History of Nickelodeon TV
Old Nick Fans Turn to the Internet to Remember Old Times
Until 1979, children’s cartoons could mainly be found on basic cable on Saturday mornings or the few children‘s programs that aired on PBS. It wasn’t until that year that the first network for children, Nickelodeon, was established, that children had a full time outlet to their favorite age-appropriate shows. The year 1984 caused a surge of quality programming to air in Nickelodeon as commercial spots were added to provide a budget for such programs to be created. The network covered every age group in sections throughout the day, with pre-school age friendly shows in the morning, elementary school aged shows in the afternoon, and live action pre-teen shows in the evening followed by airings of old TV shows for adults to reminisce about at night.
To those who grew up to remember the early years of Nickelodeon, today’s programming on their beloved network is unsatisfactory compared to the shows they grew up with. In the 1980’s Noozles, Count Duckula, Danger Mouse, and David The Gnome were popular cartoons to watch on Nickelodeon along with game shows such as Finders Keepers and Get the Picture. In the 1990’s, the network exploded with popular programming including Maya The Bee, Doug, Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Aahhh! Real Monsters. Popular game shows included Legends of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Family Double Dare, What Would You Do?, Nick Arcade, and Figure It Out. Former Nickelodeon fans of that era may also recall the colorful hosts of these programs, including Face, a talking smiley face who hosted Nick Jr. shows for pre-school children in the mornings and Stick Stickly, a talking Popsicle stick who hosted Nick In The Afternoon from 3-5pm when school aged children came home for the day.
As children of this era grew up and got away from children’s networks, The Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network having been established by then, Nickelodeon was forced to evolve for the new generation of viewers coming in. Today, the most popular shows include The Fairly Odd Parents, Zoey 101, Sponge Bob Square Pants, and Jimmy Neutron. These shows generally do not sit well with those of the self-proclaimed, Nickelodeon “Golden Age.” They have utilized You Tube as an outlet to express their frustration of the evolution of their beloved network and to remember the Nickelodeon of the past.
Print Source:
Hendershoot, H. (2004). Nickelodeon Nation: The History, Politics, and Economics of America’s Only TV Channel For Kids. New York: New York University Press.
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