NICKELODEON

Earlier in the summer, as I sat unemployed, I took the time out to compose this message to Nickelodeon:

To whom it may concern:


I am not certain how old Nickelodeon is, but it is definitely old enough to exist as a point of nostalgia for several people. I'm only twenty one, but even in conversations with those ten years older than me, I hear people fondly reminiscing of shows they watched as a child on Nick. From "You Can't Do That on Television" to "Legends of the Hidden Temple" to more recent shows like "My Cousin Skeeter," Nickelodeon has a long representation of shows made for kids that click. Although I am not sure that viewer services is the place I should direct my email, I would like to propose to the programming department that Nickelodeon has an "Old School" night..perhaps on Nick @Nite or Noggin, or even a day of programming. I know several people my age would love to watch some old "Keenan and Kel," "The Secret World of Alex Mack" or "My Brother and Me." Perhaps a countdown special of greatest Nick episodes of all time would be good. Really, the Viacom partnership that has Nick paired with MTV networks and other networks like BET Networks, should allow the information to be spread pretty quickly. Its not like many young adults and college kids my age don't already get their "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" fix through Nickelodeon anyway.

Thanks for taking the time to read this email. I truly hope that someone considers the idea..especially since Viacom does a pretty good job of pulling clips of shows off-line anyway, and the Nick Classics website selling DVDs does not seem to be the most legit. If for any reason you could like to contact me, you can email me at {redacted} or call the number you see above. Enjoy your day.

They probably thought I was bitter since they didn't hire me, but I was sincerely interested in seeing this happen. Turns out I wasn't the only one. Check this post on Adrants today:

Nickelodeon Clutches Heartstrings of Suffering Quarterlifers

While conducting research for our last post, it came to our attention that there are a lot of bummed-out twenty-somethings sitting around making Nickelodeon tributes to shows they grew up with. (See more here.)

Why is no one -- least of all Nickelodeon -- exploiting this wellspring of self-obsessed nostalgia? If we saw Gumby or Inside-Out Boy pushing product at us, we'd be all over that in an irrational second.

And we'd possibly (though not probably) kill to see a marathon of Salute Your Shorts or something SNICK-like. We'd even revisit Hey Arnold! if we had to. Man. Remember when TV was good? Remember TGIF? WTF happened to TGIF?!

I want it, the real advertisers think its a good idea...Come on Nick. We all need to experience the awesomeness that was Amanda Diva on My Brother and Me or even The Brothers Garcia: toda para la familia.

If you want a real throwback, better than my pop culture throwback of the week: start spamming Viacom, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon...I'm sure they can figure out a way to make a profit off of this and get people to watch. Hmph (also do it in December when I'll be back stateside..thanks!)