Nickelodeon
Jeff Harris, February 3, 2002 (edited and updated August 2002)

One minute, they go in one direction, putting edgier shows like Invader ZIM on the lineup and cancelling bad shows like CatDog. The next minute, they scrap the original animation unit.

The first network for kids is still a popular choice for kids. Unfortunately, the tripe that they're cramming down their throats is disgusting and indigestible. For starters, the network continues to become more and more like its sister network MTV with its live studio shows and music video breaks. The network's reliance on animation diminished somewhat in the nearly three years since the original article. Though well written dramas like Catilin's Way are often overshadowed by variety shows like The Amanda Show, original live-action productions are becoming the norm around Nickelodeon. If they had series like You Can't Do That on Television, Hey Dude, and Salute Your Shorts, the network would rule. Of course if they had more classic game shows like Get The Picture, Nick Arcade, or Double Dare, the network would be worth watching.

Unfortunately, the network has lost its edge when it comes to the game show. The rehashed Double Dare 2000 was a disaster right out of the gate (gee, making a series just like the abysmal Family Double Dare as opposed to the original two-player teams of the classic mid-80s series wasn't the smartest of moves) and killed the game show genre on the network for the moment. Animationwise, the Nicktoons are on their way to extinction. Nickelodeon has broadcast rights to Warner Bros. Animation shows like Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Tiny Toons (though they foolishly add their orange logos [and in A!'s case, they cut out the "cold openings"] on each program). They have also invested some money in broadcasting the popular UK series Butt Ugly Martians, making it the first action-cartoon to make it in prime-time. With successes like these, the Nicktoons are in their final days. Rugrats, the oldest Nicktoon, is running out of ideas with the current cast of babies, they're considering three different ways to spin them out into something new. In fact, all of the Klasky-Csupo shows that are on the air, including the Clarissa meets Doug-like series As Told By Ginger, will remain for a while. Hey Arnold is on its last legs while CatDog has been, and you can take this anyway you want, put to sleep. Meanwhile, SpongeBob Squarepants had been getting a mass cult following in 2000 and 2001, and yet the network cancelled that series as well.

Another widely popular series was 2001's Invader ZIM, a very surreal animated series that combined elements of Marvin the Martian, Pinky and the Brain, and Dexter's Lab into a unique conglomerate that could only come from the totally twisted mind of comic artist Jhonen Vasquez. Unfortunately in 2001, it too got cancelled. Most of the cancellations were an aftershock of the strikes at Nicktoons Studio. They wanted representation and unionization, and Nick refused.

Thus is business.

Just when I think the network's doing the right thing, Nickelodeon is screwing up again, doing "Loserly" actions, and just creating more problems than necessary. And I don't see them getting out of this one anytime soon.

Update