Back in the Day: Nickelodeon Shows

Did you know that Teen Nick is showing classic Nickelodeon shows from 12:00 - 4:00 AM every weeknight in a new programming block called "The 90s Are All That"? Well they are, and if you are a child of the nineties who had cable, you should check it out. Or DVR it since it IS on in the middle of the night! Luckily (or unluckily depending on the way I look at it) I seem to be suffering from a little case of insomnia lately, so I've been able to watch some of these shows while I'm trying to will myself to fall asleep. So far, they've shown episodes of All That, Kenan and Kel, Clarissa Explains it All, and Doug. However, I believe other shows may be in the mix later on as well.

I thought in honor of this wonderful new programming block, I would do another Back in the Day post, all about my favorite Nickelodeon shows. (You can read my last one HERE about Dawson's Creek).

So in no particular order, my favorite Nickelodeon television shows from the 90s are:

Doug

Tell me you're not singing the theme song in your head right now! This was not only one of my favorite Nickelodeon shows, it was also probably my very favorite cartoon as a kid. It was so cute and hilarious! It had the best characters with the BEST names: Doug Funnie, Porkchop, Patti Mayonnaise, Skeeter Valentine, Roger Klotz...It was the best. And I'm so glad it's one of the shows on Teen Nick now! We won't talk about when Disney took over Doug and ruined everything :-P

Clarissa Explains it All
Remember Melissa Joan Hart before she was a teenage witch? I will always remember her as Clarissa instead of Sabrina! To me, Clarissa was the coolest girl in the world. I so wanted to dress just like her (to my mom's horror, I'm sure). she was so cool! And just like Dawson's Creek, her best friend liked to enter her house through a ladder leading up to her bedroom window. What is it with shows like that, and why are they always so good?? Again, I'm glad this show is part of the new programming block.

Hey Dude
I don't remember much about this show as it originally aired from 1989 - 1991. I was barely more than a baby! (In 1991 I was 7, so that's probably when I watched it). But I remember that I LOVED this show! It was about a ranch where a bunch of teenagers worked. And it had an awesome theme song:

Haha! Please check out the fabulous 90s hairstyles. Melody was always my favorite...I was jealous of her pretty, straight, blond hair, even at age 7. Her character was played by Christine Taylor...you know, the actress who is now married to Ben Stiller.

Salute Your Shorts

My mom HATED this show because of the crude humor. I can still remember her rolling her eyes during the theme song. But my sister and I loved it! It was about a bunch of camp counselors at Camp Anawanna (wait...or were they just campers?? I can't remember). It was basically Hey Dude in a different setting with different actors. And more crude humor. I bet if I watched this show today I would think it's ridiculous. Nonetheless, I hope it gets added to the block of 90s programming so I can have a good laugh like my 10-year-old self.

Are you Afraid of the Dark?
Okay, now this show, Julie and I were legitimately not allowed to watch. But sometimes? When my mom wasn't home? We did anyway. I know! We were so bad! Such rebels. Sorry, Mom. But watching it always had a built-in punishment of it's own, because Julie and I would be scared to sleep for a week after watching an episode. I don't know why we wanted to watch it when it scared us so badly! But we did. Funny story: there's an episode of the show called "The Tale of the Whispering Walls." I don't remember much about the episode except that it's about some kids and their baby-sitter who get lost and go into a creepy haunted house to use the phone. There is a scary man there who wears a big ring. At one point in the show, you see the woman who you think is the baby-sitter, and then all of a sudden the camera zooms in on her hand, and you see that she's actually wearing the ring. So it's actually the scary man! My sister was so scared by that that for weeks afterward, she would ask me constantly to see my hands! Ha! She just wanted to make sure I wasn't being possessed by the scary man, and wearing his ring.

GUTS
My dad and I were just talking about this show the other day. It was basically just a show where contestants would compete through crazy physical challenges. My sister and I would always root for the girls, and my dad would root for the boys just to give us a hard time.

I'm sure there are many more shows I loved on Nickelodeon. It was pretty much the only channel I watched when I was little. And I'm so glad that Teen Nick is bringing some of the old shows back! Even though I'm 26 years old...