Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The ten Nicktoons that should have never been cancelled (part 2 of 2)

Ah, yes. Part two of this Nicktoons special is even better than the last. Let's get started, shall we?

Freakazoid! (1995-1997) Oh gosh, this show. A parody of modern-day superheroes Freakazoid! was about the titular character fighting villains with goofy names, the internet (which was still "new" at this point), and whooshing around with his arms in front of him. It was really, really offbeat and hilarious. One of the most famous villans from the show is a boogeyman that abducts anyone that says his name, Candle Jack. He's an interes-
Executive producer was Steven Spielberg, surprisingly. Also, it was cancelled because they were attracting more adults than children. I don't understand why it matters; viewers are viewers.
The first season has been released on DVD, and there are plans to release the other two. You can also buy the first season on iTunes.

KaBlam! (1996-2000)
Ah, Henry and June. This show was like SNL for kids. It featured many different types of animated shorts, most appearing more than once on the show (including the spun-off Action Leauge NOW!), and all being extremely different. The most famous of all of these is probably Prometheus and Bob, a story about an alien that tries to teach a caveman basic survival techniques, most of which are ruined by a monkey.
It was a great show, and only ended because they ran out of content. There was apparently a spin-off named The Henry and June Show, but it only lasted for two episodes.
There are no plans to release it on DVD or iTunes.

Invader Zim (2001-2002)

This is, and will forever be, my favorite cartoon. Created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez, it's about a clueless alien invader named Zim. He is accompanied by his near-retarded robot GIR, and is often thwarted by his nemesis, the human Dib. It's a lot deeper than that, but you get the idea. It's a really original concept, and the humor is extremely dark. In fact, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
Though it only ran for two seasons (or one and a half, if you really want to get technical), it remains an extremely popular cult hit, still selling shirts, stickers, toys, and anything else you can imagine. They claim that the show was cancelled due to lack of intrest, but that is clearly bullshit. It's probably because they were "attracting the wrong audience." Apparently Jhonen was offered to bring the show back with little restrictions on another unnamed network (probably MTV or Comedy Central), but turned it down to focus on other projects.
Every episode is on DVD, including five unaired episodes. It is also available for download on iTunes and XBOX Live.

The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991-1996) I have vivid memories of this show from when I was a child. I was prohibited from watching it, because of the "semi-mature" nature of the jokes, so I would always turn it on while my parents were in the shower, or in the other room. I was a sneaky bastard. I also remember being caught once, and having TV taken away for a while. I think I was six or seven.
Anyways, it follows the stupid cat Ren and overzealous dog Stimpy. They have nonsensical adventures, in which they often get themselves into absolutely vile situations. It's one of the most controversial cartoons ever aired on television. I fucking loved it, though.
Another "adult" series was made for TNN (now SPIKE TV), titled Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon. It was rated TV-MA, and cancelled after a month.
Most episodes are on VHS, and a "best of" collection was even released on LaserDisc. All of the original episodes and the second series are now on DVD, as well as on iTunes.

Rocko's Modern Life (1993-1996) Damn, today was full of my favorites as a kid. I was allowed to watch this one, though. It chronicles the misadventures of Rocko, a wallaby, and his two best friends, Heffer the cow and Filbert the turtle. The show was filled with offensive humor and double entendres, yet still lasted for three seasons. This seems like the kind of show that I would enjoy more now, because I would get most of the jokes. They rarely show it on TV anymore though.
This is interesting. Stephen Hillenburg worked on this show frequently. He's the creator of Spongebob. I would have never guessed that.
VHS has been released, and DVDs are allegedly in the works. Apparently the creators are trying to buy the rights from Nickelodeon, in order to release them. Six out of fifty-two episodes are on iTunes.

I've never had a chance to say it to the public before, but FUCK HEY ARNOLD! Everyone seems to have a hard-on for this show but myself. I thought it was shitty, refuse to write about it. Fuck that show and its shitty storyline.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ass.
Hey Arnold! was the love of my childhood.

:P

Maybe just because it took place in NYC, and even as a young child, I was fascinated by it.