Saturday, December 29, 2012

Nick Jukebox Episode 1: Pinwheel, Rugrats, and SpongeBob, oh my!!!!

In the first episode of Nick Jukebox, we take a look at songs from classic Nickelodeon shows from the 80's, 90's, and 00's. Expect songs from Pinwheel, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, and more.

All the songs are owned by Nickelodeon, Viacom, and their respected owners.



Friday, December 28, 2012

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 5: Old School Lane's 1st Year Anniversary

In this episode, Patricia and Kevin celebrate their 1st year anniversary of their blog. They answer questions from their friends at Manic Expression and Kevin asks the age ol' question: Is Patricia the next Frank Welker? Answer: not really! :P


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: A Rugrats Kwanzaa

Happy Kwanzaa, everyone! Time to celebrate this holiday of remembering the legacy of the African American people with Nickelodeon’s: A Rugrats Kwanzaa. Debuting in 2001, it still stands as the only Kwanzaa special that Nickelodeon ever aired. So is this special as memorable and classic as the Rugrats Christmas and Hanukkah specials or is this holiday too obscure for the babies to understand? This is A Rugrats Kwanzaa.

 

We start this special on a rainy night at the Carmichael’s house where Susie wants someone to play with. However her older sister Alisa is on the phone and her older brothers Edwin and Buster are busy doing different activities. Suddenly their Great Aunt T to come visit them for the holidays. The kids are a little concerned since they don’t know who she is, especially Susie. She then begins to tell them about Kwanzaa, but the kids don’t know about it. So she decides that the kids deserve to know about the holiday since it’s a celebration of the legacy of their ancestors. 



Afterwards, Great Aunt T gives them Kwanzaa gifts: Alisa gets an African hat, Buster gets an African beaded necklace, Edwin gets an African tribal mask, and Susie gets an old photo album. Susie doesn’t feel special compared to the rest of her family. Tommy and the rest of the babies visit Susie and she begins to explain about Kwanzaa to them and tells the babies about her problem. Tommy tells her that Susie is special no matter what, but Susie isn’t convinced. She tries everything that her brothers and sister does, but it doesn’t work. She tries creating a vase out of clay for Great Aunt T, but it fell and looks like a blobby cup. 



She runs to her parents room and starts crying. Great Aunt T sees her and cheers her up saying that she’s still too young to try to pursue things like science and soccer and that she’s special in her own way. Then the power goes out and Great Aunt T decides to borrow Susie’s album and tell stories. 



One story involves with her and her husband Charles driving fast to reach Washington D.C. to hear Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech. Charles sees a man struggling to get his car fixed and he stops to help him. That man turned out to be Dr. King himself. The next story involves with Lucy, Susie's mom, as a little girl being nervous singing in the choir. The final story involves with Lucy as a young adult crying that she doesn't have enough money to go to medical school. Great Aunt T gives her a check with enough money for her schooling. The special concludes with the lights turning back on and feasting on peanut butter sandwiches and Susie making the Kwanzaa speech. 

Overall, this special was a tad bit forgettable and the weakest in the holiday specials that Rugrats has aired. It didn't have the same charm that the Rugrats Christmas and Hanukkah specials had. At least with the Hanukkah and Passover specials, they explained the origins of the holidays well enough for a kid to understand. This special didn't explained Kwanzaa well enough or long enough for a kid to grasp. That's a shame too because the Carmichael family aren't shown enough in Rugrats and it would have been nice if they had reenacted the Kwanzaa origin Rugrats style. I could have easily seen Edwin portraying as Maulana Karenga. I don't recommend checking it out. 

If you want to see a good animated Kwanzaa special, check out The Proud Family Kwanzaa special. It's funny and explains the meaning of Kwanzaa much better. 

 

That's all for now. Tune in next time as we look into a forgotten Christmas special called Christmas in Tattertown.



Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Happy Kwanzaa!

-Patricia

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Old School Lane's Top 12 Nickelodeon Christmas Specials

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that you had a fantastic holiday! I sure did! Every year, we would tune in and watch all the classic Christmas specials: Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, etc. But as kids, we would tune in to see what Christmas specials that our favorite shows would premiere. Some of them are really good and we watch them just as much as the other classic specials. Nickelodeon has a ton of Christmas specials and I'm going to tell you my top 12 favorite specials. Here we go!

12. Son of Stimpy from The Ren & Stimpy Show


Yeah, this is surprisingly a Christmas special and it's one of the most memorable episodes that aired in the series. Stimpy let out a huge fart, which he believes that he had given birth to his son Stinky. He tries to find Stinky before the Christmas holidays. Yeah, that sounds as stupid and disgusting as you think it is, but come on. This is Ren and Stimpy. What did you expect? It's surprisingly heartwarming when Stinky tells Stimpy that he's an adult now and that he must move on with his life and Stimpy gives him his approval. It also has one of the most controversial scenes in any animated show ever: Stimpy being lured by Ren to come under the mistletoe. Nonetheless, if you're in the mood for a more unorthodox Christmas special, this is the one for you.

11. Merry Christmas Kenan from Kenan & Kel


In this episode of Kenan & Kel, it's almost Christmas and Kenan wants a brand new bike. He is told that he has to pay for it with his own money so Kenan decides to work as a mall Santa while Kel is his elf. At first, he's doesn't care about what the kids want. He just wants a bike. But then he sees a mother with very little money take their kids in to see Santa. She knows that the kids aren't going to get anything for Christmas, but she still lets them see Santa so that the Christmas joy could still be in their hearts. In the end, Kenan realizes what Christmas is all about and it has a very nice ending. It's predictable and cheesy, I know. But that's excusable for Christmas. Give it a watch.

10. All That/You Can't Do That on Television Christmas Special


Ah yes, both of these sketch comedy shows had Christmas specials and they're both really funny. All That's Christmas special has the usual classic skits, but having a Christmas theme. Same things going for the You Can't Do That on Television Christmas special. In that special, they have the Christmas skits as well, but Alastair is constantly walking around in a helmet with a mistletoe hanging down and two big puckered lips ready to work. These specials came out when both of the shows were in their prime and it was nice to see them have funny skits celebrating the best time of the year.

9. O Christmas Pete from The Adventures of Pete & Pete


Little Pete and his friends try to have Christmas every day, but unfortunately doesn't go very well when his neighbors, Pit Stain, and the garbage man try to prevent it. The garbage man is the most memorable in this episode; he's gathering all the Christmas trees around the neighborhood and shredding them indicating that Christmas is officially over. Little Pete and his friends work together to stop them from getting what they want: Christmas happening every day. Does this premise sound familiar? Well, if it sounds like the plot to Snow Day, it basically is. This episode was the inspiration for Snow Day after Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi closed the idea of having a Pete & Pete movie. While this special has the Pete & Pete charm in it, I can't help but look at this special and think of that awful movie. Which is why it's on #9.

8. Christmas Everyday from The Fairly Oddparents


It's Christmas and Timmy is so happy with him being with his parents, not going to school, getting lots of presents, the snow, and Vicky not being around. He loves it so much that he sings about wanting everyday to be Christmas. Cosmo and Wanda grant him that wish and at first, everything is going great. But then two weeks past and everyone is getting sick of it. Timmy tries to wish Christmas to be once a year, but Cosmo and Wanda transfered their powers to Santa so he could make toys for all the boys and girls. But then things get worse when the other holiday mascots try to get rid of Santa and have their holidays more well known. Timmy then learns that while Christmas is a great holiday, it can only be celebrated once a year and that's a nice lesson.

7. The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever from Invader Zim


One of the last episodes of the entire series is certainly one of the most surreal. 2 million years into the future, a robotic snowman tells the story of the worst Christmas ever. Zim is trying to get money, but sees that everyone is giving it to the Santas in the street. Zim tries to find out who he is and why everyone loves him. Then he kidnaps one of the Santas, drains his brain with all of his knowledge, and Zim decides to disguise himself as Santa. The world loves him and embraces him as ruler of the world and Zim decides to use the humans to build a teleporter between Earth and the Irkin ship. Dib realizes that Zim is Santa so he tries to stop him. This episode is so strange and funny at the same time. In the end, it shows Santa Claus being a giant monster trying to destroy the world.

6. Doug's Christmas Story from Doug


It's almost Christmas time in Bluffington and everyone is getting ready for it. While going iceskating with his friends, Doug sees Porkchop biting Beebe's leg. Porkchop was trying to prevent Beebe from going into the thin ice, but his actions made it look like he was attacking her. So Porkchop is arrested and put into a dog pound. Doug is depressed that his best friend is locked up so he tries to set him free. He goes into court and convinces the town that Porkchop is innocent. It gets really depressing throughout this episode, but it gets really happy in the end. 

5. Robot for All Seasons from My Life as a Teenage Robot


This Christmas special is surprisingly dark. Jenny helps out a poor little boy named Todd Sweeney. But Todd isn't who he portrays himself to be: he's a mean, evil, spoiled little boy who programs Jenny to become evil for an entire year destroying all the holidays. When Jenny finally wakes up, she sees her town and her friends afraid of her. Jenny tries to tell them that she's not evil, but they don't listen to her. It's the Christmas holidays and Todd tries to program Jenny to destroy it, but Jenny fights off to save the most sacred holiday of all. In the end, everything's nice again and they even have a Christmas song. It's actually very funny when Jenny tries to question the people on how they know this song when they never sung it. That's Christmas for you.

4. The Santa Experience from Rugrats


Rugrats has had two Christmas specials: "The Santa Experience" and "Babies in Toyland", but I prefer this one. It starts with Angelica going over to the mall and asking Santa what she wants for Christmas. But then she realizes that he's not the real Santa and calls him a fake. The employees from the mall bribe her by giving her every toy in the entire mall. But she still wants the present she really wants, a Deluxe Cynthia Beach House. Meanwhile Chuckie is afraid of Santa and doesn't want him to come. Tommy tries to cheer him up, but in the end, the entire baby group is afraid of him. Angelica then learns about that her mean actions might end up with her getting coal for Christmas so she tries hard to be nice so she can get her gift. This special is a classic and I watch it every year.

3. Christmas Who? from SpongeBob SquarePants


As of this year, there are two SpongeBob Christmas specials and both of them are very unique, but the original is on this list. Sandy is getting ready for Christmas, but everyone in Bikini Bottom has never heard of Christmas. So she tells SpongeBob about it and he tells everyone else. They all get excited, but Squidward thinks that it's impossible for Santa to come underwater to give presents. Everyone is disappointed when Santa doesn't show up and SpongeBob is very upset, so Squidward disguises himself as Santa. This is a very unique and creative idea during the time when the show was in its prime. It's the most played out special that Nickelodeon has ever done. 

2. An Even Steven Holiday Special from As Told by Ginger 


I've already talked about it in my Top 10 As Told by Ginger episodes, so I won't go into full detail. Ginger wants to celebrate Christmas in a more special way. Lois tells Ginger about her Jewish grandfather so she decides to combine Christmas and Hanukkah into one party. Meanwhile Hoodsey is making a list of what he wants for Christmas and Carl tells him that Santa doesn't exist. His reasoning behind it is because when he was a kid, he asked Santa for his father to come home but it didn't happen. This is a very nice special that has a lot of heart in it.

1. Arnold's Christmas from Hey Arnold


I know. Predictable, I know. But I couldn't help it. I tried my very best to not include it since I already included "Arnold's Thanksgiving" in my Top 5 Thanksgiving Specials, but I couldn't. This special has so much heart, love, and that good ol' Christmas spirit. Arnold finds out that Mr. Hyunh is his secret Santa and he wants to give him something special. Mr. Hyunh tells Arnold about the story about how he gave his daughter away to American soldiers during the Vietnam War and was trying to find her ever since. All he wants for Christmas is to see his daughter again. Arnold and Gerald talk to the city archivst Mr. Bailey, but he's too busy with Christmas shopping. Arnold tells him that he'll do the shopping in exchange for looking for Mr. Hyunh's daughter. Meanwhile Helga wants to have a pair of snow boots for Christmas. In the end, she does. Arnold and Gerald are looking for those same snow boots, but they're all sold out. Helga finds out about this and gives her snow boots to Mr. Bailey so Arnold can have a nice Christmas. Kevin and I have this episode in our Top 10Hey Arnold episodes and there's a reason why. It's so touching and sincere. The ending always gets me a little teary-eyed when I see it. 

Those are my top 12 Nickelodeon Christmas specials. What are your favorite Christmas specials from Nickelodeon? Post it in the comments below.

Tune in tomorrow as we celebrate Kwanzaa with A Rugrats Kwanzaa.


Also we'll take a look into a very forgotten Christmas special called Christmas in Tattertown created by...


This ought to be interesting. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Merry Christmas!

-Patricia 





Friday, December 21, 2012

Old School Lane celebrates its 1 year anniversary

1 year ago today, two skeptical best friends wanted to talk about their favorite old and new movies, video games, TV shows, and everything else in between. They didn’t know how far they would go or if they would even get recognized. Nonetheless, they decided to try it anyway and the little blog Old School Lane was born.  It started off as a tiny blog on tumblr posting simple things like “The Top 5 Video Games that made a Comeback” and our first interview from Kevin talking about an upcoming movie project called The Collector. But then one post gave Patricia the assurance and confidence that she and Kevin were going to do great things: around New Year’s Eve in 2011, Patricia posted “The 10 Pee-wee Herman Moments of 2011” and it was garnered by a small group of fans. Even Paul Reubens himself liked it so much that he posted it on his Twitter and Facebook page with a big thanks. 4 months later, one of the people who worked for Reubens posted a reply to Patricia saying that he thought it was very thoughtful and that he was smiling while reading it. That boosted her confidence long enough to know that she wanted to continue blogging.

While Kevin was having struggles with getting his movie made, Patricia signed on the TGWTG forums in late January to bring out her work for more people. While the members enjoyed their First Impressions and Kevin’s Top 100 Animated Shows of All Time, it was a book review of Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon that had gotten some recognition. One person in particular changed her life forever: Positive Troll. One month later, he invited her to this unknown website called Manic Expression and became the 50th member of the site. At that point, Positive Troll became simply known as Les. In this new site, Patricia and Kevin met wonderful people at the site such as James Walsh, Moviefan12, SOJA*88, BigBlackHatMan,  Jason on the House, Timdiana, Decker Shado, the guys at Comic Book Cast, The Fanfic Critic, jashykins, James Bevan, Whyboy, Brekclub85, and so much more. While posting on Manic Expression, they came up with an idea to make summer a very special time: dedicate a few months to Nickelodeon. Six months later, the Nickelodeon tribute started and it was bigger than they ever anticipated. Not only did they review the shows and movies, but they had gotten interviews from their childhood icons such as Marc Summers, Moira Quirk, Marc Weiner, Fred Seibert, Cheryl Blaylock, Noel MacNeal, D.J. McHale, and more. It brought in a sense of nostalgia and closure to the people who read it and it gave Patricia and Kevin a warmth that make them feel satisfied.

Their newest podcast Casual Chats has started off well with talks of Nickelodeon, Wreck-It-Ralph, the Sly Cooper series, and the Sandy Hook shooting. There will be many more to come such as TMNT, the Tony Hawk franchise, Weinerville, and their first year anniversary. Also look out for more upcoming projects such as a new podcast play, a new Manic Expression variety show, a new music podcast called Nick Jukebox, and much more. They want to thank you so much for all the love and support from the past year and we hope to grow and prosper for your enjoyment. Let us have many more years. Take care!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 4: The Sandy Hook Shooting

In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia and Kevin take a more serious tone and discuss about the recent event at the Sandy Hook Elementary School as well as some other tragic events like the Columbine shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, and the Aurora shooting.


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Old School Lane Receives a Gift

Hey guys. Christmas came in early for Kevin and myself. We had gotten a very special gift from Marc Weiner, the creator of the Nickelodeon variety show Weinerville. He loved our interview with him so much that he send us some of his merchandise from his website for free! That is awesome! We love you Marc. Happy Holidays!

-Patricia and Kevin



Photo: This is truly an awesome hat! Thank you Marc! I love it!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: A Rugrats Chanukah

Happy last night of Hanukkah, everyone! It's time for our final review right before we go into Christmas! Tonight we're going to review the most well known Hanukkah special of Nickelodeon. The special that many people consider to be the greatest Hanukkah special of all time is A Rugrats Chanukah.


A Rugrats Chanukah was debuted in Nickelodeon on December 4, 1996, almost 1 year after Weinerville's Hanukkah Special. Since Arlene Klasky was Jewish, it made sense for her to conduct an idea for a Rugrats Hanukkah special. The Nickelodeon executives wanted to have this special released in 1992, but eventually, it was changed into The Rugrats Passover Special in 1995. After the success of that special, Klasky decided to revisit the idea of a Hanukkah special once again with the script written by David Weiss and J. David Stem, the storyboard writers of Rugrats. So does this special give us that warm, fuzzy Hanukkah feeling 16 years later or has the oil burned out long ago? This is A Rugrats Chanukah.

We start with Minka reading the origins of Hanukkah to the babies. We see it in their perspectives with them acting out as the characters from the story. Tommy, playing Judah the Macabee, is seeing the new king of Greece forcing the Jewish babies to do what he wants them to do by reading Plato instead of the Torah, wearing togas instead of robes, and worshiping a god that looks like Cynthia. Then afterwards Tommy puts together an army and fight against the evil king and his soldiers.



As time goes on, we then cut back into reality where the real plot begins. Boris is performing a play at the Jewish synagogue, but he's jealous of his old rival Schlomo when he makes it in the front page of the newspaper. Boris always felt that Schlomo was trying to outdo him with the fact that he chose a successful pants business over having a family and is constantly bragging about it. Meanwhile Tommy is confused to what is going on in the household: they're eating pancakes (latkes) at night, he wears a funny hat (yarmarkle), there's a weird candle holder on top of the TV (the menorah), and he gets a present every night. Angelica explains about Chanukkah to them, but not in a good way. She tells them that that's when all the good TV specials are on. She's eager to watch a Cynthia Christmas special, but unfortunately they leave for the play at the synagogue. Stu is working on a menorah for the play and Boris talks about what was the true meaning of Hanukkah. The babies confuse it for the "meanie" of Hanukkah. Chuckie explains about the time he dealt with a mean kid in daycare which ended up with them taking a nap. Tommy comes up with the idea of stopping the "meanie" of Hanukkah by putting him to sleep. 

When they get to the play, there's many vendors consisting of latkes and dreidels. Angelica eats and spits out the latke which ends with a man dressed as a dreidel slipping and falling. She tries to find a TV, but with no luck. The man in the dreidel costume finds her and puts her in a nursery as punishment for wrecking his costume.


The babies start to go after Shlomo after he shows up on stage, but eventually end up in the same nursery that Angelica's in. Angelica tricks the babies into trying to get the TV from the janitor's closet in order for her to watch her Christmas special. Meanwhile Boris and Shlomo begin to fight each other and Boris confesses of being jealous of Shlomo due to his successful business. Shlomo confesses to Boris that the business was all he had since his now deceased wife couldn't have any children and wanted some to pass on the heritage to them. Boris feels guilty and gives Shlomo's part as the evil king to an understudy. Back at the janitor's closet, Angelica and the babies finally work together to get the portable TV, but Angelica runs away with it. She bumps into Shlomo and the TV falls down. Angelica begins to cry, the babies sees her with Shlomo so they walk towards him. Boris sees Shlomo surrounded by the babies and tells Shlomo to read Tommy's book of the origins of Hanukkah that was shown in the beginning of the special. So now, the story continues.


After Tommy defeats the Greek king and his soldiers, it left their city, temple, and menorah in ruins. They only had enough oil to light it up for one night. However, it lasted for eight nights. The story concludes with the celebration that happens every year in honor of the events that occured in the temple and the miracle that happened. Stu comes in the giant menorah, it crashes, and the curtains fall to reveal Boris, Shlomo, and the babies. Boris and Shlomo explain about passing on the legacy to the babies, say the prayer, and sing a traditional Hanukkah song. Tommy and Chuckie are glad that Boris and Shlomo are friends claiming it to be a "mirable". 

When this special first aired, it was praised by many critics and viewers alike. A Rugrats Chanukah continues to air every December to this very day and with good reasoning. Not only because it's one of the few Hanukkah specials, but it's still really good. It teaches the origins of Hanukkah easy enough for kids to understand, it has a good plot on its own, it's humorous, sad, and heartwarming. Truly a holiday classic. I highly recommend checking it out!


That's all for now. Next time, we go into Christmas with my top 12 Christmas specials. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia 





Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Old School Lane's Top 10 Worst Nickelodeon Male Role Models

Time to conclude this top 10. Here we go!

10. Barth from You Can't Do That on Television



For all you future cooks and chefs out there, please don't have this slob as your role model. He is the messiest, dirtiest, and nastiest cook in the most disgusting restaurant ever. I'm surprised that the kids who eat there every day don't get food poisoning from all the food he prepares.

9. Patrick Star



Out of all the characters in SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick is the most stupidest, laziest, and useless. All he does all day is lie around in a rock and do absolutely nothing. It's interesting thing to note that according to various websites regarding about favorite characters in the show, Patrick was ranked in #1! Wow, just wow!

8. Cosmo



Just like Patrick, Cosmo is a very popular character in The Fairly Oddparents. However, without Wanda by his side, he's completely worthless. He can't do anything by himself and every time he's alone, he messes everything up and tries to coward his way out of bad situations.

7. Oskar Kokoshka



If you thought that Patrick and Cosmo were worthless, Oskar from Hey Arnold is even worse! He is a complete worthless, lazy, and incompetent freeloader living off from his hard working, under-appreciated wife Susie. Before getting a job as a paperboy, he never worked in his entire life, for any amount of money Susie gives him, he spends it on gambling, he was the worst of his class, he can't read, and whenever he goes through a problem, he needs other people to help him. In one episode, Susie leaves Oskar. Instead of Oskar apologizing and asking for Susie back, he stays at Arnold's room and takes advantage of his hospitality. It was Arnold who suggested of them getting back together, which in the end they do. Oskar is a terrible example of being a responsible adult.

6. Ken Stevenson from The Journey of Allen Strange/Mr. Ernst from Hey Dude



What do these men have in common? Well, they're both divorcees with children and they're both clueless, bumbling morons. In Hey Dude, after Mr. Ernst gets divorced from his wife, he and his son Buddy move to a ranch. However, Mr. Ernst is completely unaware of all the bad scenarios going on between his son, the other ranchers, and the ranch itself. In The Journey of Allen Strange, Ken is always the last to know whenever his children and Allen go through a goofy scenario for Allen to settle in Earth. With Robbie having to go through all the pain of being the "mother" of the group, Ken should step forward and be more of a father figure in their lives. It just shocks me to no end that they got custody of the children when they are clearly not aware of anything that's going on in their lives. Truly irresponsible.

5. Drake Parker from Drake & Josh



Tell me if this sounds right: a lazy slacker who spends his time practicing guitar with his band, getting Ds in school, taking advantage of his step-brother, and goes out with every cute girl he sees for less than a day is the popular one in the show. Josh Nichols, the step-brother, the smart, responsible, articulate kid is the goofy kid who is teased for his intelligence, weight, liking Oprah and magic tricks, and being unathletic and unpopular. Am I missing something? Has the world gone topsy-turvy? Well, apparently so. Drake is very unlikable most of the time and yet, he's the cool, popular, good looking guy.

4. Skeeter from Cousin Skeeter



While Drake is most of the time unlikable, at least he has his good moments. Skeeter does not. He's mean, brash, impulsive, loudmouthed, pushy, manipulative, and never learns his lesson until the last minute. He's the one who causes all the trouble and mayhem and Bobby and Nina always have to solve it. In the next episode, Skeeter causes more trouble and the cycle continues.

3. Fred Figglehorn



Well, here's a great lesson for those who want to be popular on the internet: act like a complete moron, get a fake squeaky voice, and say some really bad jokes, and you'll end up with a billion hits on YouTube, 4 movies, merchandise, and a TV show. Yup, that's Fred in a nutshell and I can't stand him by the slightest. I will never know how he became a huge sensation and I really don't care.

2. Dan Schneider



I've already mentioned in my top 20-11 Nickelodeon shows that need to be remade that I HATE this guy! Every show he's created, it's based off a spinoff of another show with the same cast members over and over again. The new characters he creates for his shows are dumb, over-the-top, stupid, and annoying. The worst part about it is, he's still going strong. Next year, expect two spinoffs based on iCarly. Until then, he's currently the king of Nickelodeon teen sitcoms.

1. Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender



This guy is a complete asshole, no question. He is pushy, mean, threatening, powerful, and controlling. He caused an unbalanced life to the entire world, he caused his wife to be banished, he burned half of his son's face and banished him for an impossible mission, he raised his daughter to be cold and heartless, and he caused misery and despair to everyone around him.

Those are my top 10 worst Nickelodeon male role models. Which men from Nickelodeon you don't want anyone to copy off of or look up to? Post it in the comments below. Tune in next time as we cover the worst female role models.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia

Monday, December 10, 2012

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Top 20-11 Worst Nickelodeon Role Models

Hey guys. Another week, another top 20 list. We've covered my favorite male and female role models. Now it's time for the worst. Who are the people we see on Nickelodeon that make us embarrassed to see? Let's take a look, shall we?

20. Spencer Shay from iCarly



Here's the deal: in iCarly, Carly has no mother and her father is away at the U.S. Air Force. So who's her legal guardian? Her 26-year-old artistic brother Spencer. Besides the teacher, the secretary, bell hop, and school principal, he's the main adult character of the show and he's a complete immature moron. In fact, Carly, who is much younger than Spencer, is a lot more smarter, mature, and more successful than he is due to her web series. He's really low on this list because at least he loves and cares for his sister and is very supportive of her web series. But still, why is he acting like a 5-year-old when he's supposed to be the adult of iCarly? Seriously Spencer, grow up!

19. Meltman from Action League Now!



He's the most useless superhero in a group of the worst superheroes of all time. He has the power to melt, which is really bad in itself. Most of the time, he's teased, tormented, and done errands for the group like getting donuts and coffee. If you thought that Aquaman was a wuss, Meltman is even worse. He's a coward, he's not smart, he's not strong, and his superhero ability sucks! Don't expect him to save the day when you are in dire need of help.

18. Jimmy Neutron



Wait! Wait! While I did like the movie and the TV series, I have something to say about Jimmy. In the movie, he was a very smart boy who invents a lot of cool, nifty things. While he did make a mistake of letting aliens know about his planet which ended up having all the adults abducted to be fed to their chicken god, he rounded up his friends and saved the day. But in the TV series, he turns out to be a bit of a jerk towards everyone. He ends up being a bit snotty and bragging about his intelligence to everyone, making them feel inferior and unimportant. It is true that Jimmy's friends Carl and Sheen aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but he doesn't need to shove his intelligence down their throats. He still tends to make a ton of mistakes due to his inventions and he always finds ways of completing them. Carl and Sheen, while being the funny aspects of the show, end up being his sidekicks which kind of render them useless whenever danger occurs in Retroville. This is nitpicking, but still, I can't help but note down this huge flaws.

17. Pelswick Eggbert from Pelswick



This character had so much potential to be a huge role model for kids who were handicapped. He wasn't depressed about being in a wheelchair, he's not a stick in the mud, and he's not a victim. But then again, he's not a memorable character. Created by John Callahan, who is known for dark comedy and witty humor, the result of Pelswick's character is unacceptable. Now he's just a bland character in a show that is hugely forgotten.

16. Cat from CatDog



The majority of the characters from CatDog are mean spirited jerks, but Cat is on my list because he's a huge manipulator towards Dog. There are times in which he doesn't want Dog around so he can be alone. But when he does want him around, he uses him for tasks to get him rich, famous, popular, defense against the Greasers, or just to control him for his desires. Dog is a very simple minded dog who wants nothing more than to make Cat happy, so it makes it more disgusting to see him take advantage of him. Sure Dog is a bit dumb and wouldn't make it on his own without Cat, but I feel that Cat is needs Dog slightly a bit more. Once again falling into the old cliche that cats are evil. Brekclub85 will not be pleased.

15. El Tigre from El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera



This kid, just like the show, is full of inconsistencies. One moment he wants to be a superhero like his father, the next he wants to be mischievous and evil like his grandfather is. This could've been a great concept, but unfortunately, everything about this show is forgettable: El Tigre, his friend, and the villains. In the final episode when he had to make a decision of whether to be a hero or villian, he didn't choose it: the viewers did. That's right: the kids made a choice online in nick.com about whether he should be good or bad just like when the comic book fans voted on whether Jason Todd lived or died when he fought the Joker. Either way, he's a character with no substance.

14. All the African American Nickelodeon Game Show Hosts

c

Now let me be make things clear for you guys: I'm NOT racist by any means! I love everyone equally by race, color, religion, etc. My main gripe when looking at all the Nickelodeon game shows again is that some of the hosts are bad. The African American game show hosts are even worse, which is a shame. Steve Harvey, the current host of Family Feud, is fantastic and made the show hilarious! Wayne Brady, the current host of Let's Make a Deal, is so engaging, funny, and does his improv to the T. Sherri Shepard, the current host of The Newlywed Game, gave a little more spice to a game show known for its naughty answers.Why can't any African American game show host on Nickelodeon give that same spark?

Michael Carrington and Robb Edward Morris from Think Fast! and Make The Grade were so unbelievably boring and made the shows they hosted completely overshadowed by Marc Summers' quirky personality and overall better game show. Omar Gooding, the co-host of Wild & Crazy Kids was basic, bland, and forgettable. Phil Moore, the host of Nick Arcade and You're On!, is the goofiest game show host that Nickelodeon has ever had! There hasn't been an African American game show host in Nickelodeon for over a decade. Let's actually have a fun, interactive, down-to-earth African American game show host Nickelodeon. Please, please, I'm begging you. So far, you haven't done a good job at it.

 13. Ed Bighead from Rocko's Modern Life



He's an absolute dick to everyone around him: his neighbors, his co-workers, his wife, and his son. He's cranky, he's mean, he cares very little about things, and he's an unlikable toad. Not someone you want to have as a next door neighbor.

12. Ren Hoek from The Ren & Stimpy Show



He's a crazy dog with anger issues. He's mean, abusive, pushy, and manic towards his best friend Stimpy. If he's not being mean, then he's completely losing his mind. He can snap at any moment and you don't want to be in his way when that happens.

11. Brian Robbins



Geez, it's like this guy can't do anything decent by himself nowadays. Robbins, alongside his partner Mike Tomlin, created the sketch comedy show All That as well as being the producers/directors of shows like Kenan & Kel, What I Like About You, One Tree Hill, and others. But unfortunately, when it comes to producing and directing movies, Robbins has done critically and commercially failures like Good Burger, Varsity Blues, Norbit, Ready to Rumble, Meet Dave, and A Thousand Words. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a man who had created a show so meaningful in our childhoods has now directed movies that have reduced to crapfests.

Those are my top 20-11 worse male Nickelodeon role models. Which people from Nickelodeon that you can't stand? Post it in the comments below. Tune in next time as I tell you my top 10 worst Nickelodeon role models.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia