Hello children, men children, and women children alike; it's time to review productions brought to us by Nickelodeon, the first kids' network! Let's begin right by talking about one of Nickelodeon's hottest shows ever, "Rugrats!" If you don't know what this show was about, you should be ashamed of yourself; but I'll fill you in, anyway. The show features a group of babies and a couple of preschoolers who engage themselves in chaos and adventures. This band of toddlers includes Tommy, the brave leader, his younger brother Dil, who can't speak yet; Chuckie, the scared one, his adventure-loving sister Kimi; twins Phil and Lil, the disgusting ones; Angelica, the 3-year-old trouble-maker; and Susie, 3-year-old the level-headed smart one.
Before we get to the good stuff, let's quickly go over the bad/not-so-good stuff. First of all, the continuity. At the beginning of the series, Tommy, Phil, and Lil are 1, Chuckie is 2, and Susie and Angelica are 3. How did they wind up going back to being 0, 1, and 2 before the end of the series? Secondly, a lot of people say that the later episodes are bad. While I won't say they're bad, I don't think they're as good as some of the episodes earlier in the series. They're good, they're fun; but they didn't have as much focus or thought as the earlier episodes did. Finally...the parents. The parents on this show are horrible. It's ironic because they're not designed to be awful parents like the parents of "Family Guy" or "The Fairly Oddparents;" we're not supposed to ask why in the world these people are parents. They're good, decent, honest human beings who we all can identify with. They're every day people just like us. But...do they ever watch their kids? Ever?! No, wait, I take that back; if the main characters were kids, the parents would be awful. But no. Our main characters are BABIES!!! For all the problems and adventures the parents let their kids get into, I'm surprised the babies haven't died yet! Of course, no parent is perfect, but how many crazy adventures on this show have Stu, Didi, and the rest of the parents allowed their kids to get into - and that's not even mentioning the movies!! Good grief, said Charlie Brown, these people need to be reported!
Now let's get to the good stuff! There are way too many good things about this show, and I'm sure I won't mention all of them. I'll try to talk about as many as I can, though. First of all, these characters are great! I love them! Again, they're all identifiable, they're funny, and they're memorable. I don't know how people generally feel about Kimi, but I enjoy her. She's fun, she's adventurous, but she still seems to bring something new. Chuckie has to learn to adapt to change and think of someone other than himself. I also love Susie. She is a fantastic role model. She's smart, kind, and caring, but she's not perfect. She still learns and grows. I've got to say, though, my favorite character is probably Phil! Why? Because he's funny as crud! I love the quick remarks he makes to everything!
TOMMY: Uh, guys, do bushes have feet? PHIL: I don't think so. I didn't even know babies grew on trees.
He is cool!
Some of my favorite episodes, much like a lot of other people, are the holiday episodes. This show really captures the essence and heart of the holidays they celebrate! You understand the importance of the holiday, the reason they're so important to people, and you understand what the holidays are about; whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Mothers' Day, etc. I also love the episodes where the babies learn something about life. One of my favorite episodes is probably the classic Mothers' Day episode, where Chuckie learned about his late mother. That was such a wonderful, classy way to handle a subject matter like that, and it worked really well! It was a gem!
I'm surprised how quickly "Rugrats" left after the series ended. This was Nickelodeon's most successful show until "SpongeBob" surpassed its greatness. I really like this show. It was smart, clever, and a lot of fun. I'm glad it's playing on TeeNick's "'90s are All That," otherwise I'd only have the 3 movies and 2 video tapes I have of the show...Though, does anybody know where I can find this on video or DVD? If you do, let me know and then go get a copy for yourself; you'll love it! God bless you, and much love! BOOYIKA!
Before we get to the good stuff, let's quickly go over the bad/not-so-good stuff. First of all, the continuity. At the beginning of the series, Tommy, Phil, and Lil are 1, Chuckie is 2, and Susie and Angelica are 3. How did they wind up going back to being 0, 1, and 2 before the end of the series? Secondly, a lot of people say that the later episodes are bad. While I won't say they're bad, I don't think they're as good as some of the episodes earlier in the series. They're good, they're fun; but they didn't have as much focus or thought as the earlier episodes did. Finally...the parents. The parents on this show are horrible. It's ironic because they're not designed to be awful parents like the parents of "Family Guy" or "The Fairly Oddparents;" we're not supposed to ask why in the world these people are parents. They're good, decent, honest human beings who we all can identify with. They're every day people just like us. But...do they ever watch their kids? Ever?! No, wait, I take that back; if the main characters were kids, the parents would be awful. But no. Our main characters are BABIES!!! For all the problems and adventures the parents let their kids get into, I'm surprised the babies haven't died yet! Of course, no parent is perfect, but how many crazy adventures on this show have Stu, Didi, and the rest of the parents allowed their kids to get into - and that's not even mentioning the movies!! Good grief, said Charlie Brown, these people need to be reported!
Now let's get to the good stuff! There are way too many good things about this show, and I'm sure I won't mention all of them. I'll try to talk about as many as I can, though. First of all, these characters are great! I love them! Again, they're all identifiable, they're funny, and they're memorable. I don't know how people generally feel about Kimi, but I enjoy her. She's fun, she's adventurous, but she still seems to bring something new. Chuckie has to learn to adapt to change and think of someone other than himself. I also love Susie. She is a fantastic role model. She's smart, kind, and caring, but she's not perfect. She still learns and grows. I've got to say, though, my favorite character is probably Phil! Why? Because he's funny as crud! I love the quick remarks he makes to everything!
TOMMY: Uh, guys, do bushes have feet? PHIL: I don't think so. I didn't even know babies grew on trees.
He is cool!
Some of my favorite episodes, much like a lot of other people, are the holiday episodes. This show really captures the essence and heart of the holidays they celebrate! You understand the importance of the holiday, the reason they're so important to people, and you understand what the holidays are about; whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Mothers' Day, etc. I also love the episodes where the babies learn something about life. One of my favorite episodes is probably the classic Mothers' Day episode, where Chuckie learned about his late mother. That was such a wonderful, classy way to handle a subject matter like that, and it worked really well! It was a gem!
I'm surprised how quickly "Rugrats" left after the series ended. This was Nickelodeon's most successful show until "SpongeBob" surpassed its greatness. I really like this show. It was smart, clever, and a lot of fun. I'm glad it's playing on TeeNick's "'90s are All That," otherwise I'd only have the 3 movies and 2 video tapes I have of the show...Though, does anybody know where I can find this on video or DVD? If you do, let me know and then go get a copy for yourself; you'll love it! God bless you, and much love! BOOYIKA!