Mathew Klickstein

What a lovely walk down memory lane! Along with The Orange Years, this is a fun look back at the nascent Nickelodeon network and the shows that originally put it on the map. As with most 80s television, it was a lot of lightening in a bottle: fun, kooky, quirky, and downright weird stuff that would never make it on TV today.

I grew up cherishing shows like You Can't Do That On Television, Clarissa Explains It All, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Doug, and the summer programming block hosted by Stick Stickley (and can still sing his entire jingle, LOL!). I was fascinated by Pete & Pete and would love its weirdness even more as an adult. This book brought back memories of Welcome Freshmen, Fifteen, and Snick shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark? andRoundhouse - can we pleeeeease bring that to DVD?? I can still sing that entire theme song, too, LOL.

Oral histories are always a little hit or miss, and there were definitely enough sweet moments to round out the bitter ones. It's always fun reveling in nostalgia and learning that the cast members really were (usually) having just as much fun as it appeared. Nickelodeon became unrecognizable at the turn of the century, but we also have to keep in mind that we, the original consumers, have outgrown their network. I think its a mistake to reboot the shows (and haven't watched any of the ones that have been), but I'm really glad I have my DVDs and even some hand-recorded VHS tapes to revisit my childhood whenever I want.

A must-read for any Nickelodeon fan, or at least those who also believe John Kricfalusi is an entitled, irritating, egotistical dickhead.… (meer)