Anyone who had Nickelodeon in the 90s will know that this decade represented the hayday of the network; nowadays it's a mere shadow of the former 'lodeon with a handful of decent programmes.
Where Nickelodeon is synonymous with awesome, quirky, often risque-humoured cartoons like Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Angry Beavers and more, it has also featured some kickass live action shows.
So what are my personal Top Five of: Live Action Nickelodeon Shows? Find out... below!
LIVE ACTION NICKELODEON SHOWS NUMBER FIVE: CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL
Most people will remember Sabrina the Teenage Witch as Melissa Joan Hart's flagship Nickelodeon programme, but to me, it's trumped by her previous show - Clarissa Explains it All.
Ultimately this show follows the trials and exploits of Clarissa, a young girl experiencing day-to-day growing-up-sucks issues. But the charm comes in when she uses her otherworldly, surreal and fantastical explanations to break the fourth wall and tell the audience what she's thinking.
Beyond this, the show also featured a young boy named Sam who broke and entered Clarissa's house in every episode by climbing up a ladder and through her bedroom window, a practice which caused me to adopt the habit and ultimately wind up with several restraining orders. Explain THAT, Clarissa.
LIVE ACTION NICKELODEON SHOW NUMBER FOUR: THE SECRET WORLD OF ALEX MACK
Based on first glance alone The Secret World of Alex Mack might sound like another one of those bland "My life sucks" sitcoms where a teen girl has teen girl problems (usually called "Being Jenny Brown" or something equally crap). But no, Alex Mack is about a girl who gets hit by a chemical truck en-route to school and develops superpowers as a result. She gets telekinesis, can harness electricity, and much like a far less intimidating (and more backwards-cap-wearin') T-1000, can turn into liquid metal.
Badass premise? You're damn right.
The chemical plant's CEO obviously wants to avoid media backlash and is constantly trying to gauge whether or not Alex has been affected by the chemical spill - which is why Alex keeps her powers secret, hence...
SECRET WORLD.
You all get it now. It wasn't clear before, but now you know.
LIVE ACTION NICKELODEON SHOW NUMBER THREE: ADVENTURES OF PETE AND PETE
Pete and Pete ranks number three on this list because where a sitcom usually focuses on a weirdo in a normal situation, or a normal guy enduring an abnormal set of circumstances, this almost does both simultaneously. Following two brothers, "Big Pete", who narrates the show and wants to have a normal life, talk to girls etc... and "Little Pete", a Dennis the Menace-alike with a penchant for attacking authority figures, The Adventures of Pete and Pete is utterly mental. Everyone in the show is dysfunctional in some manner (besides perhaps "Big Pete" and a handful of his friends). It's almost like they live in a less threatening Silent Hill, where everything happens like it's some bizarre reflection of the actions and emotions of Pete and Pete.
Also, Pyramid Head's not in it.
But who IS in it is Petunia, the semi-sentient tattoo of a burlesque girl on Little Pete's forearm. Yeah. Pyramid Head's not so freaky now, eh?
LIVE ACTION NICKELODEON SHOW NUMBER TWO: SISTER SISTER
Almost like some kind of Nickelodeon series version of The Parent Trap, two twins separated at birth bump into each other whilst out shopping one day and, through a chain of events, end up living with each other once again with their respective parents (conveniently, one with her father, one with her mother).
Tia has grown up to a refined standard and an upper-crust lifestyle whilst Tamara is the streetwise foul-mouth tomboy (you can't write this stuff. Or... er... rather, you can. And did. Well, not you. Some guy). Now, the twins teach each other valuable lessons as they constantly try to get their parents to fall in love despite being polar opposites.
Worth noting is Roger, the next-door neighbour, who stalks the sisters and creepily shows up hiding around Tia and Tamara's house. I am sensing something of a theme of young men stalking girls in Nickelodeon's shows which I SHOULD find concerning, but instead simply find endearing. Probably raises concerns about me.
LIVE ACTION NICKELODEON SHOW NUMBER ONE: KENAN AND KEL
What SHOULD be the blandest programme in my list (this is simply "Sitcom where two friends constantly get into trouble" in summary), Kenan and Kel is my favourite Live Action Nickelodeon show, purely because the characters are so animated and likeable.
At the beginning of each show there'd be a fourth wall-breaking intro where Kenan, the get-rich-quick schemer would tell everyone about the events to come, whilst Kel remained oblivious (as was true to his clumsy, flippant, naive nature).
The show usually revolved around Kenan trying to make things easy for himself or a scheme to get a bit of cash, whilst his well-meaning but ultimately nuisance of a friend Kel would attempt to help (and usually cause more problems). When Kel refused to help, Kenan would bribe Kel with his ultimate weakness - Orange Soda, resulting in him asking "Who looooves Orange Soda?" - Kel would always shiver and respond, "K-K-Kel... loooooves Orange Soda!"
Often, Kenan would put in more effort in his schemes than he would've exerted simply doing the job in the first place, and he'd still end up screwing himself over, but Kel always seemed to fare a little better, often clumsily but charmingly evading trouble and getting some kind of unwarranted reward at the end.
And this duo's success on the show also set the wheels in motion for their movie, "Good Burger" to be made, which as everyone knows, is the best film in the world.
There were a few on my list that didn't make the final Five: Tales from the Cryptkeeper, Round the Twist, Are You Afraid of the Dark? - other pretty damned good shows. Of course, you're welcome to tell me what you think -
Which shows on Nick gave you the Biggest Kick? What were your Top Five Of: Live Action Nickelodeon Shows?
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