Manic Expression

As 1983 was coming to an end, another show similar to Against The Odds aired that year. The show was called Going Great. It was a show that focused on kids who did amazing talents that no other kid could do. Examples would be from a 10-year-old bodybuilder to a 8-year-old best selling author. The show's main theme was that kids could do great things, no matter how small it was. The show was hosted by Chris Makepeace and corresponded by Keanu Reeves. Going Great was a disaster. It was the second lowest rated show on Nickelodeon, the first being Against The Odds. 2 out of 6 kids watched Going Great. The show was cancelled in less than sixteen weeks after it aired.

The year is 1984. Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, and Gremlins were released in theaters. Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, and My Little Pony debuted on television. The Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was occuring. With MTV growing in popularity, Nickelodeon decided to give it another try with a new show with Nick Rocks hosted by Joseph "Joe from Chicago" Piasek. The show debuted on June 3rd.

Similar to PopClips, Nick Rocks was a 30 minute show that played rock and pop music videos, as well as having interviews with the up-in-coming bands and celebrities. If there was a music video that kids wanted to see, then all they had to do was mail them the song of their choice to their main address. A few of the people they interviewed were The Monkees, Peter Tork, and Mike Nesmith. There were even celebrity guest hosts such as Debbie Gibson and They Might Be Giants.

The show was very popular and lasted for over seven years ending their run in 1989. The show was even popular enough to have a spin-off show called Nick Jr. Rocks, a similar show that played music videos for younger children.

Now time for the main review! Thanks to the amazing popularity of You Can't Do That On Television, Nickelodeon decided to create another show similar to it. A show that would be really fast paced, kid friendly, and fun. On October 7th, Out of Control debuted on Nickelodeon.

The show was hosted by Dave Coulier who most people know as Joey Gladstone from Full House. Originally, they wanted Bob Saget to host, but the producers didn't think it looked right. Saget said to them that he knew Coulier and thought that he would be perfect for the show. The same thing occured in Full House when the guy who was originally going to play Joey Gladstone didn't work out. Both worked out successfully.

The show had different characters that would coincide with Dave. They would include Diz Aster, the crazy cooky party girl, Angela "Scoop" Quickly, the clueless reporter, the newshawk Bern Burford, Waldo The Technician, and a computer called the HA HA 3200. Out of Control would have recurring sketches on every episode. A few of these included:

Let's Eat - a food segment where Dave goes out to restaurants across the country for what he hears to be "The World's Best". If it matches the claim, Dave presents the "Let's Eat Trophy" (a gold cup with novelty chattering teeth) to the owner or chef of the restaurant.

It's Probably True! - A news-like segment with real or fictional facts outlined.

How Not To Do Things - A do-it-yourself segment with regarding or consequential results.

It's Alive! - A segment that deals with animals and nature.

Are We There Yet? - A segment that displays real or fictional locations.

Adult Education - A segment "where kids are the teachers and adults are there to learn". A young girl teaches a group of adults various topics that kids know.

Fast-Told Fairy Tales - A story segment where Diz gives her spin on classic fairy tales while being timed.

Hurry Up! - A segment where Dave answers a letter and uses a device called the "Hurry-Up Machine" to fast forward through a boring activity.

There were also celebrity guests that made it to Out of Control. Some of them included Bill Bixby, Bruce Baum, and Livewire host Fred Newman.

The show didn't last for very long. It only lasted for less than seven months ending its run on May 1, 1985. Overall, looking at it, it's very bizarre, kooky, obsure, and weird. Truly one of the most oddest programs that was aired on Nickelodeon ever. The acting was extremely over-the-top and all over the place and some of the sketches were hit and miss. With the huge popularity from You Can't Do That on Television, Out of Control was doomed from the start. Despite Out of Control being the very first series that was produced and aired by Nickelodeon and NOT acquired from another country, it was truly overshadowed by the quirky Canadian sketch comedy show.

That's all for now. Tune in next time as I discuss about every single acquired animated program that was ever shown on Nickelodeon from 1984 to 1988. This may sound like a cop out for some of you, but trust me, for the majority of these cartoons, I don't have a lot to say. But don't worry, we'll start getting to the good stuff later on.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia