Not that many people watched the live-action Nick shows, except for Double Dare, All That, and Are you Afraid of the Dark. :D

Man, this both takes me back, and makes me feel really, really old. Toss in some Adventures of the Little Koala (and maybe some Noozles(?), and Duckula, and you have the halcyon days of my latch-key childhood. City of Gold was goddamn epic, and just thinking about David the Gnome puts a tear to my eye. Kind of hated Pinwheel, though. I watched it, on account of being fat and lazy, but I did so with gritted teeth.

I remember most of these shows, being a life-long fan of Nick. And yes, Melody was one of the best reasons to watch Hey Dude, but I also remember it greatly for the Indian (sorry...Native American) with no neck. And it baffles me to this day why Donkey Lips didn't get his own spin-off from SYS.

SONOVABICH!!! Are you TRYING to make me feel old? Not only do I remember EVERY...SINGLE...ONE of these shows, I grew up on them! Shit, I'm as old as the network itself. I can list off a few other shows you forgot: Adventures of the Little Koala, Grimm's Fairytales (both are like Maya the Bee, anime before we all knew what anime was), Out of Control (pre-Full House Dave Coulier), Clarissa Explains It All (pre-Sabrina Melissa Joan Hart...that one is for Mike's comment)...I could go on, but just wiki "List of Nickelodoen shows" into Wikipedia for a list.

My brother and I used to watch Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude, and Pete & Pete religiously (SO surprised you didn't mention P&P...that show is still so entertaining to me in its off-beat way). I even liked the Nicktoons when they first aired...up to a point. The first 3 (Doug, Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy) are classic, and Rocko's Modern Life is still on my most-wanted DVD list, but around the time Nick decided to cancel Invader Zim and focus on Spongebob...it just fell apart. Not that Spongebob is bad...just give some variety.

And to answer your question, Roundhouse is pretty much like you described it. Each show had a topic focus, things like Bullying, Racism, etc, and the sketches were humorous vignettes or musical numbers that featured that theme. The term "Roundhouse" was because there were no cuts to a new set, there was just one set that would be spun in, out, around, etc, when needed. It was the teen version of In Living Color, and preceded All That (which focused more on the pre-teen crowd and was, in my opinion, far inferior in quality and talent, though it was the springboard for actors like Amanda Bynes, Kell Mitchell, and Kenan Thompson...now a SNL regular).

Sorry for this lengthy comment...but you really touched on my past, my history. Expect the same should you do an MST3K or Sierra On-Line focused post.

The only one of these I do not remember is Roundhouse, I don't think I ever saw it. I prefered Spartakus to Cities of Gold but thats probably cuz I remember it more. They were both frenchy cartoons. Same with the Little Prince I think. I loved Lil Bits but all I remember from that was that they were short and the uncle was an alcholic doctor.

I loved watched Alex Mack and Shelby Wu as well because cutegirls solving mysteries is always a winning formula with me.

I remember the themesongs from most of these.

And from Roundhouse, I remember a sketch about Meatloaf where they did a song by Vegetarian Loaf where they sang, "I would do anything for love, but I won't eat meat."

You had me screaming "OMG I remember that one!!!" through this whole list. I loved Eureka's Castle-(especially Batly and his favorite line- 'I meant to do that!') I had totally forgotten about Maya the Bee but instantly remembered the theme song when I saw it. I used to have a crush on Jeff from Today's Special, oh and I liked Brad from Hey Dude. Melody got on my nerves. Salute Your Shorts is a classic(Donkey Lips!)! Great list. Ah, those were the good old days.

Seems like a lot of the Nick shows I remember are the weekday morning shows like Belle & Sebastian and The Little Prince, as well as the ones mentioned above.

By-the-by, Roundhouse is on the list, but not You Can't Do That on Television? What's up with that? I call shenanigans...

this list is fail without Pete & Pete...

this list is fail without Pete & Pete...

Anyonymous, you are right to mention it, but I think Pete & Pete is still fondly remembered enough to have just passed the "forgotten" test. I'll certainly never forget the Michael Stipe cameo as "Capt. Scrummy."

Eureka's Castle was after my Nick days. I remember Belle & Sebastian and The Little Prince. I also remember a show I call "Chalkie" but no one else ever knows what I'm talking about.

I'm assuming YCDToT was left off because it has not been forgotten.

Alanis Morrissette and the Green Slime will forever ensure that YCDToT will never be forgotten as long as Nick is on air, even if they never show the show proper again.

Pete & Pete walks that fine line between obscurity and consciousness. Those who haven't seen it won't get it, and who have seen it shall never forget it. Pure awesome.

No Super SLoppy Double Dare? Tsk tsk.

Never realized how much TV raised me...thanks Mom. No really, thank you. I remember every one of these shows vividly, including the elusive Roundhouse. It was on Snick, the Saturday Night Nick for tweens, and boy did I think I was cool watching that line-up. Alas, I was fooled.

Pinwheel was my crack of choice, I hate to admit, but I also drooled for hours in front of Little Koala and the rest of the Nick anime. I seriously think those shows turned me into the otaku I am now. *sigh*

For the record, I would totally buy Mysterious Cities of Gold if it were on DVD. Right after I buy the latest volume of Smurfs.

"Welcome, Freshmen" never gets any love.

Also, the only things I remember about Roundhouse was: A. The breakdancing between skits, and B. A sketch about someone who was a chair(?)

Best Roundhouse quote ever:

Son: "Dad, I'm having girl problems."
Dad: "What is it, son? Cramps? Bloating?"

I remember Roundhouse. I remember a chair that one of the characters drove around. I didn't remember Cities of Gold til I heard the theme song.
Wasn't there a koala show with magical lipstick or something, too?

Great list Jason!

I remembered most of them, forgot one or two, and I don't remember a couple at all.

Mysterious Cities of Gold was the greatest show ever. It was finally released on DVD overseas earlier this year, and hopefully will be making its way out on DVD in the states soon.

I was especially fond of the Noozles. On the surface it was an annoying show about overly cute koala bears, but under the surface a lot of very adult themes. In fact, on the last episode the Noozles were sent back to Koala-walla land because the little girl reached puberty.

I always love lists like this. Roundhouse was exactly like a kids version of The State. I remember being 12 and ordering a pizza one night and the delivery guy looking at the TV and asking "What the hell are you watching?" (in regards to Roundhouse). It was really funny.

I've honestly been trying to figure out the name of "Today's Special" for the past 15 years. That is no joke. It was something I always vaguely remembered and for a long time I was convinced I as thinking of the Elephant Show.

I missed out on he bulk of these (aside from Finders Keepers and Salute Your Shorts), and I don't know whether it was due to suggestive writing or not, but that damn Pinwheel theme song is stuck in my head! Stupid ear worms!

I never liked Pinwheel as a kid. I created my own version of the theme song, which is appropriately scattalogical for a young boy:

Pinworms, pinworms, squirming around!
Look in my feces and see what I found!

Brilliant list!

Does anyone else remember Nick's "Sixteen Cinema?" It was a compilation of Afterschool Special type programs. The most memorable of which concerned a group of real life kids who suffered from some elephantitis-like disease that gave them enormous heads that looked like paper mache. They had to do a talent show and learn to fit in at their special school or something. It was the most bizarre thing that my pre-pubescent mind had ever seen, and I wish I could figure out what the hell it was called so we could all race over to youtube and check out its insanity.

Anyways, wonderful list, it was a nice trip through the wayback machine.

Wow. Really waxing nostalgic here. I don't even need to play the YouTube clip to remember the Pinwheel Theme; how sad is that? I'll never forget the little shorts featuring the claymation worms scotching around. @_@

What happened to good tv like this? My daughter watches fucking Dora the Explorer, with he long silenced and scary, soulless eyes. >_

WOW.

OK, where to start? First of all, thank you for remembering Roundhouse and Cities of Gold. The first one showed off a lot of talent and hilarity, and it is so refreshing to see so many other people who remember the Mysterious Cities of Gold! About ten years ago I found the theme song on Napster or something and couldn't stop listening to it...

I was hooked on Maya the Bee... I came across it again about ten years ago in Germany. She's awesomer in English, though.

And yes, you missed some big forgotten ones. Welcome Freshman was *fantastic*. And what about Fifteen? Even though that show spawned Ryan Reynolds, the teenage soap opera that was really watched by prepubescents who were only wishing they were as growed up as the fifteen year olds was delightfully awful.

There used to be great website a loooong time ago called "Ancient Nick" in which they would compile everyone's memories of all these shows and more... alas, the website exists no more.

I, sadly, remember all these shows. Though city of gold was one that i thought that no one on earth would ever remember.
Just curious, was the animated show that featured Menudo doing the theme song called Spartakus?
I have vague memories of the show, I just remember it was a "big" deal that Menudo was doing the theme song.

I remember all of these, whether I actively watched them or not. And plenty more. I was glad to see Roundhouse and Hey Dude on there. But yeah, Welcome Freshmen is always overlooked. I wish there were clips on YouTube.

A lot of the stuff, though, like "You Can't Do That on Television" and "Today's Special" come from Canada. My wife and her mother will go on and on about the latter if you bring it up.

Used to have a thing for Clarissa... I seem to recall talk of a spin-off or something after the show ended that would have followed her to New York or something, where she'd work at a newspaper...? Don't think that ever panned out.

I remember my introduction to Roundhouse; we didn't have cable at the time (we'd just moved back to our hometown, and it wasn't a priority yet), and we were at my aunt's for New Year's. I watched a bunch of Snick stuff that had begun in the interim that I hadn't seen before, and got into it.

There should be some sort of channel, kind of like how Cartoon Network has Boomerang, that shows all this stuff...

...and they should air it in Canada, so I can see it and relive my American youth. :P

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

Spartakus and The Land Beneath the Sea, if I remember correctly.
I remember watching Spartakus and animated Star trek every Sunday.

Does anybody remember this foreign movie they'd show on Nick about these kids get a grandma from this sort of Buil A Bear place. They picked out the eye color and all that other jazz. Trippy stuff. Oh yeah, that Snow Queen movie where she's defeated at the end through the power of prayer was pretty creepy. Nick was a lot more experimental in the olden days.

Today's Special is awesome, was one of my favourite shows when I was a youngin'.... and a Canadian show that was picked up in the US.

No one else is saying it, so I guess it's up to me: where is 'Legends of the Hidden Temple'???

I remember almost all of these now that you mention them. Wow so nostalgic. There were a couple more shows that I think you missed.. wasn't there one where a family got sucked back in time somehow to the time of the dinosaurs? I really vividly remember how fake the dinosaurs looked.. and then there was a show that was like a wanna be star trek but with tweens and teens.. man nickelodeon has really gone down hill. now its just.. spongebob, fairly oddparents, or icarly.. 24/7..

This list fails due to a lack of Turkey Television.

I remember catching an episode of Roundhouse and thinking, "So this is why Saturday Night Live sucks! All the sketch-comedy funny leaked into THIS show."

Mysterious Cities of Gold was a quirky and very entertaining show....one of the lost bright lights in the history of anime in America. Back-to-back with Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, they were the best sci-fi/fantasy shows Nick had until Avatar came along.

Gads, those are some fond memories...

Especially the foreign cartoons (mostly anime, some European) that occasionally snuck in surprisingly mature stuff. I seem to remember one Japanese-produced fairy tale anthology that had plots closer to the Grimm stories...including people getting maimed. (Well, I recall a "Sleeping Beauty" episode that took place over a 100 year span, and featured would-be rescuers getting swallowed up and assimilated, Giger-style, by the enchanted briar patch around the castle. Yow.)

Ah, and that David the Gnome episode where the fox (Swift?) got his leg caught in a trap, and we were all treated to a nice shot of his down-to-the-freakin-bone leg injury.

Good times...good times.

let's hear it for PINWHEEL and TODAY'S SPECIAL! Those were a big part of my TV viewing as a young girl.

Why do I remember Today's Special? The title rings absolutely no bells, but the concept is very familiar. Weird.

Bumping Turkey Television!!! Watched the HELL outta that back in the dayzzz!!! The German short where the dude dressed up like a little kid who played with pinecones instead of the expensive electronic games his dad bought him! LARFFS GALORE!

Thanks so much for posting this. I've been trying to remember the name of "Today's Special" for years.

What an awesome list this is. "Roundhouse" I remember fondly as the first Nick show to say "sex." And they also said "hookers!" Or at least that's what it sounded like to my pre-pubescent ears.

LMAO good call on Out of Control, MattK! Cut. It. Out. Forget about the Pinwheel song, that just reminded me of the Fish Heads song they used to play on Nick from time to time (every half hour or so) and I looked it up, now I'm walking around singing about fish heads like a retarded reject from Romper Room. Now if you remember that show as well as I do, you are officially old. And awesome.

LMAO good call on Out of Control, MattK! Cut. It. Out. Forget about the Pinwheel song, that just reminded me of the Fish Heads song they used to play on Nick from time to time (every half hour or so) and I looked it up, now I'm walking around singing about fish heads like a retarded reject from Romper Room. Now if you remember that show as well as I do, you are officially old. And awesome.

Omg I watched David The Gnome all the time when I was little XD!

OK, it wasn't exactly a show, but does anyone remember "Picture Pages"?

"Time to get your crayons and your pencils/Picture Pages, Picture Pages/Open up your Picture Pages/Time to let Bill Cosby do a Picture Page with you."

It was this minute-long clip that came on between shows or during commercial breaks where Bill Cosby would show you how to draw a picture of something.

I remember a startling amount about David the Gnome. I remember watching an episode that made me cry where David was trying to save a bunch of rabbits. And I remember how they always ended the show with a salutation that sounded like "Schlitz veit!"

C'mon. Am I the only one who remembers the Tomorrow People? A British import to be honest, and a remake/rework of the British original, but awesome. Till they got all green and preachy.
I wanted to be a kid with mental telepathy and the ability to teleport.
Roundhouse, thought I was the only one who would remember that one, but it really had some side splitters. The episode with the Dad remembering his childhood and having to warm up the toilet seat for his dad before he went to the bathroom. Yeah, who the hell thinks that up?

Ren and Stimpy originally aired on Nick and should have made this list.

Forgot? Who forgot? I may have only given a damn about half of the shows you've listed but I sure as hell didn't forget them :P
With all the regurgitation of everything I once loved and adored, I'm just waiting for these damn things to be re-aired so I have something to watch as I cry at the loss of my youth!

ROUNDHOUSE...!!

True Nick fans will remember the episode where the Dad said "damn".

Hey Dude FTW!!!! I lived on that show, but being female I tend to rememeber Brad more significantly.

Thank you!! I remember watching all of these!! and I had completely forgotten the lyrics to the Pinwheel Theme, I've been trying to remember them for years!!

So many years later I still have one scene from David the Gnome stuck in my head.
He goes to see a friend while on the trail of something and his friend greets him with
"David! I haven't seen you in a month of sundays"
For whatever reason that phrase has been in the back corners of my mind for 15 years.