The Rise and Fall of Nickelodeon

Has Viacom crapped us over…?

Cory Roberts
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Be warned: This isn’t all of them

We all remember shows aired on Nickelodeon during the 90s, where there was Rugrats, Doug, Double Dare, My Brother and Me, Rocket Power, Rocko’s Modern Life, All That, and other shows growing up. There was also Jamie Spears (Britney Spears’ younger sister), who appeared in All That, as there was a number of parodies. The Amanda Show did the same thing.

Doug (created by Jim Jinkins) was moved to Disney after four seasons and 52 episodes as Nickelodeon denied to order the additional 13, citing the show’s expensive budget. Disney later picked the show up as Disney purchased ABC while also purchasing Doug in a multimillion-dollar deal with Jinkins and Campbell. The deal involved buying Jumbo Pictures and “signing them to five-year contracts, with stock options, to be Disney executives.” There were several creative changes in the Disney version. Billy West (Doug’s original voice actor) was replaced by Tom McHugh, while the rest of the cast of Doug reprised their roles. Disney could not afford West, as his fame had grown from voicing characters in Ren & Stimpy and other animated properties.

Ren and Stimpy…you’re an “eediot”!

Ren & Stimpy gained controversy and was later shelved by Nickelodeon for its violent content. Wikipedia describes the show’s controversy:

The creators of Ren & Stimpy did not want to create an “educational” series, a stance which bothered Nickelodeon. Parents groups decried the series. Some segments of the show were altered to exclude references to religion, politics, and alcohol. The episode “Powdered Toast Man” had a cross removed from the Pope’s hat and the credits changed to “the man with the pointy hat”.

In the first Metal Gear Solid game, Ocelot is referenced by Ren Hoek by saying “YOU IDIOT!”.

Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power (as shown)…

These three shows are created by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo. The two were divorced in 1995 (possibly for irreconcilable differences). Nick ended the relationship with Klasky Csupo in the mid 2000s. There was also SNICK, Nick in the Afternoon, and TEENick. There was also Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids channel, too! Massachusetts-based artist Isaiah Stephens has a gallery of characters from various franchises as grown-ups.

Nickelodeon Japan

Viacom attempted to bring Nickelodeon in Japan, taking the shows by Nickelodeon and then dubbing them into Japanese. However, due to declining viewership, the television channel was taken off the air on September 30, 2009. After the channel’s closure, some programs were moved to other specialty channels (including MTV Japan), DTH satellite channels and terrestrial television networks. Despite the closure, the official website is still up without any plans of removing the site.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron

The first spin-off to the 2001 film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. It originally aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons beginning July 20, 2002, and the final episode aired on November 25, 2006. The title character is voiced by Debi Derrybery (Ryoko Shiraishi in the Japanese dub). The show was cancelled following the closure of DNA Productions as Wikipedia describes this:

Although the producers originally wanted to make a fourth season, plans for this season were scrapped after DNA Productions’ closing as the result of the lacksluster performance of The Ant Bully. Four scripts were written for the season, but two of these scripts weren’t revealed. The new season was planned to be more serious and darker than the previous. The premiere of the season, entitled “Deep Impacts”, would be the return of Evil Jimmy, who would have struggled with Jimmy in their definitive last encounter during a battle in the moon. Another episode entitled “Three’s a Crowd” was planned to be part of this season to explore the relationship of Cindy and Betty. Nick Dean was also set to return as part of the main cast, Cindy and Jimmy would have become an official couple, new and old villains would have returned and appeared, and the League of Villains would have made more appearances. It was thought of that the series, in terms of year runs, would’ve been the third longest running Nicktoon series behind SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents, but such a production and assets to O Entertainment and DNA Productions would have been too costly.

…and then DNA Productions came back. SpongeBob SquarePants has been around for over a decade (and the only surviving Nickelodeon show while the others have ended). The Loud House? TMNT? That’s just crap.

Update 2018/03/17: Nickelodeon fired The Loud House creator Chris Savino for sexual harassment. A dozen women accused him of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, and threats of blacklisting female colleagues who no longer agreed to consensual relationships with him, and Butch Hartman (creator of The Fairly Oddparents, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and Danny Phantom) left Nickelodeon last month.

Viacom is ruining Nickelodeon with crap that is completely unnecessary. The network is becoming a shadow of its former self.

The Samurai Cory Archive

Archives of old posts before adopting the samurai motif and sprouting fox ears and a tail

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Cory Roberts

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American mangaka and graphic designer of everything RAD! ⭐️ One-kitsune crew of Samurai Fox Studio ⭐️ ENG/ESP/日本語🆗

The Samurai Cory Archive

Archives of old posts before adopting the samurai motif and sprouting fox ears and a tail

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