Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Top 20-11 Worst Nickelodeon Role Models

Hey guys. Another week, another top 20 list. We've covered my favorite male and female role models. Now it's time for the worst. Who are the people we see on Nickelodeon that make us embarrassed to see? Let's take a look, shall we?

20. Spencer Shay from iCarly



Here's the deal: in iCarly, Carly has no mother and her father is away at the U.S. Air Force. So who's her legal guardian? Her 26-year-old artistic brother Spencer. Besides the teacher, the secretary, bell hop, and school principal, he's the main adult character of the show and he's a complete immature moron. In fact, Carly, who is much younger than Spencer, is a lot more smarter, mature, and more successful than he is due to her web series. He's really low on this list because at least he loves and cares for his sister and is very supportive of her web series. But still, why is he acting like a 5-year-old when he's supposed to be the adult of iCarly? Seriously Spencer, grow up!

19. Meltman from Action League Now!



He's the most useless superhero in a group of the worst superheroes of all time. He has the power to melt, which is really bad in itself. Most of the time, he's teased, tormented, and done errands for the group like getting donuts and coffee. If you thought that Aquaman was a wuss, Meltman is even worse. He's a coward, he's not smart, he's not strong, and his superhero ability sucks! Don't expect him to save the day when you are in dire need of help.

18. Jimmy Neutron



Wait! Wait! While I did like the movie and the TV series, I have something to say about Jimmy. In the movie, he was a very smart boy who invents a lot of cool, nifty things. While he did make a mistake of letting aliens know about his planet which ended up having all the adults abducted to be fed to their chicken god, he rounded up his friends and saved the day. But in the TV series, he turns out to be a bit of a jerk towards everyone. He ends up being a bit snotty and bragging about his intelligence to everyone, making them feel inferior and unimportant. It is true that Jimmy's friends Carl and Sheen aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but he doesn't need to shove his intelligence down their throats. He still tends to make a ton of mistakes due to his inventions and he always finds ways of completing them. Carl and Sheen, while being the funny aspects of the show, end up being his sidekicks which kind of render them useless whenever danger occurs in Retroville. This is nitpicking, but still, I can't help but note down this huge flaws.

17. Pelswick Eggbert from Pelswick



This character had so much potential to be a huge role model for kids who were handicapped. He wasn't depressed about being in a wheelchair, he's not a stick in the mud, and he's not a victim. But then again, he's not a memorable character. Created by John Callahan, who is known for dark comedy and witty humor, the result of Pelswick's character is unacceptable. Now he's just a bland character in a show that is hugely forgotten.

16. Cat from CatDog



The majority of the characters from CatDog are mean spirited jerks, but Cat is on my list because he's a huge manipulator towards Dog. There are times in which he doesn't want Dog around so he can be alone. But when he does want him around, he uses him for tasks to get him rich, famous, popular, defense against the Greasers, or just to control him for his desires. Dog is a very simple minded dog who wants nothing more than to make Cat happy, so it makes it more disgusting to see him take advantage of him. Sure Dog is a bit dumb and wouldn't make it on his own without Cat, but I feel that Cat is needs Dog slightly a bit more. Once again falling into the old cliche that cats are evil. Brekclub85 will not be pleased.

15. El Tigre from El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera



This kid, just like the show, is full of inconsistencies. One moment he wants to be a superhero like his father, the next he wants to be mischievous and evil like his grandfather is. This could've been a great concept, but unfortunately, everything about this show is forgettable: El Tigre, his friend, and the villains. In the final episode when he had to make a decision of whether to be a hero or villian, he didn't choose it: the viewers did. That's right: the kids made a choice online in nick.com about whether he should be good or bad just like when the comic book fans voted on whether Jason Todd lived or died when he fought the Joker. Either way, he's a character with no substance.

14. All the African American Nickelodeon Game Show Hosts

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Now let me be make things clear for you guys: I'm NOT racist by any means! I love everyone equally by race, color, religion, etc. My main gripe when looking at all the Nickelodeon game shows again is that some of the hosts are bad. The African American game show hosts are even worse, which is a shame. Steve Harvey, the current host of Family Feud, is fantastic and made the show hilarious! Wayne Brady, the current host of Let's Make a Deal, is so engaging, funny, and does his improv to the T. Sherri Shepard, the current host of The Newlywed Game, gave a little more spice to a game show known for its naughty answers.Why can't any African American game show host on Nickelodeon give that same spark?

Michael Carrington and Robb Edward Morris from Think Fast! and Make The Grade were so unbelievably boring and made the shows they hosted completely overshadowed by Marc Summers' quirky personality and overall better game show. Omar Gooding, the co-host of Wild & Crazy Kids was basic, bland, and forgettable. Phil Moore, the host of Nick Arcade and You're On!, is the goofiest game show host that Nickelodeon has ever had! There hasn't been an African American game show host in Nickelodeon for over a decade. Let's actually have a fun, interactive, down-to-earth African American game show host Nickelodeon. Please, please, I'm begging you. So far, you haven't done a good job at it.

 13. Ed Bighead from Rocko's Modern Life



He's an absolute dick to everyone around him: his neighbors, his co-workers, his wife, and his son. He's cranky, he's mean, he cares very little about things, and he's an unlikable toad. Not someone you want to have as a next door neighbor.

12. Ren Hoek from The Ren & Stimpy Show



He's a crazy dog with anger issues. He's mean, abusive, pushy, and manic towards his best friend Stimpy. If he's not being mean, then he's completely losing his mind. He can snap at any moment and you don't want to be in his way when that happens.

11. Brian Robbins



Geez, it's like this guy can't do anything decent by himself nowadays. Robbins, alongside his partner Mike Tomlin, created the sketch comedy show All That as well as being the producers/directors of shows like Kenan & Kel, What I Like About You, One Tree Hill, and others. But unfortunately, when it comes to producing and directing movies, Robbins has done critically and commercially failures like Good Burger, Varsity Blues, Norbit, Ready to Rumble, Meet Dave, and A Thousand Words. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a man who had created a show so meaningful in our childhoods has now directed movies that have reduced to crapfests.

Those are my top 20-11 worse male Nickelodeon role models. Which people from Nickelodeon that you can't stand? Post it in the comments below. Tune in next time as I tell you my top 10 worst Nickelodeon role models.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia

Old School Lane's Top 20-11 Nickelodeon Female Role Models

Hey guys. Time for Part 2 of my top list of role models. This time we're covering the females. If you want to check out my top 20 male role models before reading this one, go check it out. Same rules apply, so let's get started.

20. Summer Sanders

She’s a great role model for anyone who wants to get into swimming or being a game show host. In 1992, she won 2 gold medals in the 200 meter butterfly and 400 meter medley relay, a silver medal in the 200 meter individual medley, and a bronze in the 400 meter individual medley. But for most kids in the late 90’s, they know her as the host of the Nickelodeon game show Figure it Out. As of now, she is the only female to have ever hosted a Nickelodeon game show. How can you not respect her?

19. Moze from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide

This feisty, intelligent, and witty middle school student knows her way around dealing with everyday problems and taking the huge amount of crap that her friends Ned and Cookie go through. She isn’t a stereotypical girl token, she was a standout among the crowd and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.  However, she isn’t a perfect person: she has a bit of a nasty temper and whenever she has a problem, she talks to Ned to see his school survival guide. Nonetheless, she’s one of the best female characters in a Nickelodeon teen sitcom.

18. Catalina from Space Cases

She was my absolute favorite character from a sci-fi series with huge flaws. She’s the ship’s engineer that comes from Titan, a moon from Saturn.  Her kind are capable of releasing dangerous sonic screams and vocal patterns that can pick up frequencies that other people and alien beings can’t hear. At the end of the first season, she sacrificed her life to save her friends from Warlock Shank. But it turns out that she wasn’t dead: she was sent to the same dimension that her friend Suzee lives in. Suzee became the new engineer in the second season, but Catalina was a way better character.

Not to mention that she was played by Jewel Staite, the same woman who would play as Kaylee from Firefly. That’s awesome!

17. Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot



Created by Mrs. Wakeman to save the world from destruction, XJ9 or Jenny has so many awesome weapons and devices that can be useful for anything! However, she was giving a personality of a teenager who wants to fit in with other teenagers. With her friends Brad, Tucker, and Sheldon, Jenny learns eventually about being herself. With that, she has epic fights against many villains while still completing her homework.

16. Alex Mack from The Secret World of Alex Mack



This everyday teenage girl is anything but ordinary. When a truck crashes in front of her pouring out a dangerous chemical called GC-161, Alex starts developing powers such as shooting lightning from her fingertip, telekinesis, and turning into a puddle. She keeps this secret from everyone except her best friend Darren and her sister Annie so that the plant responsible for the chemicals don't capture her to be experimented on. Alex is pretty low on this list because, as cool as those powers are, she doesn't use them that often or for the right reasons. But come on, don't you wish you had cool powers like that? I do.

15. Christine "Moose" McGlade



Sure there were a lot of kids and teens over the years on You Can't Do That on Television, but we all remember Moose. She had a great presence to her whenever she performs the jokes and interacts with the other kids, especially with Lisa "Motormouth" Ruddy and Les Lye. She was on the show for over 9 years and then starred in the other Nickelodeon program Turkey Television. To many kids in the 80's, she's a very iconic actress in a very popular TV show. Today she's mostly focuses on being a producer on a Canadian TV station, but we'll always remember her as Moose.

14. Lori Beth Denberg/Lisa Foiles



There were two versions of All That that occurred during its 10 year run, the original and the relaunch. I decided to put my favorite actresses from both of the show's different runs: Lori Beth from the original and Lisa from the relaunch. Both of them were the most well known with their hilarious skits such as Vital Information, The Loud Librarian, Sugar & Coffee, and Bridget's Slumber Party as Claudia. Each girl are extremely hilarious and talented. Lori Beth left All That and went on to do a few movies and TV shows such as The Steve Harvey Show. Lisa went on to do SNICK on Dare. After she left All That, she dedicates herself to reviewing video games on her website Save Point.

13. Emily Kapnek



She had the dubious honor of creating the very first and only Nicktoon under Klasky-Csupo Productions that was not created by either Arlene Klasky or Gabor Csupo: As Told by Ginger. The show was really ahead of its time with its story arcs, character development, serious and down-to-earth messages, and clothes swapping. It's also one of the very few Nicktoons that had a very satisfying ending with the TV movie The Wedding Frame. Today she's the creator and executive producer of Suburgatory, but she will always be known as releasing the most underrated Nicktoon ever. A truly wonderful creator.

12. Korra from Legend of Korra



The next Avatar after Aang is the complete opposite from the calm, spiritual, and non-confrontational airbender. She's tough, in-your-face, and a real prodigy after learning 3 of the 4 elements when she was 5 and mastering them when she was 16. But she hasn't connected with her spiritual side and she hasn't learned airbending. Her situation gets even more serious when an anti-bender group led by a man named Amon occurs in Republic City. At first, she wants to take him down, but as time goes on, she gets frightened. She wants to protect the city, the benders, and non-benders from this evil man, but things eventually gets more complicated. She gets stressed out, but never gives up. In the end, she maintains peace towards the city. She's not higher on this list because we don't know about her character yet and we won't see any new episodes until next year. Until then, she has became one of my favorite heroines in Nickelodeon history.

11. Cheryl Blaylock



A truly fantastic female puppeteer who is responsible for playing as Mona in Sesame Street and other minor characters in Muppets Take Manhattan before she would be portraying as Eureeka from Eureeka's Castle. After that, she went on to perform as Fred from Blue's Room, a character in Oobi, and many more. Today she's in charge of kids activities in a non-profit organization called Trees NY. She's one of the many people we interviewed and we were so honored for her to take her time to do so. It was even better when we met her in person talking for an hour and a half about puppets and everything! It was a dream come true!



Those are my top 20-11 Nickelodeon female role models. Who are your female role models from Nickelodeon? Post it in the comments below. Tune in next time as I countdown my top 10 favorite female role models.

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

-Patricia
 

Top 20-11 Nickelodeon Shows That Need to be Remade

The second list of the top 10 Nickelodeon shows that needed to be remade. While not as desperate and needed as the ones that made it to the original list, it was necessary enough to mention them. Which shows need to be updated for a new generation? Well, expect a few surprises, obscure shows, and one show that makes me really angry! What Nickelodeon shows do you want to see remade? Post it in the comments below.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia