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You’re a child in the ‘90s. No, not in some time travel sense. You’re still you in the now, but let’s say this is the case. On Friday night you are probably gearing up to tune into ABC’s TGIF block. The next night, you can check out SNICK on Nickelodeon. These family-friendly (for the most part) blocks were aimed at kids old enough to stay up to watch TV (either with their parents or by themselves) but not old enough to go out on the weekend. These blocks saw fairly-frequent changes to their including programs, so what time would have made for the best viewing experience?
We began by looking at the SNICK lineups, because they are fewer in number. First, we eschewed any block that included an unsuccessful Nickelodeon show, such as Space Cases, Animorphs, or The Journey of Allen Strange. We considered the beginning of 1997 lineup of Kenan & Kel, All That, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, and KaBlam!. Why? To try and avoid having Ren & Stimpy in the mix.
However, in the end, we find our best SNICK lineup by accepting Ren & Stimpy into the mix. Briefly, in 1994, we had Ren & Stimpy and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, two mediocre shows, paired with Clarissa Explains It All and The Adventures of Pete & Pete, the best Nickelodeon shows. Ahh, but will TGIF’s lineup from that time pair up with SNICK?
Well, we get Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. That’s…fine. Let’s do the inverse of this plan, though. Let’s start with the best TGIF lineup and see what SNICK was doing. In the fall of 1996 we had Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, and Clueless. Starting in October of 1996 SNICK’s lineup was Kenan & Kel, All That, Space Cases, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. That doesn’t fly. But! When did ABC start airing that TGIF lineup in the fall? It was probably September, right? In September of 1996, SNICK was rolling out The Secret World of Alex Mack, Space Cases, All That, and Adventures of Pete & Pete. Even with Space Cases, pairing those four shows with those four TGIF shows gives us the best lineup.
Congratulations, September of 1996. You delivered the best weekend television to kids of the decade.
