Nickelodeon.

[PapaGreg096]

There aren't any cartoons left on the channel. That would be my guess. Okay, so there are, but they're not good.

I remember growing up watching Hey Arnold, Doug, and Rugrats, just to name a few. And I think, what made those shows great and what made them stick with so many kids, and what we didn't even realize back then while we watched them, was that those cartoons reflected real life for us. We could relate to Doug kind of being picked on by Roger--but Doug didn't solve the problem by beating him or making his life miserable. There were several episodes where the two we even friends, and the series finale has Doug comforting him.
We understood Arnold when he had that crush on Lila, but Lila didn't like him back. He stilled tried, he was still nice to her, and he didn't let it consume his whole life. He also didn't turn into a crazy stalker and send her threatening messages if she continued to refuse him.
Rugrats was all about using your imagination to go on adventures, and as annoying as Angelica was, the babies learned to deal with her and even got along with her.

Cartoons back in the day, while entertaining for kids, I think also taught kids about life by showing real-life situations. Things kids could relate to and teaching them how to deal with stuff without being preachy about it. Cartoons nowadays, from Nick to CN to so many others, seem to lack that. There are exceptions, certainly, but for every Steven Universe or MLP, we get tons of Gumball, Teen Titans Go, and Uncle Grandpa.

Whats wrong with Gumball its a well done show with great humor

 

[Fox12]

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

 

[Saelune]

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Took me awhile to realize this but, there is ALWAYS quality stuff out there. Its just an issue of how easy it is to find it. I used to think there is no good music anymore, but there is. It just doesn't get radio play much anymore. Maybe Nickelodean isn't what it used to be, but I personally find Cartoon Network (and Adult Swim) to be picking up the slack. That said, CN went through a crappy phase too. Maybe Nick will change for the better at some point, or wont. Maybe Cartoon Network will become terrible again, but somewhere someone will make something good.

 

[PapaGreg096]

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Well that was anime, we're mostly talking about American shows and when it comes to anime it hasn't lots its edge yet

 

[Fox12]

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Well that was anime, we're mostly talking about American shows and when it comes to anime it hasn't lots its edge yet

Fair enough, but I think it was true for American shows too. I remember Hey Arnold dealing with war, neglect, abuse, alcoholism, and intolerance. I remember Boy Meets world discussing sex, relationships, cults, and divorce. Disney was in the middle of its Renaissance.

I'm sure things will get better, but it definitely feels like we're in a slow patch.

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Took me awhile to realize this but, there is ALWAYS quality stuff out there. Its just an issue of how easy it is to find it. I used to think there is no good music anymore, but there is. It just doesn't get radio play much anymore. Maybe Nickelodean isn't what it used to be, but I personally find Cartoon Network (and Adult Swim) to be picking up the slack. That said, CN went through a crappy phase too. Maybe Nick will change for the better at some point, or wont. Maybe Cartoon Network will become terrible again, but somewhere someone will make something good.

That's a good point. I mean, we've had Gravity Falls and Rick and Morty. I just started watching Boondocks. I'm just a little sad that kids don't really get that. They won't learn how to search for indie stuff until their older.

 

[PapaGreg096]

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Well that was anime, we're mostly talking about American shows and when it comes to anime it hasn't lots its edge yet

Fair enough, but I think it was true for American shows too. I remember Hey Arnold dealing with war, neglect, abuse, alcoholism, and intolerance. I remember Boy Meets world discussing sex, relationships, cults, and divorce. Disney was in the middle of its Renaissance.

I'm sure things will get better, but it definitely feels like we're in a slow patch.

I blame too much emphasis on Spongebob episodes. That, and too many cookie-cutter tween comedies. I hate to seem like one of "those" people who says that "everything was better in my day", but that feels like the truth...

It's kind of backwards. When I was a kid, my grandparents blaberred on about how they didn't have all this sex and violence on tv. They were perfectly happy with the Andy Griffith Show, and the Leave it to Beaver. Meanwhile, I was watching a guy get his arm torn off in DBZ, or seeing people fight over drugs in Rurouni Kenshin. People were arguing about God in Gundam. I would get up early to watch Digimon, where people died, or went insane. These shows weren't necessarily masterpieces, but they introduced me to new ways of thinking, and they didn't talk down to their audience.

Now I look at television and complain that, in my day, television had some edge. Shows talked about things that mattered. Now? Now it's either to wholesome, or it's about fart jokes. There was definitely a precipitous drop in quality for all stations.

Took me awhile to realize this but, there is ALWAYS quality stuff out there. Its just an issue of how easy it is to find it. I used to think there is no good music anymore, but there is. It just doesn't get radio play much anymore. Maybe Nickelodean isn't what it used to be, but I personally find Cartoon Network (and Adult Swim) to be picking up the slack. That said, CN went through a crappy phase too. Maybe Nick will change for the better at some point, or wont. Maybe Cartoon Network will become terrible again, but somewhere someone will make something good.

That's a good point. I mean, we've had Gravity Falls and Rick and Morty. I just started watching Boondocks. I'm just a little sad that kids don't really get that. They won't learn how to search for indie stuff until their older.

Eh Adventure Time and Steven Universe had stuff like that