Classic Nicktoons bring nostalgia

There exists a demographic of people who, before they may have developed a decent enough lexicon of words to carry on a conversation, saw a neurotic, animated Chihuahua named Ren fall into an abyss of psychosis and violently assault his feline counterpart, Stimpy.

While this specific demographic witnessed that, there is a chance some might have been preoccupied firing around ideas in their heads about what a nematode actually was. Perhaps because they saw the gullible protagonist of "Doug" try to bag one.

There is a chance some readers may be lost, so perhaps this needs further explanation.

The year was 1979 and "My Sharona" by The Knack was at the top of the music charts. In an attempt to construct a TV network solely for kids, Viacom International (which also created and owns MTV and VH1) introduced Nickelodeon - a channel that "gave kids a place on television just for them."

Under the assumption of knowing what kids want to see when they are hunkered down inside the house, Nickelodeon aired Video Comic Books, essentially outsourced cartoons from other countries to fill the time slots.

They would then debut the show "Pinwheel," - the channel's first show to use a live human in the lead role; albeit the live human was surrounded by Sesame Street-like puppets.

It was not until 1982 that Nickelodeon would inherit the trademark green slime that would launch its game show genre to new heights.

With green goo being the channel's biggest attraction, the game show "Double Dare" would launch and within one month another game show featuring kid-driven trivia, obstacle courses and slime quadrupled the network's ratings.

While the human element of Nickelodeon allowed kids to see other children their own age compete in a game show, the channel lacked what kids in the target age range of 2-11 really loved about TV - cartoons.

That is, until 1991.

"Doug"

Sitting at a desk, writing in a journal dimly lit by a lamp, Nickelodeon introduced Nicktoons with a shy boy named Doug.

"Dear journal, it's me, Doug," would become one of the most recognizable openings of a Nicktoons series.

Set in a suburban town, "Doug" worked well with kids because the title character was a portrayal of Nickelodeon's target audience.

Advertised as a sixth- grader possessing a moral compass and love for the arts beyond his years, many parents couldn't help but think "Doug" was the ideal show.

Looking back, though, one cannot help but think Doug was a bit of a pansy when compared to cultural expectations with kids his age.

The show introduces him as the "new kid in town" who was completely terrified of what others would think about him. His only friend in the beginning of the series was his dog, Porkchop, whom he would regularly have back-and-forth conversations with.

Aside from Doug's social stigma, the show itself arguably prepped kids surprisingly well for the real world. An abounding theme of "Doug" is that love sucks.

Doug's love interest was a tanning-bed orange, raspy-voiced peer named Patti Mayonnaise.

Doug's feelings for Patti are never fully reciprocated and Doug is often seen let down by this - spilling his emotions into his journal at the end of an episode.

The character of Patti was also important because it introduced kids to the idea of non-traditional families. In the series, Patti's mother is revealed to have died - leaving her to be cared for by her father, who is wheelchair-bound.

For its time, "Doug" was a great predictor of the times today in that an abundance of kids are raised in single-parent homes. "Doug" made that seem okay.

Continuing to tackle differences, Doug was befriended by Skeeter, a male peer who possessed a soprano's voice and green skin.

Surprisingly, it was Skeeter's green skin that made him stand out, and was his tendency to "honk-honk" whenever he gave his approval of something.

However, Skeeter's green skin was important. Subconsciously, kids had to have noticed Skeeter as the sole possessor of his skin tone. Seeing Doug and Skeeter as friends could have helped kids connect the dots-o-diversity and realized not everybody is going to look the same.

Come 1993, Doug was in its heyday of success. While the series ended in 1994, there are those who watched it back then who can still recall episodes and scenes today.

"Rugrats"

In contrast to watching a sixth-grader slowly become a cynical curmudgeon to love, kids were given four babies who could speak and comprehend English.

By sending four toddlers on imaginary mysteries to find pirates' treasure or whatever, and having them somewhat "grow up," "Rugrats" ran for a total of 172 episodes - 120 more than "Doug."

While nothing should be taken away from "Rugrats," it could prompt a theory that watching babies go on imaginary adventures was more successful than observing a sixth-grader struggle with his identity and love because some people hate the real world and everything that goes along with it.

In its essence, "Rugrats" was a show for parents. The protagonist, or "head baby," Tommy Pickles was the procreated byproduct of two halfwit parents.

Tommy's parents, more specifically his mother, often talked to other parents about weaning and all other things having to do with baby care. In many episodes, Tommy's mother would turn to her self-help parenting book for answers - perhaps a social commentary at the time.

There are also episodes that revolve around home improvements, where perhaps adults could not help but laugh at the cartoon.

Whether intentional or not, parents could have also walked away from an episode of "Rugrats" questioning their own parenting styles.

Two of the babies involved, twins of a separate gender, Phil and Lil, were the offspring of a father often overpowered by their mother.

The fourth baby involved was a blaze-orange-haired kid named Chuckie Finster. Chuckie was afraid of everything and was even more afraid of getting caught doing something bad or wrong.

Chuckie's father raised the boy by himself after the creators of the show decided to make him a widower. This made Chuckie's situation similar to Patti's situation on "Doug."

The situation was similiar in that a friend of the main character had lost a parent and where raised on their own. This may have taught kids that different parenting structures are not all that uncommon.

Tommy acts as the go-getter and brave one of the group. Most of what the babies did came from the head of Tommy, who could get himself and his friends out of the playpen with a plastic screwdriver from his play set to undo the latch.

Chuckie, in contrast, is constantly bellowing, "This is not a good idea, Tommy!" He is much more comfortable staying in the playpen, which is a great metaphor for some people in society.

In the end, "Rugrats" concludes that Tommy, adventuresome and brave, will have much more fun than Chuckie, who enjoys his solitude.

During its time on Nickelodeon the show was an integral part of Nicktoons' original success.

"Ren and Stimpy"

On one end of the spectrum, there was "Rugrats," a show parents could enjoy watching just as much as their kids. On the other, there was a show kids may not want their parents to know they watched. It would contain rebellious humor and animated violence.

Of the three Nicktoons to debut in 1991 and still be running in 1993, ("Doug," "Rugrats," and "The Ren and Stimpy Show) "Ren and Stimpy" would be like nothing kids had seen.

It is the show that probably introduced children to pixelated violence and may have changed how kids viewed canine and feline relations.

For six seasons and 61 episodes an overly-aggressive and paranoid Chihuahua would physically abuse and go on nonsensical adventures with a bloated, dense cat.

Perhaps this was the balance kids needed. While "Rugrats" and "Doug" had storylines most kids could reasonably follow along with, the structure of "The Ren and Stimpy Show" introduced kids to the absurd.

Why would kids care about the storyline in the first place? "The Ren and Stimpy Show" didn't survive because of its well written script. It survived because it was action-based.

When watching the show closely, some might have noticed there are very few backgrounds with actual structure. Most of the backgrounds were colors that dictated how the viewer should feel.

For instance, a particular scene where Ren is seething mad to the point where his eye literally pops out of his head, the background turns to a violent rash of reds, blacks and yellows.

This was the beauty of the show; you could watch it on mute and continually understand the emotions of the show by the background color alone.

One criticism of the show could be the amount of aggression and violence it portrayed.

In one episode, Ren starts his car while Stimpy is under the hood. The result is a screaming voice in the background and fur spewing out from under Ren's car hood.

Was this bad for children? Probably. Did they absorb it for any longer than a half-hour after the end of the episode? Probably not. Chances are the parents who watched it were more affected than their kids.

Looking back, "The Ren and Stimpy Show" was awful, yet genius. It is comparable to minimalistic art, there is not a lot going on but for what it is. When you factor in its originality, it's brilliant.

The show made a 45-second cult-hit song about using a log as a toy. It can "roll downstairs, alone or in pairs and over your neighbor's dog."

Parents had to be secretly thanking themselves for that tune because it meant all they had to do was go to the firewood pit instead of the toy store to get their kid a plaything.

Aside from making a jingle about the many uses a kid can have with a log, the show filled kids' heads with four words they could sing whenever: "Happy, happy, joy, joy."

The "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" song was innocent in its title and most of its lyrics. However, this verse is in the song: "If'n you aint the granddaddy of all liars! The little critters of nature... They don't know that they're ugly! That's very funny, a fly marrying a bumblebee! I told you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me! Why didn't you believe me?"

You might ask, "What does that have to do with anything about the show?"

Exactly.

"Rocko's Modern Life"

The release of the three prior Nicktoons occurred in 1991. It was not until 1993 that Nickelodeon debuted another Nicktoon rounding out the original four Nicktoons of Nickelodeon's "glory days."

Filled with smart social commentary and sexual innuendo, "Rocko's Modern Life" was a cute enough animated series to keep kids watching and intelligent enough to keep adults pining for more.

Following an immigrant wallaby from Australia named Rocko, the show's premise looks at the comical transition Rocko must make to American culture.

In dealing with credit card debt, problems with local government and things he finds morally wrong, Rocko cannot understand why everybody moves at such a fast pace and can not find pleasure in the simple things.

Like "Rugrats," many of the show's storylines were beyond the kids for which the show was intended for.

Frankly, the only reason the show had high ratings amongst children was because it was on Nickelodeon.

Had "Rocko's Modern Life" been on any other channel, it probably would have been done after one season. That doesn't take away from the brains of the show, which could probably be a nice supplement show for Comedy Central these days.

Watching the show as an older person rather than an elementary school student, one could think "Rocko's Modern Life" was one big game of "What Can We Get Away With on TV?"

Examples of this are theplaying of their favorite board game, "Spank the Monkey," and hanging out at their favorite place to eat, "The Chokey Chicken."

When one asks people what they remember most about Nickelodeon from the early 90s, chances are "Rocko's Modern Life" would not be the first thing to come out of their mouth.

That is particularly the same reason some people dislike "Doug." It was about real life. While "Rocko's Modern Life" was a bit far-fetched at times, it dealt with adult subject matter. And who wants their escape from reality to deal with reality?

The show itself was an anomaly. It didn't belong on Nickelodeon but it belonged somewhere. Too bad the only place it resides right now is YouTube.

Nickelodeon: 2008

It would be foolish to think four cartoons brought Nickelodeon to prosperity in 1993. The cartoons were supplemented by non-animated shows such as "Salute Your Shorts," "The Adventures of Pete and Pete," "Guts" and "Clarissa Explains it All." The Nicktoons were the anchor.

The same can be said 15 years later. Nicktoons still anchor Nickelodeon's current schedule while supplement programming has been dwindled down to re-runs of shows such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "Family Matters."

The interesting part of the Nicktoons today is that they act nothing like they did prior. Yet, that is to be expected. The evolution of society prompts the evolution in what society creates.

It is no secret "Dora the Explorer" behaves differently than "Ren and Stimpy."

In terms of rebelliousness, "SpongeBob SquarePants" sneaks in a joke about people in Texas being uneducated and easily becomes the edgiest show on the network.

Blame it on political correctness or our hypersensitive society, but Nicktoons today have been scaled back in all their subtleties and diverse humor.

Maybe it is not as simple as finding a societal flaw. Perhaps it is marketing. Judging by the recent Minnesota high school standardized test scores, kids are seemingly stupid these days.

From high school to preschool, the channel made solely for kids has simplified their cartoons to insultingly idiotic levels.

"Dora the Explorer" will try to explain what mild-climate country your bananas come from, but when a kid probably cannot find China on a map, what good is that?

Call it learning by having fun or whatever you want, but Nicktoons have turned into educational programming instead of entertainment.

Of the Nicktoons airing today in comparison to 1993, "SpongeBob SquarePants" has a hint of the humor that could have possibly made it successful 15 years ago.

That is not to say Nickelodeon hasn't continually won the ratings battles. The Disney Channel and Cartoon Network are not even close.

A recent quarterly poll showed Nickelodeon reaching an average of 24.2 million viewers at any given time of day. The channel reaches more kids aged 2-11 than any other channel.

You can legitimately deconstruct Nickelodeon and find out what kind of message it sends to kids. However, looking at its longevity, it has been nothing but successful and pleasing to parents.

It has given a generation of kids feel-good memories and a pining for the "good 'ole days."

It is safe to say Nickelodeon is the most successful audience-specific channel in history.

And that would deserve a "honk-honk" from Skeeter.