I often see people my age posting memes, graphics, and Fan pages on Facebook asserting that kid's shows from the
80's and 90's are better than the shows that kid's have to watch today. And while I adore a lot of the shows that I grew up with, I must disagree in at least one department: Comedy.
There seem to be three major genres of programming when it comes to children's television: Action, comedy, and drama. The line between dramas and comedies is blurred sometimes, as there are the after-school-specials that have canned laughter and zany characters, but for the most part, emphasize relationships and stories between characters, and always have underlying messages and morals in every episode.
I often find myself catching these shows on Netflix and XFinity On Demand. It's difficult to determine what the golden age of children's dramas is because they very rarely live up as an adult. Just to be clear, I consider children's programming anything to be rated TVG and TVY7 in the V-Chip ratings (some may consider Fresh Prince, The Simpsons, Full House, and Home Improvement to be children's shows)
There's no question that action shows peaked in the late 80's/early 90's. No disrespect to the current action shows, but it's not even a contest. Might Morphin' Power Rangers is a wash,
considering that the Power Rangers series is still running. I will give the nod to
the new Ninja Turtles to the 80's Ninja Turtles[1]. But with GI Joe, Transformers,
X-Men, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, and most notably, Batman the Animated Series, the
late 80's/early 90's action shows blow every other era out of the water.
[1]Listen, nobody loved Ninja Turtles more than me. I had the action figures, video
games, bed spreads, Halloween costumes, saw all three movies in the theaters. I couldn't get enough of the heroes in a half shell.
However, as I asserted with Indian Jones - The series does
not hold up for adults and is very dated. The show was not much action packed, and
the plots got stale and repetitive after season three. Not to mention that the show really went downhill late in the series.
I don't think the 80's and 90's children's comedies hold a candle to the comedies
that kid's have today. Even as an adult - I enjoy a lot of the comedies aimed at
children these days. Sure, the 80's and 90's had their fair share of funny shows.
Ren and Stimpy. Rocko's Modern Life. Keenan and Kel. And -
Wait -
Hold on there's more I think.
Is that really it? There has to be more, right? I know for sure that "All That"
doesn't count, because that show was an abomination[2]. I don't think I can really
consider The Adventures of Pete and Pete a comedy. Nor can I do the same with
Recess, Hey Arnold, Boy Meets World, , Doug, and Rugrats. Step by Step, Ahhh Real
Monsters, and Family Matters were okay, but not great. I want to say
Brother's Keeper[3] and Cartoon Planet (which actually made a comeback), but I don't
feel that they were popular and memorable enough to consider in this argument.
[2]Except for Amanda Bynes. I thought she was hot then (when I was a kid - So it's not
technically pedophilia). And I think she's hot now. I don't care how many DUI's she
has.
[3]For those who don't remember Brother's Keeper, it was on ABC's TGIF lineup for a
couple seasons. The premise was a the kicker for the San Francisco 49ers living with
his brother, who was a single dad with one son. Just know that it was much better
than Two and a Half Men.
With the looks of it, the comedies that Generation X-ers grew up on were pretty
mediocre. Of all the shows I named, the only ones that I honestly would go back and
watch are Ren and Stimpy, Rocko, and Cartoon Planet. That's it. The rest are not
worth my time. Primarily because there are much funnier shows today, especially with
kid's shows today. Here's a list of the brilliant comedies that kids today have the
luxury of growing up with -
Regular Show
Chowder
Yo Gabba Gabba
Adventure Time with Jake and Finn
Captain Flapjack
iCarly
I'm dead serious - I cannot get enough of these programs. I almost wish that I were
a kid again.
Regular Show
Regular Show is about two best friends: Mordecai - A blue jay, and Rigby - A
raccoon. The cast is a mix of oddball characters that work at a public park, and
constantly get into mischief. I don't even really know how to explain the show. The
plots usually center around common, every day activities and issues from camping,
pranking, to getting a refund for an unfair purchase, to fixing a computer - And
always lead to the destruction of the park, or Mordecai and Rigby getting fired.
The show never fails to expand the imagination. Each episode starts off in a normal
setting, where nothing is really out of place. But as the story progresses,
everything gets more and more ridiculous and out of whack. Along with the Daily
Show, Colbert Report, South Park, and American Dad, Regular Show is set to
automatically record on my DVR. Next time you're scrolling through channels, watch
Regular Show if it's not. You won't regret it.
Adventure Time with Jake and Finn
Adventure Time with Jake and Finn is very similar to Regular Show. It centers around
two best friends: Jake - A kid, and Finn - A dog (who is voiced by *, who also plays
Bender on Futurama). The show always starts off with a normal premise in a normal
setting, and gets more and more ridiculous as the episode progresses. I give Regular
Show the nod over Adventure time only because Regular Show has a better and stronger
variety of supporting characters. Nevertheless, Adventure Time is still very
humorous.
Yo Gabba Gabba
I was visiting one of my best friends a couple weeks ago who lives three hours away
from me. I was about to leave, and he put on Yo Gabba Gabba. After watching for two
minutes, I could not turn away. I had to stay and watch the rest of the show. It was
so ridiculous I did not know what the fuck to think. It was like watching Tim and
Eric Awesome Show, but if it were aimed towards kids. I added it to my guilty
pleasure list, until I read about it on the Internet and discovered three things:
1) The show is rather popular amongst young adults
2) YouTube commenters are kind to the show, as one comment stated "This show is
better than 90% of the shows on today"[4]
3) One of the writers and directors of the show is Matt Chapman, creator of Homestar
Runner.
[4]Then again, one of the comments directed toward Robbie stated "Dis nigga didn't
chew his food"
Despite being on Nick Jr (the timeframe on Nickelodeon that is directed towards
children younger than the age of seven), Yo Gabba Gabba is actually rather amusing.
I strongly recommend giving it a view.
Chowder
