The '90s Are All That

The '90s Are All That was a programming block that aired every weeknight on TeenNick from July 25, 2011, to October 4, 2015. The block ran, as its title suggested, Nickelodeon shows from the 1990s, airing in a two-hour block running every night from midnight to 2 a.m., with an encore from 2 to 4 a.m. The block derived its name and logo from All That, which ran on Nickelodeon from 1994 to 2005.
The creation of the block was inspired by a large amount of interest in classic Nickelodeon series by users of social media outlets such as Facebook. Response to the debut was very positive; hash tags pertaining to the block became trending topics on Twitter and the Nielsen Ratings for TeenNick on the debut night increased to between eight and 60 times the ratings TeenNick received in previous weeks, beating numerous higher-profile basic cable programs in the same time slot. It was originally announced that the block would premiere in the fall.
On the official Facebook page, run by Nickelodeon, the pagerunners, revealed in November to be named Gaby and JFred, commented with '90s Nick-related fun facts and quotes, and even clarify information questioned by commenters.
Beginning October 5, 2015, The '90s Are All That block was rebranded as The Splat (later renamed NickSplat before being rebranded again as NickRewind). The final Nickelodeon series to be aired on The '90s Are All That before the rebrand was CatDog.
==Programming==
The inaugural lineup on July 25, 2011, consisted All That at midnight and 2 AM, Kenan & Kel at 12:30 and 2:30 AM, Clarissa Explains It All at 1 and 3 AM and Doug at 1:30 and 3:30 AM. Interestingly, even though it was the block's first night, only the Kenan & Kel and Doug pilots aired that night; the selected All That episode for that night was the second-season premiere, while the Clarissa Explains It All episode for that night was "The Understudy".
Since summer 2010, NickToons had been airing an unnamed block made in the same vein as this block, in the early morning hours with Nicktoons from the 1990s. The Nicktoons marathons continued alongside The '90s Are All That through August 2011 before being removed from the schedule.
On March 28, 2011 in honor of the block releasing and the DVD releases from Nickelodeon and Shout! Factory, Nicktoons aired reruns of 90s Nicktoons besides Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life and CatDog, the shows that air were Angry Beavers, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberrys and more, on the same day, Nickelodeon air the same shows just like Nicktoons.
In October 2011, The Amanda Show was added to the regular TeenNick lineup, airing two episodes at 6 AM and 2 PM, an addition influenced by its lateness in arrival to the decade the block covers.
On August 24, 2011 https://ew.com/article/2011/03/10/teennick-goes-retro-with-90s-programming-exclusive/, it was announced that Rocko's Modern Life and Hey Arnold! would replace Clarissa Explains It All and Doug in their respective timeslots starting the week of September 5, 2011. In the block's version of an introductory marathon similar to the one Nick at Nite gave Friends that same night, the block pre-empted All That and Kenan & Kel in favor of two episodes of Rocko followed by two episodes of Arnold, before assuming their regular timeslots the following night. In late September, Clarissa Explains It All and Doug returned to the lineup, before Clarissa was replaced by Hey Dude on October 8, in time for the transition to a nightly primetime block. However, in time for Halloween weekend, the block moved back to midnight due to better ratings in its original spot.
After Thanksgiving of 2011, Hey Dude was dropped, and Doug took over the entire 1 AM hour on Sundays and Wednesdays, rotating the spot with Rugrats on Mondays and Thursdays and Hey Arnold on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Contrary to the block's name, the rerun rotations of Rugrats and Hey Arnold! on the block included episodes produced in the early 2000s.
It should be noted that the nine shows that have made it have had several of their own clips and episodes on the website, and, in the case of the departed, even after the shows left the TV lineup.
Towards the end of August 2011, ToonZone had revealed TeenNick's schedule, that All That would return to airing the season 2 episodes the block started with in mid-September. This was later confirmed by the Facebook pagerunner, explaining that the network needed to reobtain the licensing rights to air the other 4 seasons of the show's first era. Seasons 4 and 5 were confirmed for the block in late December, introduced on January 2, 2012.
On November 22, 2012, the block announced that there would be a Hey Arnold! marathon on November 24, 2012 and two Rugrats marathons on November 25 and 26, 2012. Starting early New Year's Day 2013, the block aired Rugrats marathons for the first week of January, then Hey Arnold! in the second, Doug during the third, Clarissa Explains it All during the fourth, and Kenan and Kel to finish the month.
Of the shows that originally ran on Nickelodeon in the 1990s, Wild and Crazy Kids, Roundhouse, Welcome Freshmen, Nick Arcade, The Adventures of Pete & Pete and KaBlam! were never once aired on the block.
===U-Pick with Stick ===
On September 6, 2011, an advertisement aired announcing that Stick Stickly, host of the 1990s weekday summer block Nick in the Afternoon would be returning to television on Friday October 7, 2011 at midnight. The following week, it was announced via a separate advertisement that he would host every Friday for the block's version of U-Pick. Stickly often popped out at certain times when a program was airing. This allowed for the opportunity that shows that were not regularly part of the block to air at least once on those Fridays. Eight choices could be voted on on the block's website. The top four, in no particular order, will air the following Friday.
The ballot included programs that were not in the regular lineup. Programs aired during on U-Pick with Stick that have not yet been included in the regular lineup include:
*Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
*The Angry Beavers
*Family Double Dare
*Legends of the Hidden Temple
*Rocket Power
*The Secret World of Alex Mack
*Salute Your Shorts
*Space Cases
*The Wild Thornberrys
The previously lost film Cry Baby Lane, which was aired once on Nickelodeon in 2000, aired on The 90s Are All That on October 31, 2011. While the network stated it was a "write-in candidate", the U-Pick process offers no options for write-ins.
Citing Stick's New Year's Hangover, U-Pick went on hiatus for January 2012. The first U-Pick post-hiatus was a showdown between Rocko's Modern Life and The Angry Beavers on February 3. The winning show was Rocko's Modern Life, and it aired on the block for the entire weekend, with the episodes bookended by shorts depicting Stick and Wood Knot winning "free" tickets to the Super Bowl. U-Pick appeared again in early March for a showdown between Salute Your Shorts and CatDog for a marathon over the weekend of March 23; Salute Your Shorts prevailed.
Following the retirement of Paul Christie, the voice of Stick Stickly, in March 2012, U-Pick was moved exclusively to online content, in which the winning show would have a number of full episodes released for streaming on the block's official website; the first online U-Pick featured CatDog against Rocket Power with the latter as the victor. Later match-ups included Double Dare vs. Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Clarissa Explains It All vs. The Secret World of Alex Mack.
== Events ==
The '90s Are All That occasionally broke from its standard program format to air episodes of series that, because of either problems with securing the broadcast rights or not having enough episodes to run in a regular time slot, did not have a regular spot on the block's lineup. Interruptions of the lineup were commonplace in fall 2011 but beginning January 2012 were reduced to monthly appearances until March 25, 2012, after which the schedule remained static for over four consecutive months. Additional special program lineups were sporadic until late 2012; they then resumed airing until late 2014, at which point the lineup once again became mostly static.
Programs that aired only as part of a special schedule included the following series:
Show title 	Original run
The Journey of Allen Strange 	1997–2000
 	1993–1995Originally aired on Fox Kids.
My Brother and Me 	1994–1995
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo	1996–1998
The Secret World of Alex Mack 	1994–1998
Space Cases 	1996–1997
===2011===
Labor Day of 2011 featured double episodes of Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life to mark their debut on the lineup.
The weekend of Halloween 2011, dubbed "Stick or Treat", featured a special edition of U-Pick that featured episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, in which viewers chose horror-themed shows and specials. The previously lost film Cry Baby Lane, which was aired once on Nickelodeon in 2000, aired on October 31. The network stated it was a "write-in candidate".
In addition to the U-Pick lineups, The '90s Are All That also scheduled marathons for Thanksgiving week. Salute Your Shorts, Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, All That, and Kenan and Kel all had at least one marathon night. For the first time in the block's history, all eight slots were filled by different episodes, whereas on the regular schedule, the second two hours repeat the first.
Early Christmas Eve 2011 was marked with "Merry Stickmas", featuring several Nick Christmas specials chosen by viewers via a special U-Pick ballot and original Nickelodeon IDs from the era.
The final week of 2011, dubbed "Party Like It's the '90s", featured shows originally featured in the 1995 through 1999 incarnations of SNICK, but with KaBlam! and Animorphs replaced with other SNICK programs of the era. This also included various Nick station IDs from the 1990s. The December 31st edition, called "Stick Clark's New Year's Sticking Eve", featured the revival of "U-Dip," another Nick in the Afternoon feature, as an homage of the large objects dropped on New Year's Eve across the United States. Nickelodeon's trademark slime won the vote. The block started at 10 pm and ended at 2 am, with a re-air from 2 am–6 am, to accommodate the occasion.NICKELODEON DECKS THE HALLS WITH NEW HOLIDAY-THEMED PREMIERES OF BUBBLE GUPPIES, T.U.F.F. PUPPY, FANBOY AND CHUM CHUM AND YO GABBA GABBA!, BEGINNING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9. Nickelodeon press release. Retrieved December 13, 2011. To symbolize the end of 2011, the regular-length series finales of The Secret World of Alex Mack, Kenan and Kel, Clarissa Explains It All, and Doug aired from 10 pm to midnight. To symbolize the beginning of 2012, the above-mentioned series premieres aired from 12 to 2 am. The night also featured Stickly's brother Woodknot and former Nick Jr. host Face (marking the only appearance of any Nick Jr. property on the block).
===2012===
To celebrate , a special U-Pick won by Rocko's Modern Life aired the weekend of on February 3, 2012, with a series of short interstitials chronicling Stick and Woodknot's trip to the Super Bowl, titled "Stick Goes to the Big Game".
Salute Your Shorts won the next U-Pick showdown against CatDog and aired the weekend of March 23 as a Stick Stickly special called "Stick's ShamROCKing Weekend", celebrating St. Patrick's Day at the parade in New York City.
On the week of March 26, 2012, to celebrate the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards, the block launched KCA Back in the Day, in which during commercial breaks, they aired archived clips of past Kids' Choice Awards shows from the 1990s.
Coinciding with the , the game shows Figure It Out, Family Double Dare and Legends of the Hidden Temple occupied the entire block on the weekend of August 3. This was the first schedule change of any length in over 4 months.
For Halloween 2012, on October 30 and 31, the block aired episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as well as Halloween episodes of All That, Doug, Rugrats and Kenan & Kel.
Thanksgiving 2012 was celebrated from November 22–25 by airing two nights of marathons for Hey Arnold!, followed by Rugrats marathons for the last two nights. On both show's first nights, their respective Thanksgiving episodes, "Arnold's Thanksgiving" and "The Turkey Who Came to Dinner", aired.
Beginning Christmas Eve and ending on December 30, the block aired an event titled "Holiday GIF[T] Guide", promoting their official wikipedia:Tumblr page by posting GIF images of Holiday-related '90s Nickelodeon scenes (the GIFs would also be aired via bumpers during this event). All week, the block also aired marathons of Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Doug, All That, Kenan & Kel and Clarissa Explains it All. Remixed versions of classic holiday-themed Nick ID's were also shown.
===2013===
Starting early New Year's Day 2013, the block aired Rugrats marathons for the first week of January, Hey Arnold! in the second, Doug during the third, Clarissa Explains it All during the fourth, and Kenan and Kel to finish the month.
For the week of Valentine's Day starting February 11, the block aired "Valennineties", featuring romance-themed episodes of Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Clarissa Explains It All, Salute Your Shorts and Rocko's Modern Life. It included several Valentine-themed bumpers.
To celebrate Nickelodeon's 2013 Kids' Choice Awards, the block launched "'90s Your Choice Awards 2013". Beginning March 5, viewers could vote on the block's website for their favorite categories involving '90s Nickelodeon, with the winning shows aired in the Midnight timeslot of the night they were announced the winner. During the week of the '90s Your Choice Awards, alongside the winning show for that night, airing at Midnight, Rugrats aired for the rest of the block. The '90s Your Choice Awards aired on Monday March 18 to Friday March 22.
Leading up to of 2013, the network advertised the debut of a long-lost episode of Rocko's Modern Life that would air the night of March 31. The episode turned out to be a still image of a can of mayonnaise; the incident is a reference to the episode "Wacky Delly" in which Ralph Bighead deliberately has such an episode aired in a failed attempt to sabotage the series.
The week before Memorial Day 2013 featured "Meme-orial Week," in which fans submitted their '90s Nick-themed memes for air during the block. The memes appeared during the shows.
The week of June 3–6, 2013 was branded "Summer Blockbusters" and featured special hour-length episodes of 1990s Nickelodeon series - "Runaway Reptar", "Two Heads Are Better Than None", "The Great Parent Mystery" and "Aw, Here It Goes to Hollywood". These would reair on Fridays and Sundays throughout the rest of June.
On August 3, 2013, the block aired two episodes of Legends of the Hidden Temple, after the show won the '90s Nick Facebook Faceoff, a four-round knockout tournament to determine the best Nickelodeon series of the 1990s.
From August 5 to August 8, 2013, Stick Stickly hosted '90s Greatest Game Show Moments, which was a week that featured a game show episode every night, and special moments. The block aired Family Double Dare, Global Guts, Figure It Out, and Legends of The Hidden Temple.
On August 17, 2013, the block celebrated the 21st SNICKiversary (21st anniversary of SNICK) by airing Clarissa Explains It All, The Ren & Stimpy Show, All That and Are You Afraid of the Dark?; all but All That were aired during the inaugural SNICK lineup (All That appeared in place of Roundhouse, which Nickelodeon lost the rights to shortly after it aired). New bumpers were produced as part of the celebration, and the shows' "We'll be right back" outros made for the block were used.
From September 23 to the 26th, the block aired cat-related episodes, under the name "The '90s Are All Cat". Featured shows were Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, CatDog, The Ren & Stimpy Show, All That and Kenan & Kel. Special "cat-ified" episodes aired at 11pm and 1am under the names Meow Arnold!, RugCats, All Cat, and Kitten & Kel. The block also aired pictures of fans' cats that were sent in to the block's Twitter (@90sAreAllThat) using #90sAreAllCat, and the block dressed up the cats as '90s Nicktoon characters. They also had a game to correspond with the event.
In November, the block ran episodes of for the weekend of November 8, 2013 to November 11, 2013, in honor of the show's 20th anniversary. The second sets of two hours were not occupied by repeats of the first, and in fact the episodes' time slots had a shorter running time, which meant 9 different episodes aired each night, totaling 27. This would mark the only time that the block ran a show that did not originate or even air on Nickelodeon.
On November 25, 2013, the block aired party-themed episodes, as part of "Mix-Tape Monday". Fans were invited to record a short Vine or video introducing each show in the style of Total Request Live for potential airing between shows. Mix-Tape Monday was advertised to return on December 16, 2013 with Holiday episodes of shows, though they did not air. A Valentine version was also promoted but, again, did not air.
From December 23, 2013 to January 12, 2014, the block aired The Secret World of Alex Mack, My Brother and Me (in its first appearance on the block), Aaahh! Real Monsters, Rocket Power, Salute Your Shorts and Hey Dude alongside marathons of Hey Arnold!, Kenan & Kel and Rugrats.
===2014===
In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, the block aired the original interstitial shorts during commercial breaks.
On February 14-16, the block aired Valentine's Day-themed episodes of Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, CatDog, Doug, All That and Kenan & Kel.
On March 24-27, Rugrats aired during the entire block. On March 28, 2014, the block aired 90s Your Choice Awards where fans could vote for their favorite 90s Nick shows. Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life won the vote and aired during the entire block that night.
On April 21, 2014, the block aired Hey Arnold!, Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers and The Ren and Stimpy Show as part of Mix-Tape Monday. Songs featured in a show's episode and theme songs were seen in a karaoke style.
On June 7, 2014, Rocket Power joined the lineup, replacing Kenan and Kel and All That on weekends. This was the block's first major schedule change in over a year. On June 16, 2014, the block aired Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, CatDog, Rocko's Modern Life and The Ren and Stimpy Show as part of Summer Mix-Tape Monday.
An anniversary marathon of Hey Dude aired on July 14, 2014, 25 years to the day of the show's debut on Nickelodeon. Similarly, a marathon of Rocket Power aired on August 16, 2014, to celebrate that show's 15th anniversary.
On October 27-31, the block aired Halloween episodes of Hey Arnold!, CatDog, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Rugrats, Kenan and Kel and Doug, along with episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?
===2015===
In response to the death of voice actress Christine Cavanaugh, the block scheduled a marathon of Rugrats episodes centering around Chuckie Finster, originally voiced by Cavanaugh, for the night of January 1, 2015 (no special New Year event had been scheduled that year).
From March 30, 2015 to April 3, 2015, the series aired "Out of the Vault" specials including an April Fools' Day episode of The Wild Thornberrys, Kenan and Kel, All That as well as re-airing the two-part Rugrats TV special "Runaway Reptar", Kenan and Kel's "Two Heads Are Better Than None" TV movie and Cry Baby Lane, as well as four episodes of Weinerville, all edited to remove the copyrighted cartoon segments. This marked the first time in 18 years that Weinerville had been broadcast, and also the only time the show was ever broadcast on the block prior to its rebrand as The Splat. Promos for this edition of the block showed clips from the Stick Stickly special Stuck, which did not actually air that week (it was eventually aired in the summer).
== References ==
==External links==
*Official website
*The '90s Are All That Official Facebook page
*The '90s Are All That Blog Post on TeenNick
Category:Programming blocks