Post by Squidetor on Mar 29, 2017 22:05:22 GMT -5
The 90's Are All That. Like communism, it was a good idea that got everyone hyped, but once it was put into action, turned to shit real quickly. It had a good start when it was active, the block first broadcasted back in July 2011 on TeenNick, and it aired pretty unforgettably popular Nick shows like All That, Kenan and Kel, Clarissa Explains It All, Doug, Hey Arnold, CatDog... and that was it. What about Ren and Stimpy? What about some fucking Double Dare? Legends of the Hidden Temple? Yeah, not much more of a variety there... the fans didn't like that, we wanted more variety, more classic shows that haven't aired in years... and so, from what it seems... our voices were heard loud and clear.
The solution? Why, none other than...
That's right, none other than The Splat. TeenNick's solution to new variety and more programming. Not only were we given more variety in 90's Nick, but also 80's content and, even some early 2000's content. That is... until it turned to shit again, but that's a story for another time. Right now, I'd like to discuss the transition from The 90's Are All That to The Splat.
In September 2015, The Splat was announced. Nothing more, nothing less. Just... "The Splat." No one knew if this was going to be a rebrand of the 90's Are All That, a new video service from Nick, it's own channel... such little info was given, and the only info we did have was that "The Splat Was Coming." Seriously, that was its main tagline. Check out this archived snapshot of The Splat's site back in 2015:
web-beta.archive.org/web/20150913055920/thesplat.com
With the little info we had, the main theory was that The Splat was going to be a brand new channel. Nickelodeon's solution to Cartoon Network's "Boomerang." It made a lot of sense, and from the looks of it, it almost seemed as if Nickelodeon planned it that way to circulate more hype around The Splat. We were pretty damn excited, especially with this video that was uploaded by The Splat's official YouTube channel:
Hyped as can be, majority of us were expecting to tune into our cable TV stations to see a new channel. Looking back now, that was definitely not the case.
Once Nickelodeon finally announced some info on this so-called "Boomerang destroyer", the hype disappeared. The Splat was just going to be a rebrand of the existing 90's Are All That block on TeenNick. Sure, the block was extended to 8 hours instead of 6, but who gave a crap...
Well, lots of people did when The Splat's schedule was announced.
For the first time in 11 years, You Can't Do That on Television was planned to air. This was a pretty big deal, because the show's last broadcast was on Nickelodeon back in 2004. The Canadian show was a fan favorite, mainly for being the first time Nickelodeon Slime was used. If YCDTOT was planned to air, what else was on the checklist? The original Double Dare? Yep! The original Pete and Pete shorts! Hell yeah! Roundhouse?! FUCK YEAH!
Here's a list of other programming The Splat had to offer that got people hyped as Hell:
-Action League Now!
-ChalkZone
-GUTS
-KaBlam!
-Nick News
-Oh Yeah! Cartoons
-Welcome Freshmen (hasn't been broadcasted since the 90s, was a huge deal)
Not only that, but some original Nickelodeon bumpers aired on The Splat as well! It may seem like a small perk, but seeing some of these classic bumpers for the first time in HD clarity was pretty mindblowing...
Also, The Splat has been airing Cry Baby Lane every Halloween as a little tradition that I hope they keep, it's definitely a classic despite being lost for over a decade. If you haven't checked out my post on Cry Baby Lane, click here.
The Splat was a pretty huge success at first, but as time went on... it slowly turned back into the 90's Are All That schedule-wise. Not much variety, same old shit... depressing. It was good while it lasted, I guess...
Anyhow, that's pretty much the old school Nickelodeon block transition. I'm really sorry I haven't been able to post lately, school has been draining all the energy out of me, it's just been school work and napping... but tomorrow, I really hope to make another post, so look forward to that! <3