We take our first look at Harvey Beaks, an absolutely charming show about friendship, caring for others, and implied secret lore hinting to a deeper mythos. We touch on the show's second episode, we involves living stone fingers, magnet siblings, and steampunk!
2025-08-20 23:02:37 +0000 UTC View Post
We take a look at that time All That went live to celebrate one hundred episodes! OR IS IT?! We discuss what it means to go live, how to bring back former cast, and the role hip-hop and R&B has had for the show.
2025-08-09 15:31:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Nickelodeon was looking for a show to replace You Can't Do That On Television to promote Nickelodeon Studios with, and Bob Mittenthal was looking to get out of game shows. The result is Welcome Freshmen, a sketch comedy show with an all-Floridian cast, that without warning became a sitcom between seasons two and three. Weird.
2025-07-29 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Once upon a time, messages about saving the environment were mainstream enough that most kids shows had an episode about recycling and telling corporations to stop polluting. Rocko's Modern Life made their episode a musical!
2025-06-18 23:02:28 +0000 UTC View Post
We take our first little look at ChalkZone! We turn magic acts into sexy fly pranks, we threaten a teacher who wants to stamp out creativity, we put some cartoons into people's mouths, and we disco dance while making silly faces. We're having a lot of fun!
2025-06-13 14:57:43 +0000 UTC View Post
We take a look at Fifteen, Nickelodeon's soap opera for kids! We touch on the show's odd and problematic creator, the secret first season made for The Disney Channel, its studio-hopping production across Canada, and where Fifteen sits in the world of early 90s teen dramas.
2025-05-27 14:01:35 +0000 UTC View Post
We take our first look at The Wild Thornberrys, the role of parents on Nickelodeon shows. What better example to look at than the most memed Dad in all of Nicktoons, Nigel Thornberry!
2025-04-29 14:53:14 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! Currently working on a few more Sample Platter and the Nick Knacks episode on Fifteen, but while those are cooking, how about a poll where YOU decide what the next TV Obscura episode is going to be? For this next one, I want to focus on forgotten shows of a specific channel, and I figured I don't give my lovely patrons enough to do arou...
2025-04-28 02:01:38 +0000 UTC View Post
We return to The Adventures of Pete & Pete with "Sick Day," where we see just what mischief Little Pete will get into now that Artie's gone. Marshmallow presidents will be going up noses.
2025-04-22 14:52:50 +0000 UTC View Post
We dive into Nick News, from the story of its host, Linda Ellerbee, to its origins in response to Operation Desert Storm, to it's surprising longevity and modern iterations, all the while asking: Can you make a news show for kids that they'll actually watch?
2025-03-31 21:02:30 +0000 UTC View Post
We jump forward to 2012 to talk about Fred Figglehorn, Rebecca Black's Friday, and whether or not Fred: The Show was smart or not.
2025-03-04 00:02:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2025-03-03 00:14:16 +0000 UTC View Post
We take our first serious look at "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" with a very average episode. That's okay though! Finding the average is a good way to see if you'll like something!
2025-02-25 01:02:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2025-02-24 00:58:50 +0000 UTC View Post
While their previous effort, Outta Here, wasn't a huge success, Nickelodeon still wanted a wild audience participation game show that promoted Nickelodeon Studios and served as a theme park attraction. So, with Marc Summers as host and the producer of Wild & Crazy Kids, we got What Would You Do? A show all about pies, hidden cameras, and tou...
2025-02-18 20:46:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2025-02-17 20:50:53 +0000 UTC View Post
We return to Avatar with an episode all about villain-turned-antihero-turned-hero, Zuko. We take a look at his past, and compare his story with some classic Westerns.
2025-01-25 19:03:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2025-01-24 18:55:16 +0000 UTC View Post
It's time for some more Animorphs graphic novels! Turns out Marco's mom is Visser One, an emotional reveal of a very important villain! Just kind of wish the book understood the import of the moment.
2025-01-15 17:30:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2025-01-14 15:42:32 +0000 UTC View Post
We kick off Nick Knacks at Nite with Route 66, a traveling anthology-esque show about two listless youths driving across America in a Chevrolet Corvette. We take a look at the show's strengths and weaknesses, its intense production, the challenges it put on its star George Maharis, and why it was such a perfect pick for Nick at Nite's starting l...
2024-12-29 23:00:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2024-12-28 23:21:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The week of Christmas, 1981! Five days, five specials that have fallen out of public memory. We have classic Hollywood actors hanging out with the Mormons, two weird Canadian animated specials, some Danish fairy tales from the BBC, and some guy walking around Maine. Merry Christmas!
2024-12-25 15:21:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2024-12-24 15:14:40 +0000 UTC View PostTransparency time. The first of the month rolled around, so we finally have a look at the damages from the transition from per-video to per-month. So, I'm down $1300 a month on Patreon, more than a third of what I was making in the per-video era. I'm not sure how that happened, I knew I'd lose some, but that a real kick to the checkbook. Please,...
2024-12-02 02:57:04 +0000 UTC View PostHey everybody, I'll be revamping the $3+ rotating ad spots next month. If you'd like to promote a work of yours, send me a private message through Patreon with a link and, optionally, an image you want associated. This goes for anyone previously in rotation. If you previously claimed this tier reward, please renew it by sending me a message wit...
2024-11-30 18:49:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Despite the success of Double Dare, Nickelodeon seemed to struggle to make game shows for kids part of their brand, their other efforts through the 1980s coming up short. In 1991, with a brand new studio to fill, the channel gave it another shot and produced Get the Picture, the picture guessing game hosted by newcomer Mike O'Malley. While perha...
2024-11-26 23:01:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Early Access for my Early Access Peeps!
2024-11-25 22:52:57 +0000 UTC View PostWell, they were weeks late, and they didn't inform me that it happened via e-mail like they said it would, BUT the Pop Arena Patreon has now switched from a per-video format to a per-month format. Patreon has automatically adjusted your payments, so be sure to go through everything and make sure you're spending what you want to spend.
My ...
To celebrate Thomas & Friend's 70th anniversary in 2015, an hour-long theatrically-released special saw the little blue engine hunting for pirate treasure! Is it a worthy tribute to the Railway Series? Or is it just something to distract the kids?
(Patreon has delayed switching the account from per-video to per-month. Until that switc...