We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the countdown! Let’s kick it off!
#40: Dora the Explorer
Aired: August 14, 2000-present
Not since
Blue’s Clues had the Nick Jr. block seen such a smash hit. First conceived by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner (no relation to Marc),
Dora the Explorer followed the adventures of a young Latina girl and her pet monkey Boots as they journey on various treks. The show soon became a smash hit, becoming the highest-rated program on Nick Jr. a mere two months after its debut. The show came into some controversy in 2009 when a “tween” version of Dora was introduced, but the show continues to finish in the top 10 ratings-wise week after week. It may also be argued that
Dora is among the best-selling series in Nick history, with possibly only
SpongeBob surpassing it in merchandise sales nowadays, which is why the show received a perfect 100 in popularity from me.
Scores: Perfect popularity; Very high longevity; High impact; Above average originality; Low nostalgia
Total: 400 points
#39: What Would You Do?
Aired: August 31, 1991-June 27, 1999
One of Nick’s longest-aired game shows,
What Would You Do? premiered in the summer of 1991, when game shows were in full swing on the network. Hosted by Marc Summers, the show featured kids (and sometimes adults) competing in strange stunts, such as handling disgusting animals or eating strange combinations of foods. The winner got no money for completing the challenge, but he/she usually did get to smash a whipped cream pie into the loser’s face, occasionally with numerous infamous contraptions, such as the infamous “Pie Slide”. The show ran for two seasons, though reruns continued to air on Nick through 1999, and it also ran on Nick GaS.
Scores: Very high impact; High popularity and longevity; Above average nostalgia; Moderate originality
Total: 402 points
#38: Dusty’s Treehouse
Aired: Mid 1980-June 29, 1984
After the Pinwheel network changed its name to “Nickelodeon” in 1979, one of the first shows it picked up was this program. Originally produced at the local CBS flagship in Los Angeles,
Dusty’s Treehouse starred veteran voice actor and show creator Stu Rosen, who starred as the titular character. The show was quite similar to
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in its delivery, usually involving Dusty interacting with the puppet characters that lived in his treehouse with him, including Maxine the crow, Scooter the squirrel, and Stanley the spider. The show also featured “field trips” to various places, including factories and zoos.
Dusty’s Treehouse ran on Nickelodeon for four seasons, and is credited by many for introducing small children to Nickelodeon.
Scores: High popularity and impact; Above average longevity and nostalgia; Moderate originality
Total: 404 points
#37: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Aired: February 21, 2005-July 19, 2008
Considered one of the most popular Nicktoons of all time, this anime-inspired cartoon debuted in early 2005 and instantly became a massive hit. The show, which took place in a mystical nation much like ancient China, revolved around a young boy named Aang and his friends, who were destined to save the world from an evil Lord. Along the way, they met many unique characters and utilize their abilities to manipulate the classical elements of earth, fire, air and water in a process called “bending”. The show consistently scored very high in the ratings, even outside its children’s demographic.
Avatar officially ended in 2008, but a live action film was made in 2011 based off the series, and a sequel called
The Legend of Korra is set to premier in 2012.
Scores: Very high popularity and impact; High originality; Above average longevity; Moderate nostalgia
Total: 405 points
#36: Invader Zim
Aired: March 30, 2001-December 10, 2002
In 2000, veteran comic book animator Jhonen Vasquez created a highly unusual cartoon series that appealed to teenagers with its dark humor. One year later, the show was picked up by Nickelodeon, and
Invader Zim was born. The plot revolved around alien Zim and his irreverent robot GIR, hell-bent on taking over the Earth but thwarted by their own incompetence at every turn. The show was highly praised, and the pilot episode alone won two awards and nominations. Before the second season aired, however, the show’s ratings began to suffer, so Nickelodeon cancelled the series. However,
Invader Zim built up a massive cult following after its cancellation. Between June and August of 2006, the 17 episodes that were in production when the show was cancelled were aired on NickToons. The show is rumored to be returning before the year is out.
Scores: Very high nostalgia; High originality; Moderate popularity and impact; Low longevity
Total: 406 points
#35: Livewire
Aired: Early 1980-April 26, 1986
One of the first true kid’s “talk shows”,
Livewire debuted on Nickelodeon not long after it changed its name from the Pinwheel Network. Hosted by comedian Fred Newman (who would later go on to voice Skeeter Valentine on
Doug), the show dealt with current-event topics of the day.
Livewire also featured guest musicians on most shows, and is famous for giving relatively unknown bands like Twisted Sister and R.E.M. their first television appearances.
Livewire was the #1 rated show on Nick in 1982, and throughout its five-year run, never went below #7 in the ratings. The show ended production in 1985, but reruns were shown on Nick for about a year until it was finally pulled altogether.
Scores: Very high popularity and longevity; High impact; Above average originality; Moderate nostalgia
Total: 407 points
#34: Welcome Freshmen
Aired: February 1, 1991-October 28, 1996
Called
School Students when it aired in Canada,
Welcome Freshmen was a very popular sketch comedy series that debuted on Nick in early 1991. The show played on earlier shows such as
Fifteen and
Saved by the Bell in that it focused on a group of high school students and their bumbling school vice principal. However, there was one difference:
Welcome Freshmen was a comedy sketch program, featuring several humorous skits involving the children and principal. In season 3, however, the show moved away from the sketch comedy format, and became a standard sitcom. This is generally considered to be the reason the show’s ratings began slipping, and it was cancelled soon afterward because of that.
Scores: Very high originality; High longevity; Above average popularity; Moderate nostalgia and impact
Total: 408 points
#33: The Wild Thornberrys
Aired: September 1, 1998-March 11, 2004
Another product of Klasky/Csupo, this Nicktoon debuted, oddly, on the NickelOZone block. The series followed the exploits of Eliza Thornberry (voiced by Lacey Chabert), the daughter of a wildlife show host, as she and her family travel around the world to film animals. Eliza is given the power to speak to animals by an African shaman (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), and most episodes revolve around Eliza and her pet chimp Darwin as they struggle to help animals with their problems.
The Wild Thornberrys was the first Nicktoon to use one half-hour long story in each episode (every other Nicktoon before it had usually used two fifteen-minute episodes per show). Two feature-length films were made of the series—one as a crossover with
Rugrats—before the show’s cancellation in 2004.
Scores: High popularity and longevity; Above average nostalgia; Moderate originality and impact
Total: 410 points
#32: The Adventures of Pete & Pete
Aired: November 28, 1993-December 28, 1996
This surrealistic live-action show was created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, who would also go on to write for
Kablam! and the
Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Set in the town of Wellsville, New York, the show revolved around two brothers, both named Pete (played by Mike Marrona and Danny Tamberelli), and their families as they dealt with the bizarre happenings in their hometown. Other notable characters included Little Pete’s friend Nona (played by Michelle Trachtenberg) and her father (played by rock legend Iggy Pop).
Pete & Pete was cancelled in 1996, but reruns were aired until 1999 on Nick, and Tamberelli went on to appear on
All That and
Figure It Out, and has since formed his own rock band, Jounce.
Scores: Very high popularity; High longevity; Above average nostalgia and impact; Moderate originality
Total: 412 points
#31: CatDog
Aired: April 4, 1998-September 22, 2004
If you had told anyone prior to 1998 that a cartoon about a cat and a dog joined together at the butt would become a runaway hit, they would have thought you were outside your mind. But that’s just what happened when
CatDog debuted that very year. Created by Peter Hannan,
CatDog followed the adventures of the titular characters, brothers Cat (Jim Cummings) and Dog (Tom Kenny), as they struggled to fit in amongst society. The show was constantly ridiculed by critics for its nonsensical nature and improbability, but against all odds, it maintained its moderate-yet-loyal fanbase.
CatDog was cancelled in 2004, but reruns continue to be seen on NickToons, and the entire series has been released on DVD.
Scores: Very high originality; High longevity; Above average popularity and nostalgia; Low impact
Total: 414 points
Topic: The Top 80 Greatest Nickelodeon Shows of All Time (Read 8466 times)
