Come one, come all! Do you dare to read the first ever Friday Night Countdown! Yes, the title is a play on WWE’s “Friday Night Smackdown”. And I think it’s fun and clever, so BACK OFF! Sorry…
Every Friday, notjustshootyhoops will release a new countdown list featuring a variety of topics. Some ground rules: there’s not a specific number of entrants on the list; it can literally be anything. For example, if the countdown was on top Presidents on Mount Rushmore, obviously that list would only have four. If the countdown was a super-sized jumbo package year end special ranking every Office episode, that would have have 201 things. And I welcome everyone to react with their thoughts and opinions. Hell, re-do my list if you think it stinks. I love a good give-and-take! So, with the boring stuff out of the way, here’s this week’s Friday Night Countdown:
Greatest Nicktoons from the 1990’s (Top 12)
Disclaimer: Not included on this list was “Oh Yeah! Cartoons” because I’ve never seen or heard of it. It ran from 1998-2002 which is right after my Nickelodeon days were over…
#12 – The Wild Thornberrys (July 18, 1998 – June 11, 2004)
Right out of the gate, I’m sensing I may receive some heat from the younger folk. Much like that other “Oh Yeah” show, The Wild Thornberrys just simply came along past my Nickelodeon fandom. Oh, and it kind of stunk too. Eliza Thornberry can communicate with animals? Alongside her family of documentarian film makers creating content amongst wildlife? Perhaps it’s just so drastically different from the life that I grew up in where myself and my parents did outdoorsy, adventurous things exactly zero times together. We sure as hell weren’t communicating with wildlife. Maybe I just don’t relate to this. I will concede that the virtuous Lacey Chabert voicing Eliza is quite fetch, though!
#11 – Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (October 29, 1994 – November 16, 1997)
Why do I feel like this list in particular is going to garner a lot of negative feedback? I just never really watched this one as a kid. Maybe I couldn’t get past the lead characters names being Ickis, Oblina, Krumm, and The Gromble. I will give credit where it’s due: the title of the show definitely helps it stand out. And the main four characters listed above have unique looks that I’ll never forget. But if the show was any higher on the list, I’d find myself yelling, “Aaahh!!!” (Real Monsters).
#10 – KaBlam! (October 11, 1996 – January 22, 2000)
KaBlam! was the variety show of Nicktoons. My memories of KaBlam! mostly center around the “Action League Now!” skits, probably because I was a big action figure fan as a kid. The Flesh, Thundergirl, and Stinky Diver I still remember to this day. Who could forget Stinky Diver? He was a “former Navy commando with an attitude as bad as his odor”. KaBlam! also featured the hilariously-named duos Sniz & Fondue and Prometheus & Bob.
#9 – CatDog (April 4, 1998 – June 15, 2005)
Wow, I did not realize that CatDog lasted for seven years! Bonus points for CatDog’s theme song: “Cat Dog…Catttt dogggg!” Admittedly, the idea of conjoined twins, one a cat and one a dog, is pretty cool and led to some fun hijinks. This reminded me a bit of “Ren and Stimpy” (coming later) in how drastically the two main characters’ personalities were, especially considering they were literally attached at the buttocks. Decent cartoon, worthy of its 9th place finish on the Friday Night Countdown. Bernie Focker would be damn proud.
#8 – Rocket Power (August 16, 1999 – July 30, 2004)
Sneaking in at the tail end of my Nickelodeon fandom (and the 90’s to make the requirements for this list) is the SoCal-based Rocket Power. X-Games were all the rage in the late 90’s, thanks to Tony Hawk and, more accurately for kids my age, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” video game. The concept of four kids hanging out at their dad Raymundo’s Shore Shack surf shop and burger joint on the beaches of fictional Ocean Shores in California was a lot of fun. Siblings Otto and Reggie Rocket (damn, those would’ve made for great pro wrestling names) led the way alongside Squid and Maurice—err, Twister! He hated his real name. Cool California backdrop that was drastically different and more modern than other Nicktoons from the time.
#7 – Angry Beavers (April 19, 1997 – May 26, 2001)
Angry Beavers will hold a special place in my heart because if memory serves, I was on vacation in Orlando, Florida when the show debuted in prime time on SNICK and became a guilty pleasure of mine. Daggett and Norbert were the sophomoric beavers and the show was a lot of fun. I specifically remember enjoying an episode about a big football game (Beaver Football) where Daggett loses bets on the Visitors and then joins the Beaver team himself and installing Norbert as the referee to ensure victory. Also, the creators of Angry Beavers took it to Nickelodeon for censoring behind-the-scenes, writing in subtle defiant lines and storylines to combat Nick’s tune (ohhhh pun intended), which is pretty bad ass.
#6 – Spongebob Squarepants (May 1, 1999 – Present)
Okay, okay, I know! Spongebob has such a cult following and they’re likely to be chasing me down the road with tiki torches to find out that I ranked the show merely sixth. If I’m being honest, it would’ve been even lower for me but I placed it here to soften the blow of everyone hating me. I have a very, very limited experience watching Spongebob and the few times that I did give it a shot, I wasn’t into it.
Several times in my life, I’ve felt like Michael Scott on the outside of an “inside joke”, not understanding a reference to the show. I do find the meme of one of the characters looking out of a window in an attic (?) at Spongebob and Squidward, wishing he could be outside with them. Josh Hart from the Knicks used it to troll Mikal Bridges that he wasn’t on the Knicks with fellow Villanova alumns, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. Which, actually, I guess DiVo and Bridges have switched places and the meme still works.
#5 – Ren & Stimpy (August 11, 1991 – October 20, 1996)
The wild, zany exploits of Ren Hoek and Stimpson J. Cat are featured on the original Nicktoon, “Ren and Stimpy”. This is one I’d like to go back as an adult and check out because my gut says I might appreciate it more than I did as a kid. Powdered Toast Man was always a favorite during his recurring appearances. A buddy of mine recently sent an Instagram video of Powdered Toast Man helped Ren and Stimpy out with powder on their toast before releasing a gigantic fart and flying out the window. It was pretty hilarious and brought me back to my childhood.
And speaking of farts, I had one of those bright orange Nickelodeon VHS tapes (you’ve seen what I’m talking about) which had an episode of Ren & Stimpy where Stimpy goes searching for one of his farts. Ren & Stimpy also inspired several video game releases for Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and Super Nintendo, which further broadened its reach and solidified its popularity. Raunchy and outrageous cartoon, especially for Nickelodeon’s standards at the time, helping it stand out from the rest.
#4 – Rocko’s Modern Life (September 18, 1993 – November 24, 1996)
For my money, Rocko’s Modern Life had the most memorable intro for any Nicktoon. Seriously, go back on YouTube and check it out. I remembered it shot-for-shot. Much like Ren & Stimpy, I’d like to go back and watch some of this one as an adult. There was definitely some racier, adult humor that I likely didn’t pick up on as an innocent child. Rock, Heffer, Filburt, and Spunky were all iconic Nicktoon characters. Rocko’s asshole neighbor, Ed Bighead, has a unique voice that I do impressions of with my daughter to this day. The use of “O” in Rocko was fun, too. The show took place in O-Town, there was the Conglom-O Corporation, and the Lot ‘O Comics store. Rocko’s Modern Life was a fun show with many moments that fans still enjoy today.
#3 – Hey Arnold (October 7, 1996 – June 8, 2004)
Hey Arnold was a great little cartoon about kids growing up in New York City. Who didn’t want Arnold’s bedroom with that window ceiling as a kid? I enjoyed Hey Arnold because I was probably the perfect age when it came out. The kids in the show were similar in age to myself and my friends and the things we cared about. So many iconic episodes stand out. There was the Stoop Kid who was afraid to leave his stoop and inspired a famous chant as such.
I loved the baseball episodes where the kids clean up a vacant lot to play, Arnold has a lethal swing that causes him to knock out opposing players, and Arnold and Gerald going to Mickey Kaline’s last home game. Plus, the “will she, won’t she” with Helga Patacki’s internal love for the football-headed Arnold was always a fun subplot. Fun, fun cartoon that still holds up twenty years later.
#2 – Doug (August 11, 1991 – January 2, 1994)
Ah, navigating life through the eyes of typical 12-year old Douglas Yancy Funnie. AKA Quail Man, Race Canyon, Durango Doug, and the boy with the golden toe. Doug was a kid with a vivid imagination and plethora of friends at school, notably best bud Skeeter Valentine and main squeeze, Pattie Mayonaise. Smash hits by popular rock band The Beets echoed the booths at the Honker Burger and the halls of Bluffington School like “Killer Tofu” and “I Need Mo Allowance”. The imaginative stories and character names were fantastic. Roger Klotz, Lamar Bone, Mr. Shellacky, Mr. Dink, Chalky Studebaker, Principal Buttsavich. Doug will always be a guilty pleasure of mine.
#1 – Rugrats (August 11, 1991 – August 1, 2004)
The cock of the walk, a Nicktoon original, Rugrats. If you were born in the mid-80’s through early 90’s, there’s no way you didn’t find yourself following Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil in all the latest hijinks they found themselves in on a weekly basis. Their naivety was infectious and hysterical all the same. Everyone had an Angelica Pickles in their life too. The bratty, thinks they’re smarter than you but they’re really just as innocently unsure of the world.
I remember Nickelodeon having an all-day countdown marathon of Rugrats back in like 1995. I’m talking a 24 hour deal counting down the best episodes and I used up about five or six blank VHS tapes (my era kids know what I’m talking about) taping the entire days’ worth of those damn Rugrats. They’ve probably since been taped over several times over with various WWE pay-per-view events from like 1998-2005, but nonetheless. Does anyone else remember this? Of all the Nicktoons, Rugrats has to be #1 for this blogger.
Next week’s Friday Night Countdown Topic: Michael Scott’s Greatest Characters