Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 115: SNICK

In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia and special guests David and Eli from You Scared of This? discuss about the 1992 Nickelodeon 2 hour block SNICK. They discuss about their earliest memories of watching SNICK, the shows that aired around the block, and which were the best and worst from the lineup.

Check out their podcast and the links down below.
https://soundcloud.com/youscaredofthis
https://twitter.com/youscaredofthis
https://www.facebook.com/youscaredofthis/?fref=ts

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 68: Interview with David and Eli from You Scared of This?

Happy Halloween, everyone! In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia interviews David Dycus and Eli Philips from You Scared of This?, a weekly podcast dedicated to reviewing every single episode of the 1991 Nickelodeon anthology series Are You Afraid of the Dark? They discuss about their earliest memories of Nickelodeon, why they decided to watch every episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, what they think of the show when looking back on it, and what would like to see in a reboot?

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 37: All That

In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia and new guests Manic Expression member Eli "The Hero of Tomorrow" Stone, For Entertainment Sake co-founder John "Rugrat" Matthew, and recurring guest Tristen Chance discuss on the 1994 Nickelodeon sketch comedy show All That in honor of its 20th anniversary discussing about the skits, cast members, the Good Burger movie, and the controversial revival era.

Old School Lane Discussions: Top 10 Worst SNICK Shows

In this top 10, Patricia counts down the top 10 worst SNICK shows. Which shows from Nickelodeon ruined Saturday nights for millions of kids? Let's find out.

Old School Lane Discussions: Top 10 SNICK shows

We have a new series titled Old School Lane Discussions on our associated website Manic Expression's brand new YouTube page. In honor of SNICK's 21st anniversary, Patricia lists her top 10 SNICK shows. Are your favorites on the list? Let's see and find out!

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: The Nick Cannon Show

The year is 2002. Spiderman, Ice Age, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and The Pianist were released in theaters. The Osbournes, The Bachelor, American Idol, and Code Name: Kids' Next Door debuted on TV. With the huge success of Kenan & Kel, and The Amanda Show, one of the main cast members of All That, Nick Cannon, decided to have his own TV show after he left the show. Cannon's show was none other than The Nick Cannon Show which debuted on January 19, 2002.

The premise is that Nick Cannon would come across a situation or a setting such as a school, the circus, or the beach, and try to make it "better". He would portray skits, funny jokes, or his characters that he used to play as in All That, and try to include his style in it. Similar to All That, Kenan & Kel, and The Amanda Show, there were former members of All That that would appear as guests such as Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Not to mention there were celebrity guests that were popular at the time such as Romeo, Mary J. Blige, Willy Santos, and 3LW. Every episode was pretty much the same: Nick would appear in a place and does various jokes and skits in order for something that he feels that is boring or typical to be "better", have something to make it pop for the younger audience.

As time went on, the majority of the production and film crew left after the first season, the ratings were lower and lower as time went on, and the show was eventually cancelled one year later on February 1, 2003. Overall, the premise is pretty cool and kind of unique, but the execution of it was very mediocre. The main problem is with Nick Cannon himself. He's not a really funny comedian and most of the jokes and skits that he did were a bit flat and awkward. If the jokes and skits were more tightly written and the show starred on one of the more funnier members of All That during that time period such as Gabriel Iglesias, Mark Saul, Danny Tamberelli, or Jack DeSena, maybe it would've done 10 times better. Nick Cannon wasn't really one of the more popular cast members of All That and if he was, it was because he was performing with more better actors such as Kenan Thompson when they did their skit "The Inconvenience Store" .

As of now when it comes to TV shows or series involving with taking something and making it better, it hasn't been done right or the way it could have been presented. Take Demo Reel for example. It sounds like a fantastic idea on paper, but hasn't been executed the way it should have been. 

With The Nick Cannon Show, I felt the same way. Now to his credit, Nick Cannon looks like he's trying and I give him an "A" for effort on that. When it comes to interacting with people, he's very natural and very energetic. I feel that being a radio personality and one of the hosts of America's Got Talent brought that out more and he feels more in his natural habitat. 

But as an All That spinoff, this is one of the weaker ones. I wouldn't recommend checking it out.

That's all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia

Old School Lane Presents: Patricia's Top 10 Underrated Nickelodeon Shows

Happy New Year, everyone! Time to start the new year off with a countdown. I know I promised to do a review of Christmas in Tattertown by Ralph Bakshi, but I've been so busy throughout the holidays and all the other projects I have to do that it slipped my mind. Sorry guys, maybe next Christmas. Anywho, as Kevin and I have been going through all these shows from Nickelodeon, there have been many we remember fondly and many that  we hate with a passion. But then there are the shows that not a lot of people recall upon on that should be brought out more often. They were just as solid as the classics, but they have either came out in which they were overshadowed by other shows or they were cancelled as quickly as they came and we don't know about them until years later. This list is to flesh out the Nickelodeon shows that Kevin and I have been seeing throughout the tribute that we feel is underrated. I'll start first. Here we go!

10. Brainsurge

Released in Nickelodeon on September 28, 2009, the first Nickelodeon game show in 6 years debuted with a fun host, crazy games, and tons of slime. However, it doesn't get the praise compared to other classic Nickelodeon game shows such as Double Dare, GUTS,or Legends of the Hidden Temple. This show is without a doubt the best Nickelodeon show that came out in the last decade in a time when they were doing reboots of Double Dare, Wild & Crazy Kids, and GUTS. Jeff Sutphen does an amazing job hosting it, the questions and games are original, and one of the executive producers is Scott A. Stone, one of the co-creators of Legends of the Hidden Temple. It's low on the list becauseBrainsurge is still on, but as of now it's completely overshadowed by Splatalot and the reboot of Figure it Out. More people should watch this game show.

9. The Angry Beavers

Before there were those pesky pig killing birds, these were the original angry duo. It was about the mayhems of two beaver brothers named Norbert and Daggett. While not fully forgotten, it seems to not get as much praise with their adult humor compared to The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, or Invader Zim. While it is true that The Angry Beavers have a few flaws, the things they get right are really right. It's still funny and witty after over a decade later. Plus, it's available on DVD and Netflix. You should have no excuse to check it out. 

8. Chalkzone

For some reason or another, I have read a lot of reviews online that they hated this show. I must ask: why? Some people said that it's boring and uncreative. I'm not going to judge your opinion if you think of certain programs to be "boring". After all, one person's Doctor Who is another person's Downton Abbey/ But uncreative? Really? Chalkzone is filled to the brim with creativity and originality. It's about a young boy named Rudy Tabootie who finds a magic chalk and uses it to go into a world made out of chalk called Chalkzone. Everything that kids ever drew and erased ends up in Chalkzone. That's really creative. While it's not up there with all the other Nickelodeon programs in the 2000's, it doesn't deserve to be hated or forgotten. Sure it's very basic, but it's still solid. Not to mention all the songs that would appear in every episode. Most of them are very catchy and memorable. They were all written by Bill Burnett, the co-creator of Chalkzone. If someone can be able to write songs from all types of genres and sound completely different from one another, then that person deserves a gold medal. 

7. Catscratch

Here we have another Nicktoon that has a lot of hateful reviews. I can understand why, but I'll explain later. Nonetheless, it has been forgotten by a lot of people and it shouldn't. It's about three cats named Gordon, Waffle, and Mr. Blik who inherited a mansion, her fortune, and their butler from their deceased owner. What do they do with the money? They go through crazy, paranormal adventures or they just laze around, drink root beer all day, and drive their butler insane. It was very funny and extremely random. You never knew how each episode was going to progress. This show was created by Doug TenNapel, a graphic novel writer, artist, and the creator of the Earthworm Jim series. Most people thought that Catscratch was bad because it didn't have the same charm as the Earthworm Jim series. But then again, most people didn't know that Catscratch is based on one of his graphic novels named Gear.

For the few people who read Gear were hugely disappointed because they felt thatCatscratch was an watered down version of it. It was, but still that shouldn't excuse the hate of this show. It's still funny and random in its own right. It has TenNapel's style all over it and I think that people should give it a second chance. 

6. The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Around the 80's, all the animated shows that Nickelodeon aired were acquired from other countries or networks. When it comes to those shows, Danger Mouse, The World of David the Gnome, Maya the Bee, and Count Duckula were the most revered. The Mysterious Cities of Gold has been one of the forgotten shows and I don't know why. It was about a young orphan boy named Estaban living in Spain in 1532 who wants to travel into the New World to find his long lost father. Along the way, he meets with a navigator named Mendoza who needs Estaban to help him find El Dorado, the lost city made of gold, because his necklace holds the key to the city. They come across some other characters such as Zia, an Incan princess who also has the same necklace as Estaban, Tao, a young boy who is the last of the Hiva Clan, and two greedy, bumbling morons named Sancho and Pedro. They come across ancient civilations, sinister villains, and clues to finding El Dorado.

This show is great if you love adventure, history, and even a little science fiction. It has a great soundtrack done by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, who did the soundtrack toInspector Gadget, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. But now more people are discovering it, so it's not as underrated as it once was. Plus there's going to be a new sequel of the show coming in a few months. I can't wait until it comes out!

5. Weinerville 

I know. Weinerville is not everyone's cup of tea. But still, I love this show and it's a real shame that almost no one remembers this show as one of the highlights of 90's Nickelodeon programs. It's a variety show about a man named Marc Weiner who performs his half-human half-puppets in a fictional world named Weinerville. It's original, funny, and quirky. There were no other shows like it and there hasn't been one like it since, which makes it an underrated gem. It was featured on my list of the top 10 Nickelodeon shows that I want to see being remade, Kevin and I interviewed Marc Weiner himself, and we're working on an episode of Casual Chats about Weinerville. It holds a special place in my heart as well as a few others. More people should really check it out, but only if you know what you're expecting.

4. Taina

I've talked about the unfortunate reason for its cancellation and I still stand that it was one of the best Nickelodeon shows that aired during the 2000's. This show was about a young teenage girl named Taina going to a theater school to learn how to be an actress and singer. She and her friends go through many crazy situations in order for them to accomplish their goals. It was ahead of its time by breaking the barriers of Hispanics that were portrayed on television from goofy minor characters to down-to-earth main characters. While The Brothers Garcia did it first, Taina was a lot more memorable and it still holds up to this day. Nowadays it has become one of the many forgotten programs on Nickelodeon. Now that Victorious has been cancelled, people can be able to rediscoverTaina. 

3. As Told by Ginger

I've talked time and time again how much I love this show. It was really ahead of its time with its character development, serious topics, and different outfits. Not to mention it's held up unbelievably well and it's still relatable compared to most of the teen sitcoms that airing on Nickelodeon nowadays. Yes I understand that not a lot of people didn't like this show, but still this show took a lot of risk. How many animated shows do you know that talks about growing up, death, suicidal, addiction, puberty, and relationships? Not a lot. 

2. Caitlin's Way

This is, in my opinion, the most underrated teen series that Nickelodeon has ever aired. It just astonishes me that not many people watched it when it aired and that most people have never seen or heard of it. It's about a teenage girl named Caitlin who moves with her mother's cousin and her family after she causes trouble in school. She's struggling with her new environment and her new family. It was a very serious teen program in a time in which they were slowly stepping away from the cheesy high school programs from the 90's. The show had realistic themes, memorable characters, and great character development. 

When it comes to underrated Nickelodeon teen series, most people bring up The Adventures of Pete & Pete. While it is true that the show had a very low rating of viewers and was eventually cancelled, I feel that The Adventures of Pete & Pete is not as underrated as it used to be. More and more people are discovering it and it has garnered even more fans with its strange, surreal perspectives of growing up. There have been 3 cast reunions and they sold their tickets really fast. One of them had their tickets sold out in less than 5 minutes. This month there's going to be a Pete & Pete tribute panel in honor of the show's 20th anniversary. If you're in the San Francisco area and you want to check it out, click here! 

Which is why Caitlin's Way is on the list!

1. Nick News with Linda Ellerbee

Even before Kevin and I started this tribute, we've never heard of anyone saying that Nick News was anyone's favorite show. In fact, out of all the shows we've covered, Nick Newshas had a ton of hateful comments and reviews. Pretty much everyone hates Nick Newsand would tune in to watch other programs as oppose to watching it. Be honest, you either knew someone who did this or you did it yourself. It's okay, I'm guilty of that as well. But there has been no other show that Nickelodeon has ever aired that talked to kids as adults and treated them with respect than Nick News. Every topic they discussed, it was relatable to kids and helped them during rough times. There were episodes about autism, the presidental elections, the AIDS discussions, 9/11 discussions, Iraq/Afghanistan War discussions, child slavery, and more. What did you expect to see when you see a news program for kids? For them to talk about the latest movies or celebrities with kid hosts? Last time I checked, the Disney Channel did that already at one point. Be honest, does anyone remember it? Did anyone treat it seriously? No. 

Nick News is still on TV after being on the air for 20 years and treated kids with respect and doesn't sugarcoat it. It is what it is and it does its best to tell kids the news in a way that they can understand. Please people, Nick News with Linda Ellerbee doesn't deserve to be forgotten or hated. I would love to see James do a STOP THE HATE on Nick News with Linda Ellerbee. Especially when you have a hilarious hateful review of Nick News like this.

Sure it'll probably not make a lot of top 10 favorite Nickelodeon shows, but it doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

Those are my top 10 underrated Nickelodeon shows. What shows from Nickelodeon do you feel is underrated? Post it in the comments below. 

That's all for now. I hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia

Old School Lane's Top 12 Nickelodeon Christmas Specials

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that you had a fantastic holiday! I sure did! Every year, we would tune in and watch all the classic Christmas specials: Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, etc. But as kids, we would tune in to see what Christmas specials that our favorite shows would premiere. Some of them are really good and we watch them just as much as the other classic specials. Nickelodeon has a ton of Christmas specials and I'm going to tell you my top 12 favorite specials. Here we go!

12. Son of Stimpy from The Ren & Stimpy Show

Yeah, this is surprisingly a Christmas special and it's one of the most memorable episodes that aired in the series. Stimpy let out a huge fart, which he believes that he had given birth to his son Stinky. He tries to find Stinky before the Christmas holidays. Yeah, that sounds as stupid and disgusting as you think it is, but come on. This is Ren and Stimpy. What did you expect? It's surprisingly heartwarming when Stinky tells Stimpy that he's an adult now and that he must move on with his life and Stimpy gives him his approval. It also has one of the most controversial scenes in any animated show ever: Stimpy being lured by Ren to come under the mistletoe. Nonetheless, if you're in the mood for a more unorthodox Christmas special, this is the one for you.

11. Merry Christmas Kenan from Kenan & Kel

In this episode of Kenan & Kel, it's almost Christmas and Kenan wants a brand new bike. He is told that he has to pay for it with his own money so Kenan decides to work as a mall Santa while Kel is his elf. At first, he's doesn't care about what the kids want. He just wants a bike. But then he sees a mother with very little money take their kids in to see Santa. She knows that the kids aren't going to get anything for Christmas, but she still lets them see Santa so that the Christmas joy could still be in their hearts. In the end, Kenan realizes what Christmas is all about and it has a very nice ending. It's predictable and cheesy, I know. But that's excusable for Christmas. Give it a watch.

10. All That/You Can't Do That on Television Christmas Special

Ah yes, both of these sketch comedy shows had Christmas specials and they're both really funny. All That's Christmas special has the usual classic skits, but having a Christmas theme. Same things going for the You Can't Do That on Television Christmas special. In that special, they have the Christmas skits as well, but Alastair is constantly walking around in a helmet with a mistletoe hanging down and two big puckered lips ready to work. These specials came out when both of the shows were in their prime and it was nice to see them have funny skits celebrating the best time of the year.

9. O Christmas Pete from The Adventures of Pete & Pete

Little Pete and his friends try to have Christmas every day, but unfortunately doesn't go very well when his neighbors, Pit Stain, and the garbage man try to prevent it. The garbage man is the most memorable in this episode; he's gathering all the Christmas trees around the neighborhood and shredding them indicating that Christmas is officially over. Little Pete and his friends work together to stop them from getting what they want: Christmas happening every day. Does this premise sound familiar? Well, if it sounds like the plot to Snow Day, it basically is. This episode was the inspiration for Snow Day after Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi closed the idea of having a Pete & Pete movie. While this special has the Pete & Pete charm in it, I can't help but look at this special and think of that awful movie. Which is why it's on #9.

8. Christmas Everyday from The Fairly Oddparents

It's Christmas and Timmy is so happy with him being with his parents, not going to school, getting lots of presents, the snow, and Vicky not being around. He loves it so much that he sings about wanting everyday to be Christmas. Cosmo and Wanda grant him that wish and at first, everything is going great. But then two weeks past and everyone is getting sick of it. Timmy tries to wish Christmas to be once a year, but Cosmo and Wanda transfered their powers to Santa so he could make toys for all the boys and girls. But then things get worse when the other holiday mascots try to get rid of Santa and have their holidays more well known. Timmy then learns that while Christmas is a great holiday, it can only be celebrated once a year and that's a nice lesson.

7. The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever from Invader Zim

One of the last episodes of the entire series is certainly one of the most surreal. 2 million years into the future, a robotic snowman tells the story of the worst Christmas ever. Zim is trying to get money, but sees that everyone is giving it to the Santas in the street. Zim tries to find out who he is and why everyone loves him. Then he kidnaps one of the Santas, drains his brain with all of his knowledge, and Zim decides to disguise himself as Santa. The world loves him and embraces him as ruler of the world and Zim decides to use the humans to build a teleporter between Earth and the Irkin ship. Dib realizes that Zim is Santa so he tries to stop him. This episode is so strange and funny at the same time. In the end, it shows Santa Claus being a giant monster trying to destroy the world.

6. Doug's Christmas Story from Doug

It's almost Christmas time in Bluffington and everyone is getting ready for it. While going iceskating with his friends, Doug sees Porkchop biting Beebe's leg. Porkchop was trying to prevent Beebe from going into the thin ice, but his actions made it look like he was attacking her. So Porkchop is arrested and put into a dog pound. Doug is depressed that his best friend is locked up so he tries to set him free. He goes into court and convinces the town that Porkchop is innocent. It gets really depressing throughout this episode, but it gets really happy in the end. 

5. Robot for All Seasons from My Life as a Teenage Robot

This Christmas special is surprisingly dark. Jenny helps out a poor little boy named Todd Sweeney. But Todd isn't who he portrays himself to be: he's a mean, evil, spoiled little boy who programs Jenny to become evil for an entire year destroying all the holidays. When Jenny finally wakes up, she sees her town and her friends afraid of her. Jenny tries to tell them that she's not evil, but they don't listen to her. It's the Christmas holidays and Todd tries to program Jenny to destroy it, but Jenny fights off to save the most sacred holiday of all. In the end, everything's nice again and they even have a Christmas song. It's actually very funny when Jenny tries to question the people on how they know this song when they never sung it. That's Christmas for you.

4. The Santa Experience from Rugrats

Rugrats has had two Christmas specials: "The Santa Experience" and "Babies in Toyland", but I prefer this one. It starts with Angelica going over to the mall and asking Santa what she wants for Christmas. But then she realizes that he's not the real Santa and calls him a fake. The employees from the mall bribe her by giving her every toy in the entire mall. But she still wants the present she really wants, a Deluxe Cynthia Beach House. Meanwhile Chuckie is afraid of Santa and doesn't want him to come. Tommy tries to cheer him up, but in the end, the entire baby group is afraid of him. Angelica then learns about that her mean actions might end up with her getting coal for Christmas so she tries hard to be nice so she can get her gift. This special is a classic and I watch it every year.

3. Christmas Who? from SpongeBob SquarePants

As of this year, there are two SpongeBob Christmas specials and both of them are very unique, but the original is on this list. Sandy is getting ready for Christmas, but everyone in Bikini Bottom has never heard of Christmas. So she tells SpongeBob about it and he tells everyone else. They all get excited, but Squidward thinks that it's impossible for Santa to come underwater to give presents. Everyone is disappointed when Santa doesn't show up and SpongeBob is very upset, so Squidward disguises himself as Santa. This is a very unique and creative idea during the time when the show was in its prime. It's the most played out special that Nickelodeon has ever done. 

2. An Even Steven Holiday Special from As Told by Ginger 

I've already talked about it in my Top 10 As Told by Ginger episodes, so I won't go into full detail. Ginger wants to celebrate Christmas in a more special way. Lois tells Ginger about her Jewish grandfather so she decides to combine Christmas and Hanukkah into one party. Meanwhile Hoodsey is making a list of what he wants for Christmas and Carl tells him that Santa doesn't exist. His reasoning behind it is because when he was a kid, he asked Santa for his father to come home but it didn't happen. This is a very nice special that has a lot of heart in it.

1. Arnold's Christmas from Hey Arnold

I know. Predictable, I know. But I couldn't help it. I tried my very best to not include it since I already included "Arnold's Thanksgiving" in my Top 5 Thanksgiving Specials, but I couldn't. This special has so much heart, love, and that good ol' Christmas spirit. Arnold finds out that Mr. Hyunh is his secret Santa and he wants to give him something special. Mr. Hyunh tells Arnold about the story about how he gave his daughter away to American soldiers during the Vietnam War and was trying to find her ever since. All he wants for Christmas is to see his daughter again. Arnold and Gerald talk to the city archivst Mr. Bailey, but he's too busy with Christmas shopping. Arnold tells him that he'll do the shopping in exchange for looking for Mr. Hyunh's daughter. Meanwhile Helga wants to have a pair of snow boots for Christmas. In the end, she does. Arnold and Gerald are looking for those same snow boots, but they're all sold out. Helga finds out about this and gives her snow boots to Mr. Bailey so Arnold can have a nice Christmas. Kevin and I have this episode in our Top 10Hey Arnold episodes and there's a reason why. It's so touching and sincere. The ending always gets me a little teary-eyed when I see it. 

Those are my top 12 Nickelodeon Christmas specials. What are your favorite Christmas specials from Nickelodeon? Post it in the comments below.

Tune in tomorrow as we celebrate Kwanzaa with A Rugrats Kwanzaa.

Also we'll take a look into a very forgotten Christmas special called Christmas in Tattertown created by...

This ought to be interesting. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Merry Christmas!

-Patricia 

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Figure it Out/The Journey of Allen Strange

Before we talk about our main review, let's quickly discuss about the game show that featured the many talents of kids. What were the talents, you say? Well, my friend, you have to figure it out. That was the name of the game: literally. On July 7, 1997, Nickelodeon debuted a new game show called Figure it Out.

The show would start out with a kid who would reveal his talent to the audience and the viewers. There were four panelists consisting of huge Nickelodeon stars at the time trying to guess what the talent was. The panelists were consisted of people such as the cast members of All That like Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server, Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Mark Saul, Kevin Kopelow, and Danny Tamberelli. There was also Mike O'Malley and Moira Quirk from Nickelodeon GUTS, Irene Ng from The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Phil Moore from Nick Arcade, Marc Weiner from Weinerville, Vanessa Baden from Kenan & Kel, Arjay Smith from The Journey of Allen Strange, and Michelle Trachtenberg from Harriet the Spy.



In different occasions, there would be celebrity guest panelists such as Aaron Carter, Carrot Top, Coolio, Mya, Tara Lipinski, Colin Mochrie, Chris Jericho, and more.

Each game consisted of three rounds. If the panelists wanted to know what the kid's talent was, they would ask "yes" or "no" questions. If they couldn't think of a question, they could say "pass". In each round, a clue would be given to them. The first two would be an object or noise and the third clue would be charaded to them by a group of people called "The Charade Brigade". If they're able to say a word that matched the kid's talent, then it would be revealed on a giant head called Billy the Answer Head.



If the panelists fail to guess the talent for each round, the kid gets a prize. If they fail in all three rounds, then he gets the grand prize! The grand prize would be mostly a trip to Universal Studios or a trip to Mexico or Jamaica. Once again, just like Nick Arcade, I find that winning a trip to Universal Studios, the same place where the show is being filmed, is very lazy! We already learned from Legends of the Hidden Temple that big trips can be adventurous and fun like Mexico, Venezuela, the Bahamas, or even in a ranch in Montana and that game show had stopped airing two years before. Way to take a step backwards, Figure it Out.

In the second round, there would be a section of the show called "The Secret Slime Action". A random person would be chosen from the audience for a chance to win a prize. If one of the panelists performs the secret slime action, he or she would get slimed and the audience member would win the prize. Some of these actions were either simple ones like passing a turn, guessing a clue correctly, or sitting next to someone. But the majority of the time, they were beyond impossible to complete. In one episode, the secret slime action was scratching your head. No one was scratching their head so Summer told Danny that there was something on his head. He scratched it and he was slimed. That's so forced and contrite. Nobody likes something forced on! Also, the amount of slime that would be poured on the panelists were inconsistent. The slime would come down either fully.

Or partially.

Slime was the main substance in Nickelodeon. It would've been so great to see them get poured with so much slime. For the people who grew up with Flgure it Out, this was their favorite part of the show. I just wished for a little bit more. Maybe I was spoiled with the amount of slime that they poured on people's heads in Double Dare, but still. I wanted more slime.

 

The show was hosted by Olympic gold medal swimmer Summer Sanders. She was the very first solo female game show host in Nickelodeon and her persona towards the panelists and the kids was very cute and quirky. She was able to run things smoothly while all the crazy things were going on.



The show was created by Kevin Kay and Magda Liolis. They had loved game shows like What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret, so they decided to make a kids version out of it to showcase kids' talents, inventions, and abilities. Some of them were quite neat such as being able to waterski barefoot, instantly playing any song he hears, squiring milk from his eye socket, being an accuracy and freestyling frisbee champion, inventing a self soaping washcloth, knowing the day of every date, inventing a no tear onion slicer, and discovering a recipe for edible plastic. However, some of them were a bit weird and lame such as burping a Christmas song, making a ball of toe jam, working in a pet library, sticking a lizard in your tongue, pinning clothes pins to your face, a dog drinking milk from your mouth, collecting large spiders in a jar, and sticking lobster eyes on your tongue.

Then before the round was over, the kids would then show off their talents to the audience, the panelists, and the viewers. Depending on what the talent was, they were really cool to see.



Figure it Out would have two spinoffs from their show: Figure it Out: Family Style and Figure it Out: Wild Style. Family Style involved with the kid and a parent doing a talent together and Wild Style involved with a kid and his animal doing a talent.

The show had lasted for 5 seasons ending its run on December 12, 1999. Overall, I found the show to be okay. While the panelists can be fun at times, especially Danny with his goofball antics and Lori Beth getting most of the answers right, there are a few things about it that just makes Figure it Out flawed. Besides the forced actions to make a panelist get slimed, some of the lame talents, and the inconsistent slime, another thing that I didn't like were the prizes. While they're not the worst prizes giving on a Nickelodeon show, that would be Nick Arcade, some of them were just lazy. For example, some of the prizes were props from Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Nick Arcade, Legends of the Hidden Temple, or Double Dare. But I felt that they gave them away because they knew that the shows weren't coming back so they had to think of a way to get rid of them. It feels manipulating on their part to give something away like that. Unless you're a huge Nickelodeon fan and grew up with these shows, you would feel like you were gypped if you were given a helmet from Hidden Temple or a piece of the wall from Double Dare. Some of these kids probably didn't even know where they came from or what they are. They were probably expecting something like a bike or a video game or a new movie or something. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but I felt that the prizes could've been better.



Overall, I find the show to be okay. Not one of my favorite game shows on Nickelodeon and not up to par with Double Dare and Legends of the Hidden Temple, but I recommend checking it out sometime.

Now we get to the main review. On November 7, 1997, a new teen series debuted on Nickelodeon asking the question: What would you do if an alien lands on Earth stranded away from home? Do you report to the police or do you take it in and help it get home? Well, in this show, they do the latter. This is The Journey of Allen Strange.

It follows the story of a young Xelan alien who is stranded on Earth. While exploring his surroundings, he meets up with a young girl named Robbie Stevenson (played by Erin Jean), her brother Josh (played by Shane Sweet) and their father Ken (played by Jack Tate). They decide to take the alien into their home to live until he can find a way to get home. They name him "Allen Strange" and he eventually shapeshifts into an African American human (played by Arjay Smith) being to blend in with society.



Each episode, Allen tries to blend in on Earth and learn about their ways while figuring out how to get home. We learn more about each of the characters and their hobbies and problems. Allen is a very intelligent alien: he can read books quickly, learn languages in an instant, and has unique powers such as hovering in his alien form and being able to turn a mannequin to life to portray as his "father". He sleeps in the attic in a strange looking cocoon and has a love for canned cheese. Allen misses his mother in his home planet and wishes to find a way to go home. Robbie has new sets of responsibilities to uphold ever since their mother left. She feels lonely and overwhelmed having to be the new woman of the house. That's actually refreshing! In almost every sitcom or teen series at that time, everytime there would be a family consisting of a dad with kids, the mother would always be prounonced dead. It's nice to see a change in this show that doesn't need to use the "mother's-not-in-the-show-because-she's-dead" cliche. I'm looking at you, Full House. Allen misses his mother and Robbie misses hers, but they start to form a bond with each other. Josh likes sports, comic books, video games, and the Internet. Whenever an episode involves with anything technical, Josh always shines through. He's beyond excited about having Allen in their house since he loves UFOs and aliens.



The father is my least favorite character. He's goofy, cracks stupid jokes, and is unaware about what's going on around him. He's always the last to know about what crazy situations Allen, Robbie, and Josh get into and sometimes doesn't put two and two together. We already had these kind of TV dads billions of times already and it's a shame that in a show that already has likable characters, they had to throw this guy in. He's just there for laughs and goofy moments.

The show was created by Thomas Lynch, the creator of The Secret World of Alex Mack. While the 4th Season of Alex Mack was going, he wanted to release another show that had more realistic situations that a teen would be going through. They were based on things he went through when he was a kid.

"I think The Journey of Allen Strange illustrates my feelings of alienation as a child," Lynch says. "He is separated from his family and the comforts of his usual lifestyle and just wants to fit in. I was 13 and I left my home and lived in a garage. Nobody really ever missed me." When pressed for details, Lynch said with a laugh, "I'm from a single-parent family; there's eight siblings in my family."



The show mostly contains these funny, goofy moments that would involve with things like babysitting an alien baby or trying to fit in among the humans. The more serious episodes like Robbie trying to hide her grades from her father because she was upset about her parents' separation or Allen and Robbie comforting each other when it came to missing their mothers are really touching and well written. These were my favorite episodes and I wished that there were more of them. But unfortunately, the show never pushed itself to make the show too serious, since it also had the comedic goofy moments to lighten it up.

"There are fun romps, such as the episode that features (alien space pests) who eat all of the furniture in the house. The Christmas episode really rocks. Allen brings to life two elf statues, which add a lot of whimsy, but at the core the episode teaches Allen that Christmas is about giving of yourself and not the material things."



Just like Alex Mack and Shelby Woo, Allen Strange also had a book series that contained stories not shown in the series. However, unlike Shelby Woo or Alex Mack, the Allen Strange books only had eight books.



As for the series finale, oh man, where do I start? It's so weird, insulting, boring, and anticlimatic at the same time. Allen finds out that there's an archelogical dig in the Middle East going on and that they had discovered a relic that contains the Xelan language. Allen thinks that it might be a secret for him to get home. So they go to an airport, split up to find the plane leaving for the Middle East, and finding out it's boarding and have no tickets. Robbie disguises herself as an airport employee and sneaks them into the plane leaving for the Middle East. Remember people, this is before 9/11, in which there were no heavy security and you wanted to go to the Middle East. While never explaining how Robbie was able to find Josh and Allen or where she got the uniform, they finally arrive. With a long way the dig, they conveniently find Arab gear, escape the gun-weiding guards, and hop on a bus heading to their destination.



Apparently, when they arrive at the last stop, they meet up with a nomatic tribe, a prince, and the diggers who happen to speak English. They continue their journey surprisingly with no food, water, or a map knowing where to go. Along the way, they have to come across an radio personality who hosts a program about UFOs and government conspiracy and uses him to get to the tomb site where the relic is. Finally, they find it, Allen has a chance to go home, and...he doesn't. After all this time of wanting to go home, Allen loves his friends and his life on Earth so much that he chooses to stay. When they get home, the father never questions of where they were or why they were wearing the Arabian clothes. He's clueless as usual. Then the series ends with Allen looking up in the stars saying that maybe he was left on Earth because he was meant to be on Earth.

The show lasted for 3 seasons ending its run on April 23, 2000. Some of the actors did other projects while some faded into obscurity.

Arjay Smith has been in a few movies and TV shows such as Step by Step, Boston Public, The West Wing, 24, That's So Raven, Malcolm in the Middle, The Day After Tomorrow, Vacancy 2: The First Cut, ER, Figure it Out, and Perception.



Erin Dean has appeared in other TV shows and movies such as Figure it Out, Boy Meets World, Monty Against the Grain, Lovers Lane, and Lolita. She had quit acting in 2000 and does not plan act again.



Shane Sweet has been in other TV shows such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Figure it Out, Static Shock, and Caprica. He's currently on a band called The Celestial Matinee.



Overall, the entire show is a combination of blandness, touching moments, realistic characters, cheesy, goofy moments, a concept that wasn't fully executed, and a crappy series finale. It's a disjointed mess that doesn't know whether to be serious or funny or relatable or goofy. The moments that are good are really good. I like the characters of Robbie and Josh. Robbie is going through a problem that a lot of people are going through: her parents are separated and she has a new batch of responsibilities. She misses her mom and wishes that they could be a family again. That is so refreshing and new! I like that conflict.  Also Josh may be a technical geek, but he's not really a geek. He's a relatable person who always knows how to help in any technical situation. He's reflecting on whay a typical kid was at the time: a boy who has a love of comic books, video games, and the Internet. Trust me, he could have been worse.

But those aspects are not the main focus of the show: the show is about Allen Strange. It's in the title, for goodness sakes. But Allen is not that interesting: he's just your typical alien. An everyman who lands on a strange planet, adapting to his surroundings, and trying to get home. He's like E.T. without the charm. The show has some huge flaws and some things that are never explained like why Allen has disguised himself as an African American human, but lives in a home with white people? Why didn't he disguise himself as a White kid to blend in with the family? Did anyone question why a Black kid is living with a White family all of a sudden? If it's because they're "Putting diversity in the show" or "It's sort of like Diff'rent Strokes in which a Black kid is adopted into a White family", then with Allen Strange, it seems sort of vague and...strange. Speaking of, why did they decide to call him Allen Strange? Don't you think the name's a bit odd and people might question it? It's not a name you hear of every day.

It's like they were trying to put two completely different shows into one. The one about the alien trying to get home and the family going through a tough time with their mom leaving them and the struggles they go through to be whole again. I can see this becoming a flowing story, but it's not done well. They talk about serious conflicts in one scene and have something goofy in the other. It doesn't work. You have to choose between being either serious or funny. You can't do both unless you can put it in a cohesive matter. In The Journey of Allen Strange's case, it doesn't.



If you want to see this concept done in a cohesive matter that's funny and goofy, see either Alf, Mork and Mindy, or 3rd Rock from the Sun.



If you want to see this done in a serious matter, Roswell is your show.



If you want both, then see E.T. The Extraterrestrial or Lilo and Stitch. These are done so much better than Allen Strange.



Just like The Secret World of Alex Mack, Thomas Lynch had created a really good concept of a TV show, but did not executed it well at all. When the show first came out, it was not seeing by many viewers. Today, it's one of the Nickelodeon shows that has been forgotten. There's a reason why that no one remembers it. It's clumsy, it's flawed, it doesn't focus on the main plot, and there are too many goofy moments overlapping the good, serious moments. It's a show with an identity crisis. I don't recommend checking it out.



That's all for now. Tune in next time as we conclude 1997 with Nickelodeon's next feature film Good Burger.



Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia