the other two and they end up in Squeaker’s hole (don’t laugh), captured and tied up. After a moment of realizing Squeakers lied to him (twice!), he uses his cat breath that Gordon taught him earlier and defeats him. Afterwards, they all go to the ball and Waffle gets a brand new hat. So that was my re-introduction to Catscratch and surprisingly, I still enjoyed it. Not to the extent that I’d really wanna binge it over and over again but I do get what I saw in the show 21 years ago. That being said, I can see why others think it’s disposable, especially with shows like Avatar and SpongeBob competing against it. There were a few funny moments here and there like Waffle taking a random stop sign and causing car accidents but they weren’t exactly laugh out loud moments either. I still do like his antics and Hovis and Mr. Blik have their share of funny moments as well but those are really the only highlights of the show. So while I don’t think it’s the worst, I think there’s much better shows to watch out there. I think the best comparison I could think of is that it’s basically the 2000s equivalent of CatDog. It was fine for its time but it didn’t necessarily age well either……..but that’s a story for a different write-up. VERDICT: 7/10 (I guess it’s fitting this show shares the same rating as The X’s. What can I say, I’m generous.) RANKINGS: Welp, it's time to confront the Wheel once again. Say, wouldn't it be funny if it gave me CatDog next? That would be funny.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Wow. I didn’t know I was able to hold it that long. Just goes to show how excited I am to be reviewing this show! #26. “Night of the Living Guacamole” – El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera [February 19, 2007] Ladies and gentlemen of this thread, it took 25 shows but we finally made it to a show that is a serious contender as my favorite Nicktoon. Yes, above Teenage Robot. Yes, above Korra. Yes, above the yellow fucker himself. El Tigre is a level of peak I don’t think I’ll ever see on this network again. Now I never really had this thought before. I was 8 around the time of its premiere and I was still into SpongeBob at the time, so much like Nickelodeon, I left this show by the wayside. I only remember watching the first half of the show and then just quitting due to lack of interest. It wouldn’t be until 26 years old when I gave the show another chance. Literally all the memories of these episodes kept flooding back and I now appreciate it more than I ever have when I first watched it. So let’s talk a little about the show first. It was created by Jorge Gutierrez, known for his work on MAD, The Book of Life, and the very best sitcom on Nickelodeon. It’s about a kid named Manny Rivera, who is raised by his heroic father, the White Pantera, and his retired villain grandfather, Puma Loco. If that premise alone doesn’t get you excited, I really don’t know what will. We’ll be talking about the show’s first episode, which happens to also be one of my favorites! Let’s dive into it like it’s a chip diving into guacamole! Manny is reading Puma Loco’s villain magazine for an ad for a laser tattoo maker worth $100. He wants to get it but his father, White Pantera, forbids him because tattoos are evil. He and Puma are about to sit down to watch a soccer game on TV while eating chips and guacamole, but Puma Loco forgot to buy it. As he and Pantera fight over who has to pick up the $100 guacamole, Manny volunteers, mostly because he wants to buy that laser tattoo maker. He meets with his friend Frida who tells him to buy the tattoo maker using his dad’s money but he also doesn’t want to let down his dad by not buying the guacamole. Suddenly, a mysterious old woman appears and offers the two free guacamole and they take it. It is revealed though that lady was actually Dr. Chipotle Jr. (which has to be like the 12th time I’ve heard Richard Horvitz’s voice in a cartoon), who wants to get revenge on Manny for getting his father arrested. Just before they use the tattoo maker, Pantera and Puma burst through the door as giant monsters from all the evil guacamole they consumed. The only way for Manny to defeat them is to sell the tattoo maker and buy the right kind. Since they’re sold out, he goes all the way to the Andes Mountains and buys it off a lady. He saves both of them using the power of the guacamole, but all of the goop starts forming an impenetrable guacamole monster. Manny goes inside the monster and opens up the tub and defeats it. He then tells the truth about what happened and White Pantera decides to punish the two by making them crush guacamole for one year. Sigh……you know, at the beginning, I was gonna call this a great show but after re-watching this particular one, I may have exaggerated a bit about it being my favorite Nicktoon on this list. Actually, maybe I haven’t exaggerated enough because THIS SHOW IS FUCKING AWESOME. I mean, I certainly wasn’t expecting this show to be bad, of course, but I seriously wasn’t expecting it to be this blisteringly awesome either. “El Tigre” manages to be that perfect blend between comedy and action I absolutely crave. There are a lot of highlights in this episode I’ve left out of the summary so I will do the same I did with Barnyard and talk about them. And that’s just from this episode, by the way. “El Tigre” in general is just a perfect show. All the characters are interesting, the villains range from funny to threatening to the rare combination of both, the jokes are entertaining, and if that theme song doesn’t get your head banging and blood pumping, you’re probably dead inside. I might have nitpicked on Teenage Robot a bit, but you can’t get me to find a single flaw here. So have a happy belated Cinco de Mayo everyone and make sure the guacamole you buy when you watch this isn’t evil. Oh, by the way, I have watched the series finale of this show. I am not going to spoil much what happens in it, but I am going to say this: I absolutely dare the SpongeBob writers to write a better finale than this. That is all. VERDICT: Diez/Diez (With absolutely no weak spots, I feel comfortable calling El Tigre my favorite Nicktoon………….I think) RANKINGS: That was an absolute blast to write about. Will my next show match it in greatness? I somehow doubt it, but we'll see!

Last time on this thread, we took another visit to the ChalkZone to look at the show’s official first episode. This time, we’ll be taking a look at a spinoff based off of one of Nick’s biggest franchises. Care to guess which one? ……okay well there’s plenty of examples there, it’s All Grown Up. #20. “Coup DeVille” – All Grown Up! [March 22, 2002] Yeah, sorry for the late update to this thread, I’ve been way too focused on personal time and gaming lately that I haven’t really tended to this thread lately. Kinda poetic actually, considering we’re talking about a show called “All Grown Up” and we’re gonna be seeing them tackle grown up issues! You know, like alcohol, drugs, sex, politics, and the mundanity of working as a front service clerk of a famous grocery store chain. Okay, I lied, it’s nothing like that. Instead, we’ll be seeing the dumb babies grow into dumbass teenagers. From what I can gather, the main consensus was pretty mixed. On one hand, you have a group of people who enjoy the show on its own legs while on the other, you have a group of people who can’t divorce it from its original property and think it’s rather weak compared to it. We’ll be finding out which side of the spectrum I’ll be on. I’m already growing up so fast, so it’s time to take a break from that and watch “All Grown Up”! Our main plot revolves around the twins Phil and Lil. A popular girl invites Lil to come to her party on the grounds that her socially inept brother doesn’t come to it. So Lil begins distancing herself from Phil, who sits next to Dil playing a game of “What’s That Smell”. Meanwhile, in Chuckie’s plot, he and Tommy are taking the Presidential Fitness Test in gym class and he has trouble taking it due to how uncoordinated in gym he is. He even lands on Coach Pangborn (voiced by Clancy Brown if you couldn’t tell) and topples the rest of the students. He decides to take a stand against the President and his test and skip gym class. He hides inside a bathroom stall and ends up breaking a water pipe. Pangborn is looking for Chuckie and finds him in the stall. He notices Chuckie hanging onto the pipe like a gym rope and is impressed that he allows Chuckie to take a day off for his arms to feel better, but he still has to take the test tomorrow instead. In the P&L plot, Betty and Howard are ready to take them both to the Twin Canyons for their vacation but Lil begins lashing out because she no longer wants to be seen with Phil and wants to be on her own. Tired of seeing her unhappy, Betty talks to her and encourages her to be her own self. So she moves out of Phil’s room, leaving him alone for now. At least until Dil tries to bond with him. They actually do start bonding for a little, until Dil decides he wants to be a triplet instead. At Diane’s party, Lil notices a lot of the partygoers insulting her brother in front of her so she stands up for him and leaves. Afterwards, she makes up with Phil and start hanging out again. Alright, so what do I think of All Grown Up? It’s okay. It is far from the worst show on here but at the same time, there’s nothing really remarkable about this show. It feels like a mix between Rugrats and As Told by Ginger and to be honest, I’d rather watch either one over this. That being said, it does have some redeeming qualities too. Much like Rugrats, it’s fun getting to see what the adults do just as much as the kids. My personal funny joke from the episode was Howard being sad over his workout room going to Lil. But you wanna know one great thing about this? They actually made Dil interesting. In the original show, he was nothing more than the baby that the other babies take care of. But here, they actually give him more of a personality, even if he does get annoying at times. So I guess I can throw the show a bone here. It ain’t Rugrats, but it also ain’t bad either. VERDICT: 7/10 (I will give it a 7 because I feel like a generous chap) RANKINGS: Alright, I took a while to get this one out so let's hope the next show's gonna be a more simple one to talk about. What say you, Wheel?

Last time on this thread, we talked about the last (and worst) of the Omation Nicktoons. This time? We’ll be revisiting a certain kind of zone I talked about before. Oh Yeah! #18. “Rudy’s Story” – ChalkZone [March 22, 2002] Welcome back to the ChalkZone, everyone! I first talked about this show’s pilot during my Oh Yeah Cartoons entry. Now it’s time to talk about the show’s proper first episode! And I say that because the actual first episode of this show is merely an updated version of the pilot so it’d be redundant to talk about it twice. So what’s my experience with ChalkZone? Honestly, not much. My memory of this show doesn’t match up with the two other Oh Yeah shows on my list, but if there’s anything I do remember about this show, it’s that I always wanted to be like Rudy Tabootie as a kid and have all my amazing drawings come to life. I suck at drawing though so that dream is long dead and buried. I have a new dream though! And it’s to review a bunch of Nicktoons! What am I doing with my life! Anyway, time for us to draw a portal back into ChalkZone! The episode starts on all the students giving reports on what they did over vacation. Rudy gives his report about his adventures in ChalkZone but he gets punished by Mr. Wilter (that’s still not Norm voicing him by the way, some guy named Robert Cait did) for not actually doing any writing. However, the new student and obligatory love interest Penny Sanchez is interested in his adventures and wants to hear more about them. Rudy tells her of all the adventures he had in the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle rescuing Snap from a bubblegum-chewing arachnid. They run away from the spider while it chases after them shooting bubblegums. One of its attacks hits Rudy’s magic chalk so there was no way for him to use it. He does get an idea to get Snap to blow a giant bubble and they escape from the jungle. Rudy gives his report again and gets a passing grade on it. Also, Reggie gets punished at the end. Well, we took another glimpse into ChalkZone and my opinion on the show hasn’t seem to change much. Although I definitely like the first episode much better, I’m not too big on episodes where the characters just narrate it. Still, it did have some funny moments there and it was fun seeing the introduction of another protagonist in the show. Compared to Teenage Robot as well as another Oh Yeah! show we’ll get to later, this one didn’t nearly resonate with me as much, but it’s definitely a nice show to have on if you’re into it. Also, the theme song fucking rules. Rudy has got the chalk and thank god he does. VERDICT: 8/10 (alright) RANKINGS: Well, that was a fun though underwhelming entry! Let's see what the Wheel says is next:

Last time on this thread, we talked about a Nicktoon about monsters I never really grew up with. This time, we’ll be talking about a Nicktoon I grew up watching based off a Nicktoon I grew up watching based off a Nickelodeon movie. Let’s get on with it. #32. “Pilot” – Planet Sheen [October 2, 2010] Yeah, I won’t front. After I announced the start of this thread, I was not expected to hear about Jeff Garcia’s death at the end of last year. It honestly made me fear the wheel would give me this show next. Like, if it was a good show, I would have no issue with it, but Planet Sheen is definitely one of the most disappointing Nicktoons I’ve ever seen so talking about it so soon would definitely sting. But you know, it’s been 2 months already and I already reviewed the Barnyard show he was a part of so I say we march on! So if you couldn’t tell already, Planet Sheen revolves around Jimmy Neutron character Sheen Estevez going up to a strange planet and meeting a group of strange characters. Now as a 27-year-old, a show like this is one I would dismiss as a dumb little experiment. But as an 11-year-old who grew up on Jimmy Neutron and also grew up liking Sheen, you have to understand, this was an event to me. There was another show that premiered next to it I’ll talk about soon enough but for right now, let’s take a trip to a really strange planet! The show starts off with Sheen walking into Jimmy’s lab (with the door completely unlocked, “Boy Genius” my ass) to retrieve one of his Ultra Lord cards and he ends up in Jimmy’s rocket. After a push of a few buttons, he accidentally travels into space and lands on a planet called Zeenu. The Emperor of Zeenu is giving a speech to all the citizens and talks about the possibility of a genius arriving on their planet on a rocket. Care to guess who this genius is? Because it’s clearly not the one who left his lab open like that. Everyone is excited to know about him, except for a hooded alien named Dorkus who serves as his nemesis in the series. As Sheen heads towards the room where you get rid of yucky things, Dorkus convinces the Emperor to have Sheen punished and his guards take Sheen to the Palace of Pain. As his punishment, he is caged and sent to be destroyed by Bob the Annihilator. Sheen unintentionally defeats him by throwing away talking food on a stick and gets set free. Sheen tries to make it back home with the help of Dorkus but his rocket explodes and it looks like he’s about to stay in Zeenu, much to Dorkus’ dismay. Dorkus gets rid of Sheen by dropping him into the Valley of Unpleasant Howls. Inside, Sheen encounters a talking chimpanzee named Nesmith (Monkees reference!), who offers to fix Sheen’s rocket. They escape the cave but come across a creature called the Chocktow, one of Planet Zeenu’s most dangerous creatures. The creature attacks Sheen and Nesmith but they are saved by this blue girl named Aseefa (obligatory love interest) and it turns out the Chocktow is her own pet. Both Sheen and Nesmith make it back to the kingdom, the Emperor makes Sheen his royal advisor, and Sheen has found a new home on Zeenu. Oh and a blob that sounds like Carl Wheezer appears at the end. Well, that was the first episode of Planet Sheen and it was definitely as bland as you’d imagine. Most of the humor was pretty unfunny, the characters range from okay to whatever the fuck that Princess in that show was, and I do not remember the animation looking that bad when I first watched it. Seriously, anyone complaining about the original show’s animation needs to take a look at this show. That being said, it’s not like it’s completely irredeemable. The idea of Ultra Lord fan Sheen going into space and having adventures does have potential even if the final execution was heavily disappointing. And there were still some funny jokes here and there. Mainly Sheen being amazed at how much Zeenuian sounds like English, that Barnyard cameo I completely forgot about, and Nesmith responding to Sheen’s dancing with “Evolution must be going in reverse”. But that’s about all the positives I could tell you about. Unfortunately, this is the last time we’ll ever see Sheen so we truly have no idea if he made it back home. And if he’s still up there, I sure hope he’s still found happiness up there. See you, Sheen Cowboy. VERDICT: 4.5/10 (Ultra Disappointing) RANKINGS: And as of this point, we are finished one half of this list! Let's see if we can kick off this second half with a bang!

Last time on this thread, we moved out of the Turtles’ sewer and went back to the barnyard to visit a really funny Nicktoon from my childhood. Looks like it’s time to return to the sewer for our next show! #5. “The Switching Hour” – Aaahh!!! Real Monsters [October 29, 1994] Okay, so the premise of this show is about a group of monsters who go to a school that teaches them how to scare people. Now you’re probably looking at that description and thinking “Hey, haven’t I seen this before? Wasn’t there a movie about monsters who go to a school, also known as a university?” And yes, I know exactly which movie you’re thinking of. I will admit, this is another one of those Nicktoons I haven’t really watched prior to this project. It came out before I was born and its reruns probably ended before then. I think I remember half an episode of this show and I thought it was okay, but it also wasn’t something I’d seek out the same way I do other shows from this era. Maybe this watch will make me a fan of this show? Maybe not? It’s the second Klasky-Csupo show we’re covering on here so let’s give it a shot! The day is Halloween (okay the fact it starts on the best holiday is a plus) and all of the monsters are excited, but the Gromble (the teacher voiced by the red guy on Cow and Chicken) tells them they can’t on account of the failed grades they got on their midterm assignment. The monsters plot an escape above the sewer with the exception of Ickis, the bunny looking monster who is afraid of disobeying the Gromble. Krumm (who is basically a talking testicle who sounds like Seth Rogen) knocks out the guard by throwing one of his eyeballs towards a toilet and all three of our protagonists escape, at least. They attempt scaring kids but they all think they’re humans in costume too. The monsters observe a bunch of kids going up to houses asking for candy and decide to go trick-or-treating (or prick-your-feeting, according to them). They end up at a Halloween party where the kids are playing a game where they pass around gross objects with Krumm eating each one and eventually, scaring the entire house with his own eyeballs. As they run off, a group of hoodlum kids throw eggs and TP and one of them, mistaking Ickis with his little brother, takes him away. The monsters also take his little brother, mistaking him for the real Ickis. Oblina (the candy cane girl) and Krumm try to get the real Ickis back but they get caught by the Gromble, who threatens to eat everyone who’s disobeyed him. Meanwhile, the real Ickis is still in Nicky’s house and has to deal with some of his problems like his older brother and a school report he has to give about his house. He tries to get flushed down the toilet but he gets stopped by the older brother. Out of frustration, Ickis suddenly starts growing large and scares Nicky’s older brother. Back down in the sewer, the Gromble commends all three monsters for successfully scaring kids but he also punishes them for disobeying his orders. So that was Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and surprisingly, I did get some enjoyment out of this one! Maybe not as much as Rugrats which is a pretty high bar to clear, of course, but it’s a show I can definitely understand the appeal of. I actually really dig a lot of the monster designs (special mention goes to that one monster who switches looks while reading a note that says “The Gromble Bites”) and our main ensemble isn’t bad either. And much like how Rugrats balances the plots between the adults and babies, this show does the same with the humans and monsters. So yeah, this one was fine. I don’t love it enough to the point where I’d binge the rest of the series but I wouldn’t mind watching another episode of it either. Maybe during October when I’m in the spooky mood. VERDICT: 7.5/10 (A real monster of a show! In a good way, though.) RANKINGS: Okay, now let's see what the Wheel says about our next show!

George Lopez was in a movie so I'm gonna be George Lopez

Last time on this thread, we visited a pretty decent adaption of a franchise I barely watched. This time, we’ll be headed back to the farm and visit a show I definitely kept up with. And you can tell by my hint that this show is none other than… #28. “The Good, the Bad, and the Snotty” – Back at the Barnyard [September 29, 2007] You know, it’s actually kind of funny that the last show we talked about started on September 28th and now we’re talking a show that began on September 29th. Will the next show we talk about be one that started on September 30th? I actually don’t know if there’s actually one on here. But anyways, months back, I talked about how Jimmy Neutron was the first Nick movie to be made into a TV show. We’ve got a similar case here with 2006’s Barnyard with all the main cast coming back for this series! ….okay, most of the main cast came back. Now this would be another one of those cases where I talk about how I watched the show when it first started and then dipped out after Nick moved it to Nicktoons, but surprisingly, Nick kept onto this show longer than usual! So yeah, Back at the Barnyard was one of my main cartoons around this time. Not just because it was on at the time, but because it was so damn funny. And upon plenty of rewatches, I can confirm this show is still so damn funny. If you thought the Jimmy Neutron series was wild, you definitely haven’t seen nothing yet. So let’s go head back to the barnyard and talk about these totally-not-a-talking animal humans! The episode begins with Otis and the animals filming a commercial for a fictional turnip convention to distract the farmer so they can celebrate Otis’ birthday. However, they run into another problem when a bratty kid named Eugene (Snotty Boy) gets asked to run the farm while the farmer’s away (to Turnip Con!). When he visits the farm, he terrorizes all of the animals using items like pizza with hot sauce and glue. The animals decide to get revenge on him by attracting him with a corn dog and leading him into the barnyard, where he gets pelted with eggs, honey, and mouse traps. He also lands into a hay stack and gets flung away. The animals celebrate Otis’ party and Snotty Boy’s uncle Nathan tries to free him with a chainsaw, with pure satisfaction. And now that you’ve read all that, you can get a pretty good idea of what this show is like. Maybe it’s not the kind of show you could make a detailed analysis out of but good god, are the highlights of this show funny. And since I just made one paragraph out of the plot, I may need to list all the highlights in this episode because there are tons. - Turnip Con - The fact that Pip looks fucking adorable as Tippy the Turnip - The farmer leaving but stopping to pet a random sheep as Duke describes it - Otis is clearly hiring U2 to perform for his birthday - “UNCLE’S GOT TERMITES” - All of Nathan’s reactions to Snotty Boy - “STUPID, STINKY, STUPID, STINKY” God fucking damn, this kid’s an entertaining antagonist. - The revelation at the end that Turnip Con is real. I hope the farmer had a fun time there. That’s just to name a few. Yeah, this Nicktoon actually aged pretty well, especially in the age where both nostalgia and shitposting is prominent. This show has it all in spades and if your sense of humor is as twisted as mine, you’ll definitely get a kick out of it. Also, since this was the first show of theirs I’m talking about after their deaths, I am dedicating this review to Jeff Garcia (voice of Pip) and Guy Moon (the composer). Of all the shows I wanted to talk about that involved them, I’m glad I got to this one first. VERDICT: 8.5/10 (It is neither bad nor snotty, but you’re damn straight it’s good) RANKINGS: So will next show be as insane and funny as that one? Let's find out!

Last time on this thread, we talked about a Nicktoon that was as exciting and unique as you’d expect a cartoon called “Robot and Monster” to be. This time, we’ll be discussing a show that’s plenty more exciting and thankfully, it’s a series I’m actually familiar with. #38. “Rise of the Turtles (Part 1)” – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [September 28, 2012] I guess I should start with my entire history with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles……..I don’t have much, actually. I mean, I definitely remember watching the 2003 cartoon and have caught a few episodes from the 1987 cartoon and remember liking both but it’s not really a franchise that really stuck through my childhood the same way SpongeBob or Pokémon has. That being said, there hasn’t been a TMNT cartoon that I haven’t really distrusted and I’d be very surprised if I end up hating this one. Well, let’s find out. Let’s grab a slice of pizza and see if our heroes in a half-shell bode well in the 2010s! The episode starts off with all the turtles and Master Splinter celebrating 15 years since their mutations happened. Leonardo suggests celebrating 15 years by heading up to the surface but Master Splinter says they lack the wisdom and maturity to go up there (I’m getting Korra flashbacks now). After a few begging and pleading, Splinter lets them go up there for the night. The Turtles go up to New York City and explore what there is to do around there. After Raphael scares off a pizza delivery boy, they come across a box of pizza and they get introduced to their signature food. After they do a lot of exploring, they head back to the sewers but before that, Donatello sees and falls in love with a girl named April O’Neill. Seeing she and her father are both taken away by a group of men in suits, the Turtles fight them off. Michelangelo defeats one of them but the man turns out to be a cyborg with a brain that attacks him. He tries to tell the rest of them but just about as he’s about to show them, it disappears. Back in the sewers, Master Splinter scolds the four for not using their powers responsibly and tells them they have to wait another year to return to the surface. After Donatello tells him about what happened with April and her father, he changes his mind and tells them to save her as a team, with Leonardo being their leader. Back in NYC, the Turtles find the logo to the van that kidnapped the O’Neills and find the kidnapper. He escapes in the van but Leonardo uses a shuriken to pop one of his tires. They approach the van when they notice a familiar thermos pop out of it. Could it be the one containing their mother? I dunno, I’m asking you guys. This was the end of the first part and I don’t really feel like watching the second part. Well, if I had any doubts about this series, they’re long gone now! While I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch every episode, it has a lot of the qualities I liked about the other two. Most of my enjoyment really comes from the banter all the characters have with each other. Michelangelo definitely has a lot of my favorite moments in the episode, some of which are the part where he gets his mind blown by the sign to a fortune teller shop, him thinking they’re gonna steal a van, and the part where he plays a guessing game while all the Turtles are waiting for the guy to show up. There’s plenty of cool action in the show to balance it out, much like Teen Titans does. So yeah, if you’re a Ninja Turtles fan, I’d probably recommend it. VERDICT: 8/10 (This is definitely—a pretty decent adaption to a franchise!) RANKINGS: Welp, we're getting pretty close to ending off the 2010s and the first half of our list. Let's consult the will of the wheel and see whether or not our trek into the 2010s continues!

Last time on this thread, we talked about one of Nick’s biggest shows and one of the longest running Nicktoons that’s still running to this very day. The same can’t be said about this show though! #37. “Monster’s Great Escape” – Robot and Monster [August 4, 2012] Folks, sometimes you come across a one-season Nicktoon that’s so great, unique, and amazing that you have to wonder what the executives were thinking canning it so early. “Robot and Monster” is not one of those shows, however. This is the kind of Nicktoon that was made to be canned. And indeed, that was the case, as it only lasted for four months in 2012 with four unaired episodes and Nick stopped rerunning it in 2014! Then it stopped airing forever! Jeez, that’s a lot of fours I said right there…anyways, the idea of this show revolves around, you guessed it, a human and vampire working at a blinking lights factory and they’re also best friends too. So it’s almost like Fanboy and Chum Chum, only with a saner character. With that description in mind, you can imagine I won’t have fun looking at this but we shall do it anyways! The episode starts out with Robot playing a prank (Sound familiar to another character Curtis Armstrong voiced, folks?) on his boss, Gart. Only problem is Monster fucks up and tells Gart they put glue on his controls because he doesn’t know how pranks work. Robot tells of when he pranked Monster back in school by placing a whoopee cushion on his seat, but this upsets him and he starts getting paranoid that he’ll be pranked next. When Robot asks why this is a big deal, Monster explained that the incident ruined his dream of becoming an escape artist through a long, convoluted line of logic. Robot teaches Monster on how to become an escape artist in different ways, his final trick being one where he must escape dangling above a pool of venomous sharks in under 30 seconds. Robot lights the rope and sits down…only to hear a whoopee cushion sound from his seat. Turns out this was all a set-up for Monster’s prank! Then Monster falls into the pool of sharks and gets his deserved just desserts. Well, I went into this show with low expectations at first and after my rewatch, it’s refreshing to see my opinion is still justified! There’s not much you can really get out of this show that you can’t get from better buddy cartoons. And while I do like Robot, I could definitely do without Monster and his sleep paralysis demon looking ass. Yet another unremarkable cartoon from this decade but on the bright side, it doesn’t look like any other future show we cover from that decade will be godawful. We’ll see. VERDICT: 4.5/10 (This is definitely a show!) RANKINGS: Well, that was a show. Save me, San Francisco Wheel Decide!

Last time on this thread, we talked a spinoff based off of one of Nick’s biggest franchises. Today, we’ll be talking about another one of their biggest cash cows……and one that’s still going on to this very day…. #44. “Left in the Dark” – The Loud House [May 2, 2016] Happy new year, everyone! Did you guys also go out, get drunk, and party? Yeah, me neither. Anyways, we’re covering quite a big show on this list. As you know, Nickelodeon has had an annoying habit of treating their non-SpongeBob cartoons badly. Whether it be a tax write-off, lack of promotion, or move to Nicktoons Network, plenty of shows on this list got canned after a year or two (if lucky) so it’s quite the surprise this one would co-rule the network! So why this one? Well, let’s get into it. First, I should mention that I have a very faint memory of liking this show around the time it premiered. I was one of those naïve people who believed that this show could really save Nickelodeon, which…..yeah, really great job it’s doing so far….but we finally have a second long-runner so great, I guess? Honestly, if you need a good analogy of my opinion on this, it mirrors that of my opinion on Rick and Morty, another long-running cartoon. I liked it around the time it was conceived but I slowly gave up on it sometime later. In fact, both shows have problematic creators so it was hard for me to support both shows any further. So with all that said, let’s take a look at this show’s first episode and see how well it aged for me! The episode starts off with a clip from Lincoln’s favorite show, Hunter Spector: Spectre Hunter. Lincoln wants to watch it but all his sisters fight over the remote around the time it comes on. He manages to distract all his sisters in many different ways, all except for Lucy (the goth girl) who wants to watch her favorite show. Lincoln tells her that she can watch her show on their old black-and-white TV, but when he plugs it in, the power goes out and all the sisters blame Lincoln for it. When Luanne (the sister who tells lame jokes) eats one of Lisa (the smart girl)’s cookies, she starts glowing and they use her as a light when they go down to the basement and fix the circuit breaker. Unfortunately, her light suddenly runs out and it’s too dark for any of them to want to go down there. Lincoln takes charge and uses Luanne’s night vision camera to see through the dark. They turn the power back on and Lincoln is ready to see his favorite show……only to find out he missed it. The sisters then sympathize with him and tell them at least he lived the show and the episode ends with Lincoln explaining that having fun with your sisters can be better than watching TV by yourself. So unfortunately, this wasn’t really the show that would save Nickelodeon and after reviewing those two really great Nicktoons, The Loud House does feel like a step down for me. Do I think it’s the worst? Of course not! I just don’t think its humor really appeals to me right now like it has back then. I must have watched a funnier episode as my first because the ones in this episode just weren’t landing. Luanne’s lame jokes and Lily, who’s only purpose is poop jokes, didn’t really help matters either. The joke with Lincoln fighting the ghost and it turns out to be a laundry basket was the closest to a laugh this episode gave me. Another issue I have with this show is the amount of characters in its main ensemble. It’s a unique concept but I won’t lie when I say it was exhausting for me to keep up with all the characters and who they are. I like me some dysfunctional family sitcoms but I’d probably rather watch “The Goldbergs” or “Malcolm in the Middle” instead. VERDICT: 5.5/10 (This is definitely a show!) RANKINGS: Alright, now it's time to see which Nicktoon's next on my list...

Last time on this thread, we talked about one of my favorite Nicktoons that got screwed over by Nick. Today, we’ll be talking about another female protagonist show that also got screwed over by the network! #36. “Welcome to Republic City” – The Legend of Korra [April 14, 2012] You know, when I started off this project, I was really expecting we’d get to Avatar before this one. Feels really weird to talk the spinoff series before the original. Anyways, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was one of Nick’s best and most memorable series ever. It lasted from 2005 to 2008. Then after one Obama administration, we got a sequel with a totally different protagonist! Got all that, kids? Good. Now let’s delve into my experience with the show. Anyways, I remember watching the premiere of this and thinking it was an alright show. Not nearly as memorable as Last Airbender, but still pretty decent. Though I only remember watching the first season. Not sure why I didn’t check out the rest, I guess it was around the time I stopped checking Nick on the regular. Maybe I was just used to seeing it on Saturday mornings. Yeah, during its first season, Nick ran the show on Saturday mornings. Then moved to Friday nights after Season 2, and eventually dumped onto Nick.com after the second half of Season 3. Didn’t help either that I haven’t seen it advertised as much as its predecessor. So yeah, Nick screwed this show over! Well, with all that being said, I’m ready to give this show another shot! Let’s take a journey to Republic City and find out what I’ve missed all these years. Our series starts off with a narration from Avatar Aang’s son. He explains how his father and his friends ended a hundred year war with the Fire Nation and united to become a place called Republic City where both benders and non-benders can live in peace and harmony. Now that Aang’s reign as the Avatar as come to an end, someone else with the power to bend elements would have to take his place. And that someone else is none other than waterbender Korra. The episode itself opens up with a flashback 57 years after the end of the war where three members of the White Lotus arrive at the Southern Water Tribe to meet a 4-year-old Korra, who is claimed to be the next reincarnation of Aang. Cut to 13 years later, where a 17-year-old Korra is demonstrating all the element bending she’s mastered. The only element she hasn’t mastered yet is airbending. Korra suggests that she’s ready to start training with Tenzin and her waterbending master Katara (oh yeah she’s back) sends her to Republic City to train with him. She and her pet polar bear Naga set off to Republic City. Tenzin (voiced by the incomparable JK Simmons) and his children arrive on a flying bison (sadly not Appa) to meet with Katara and Korra. She wants to train with Tenzin, but he says he can’t because he has to return to Republic City to treat an unstable situation taking place there. Korra suggests going with him but the White Lotus forbids her since the city is too dangerous for her to enter. That doesn’t stop her from escaping though. Before her journey, she bids goodbye to Katara and her two parents. Korra arrives at Republic City but she and Naga cause chaos in the city, giving her a bit of a bad reputation. Since she doesn’t have any of the city’s currency, she goes to a pond and cooks up some fish. She comes across a weird man living in a bush and he tells her to run when an officer arrives and tells her that fishing in that pond is a crime. As she and Naga evade him, they come across the leader of the Equalists, who believes that the tyranny of benders against non-benders should come to an end. Korra protests against him and the leader manages to turn some of the citizens against her. Meanwhile, a group of gangsters (The Triple Threat Triad) pull into the city and ask one of the merchants if he has the money he’s looking for. Before they attack him, Korra uses all the bending powers she’s learned to attack them. As the police arrest them for causing trouble, they also arrest Korra too for the destruction she’s caused in Republic City. They chase after her and her attempts at evasion work until an aircraft captures her and Naga and takes her to court. Chief Beifong (who is the daughter of Toph btw) interrogates her and Korra tries explaining to her that she’s the successor to Avatar Aang. Commander Tenzin enters and takes responsibility for her actions, but he tells Korra that she can’t stay and that she should go back to the South Pole. However, he changes his mind after seeing his children have a warm reception to her. He enlists her help in keeping Republic City safe just like her predecessor has. Afterwards, Korra explains to the townspeople that while she doesn’t have a plan yet, she is the one who will keep their city safe. As she talks, a group of people (I assume they’re the villains?) overhear her on a radio and decide to accelerate their plans. So they are indeed the villains of the show. Well, that was Korra and just as you’d expect, I liked it just about as much as I did the original series! How does it stack against the original though? Well, I don’t know! I haven’t made it there yet! Until then though, I can still appreciate Korra on its own. Much like The Last Airbender, it’s more plot-driven with a small dose of comedic moments in-between. Some of my favorite highlights came from Tenzin’s kids, as well as the other people’s reactions to their antics. Much like Jenny, Korra is an awesome female protagonist, and while I still like Aang, I think she’s the more fun one. Bottom line, this Nicktoon is definitely worth its acclaim. Such a shame it got treated the way it did but at the very least, I’m glad people still remember it after all these years. VERDICT: 9.5/10 (It feels weird giving out this very rare rating again so soon. But you know, even the following act could be just as good and this Nicktoon truly proves that.) RANKINGS: Welp, it's the day before Christmas and I'm already getting presents from my family. Which present did you get me, Wheel?

I'll be "The Ginger-Fred Man"

Okay, I wasn’t expecting to be posting this write-up so early. That’s how prepared I was to talk about this show. Last time on this thread, I talked about Nickelodeon’s biggest cash cow and the very show that inspired a site like this. Will today’s show be any better? Well, it is one of the Nicktoons I’ve been looking forward to covering on this thread, so no duh. #21. “It Came from Next Door” – My Life as a Teenage Robot [August 1, 2003] You know, if there’s any Nicktoon out there that absolutely deserves to be called criminally underrated, it’s this one. It wasn’t X’s level of obscure or anything, you can definitely find more people who still remember and like this, though I don’t see it get mentioned a lot anymore. And compared to how all SpongeBob, Jimmy Neutron, and Fairly Oddparents got their success (memes), Teenage Robot was almost forgotten. Well, time for me to put an end to that taboo. This show rocks. Its history starts off on “Oh Yeah! Cartoons”, back when it was originally called “My Neighbor is a Teenage Robot” and it presumably was going to revolve around Brad and Tuck. By the time the show came out, it became “My Life as a Teenage Robot” and the show officially became out the teenage robot Jenny Wakeman/XJ9 herself. And although I was still too much into SpongeBob or the other of the Big Three, I did make time for this show too! I like to think of this show as Nick’s answer to The Powerpuff Girls the more you think about it. I mean, it’s a show about a girl with a scientist for a parent, who spends her time balancing saving the world from funny to downright threatening enemies and going to school at the same time. Hell, it was created by Rob Renzetti, who’s worked on The Powerpuff Girls before. Alright, time to talk about its first episode before this write-up devolves into a conspiracy. The episode begins with a baseball hitting a window to someone’s house and we see our secondary protagonists, teenager Brad and his little brother Tuck. Brad asks Tuck to retrieve his baseball from the mysterious house. When he gets inside, he notices a robot greeting him and starts running towards the door. When he explains to Brad what he saw, Brad decides to go over to Dr. Wakeman’s to explain about the broken window. As they walk off, Tuck tells Brad that he forgot to ask about the robot she had. While Brad initially calls him on his bullshit, he looks at the window and sees the robot he was talking about. We cut to Jenny’s room when her mother explains to her that she was designed to save the world and that she can’t leave unless there’s a crisis. But Jenny doesn’t wanna spend all her life doing that, she just wants to explore the world of teens! She then meets Brad and asks him about what the teenage life is like. Though she’ll be in trouble if her mother finds anyone else interacting with her. Brad gets her to come outside by grabbing her right arm. He encourages Jenny to hang out with him and Tuck (who doesn’t trust her considering she’s a robot) but the meteor alarm starts going off. She then decides “fuck it” and hangs out with the two. After a montage, Jenny’s pigtails start ringing, indicating there’s a giant meteor approaching and that it’s gonna hit the Earth in 5 minutes. She heads up to space with Tuck accidentally stuck to her to fight the meteor using lots of cool weapons in her arsenal. When she finally defeats it, she and Tuck head back to Earth, the latter looking burnt to death. He finally warms up to her and decides that Jenny is cool. They hang out and Dr. Wakeman gives her the afternoon off considering the world isn’t in peril right now. Cue a bunch of spaceships approaching Earth. Well, it’s been years since I watched this and I’m happy to say my opinion on this show hasn’t dwindled at all! In fact, the opposite happened. Maybe it won’t have the meme status other shows like SpongeBob and Jimmy do but I actually think it worked in this show’s favor. It definitely helps highlight all the smart jokes this show has. Some of my favorites include Tuck repeatedly kicking Jenny the next time he finds her, Brad digging himself deeper when he accidentally calls Dr. Wakeman weird, the fish who freak out after Jenny throws the meteor piece into a fish tank, and Jenny’s 100% accurate Dr. Wakeman impression. And most of all, I like how fun of a protagonist Jenny is! Any time in the show where she ends up invoking a typical teenager stereotype is entertaining and any moment she fights someone is bound to be badass. And can I point out it’s fucking great we have a protagonist who actually stands up whenever someone else mislabels her? Truly the most progressive protagonist in Nicktoon history. Only reason I’m not rating this a 10 is because I find Tuck to be a really annoying character. Though he still has some moments in the series I still find funny. But that small little nitpick couldn’t even tank this show. I’ve still got a lot more Nicktoons in this thread to cover and I can’t guarantee it’ll be my favorite on this entire list, but it definitely deserves a spot on my Top 5. VERDICT: XJ9.5/10 (My rating for this show was the best pun I could come up with.) RANKINGS: Well, that was a tough act to follow! Now let's see which Nicktoon could possibly follow that act.

Last time on this thread, I talked about yet another Nicktoon from the first dynasty of Nicktoons. Today, we’ll be headed to the very end of that decade and talk about one of the big three Nicktoons I remember watching a lot as a kid! And it’s arguably the biggest one of them all…. #12. “Help Wanted” – SpongeBob SquarePants [May 1, 1999] You know, I like to exaggerate around here about how much I really hate SpongeBob. But if I’m to be real here, this Nicktoon was practically my life as a kid. Where to begin? One of my first Halloween costumes was SpongeBob, I collected almost every DVD that came out, played both Creature from the Krusty Krab and the movie game, and practically every new episode that aired felt like a big event to me. Hell, if I actually hated it, I wouldn’t have found my way onto both this site and SpongeBuddy Mania. So yeah, for better and worse, SpongeBob SquarePants shaped my life and even though I grew out of watching it on a daily basis somewhere in the mid-2010s, I cannot deny the impact it’s had on my life over the years. There, now that I have my personal history out of the way, let’s talk about the first episode! All of you guys know the basis of the show anyways and considering this is the shortest episode I’ve covered so far, this write-up will be a breeze! Our episode starts off with our titular sponge getting ready for today, as it’s the day SpongeBob decides to apply for a job at the Krusty Krab! Only problem is SpongeBob doesn’t feel like he’s gonna get the job. One of his neighbors and best friend Patrick Star comes in and slaps some sense into him. Filled with confidence, SpongeBob marches into the Krusty Krab and applies for the job, much to his other neighbor Squidward’s chagrin. His first impression to him and Mr. Krabs fails as he starts flopping out of nervousness. They decide to trick SpongeBob into doing the impossible task of finding a hydro-dynamic spatula so he’s too distracted to come back to the Krusty Krab. The conflict of our story sets in when buses full of anchovies arrive. They start acting unruly towards Krabs and Squidward as SpongeBob’s too busy shopping for a spatula. As they start fearing for their lives, SpongeBob comes back with an actual hydro-dynamic spatula (with port and starboard attachments and turbo drive too!) and serves all the anchovies Krabby Patties in under a minute to Tiny Tim music. And finally, Mr. Krabs hires SpongeBob as his fry cook. So there you have my regurgitation of an episode you’ve watched 100 times by now and yeah, no surprise, it still ages well! There are other episodes of this show that are much funnier and better but that’s not to say this one didn’t have any highlights either. From Patrick’s motivational speech to Squidward “vouching” for SpongeBob to the very end with SpongeBob serving Patrick a bunch of Krabby Patties, this episode is really packed with memorable moments even with its limited run-time. Calling it the best Nicktoon would be too bit of an exaggeration and also obvious but for the absolute impact this show had on my life, I’d be crazy not to put it somewhere in my Top 10. VERDICT: 9/10 (A timeless classic, what can I say? Also, please let this show die, Nick.) RANKINGS: Well, we're officially 15 shows down! Time to see which Nicktoon the wheel gives me next!

Last time on this thread, I talked about a Nicktoon that I thought was the worst one ever on this list. Which makes this next show an improvement? I guess? #3. “Stimpy’s Big Day” – The Ren and Stimpy Show [August 11, 1991] Well, it’s the day before the holiday where you puke your guts out after eating too much food so how about we celebrate by talking about a Nicktoon that’s guaranteed to make you puke your guts out too? We discussed one of the first original three a while back with Rugrats and this time we’ll be talking about the most infamous out of all of them. Most of its infamy coming from how awful of a person its creator was, but also because it was really that strange of a show! Yeah, compared to your average Nicktoon, Ren and Stimpy feels like that weird middle ground between 2 Stupid Dogs and Fritz the Cat in which you’re watching a typical cartoon about dysfunctional pets, but it also feels like something your parents wouldn’t want you watching. We’ll be talking about where this canine/feline duo got their start from and see if it still makes me happy and joyous as it did before. Our episode begins with Stimpy watching The Muddy Mudskipper Show and a sponsor for Gritty Kitty Kitty Litter. The commercial mentions a contest where you write to them about how much you love their product and the winner gets to go to Hollywood and appear on The Muddy Mudskipper Show. Stimpy, naturally, gets excited about this and writes a letter to them. Ren says Stimpy is wasting his time trying to deliver that letter as he thinks contests are scams but to his dismay, Stimpy still delivers his letter. The next morning, two men come to their house telling Ren that Stimpy has won $47 million and he gets to go to Hollywood and appear on The Muddy Mudskipper Show. Ren gets angry and jealous because he wanted that money but then starts to cry because he’ll miss Stimpy. The rest of the main plot is Stimpy getting ready for the show and it ends there because this is the first part of a two-part episode. And pretty much everything after is a segment where Stimpy gives out breakfast tips. The end. So final impression: This was okay. Of all the three first Nicktoons, this one would be my least favorite out of all of them, but at the same time, I can’t deny it had its fair share of funny episodes too! I just wish this was one of those episodes. Not much of substance happens here and it’s really more of a setup for the next episode. I will say, I dig some of the weird interstitial segments like Stimpy’s breakfast tips or the Log commercial at the beginning, though it’s mostly because it reminds me of how Sheep in the Big City would advertise their weird products in between its episodes. Its humor is definitely not for everyone and I still prefer Rocko when it comes to Nicktoons with subtle adult references, but I would argue that it could always be worse! VERDICT: 7/10 (No sir, I don’t hate it. That doesn't mean I exactly love it either.) RANKINGS: Well, that was a decent talk, but let's see if we can talk about an even better show! Without further to-do...

… … … I guess I’m reviewing Breadwinners now. #41. “Thug Loaf” – Breadwinners [February 17, 2014] Apologies for the lack of typical introduction but when it came to all the Nicktoons on my list, this was the one I was least looking forward to checking out on here. And I wasn’t sure how to approach this one since, well, practically everyone’s laid into this show a lot better than I have. Should I just pull a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and just describe the cartoon as terrible and be dead fucking serious while doing so? But then I thought, “nah”. I mean, it is a cartoon I haven’t watched in ages so it is possible I’ve been too harsh on it. I wouldn’t want to be one of those internet people who still calls a bad cartoon from the 2010s the bane of my existence and use it to compare to other short-lived shows on the network, even though I’m almost 27 and I should probably move on from it. You know, those kinds of people. Anyways, Breadwinners, like Making Fiends and Mr. Meaty, originated as an internet short about two ducks who deliver bread over town. Some Nick executives saw it and were like “Yeah, let’s make 77 more episodes of this” and thus the Breadwinners were born. But is it really as bad as I thought it was at 15? Or should I still leave it for the birds? Let’s find out. The episode begins with our protagonists……..oy……SwaySway and Buhdeuce delivering bread all over the town. Things are great up until they run out of houses to deliver and they only have 12 loaves of bread left! Suddenly they get an order for 12 loaves of bread, but it’s located on the most dangerous side of Ducktown, the Lower Yeast Side (geddit?). As their motto states, they’ll have to deliver it despite whatever they’ll face. In their case, it’s hoodlum ducks. So they try and make it to the house without making any eye contact with the other ducks there. They meet the duck, give them bread, and do a victory dance. The end. …..I wish. The two find themselves trapped outside of their van because SwaySway left the keys in the rocket van. To make shit worse for them, a group of biker ducks arrive. They try and befriend the ducks by disguising themselves as bikers and tell them there’s bread inside their van…..even though there aren’t any. Realizing they’ve been had, the leader tries to attack SwaySway but Buhdeuce lands on him (the leader) and gets him eaten by a monster, making Buhdeuce the new leader of the Biker Ducks! Buhdeuce doesn’t want to be a leader but SwaySway tells him to never give up again, for 30 seconds. This show, man. Anyways, they trick all the ducks again by taking a group picture of them and drive out of town. The ducks then prepare for their next adventure. The end. …..again, I wish. The Biker Ducks, as well as that monster from the alley, appear in the back of their van and are about to attack them but Buhdeuce does a booty kick (I may need a shower after typing all this btw) and releases them all into the pond. We finally close off with yet another victory dance and an annoying musical number about how Buhdeuce saved the day using his butt. That was a sentence I said. Okay, now it’s the end. My initial opinion on this show was that it was an obnoxious cringe-fest that tried to be hip towards kids and failed absolutely. But after 11 years and after re-watching the first episode, I can safely say that Breadwinners…………was just as bad as I thought it was. The main characters are too obnoxious, the slang they use feels like they came 7 years too late, and the humor is painfully unfunny. Even the jokes I mildly chuckled at, I could not remember. This truly is the lowest common denominator when it comes to Nicktoons. We’ll see if other shows like Bunsen is a Beast are bad enough to dethrone it but so far, this is my least favorite Nicktoon on here. VERDICT: 2/10 (Indeed, they can’t all be winners) RANKINGS: Alright, that entry completely drained me. But given that we finally got through the show I was gonna call the worst, I can safely say the next show will be a palate cleanser. And that next show is....