Old Nickelodeon

With as many special interest channels as there are now it is hard to imagine a time when something as broad as an all-kids channel seemed novel. In the early 1980's Nickelodeon debuted on a shoestring budget with programing that wouldn't exactly capture the imagination of kids today.

The anchor show for Nick was Pinwheel, a Canadian (?) imitation of Sesame Street. Pinwheel was a combination of live actors and puppets with dozens of recurring cartoons/animations from all over the world. As I recall, it was an all morning show that ran for about 4 hours each weekday. The rest of Nick's lineup was of similar quality with similar provenance.

There was a freaky program early on called The Third Eye. It collectected paranormal mini-series' from the UK and Australia (mid-70's vintage). It was probably a bit much for most kids and didn't last too long. What's funny is that most people have long forgotten the show, but it disturbed enough kids so that every now and again, in a conversation about 'back in the day' Nickelodeon, someone in their late 20's will say, "what was that show with the kids and the stones? That scared the shit out of me!"

Another Staple of early Nick was Mr. Wizard's World. That show made every kid who could get his hands on an ice cube, a cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper, and a generous supply of aluminum foil, think he was Louis Pasteur.

Some other early Nick favorites are the Star Trek cartoon, Lights, Camera, Action, Bel and Sabastian, and, of course, Danger Mouse. And that brings us to the defining early Nickelodeon show, You Can't Do that on Television. YCDtoTV is too important a part of 80's kiddom to just mention in passing. I think I'll devote tomorrow's bloggage to the show.