Two and a half years ago, we explored
the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact,
Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's
truly venerable forerunner:
Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative
QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to
the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is
looking back with
a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including
Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and
All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments
"All three of the 'Appeal' segments make fun of those pre-movie trailers where celebrities used to ask you to donate money. It's a little shocking to see them using Christopher Reeve begging for money for medical research until you remember this was written years before his accident. Spooky. More celebrities interrupt Chris, arguing over what the point of the Walter Sternberg Foundation is, all of them asking for money, but none of them agreeing on why. Charlton Heston, Robert Vaughn, Clint Eastwood, Mary Tyler Moore, and others show up to argue. They return later to yell at the audience for not giving enough money, accusing them of not caring. Finally, in the third appeal, Chris Reeve just snaps and loses it, furious at the audience. 'I don't know what to say. Words cannot express my contempt for you people. You sit there stuffing your faces in your Reeboks and your Levis 501s. You don't care about the children. You just want to beat the crowd out of the parking lot at the end of the movie. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can all go f*** yourselves.' Then for the rest of the film, Reeve just randomly shows up in the background of scenes, glaring at the audience with naked disgust." From the never-filmed
The Saturday Night Live Movie, written in 1990 by Greg Daniels, James Downey, George Meyer, Tom Davis, Al Franken, Conan O’Brien, and Robert Smigel.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates
on Jul 19, 2010 -
17 comments
"Eggs? Yeah, we fix 'em. Well, are they broken all the way or are they just cracked? OK, well that's good,
just bring 'em right in..." The year: 1984. The sketch: "Roy's Food Repair". The stars: John Candy, Valri Bromfield, Dave Thomas, Carrie Fisher, and Paul Simon. The show: a short-lived NBC comedy variety program produced by Lorne Michaels called
The New Show.
[more inside]
posted by Atom Eyes
on Jul 10, 2010 -
7 comments
It was 30 years ago today that Elvis Costello and the Attractions appeared on Saturday Night Live. They'd wanted to play
Radio Radio but SNL said no as it was thought to be 'anti-media.' So they started playing
Less Than Zero, but stopped eight seconds in and played
Radio Radio anyway, which led to them being banned from SNL for 12 years.
Tip o' the hat to the Post Punk Progressive Pop Party.
posted by carter
on Dec 17, 2007 -
85 comments
Amongst the many companies with offices in Manhattan is
a multibillion-dollar French conglomerate that handles "diversified commodities, energy, shipping, real estate, manufacturing, and communications." The owner,
Gerard, is one of the richest men in the world, and, at 75, his children and grandchildren stand to inheirit a tidy sum of perhaps half a billion each upon his passing. Unless you've been in a cave for a few decades, one of them has — given syndication, perhaps even daily — been making you laugh for a long, long time. A heiress and
princess who you first met
live from New York (where she met her husband), then a yuppie in
a movie of Christmas indignities, and finally in a small,
barely aired show about, er, nothing ... meet
Elaine Julia, the multibillion-dollar heiress, Northwestern dropout,
Emmy-winning actress, and even
a distant relative of Richard Dreyfuss. And then compare her to a
certain other celebrity heiress.
posted by WCityMike
on May 2, 2007 -
52 comments
(Spoilers in most links). So an SNL digital short,
Dear Sister spoofs the second season
finale of the OC. Now the internets just don't know when to stop, with parodies (of the parody) playing on everything from the obvious like
The Departed,
LOST,
Snatch,
The Matrix,
Reservoir Dogs, and
Predator to the not-so-obvious like
Lord of the Rings,
Raging Bull,
Monty Python,
Duck Hunt (my favorite),
Looney Toons,
LazyTown,
Smash Brothers,
Office Space, and
Bio-Ooze Super Soakers.
posted by ztdavis
on Apr 28, 2007 -
65 comments
In the face of the overwhelming problems in this country,
President Al Gore took the time last night to appear before the country on NBC and address each issue with the American people.
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on May 14, 2006 -
108 comments
"Damn, Natalie, you a crazy chick!" (video) Natalie Portman, rapper and riot grrl? Maybe Lazy Sunday (
video;
mefi post) wasn't a freak occurence after all. Personally, I had expected the
Lonely Planet guys to end up a one-hit wonder, but in my book they've (at least) moved up a notch to talented one-trick pony. Another very well-done digital short that should be seen by a lot more people than SNL's dismal ratings will allow.
posted by Sinner
on Mar 5, 2006 -
99 comments
The Cowbell Project Inspired by the SNL/Christopher Walken sketch, a database of recordings that feature the cowbell, and a list of other songs that maybe should have considered it...
posted by lilboo
on Nov 7, 2002 -
33 comments
Mike Meyers deserves a medal for having the guts to admit that the character he created for a five-minute sketch wasn't going to carry a full-length movie. He gave up a 20-million-dollar payday and saved us all from another "SNL spin-off" movie.
posted by wendell
on Jun 19, 2000 -
10 comments
