"my childhood just got ruined"

[harry580]

okay, this needs to be said. I'm so tired of valid criticisms of the direction of revivals/reboots of cartoons or a studio closing (most notoriously, blue sky studios & disneytoon studios) by saying "my childhood just got ruined" It really has to stop.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

I agree, it’s really stupid. If your childhood is over, it can’t be ruined.

 

[Fone Bone]

I'll let you know if it was ruined when I grow up. Things are going a-ight so far. Knock on wood.

 

[Dantheman]

It's about as annoying as complaining that Nickelodeon isn't the same as when you were a kid, when you're not their target demographic. Things change, it's not supposed to be meant for your current self, etc.

 

[Fone Bone]

When I was a kid Nickelodeon was extremely stupid.

Nickelodeon is exactly what it was when I was a kid.

Spoiler alert: Nickelodeon has ALWAYS been stupid during every point of its existence. You realize that now because your tastes have become sophisticated with age. Not because Nick was ever anything but hot garbage.

 

[Goldstar!]

The problem with statements like "I want my Nickelodeon back!" or "I want my Cartoon Network back!" is that that Nick and CN are both kid's channels. They stopped being "your" channels the moment that you hit puberty.

"Nick used to have these great shows like (insert show from your youth here), but now they have garbage shows like (insert current show here). What happened?"

You grew up, that's what happened. This perceived lack of quality largely stems from the fact that you're no longer a child and therefore children's programming no longer holds the sway with you. Of course, you're not going to find today's children's programs to be as entertaining as the ones that you enjoyed as a child because you're now viewing them through an adult's eyes.

A reboot or remake of a TV show, movie or franchise didn't "taint your memories of the original" because that's not how memories work. I you prefer the original, then just watch the original.

 

[Fone Bone]

Whenever I watch stuff I enjoyed as a kid I'm always super embarrassed at how bad it is in hindsight.

How lucky were people who were 9 or 10 while Justice League Unlimited was on the air? I think that's the ONLY kiddie show from years back that still holds up equally well today. Those 8-10 year olds in 2003-06 had a DAMN lucky window for kiddie cartoons. But I would argue they're the only ones that did.

 

[The Overlord]

That statement is pretty stupid when you consider the nightmarish childhoods some people had, count your lucky stars that your "childhood is ruined" by something so trivial as a cartoon show you don't like being released. You have no real problems if that is what ruined your childhood. This is "first world problems" on steroids.

 

[Silverstar]

Most nostalgia boils down to: "This (new thing) is stupid! It's not like this (other, older thing) which was just as stupid but I love it because it was a part of my childhood!". I'd argue that if one TV show or a reboot of an earlier TV show is enough to ruin your childhood, then your childhood must not have been that great to begin with.

The statement is particularly absurd because you're not being forced to watch the new thing. Just because a studio or a network makes a new show or reboot or revival doesn't mean that you're obligated to watch it. If you prefer the old shows or the original, then just watch those and leave the new stuff to people they're aimed at so they can enjoy and form their own memories which will grow into their nostalgic fondness.

 

[Markus Nelis]

How can your childhood be ruined when most of the time they reboot / make spin-offs when you're already an adult? Logically your childhood can't be ruined at this point.

 

[Classic Speedy]

When I was a kid Nickelodeon was extremely stupid.

Nickelodeon is exactly what it was when I was a kid.

Spoiler alert: Nickelodeon has ALWAYS been stupid during every point of its existence. You realize that now because your tastes have become sophisticated with age. Not because Nick was ever anything but hot garbage.

I completely disagree, though I'm not sure how to respond because I'm not sure why you think classic Nick is stupid or garbage.

Nick was my most-watched TV channel from about 1991-1996, at least until I became a teenager. That's when I started watching Comedy Central and, while there were still a couple shows I kept up with on Nick, I had mostly left the channel behind by that point. But I can't deny that Nick is very good at tapping into kids' interests and attitudes, yet they never went LCD, so I don't look back on my time watching the channel and go "What was I thinking?"

 

[Fone Bone]

Honestly, all this boils down to is somebody made a stupid complaint somewhere, a bunch of other people thought it was catchy instead of inane, and just parroted it all over the place, because people are, you know, DUMB. Especially when it comes to kids shows.

That statement is pretty stupid when you consider the nightmarish childhoods some people had, count your lucky stars that your "childhood is ruined" by something so trivial as a cartoon show you don't like being released. You have no real problems if that is what ruined your childhood. This is "first world problems" on steroids.

Okay, that just got real. TOO real, man, considering the subject matter. Dial it back. I want to make fun of people saying a dumb trite thing without feeling guilty over it.

I completely disagree, though I'm not sure how to respond because I'm not sure why you think classic Nick is stupid or garbage.

Nick was my most-watched TV channel from about 1991-1996, at least until I became a teenager. That's when I started watching Comedy Central and, while there were still a couple shows I kept up with on Nick, I had mostly left the channel behind by that point. But I can't deny that Nick is very good at tapping into kids' interests and attitudes, yet they never went LCD, so I don't look back on my time watching the channel and go "What was I thinking?"

I guess it's a matter of degree. Were the Schneider kidcoms better than the abominable You Can't Do That On Television that I grew up on and actually even occasionally cringed during as a kid? Fine. I'm give you that. Have the trashy kidcoms devolved or gotten much worse in the years since? No. So, still my idea of trashy.

Maybe my problem is the network was SO appalling in the 1980's that even the marginal improvements in the 1990's didn't impress me, because I was already a teenager and already grew out of it. And that's sort of what the thread's about.

 

[JMTV]

I'm just gonna say this right now. Nothing, I repeat, absolutely NOTHING can ruin your childhood. If you unironically saying a reboot of a movie or a TV show or a new original show "ruin your childhood", you really need to grow the hell up and get a freaking life!

For a long time, I absolutely DESPISED that excuse because these people with rose colored glasses seems to treat the past look better than it already is. Even though, there are some shows from my childhood that I hate, yet you don't see me having a nostalgia-gasm over them.

To anybody on this planet using the childhood ruining card, STOP IT! Your membership have been revoked!

 

[kirbygame]

this is why i don't care that Robot Chicken and MAD (2010 Series) are making fun of popular animated media and others because.. well.. they're parodies and satire!

 

[[classic swim]]

this is why i don't care that Robot Chicken and MAD (2010 Series) are making fun of popular animated media and others because.. well.. they're parodies and satire!

Much of Robot Chicken’s budget starting up was them raiding eBay for any and every obscure action figure they could find of stuff they were nerds about when they were kids.

So if anyone’s earned the right to “ruin a childhood...”

 

[Markus Nelis]

Something else that fits in this "My childhood is ruined" is the fact how people say TV networks like CN and Nickelodeon have lost quality in their shows. You're wrong. You say that because you grew up with shows like Dexter's Lab or CatDog. You just grew out of cartoons in general. I'm a young adult and I personally think they haven't lost any quality.

Even in live-action side you say writing has gone downhill, you like Hannah Montana, I personally just can't get into it because I didn't grow up in that generation. I lived but I wasn't a demo audience. And I just love shows like Villains of Valley View and Raven's Home. Modern sitcoms are actually good, underrated I'd say.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I guess it's a matter of degree. Were the Schneider kidcoms better than the abominable You Can't Do That On Television that I grew up on and actually even occasionally cringed during as a kid? Fine. I'm give you that. Have the trashy kidcoms devolved or gotten much worse in the years since? No. So, still my idea of trashy.

Thank you, that's a bit more specific. Yes, admittedly their sitcoms have never been that great. Like, I have nostalgia for My Brother and Me, but looking back it has really obvious punchlines and plots. (the Schneider sitcoms such as Kenan & Kel were just starting as I stopped being a regular Nick viewer so I can't speak about them as much)

I'm more thinking about the overall Nick brand. It tread that fine line of not talking down to kids like it knew what was best for them but not pandering too much either (I know there are always exceptions to the rule- Ren & Stimpy was, in Nick's own words, dessert). And looking back, I'd actually argue the channel was a positive influence on kids. It encouraged physical fitness and getting outside (GUTS, the "real life" ads), it encouraged paying attention (Legends of the Hidden Temple), it encouraged being polite to adults ("Nickelodeon Magazine, please"), it even threw out trivia and factoids during the commercial breaks. And that's not getting into some of its shows such as Doug actually taught positive values in an entertaining way. So to anyone (speaking generally, not you specifically) who says Nick was nothing but nonstop noise is really not giving it enough credit.

Speaking of Nick Magazine above, that was another thing I give the channel credit for. It could've spat out a bunch of mind rot fluff but again, it actually had a bunch of educational/brain teaser content amidst the silliness and entertainment stories.

 

[Fone Bone]

Not gonna lie. Always admired Linda Ellerbee and Nick News. Some of what you are saying about the network's social merit is true. I however am judging the network on the shady programming rather than the positive branding and interstitials. That's sort of my entire shtick.

 

[The Overlord]

Honestly, all this boils down to is somebody made a stupid complaint somewhere, a bunch of other people thought it was catchy instead of inane, and just parroted it all over the place, because people are, you know, DUMB. Especially when it comes to kids shows.


Okay, that just got real. TOO real, man, considering the subject matter. Dial it back. I want to make fun of people saying a dumb trite thing without feeling guilty over it.


I guess it's a matter of degree. Were the Schneider kidcoms better than the abominable You Can't Do That On Television that I grew up on and actually even occasionally cringed during as a kid? Fine. I'm give you that. Have the trashy kidcoms devolved or gotten much worse in the years since? No. So, still my idea of trashy.

Maybe my problem is the network was SO appalling in the 1980's that even the marginal improvements in the 1990's didn't impress me, because I was already a teenager and already grew out of it. And that's sort of what the thread's about.

Fine, I apologize. I do get annoyed by that phrase for that reason, but I can see how it can be seen as intense.

 

[Fone Bone]

Fine, I apologize. I do get annoyed by that phrase for that reason, but I can see how it can be seen as intense.

What can you say? You're Batman!