90s Nickelodeon Shows, Ranked

Everything was orange, slimed, or both.

Entries
10
Category
TV
Updated
  1. A greasy fast-food burger and a soda on a diner counter beside a stage curtain and a microphone stand.

    10. All That

    Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin · 1994

    A kids' SNL with a musical guest every week. Good Burger became a movie, Kenan and Kel got their own show, and Kenan Thompson went on to become the longest-serving cast member in actual SNL history. The minor leagues worked.

  2. An open spiral journal on a desk beside a homemade superhero cape, a dog bowl and a jar of mayonnaise.

    09. Doug

    Jim Jinkins · 1991

    An 11-year-old in Bluffington writes in his journal about Patti Mayonnaise and imagines himself as Quailman. Premiered the same day as Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy. Nickelodeon let it go after 52 episodes and Disney bought it. Even Doug's staff preferred the first version.

  3. A giant carved stone head in a jungle temple set with a silver monkey statue split into three pieces on an altar.

    08. Legends of the Hidden Temple

    Nickelodeon · 1993

    Kids crossed a moat, then ran a temple full of Mayan-costumed guards to grab a treasure described by a giant talking stone head named Olmec. Most teams failed the final run. Nobody has ever assembled the Shrine of the Silver Monkey under pressure. Nobody.

  4. A wooden ladder leaning against a second-story bedroom window at night, a small alligator in a kiddie pool on the lawn below.

    07. Clarissa Explains It All

    Mitchell Kriegman · 1991

    Melissa Joan Hart talks straight to camera, builds a video game about her problems, and keeps a pet alligator named Elvis. Sam comes in by ladder through the window. It was Nickelodeon's first series with a female lead and proved boys would watch it. Of course they would.

  5. A plain wooden log sitting on a red velvet display pillow under a spotlight, a cat litter box nearby.

    06. The Ren & Stimpy Show

    John Kricfalusi · 1991

    A psychotic chihuahua, a dim cat, Happy Happy Joy Joy, and fake ads for a product called Log. Nickelodeon fired its creator in 1992 over blown deadlines and an episode it refused to air. The show went on without him. Some of it was still great. Most of it was still gross.

  6. An overflowing laundromat washing machine spilling suds onto a tile floor, a tiny wallaby-sized shirt drifting in the foam.

    05. Rocko's Modern Life

    Joe Murray · 1993

    An anxious wallaby in O-Town fighting laundromats and consumerism. Murray said the studio was like preschool without supervision, and a lot of jokes got past the network; the Chokey Chicken was renamed Chewey Chicken once someone noticed. Its staff went on to make SpongeBob.

  7. A city boarding house rooftop bedroom with a glass skylight, a heart-shaped locket left on the windowsill.

    04. Hey Arnold!

    Craig Bartlett · 1996

    A nine-year-old with an unusually shaped head lives with his grandparents in a boarding house in a city full of quietly sad adults. Helga bullies him and keeps his picture in a locket. The cliffhanger about his parents was resolved in 2017. Only 13 years. Fine.

  8. A campfire in a dark forest clearing with a canister of powdered creamer beside it and white sparks erupting from the flames.

    03. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

    D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel · 1992

    The Midnight Society meets in the woods, throws midnight dust on the fire, and tells a story that ruins your night. The dust was Coffee-Mate. Ryan Gosling and Neve Campbell turned up early in their careers. Saturday nights for kids old enough to stay up but not out.

  9. A toy screwdriver lying on a playpen floor beside a baby bottle and a stuffed purple dinosaur toy.

    02. Rugrats

    Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain · 1991

    The world from a crawl's-eye view, with a Mark Mothersbaugh theme that sounds like a toy box falling down stairs. Spielberg called it a TV Peanuts of our time. The movie made $140.9 million. Angelica remains the most accurate portrayal of a three-year-old on television.

  10. A dented metal plate on a kitchen table next to a crackling transistor radio, two identical orange bikes leaning on a suburban fence outside.

    01. The Adventures of Pete & Pete

    Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi · 1993

    Two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, in a town called Wellsville where Mom has a metal plate in her head that picks up radio and the local superhero is Artie, the strongest man in the world. Iggy Pop plays a dad. One critic called it the greatest children's show ever. Agreed.

Honorable mentions

  • A pineapple house on the seafloor with a yellow kitchen sponge leaning in the doorway and jellyfish floating past.

    SpongeBob SquarePants

    Stephen Hillenburg · 1999

    Sneaked into the decade by premiering May 1, 1999, after the Kids' Choice Awards. Hillenburg used to teach marine biology. It became Nickelodeon's top show and a franchise worth over $16 billion in merchandise. Disqualified for belonging to every decade since.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A single orange water dish with two different-sized drinking bowls, one cat-sized and one dog-sized, side by side.

    CatDog

    Peter Hannan · 1998

    A cat and a dog conjoined at the middle, with no back legs and no tail. It lost Favorite Cartoon at the Kids' Choice Awards to Rugrats twice. The show never explained the obvious biological question, and neither does Wikipedia. Some questions answer themselves.

Every list.
On tap.

No newsletter. Point your AI at our public MCP server, or follow the RSS feed. New lists show up in both.

Get the MCP RSS