The days of the golden age of children’s television feel far away. If you ever accidentally scroll onto Disney or Nickelodeon today you might think that there has been a massive decline in the quality of tv shows since the 2010s, but did the shows decline in quality? Are the tv shows you used to watch actually good, or are you looking into the past with rose-tinted glasses?
I asked ISB students what some of their favourite shows they watched when they were younger were and rated them based on a couple standards. The first and simplest qualifier was the IMDb qualifier. I would simply take the IMDb score and use it as part of the calculation of the total score. The second and third qualifier both came from me watching the first episode of the show and another random episode of the show and rating them on two scales. The first of these scales was the Enjoyability scale and the second was the Targeted scale. The first scale looked at how much I enjoyed the show and the second looked at how well I felt it targeted the target audience. The three qualifiers were averaged and that was the final score given to the show.
Phineas and Ferb
The first show on this list is Phineas and Ferb, which ran from 2007-2010, for this show I watched the first episode and the 7th episode of the 2nd season. The show as a whole is rated at 8.0 on IMDb. I rated the show a 8.9 on the enjoyability scale and a 9.3 on the targeted scale.
The show is wonderfully targeted at a younger audience with bright colours, frequent changes in scenes, easily understandable plots and a relatable cast. But, this show also has a large number of points in its favour for wider audiences. The show has some jokes that are still funny years after the show ended, a catchy and memorable intro and bizarre and fun plot lines and events. It is not, however, free of flaws the voice acting and animations can at times be questionable. I would definitely say that this show holds up to this day.
Final Rating - 8.7/10
Adventure Time
The next show on this list is Adventure Time, which ran from 2010-2019, for this show I watched the first episode and the 12th episode of the 6th season. The show as a whole is rated at 8.6 on imdb. I rated the show a 7 on the enjoyability scale and a 10 on the targeted scale.
This show is very obviously targeted at children and if I could give a rating higher than 10 on the targeted scale I would. Everything in this show happens incredibly fast, there are usually a large number of conflicts and resolutions in an episode that is only 10 minutes long. This added to the fact that because of the fantasy setting of the show they have access to an even wider array of bright colours to entrance children with and you have a show that should be addictive to any child. The show seems to become more enjoyable for a wider audience in the later seasons However, in comparison to the episodes of Phineas and Ferb I did not catch myself smiling as often as I would have liked for a comedy.
Final Rating - 8.5/10
iCarly
A final example is iCarly, a classic from Nickelodeon that was released in 2007 and ran until 2010.I can only describe my experience watching iCarly as surreal, the delivery of lines is incredibly wrong in the subtlest way possible. Throughout the entire experience I felt as though I was not watching a tv show and was completely unsure how to describe the experience. The use of bright colours and quick transitions is carried over to iCarly. However, at many times I felt myself become uncomfortable and physically cringe at much of Dan Schneider’s screenwriting. I would say I would rate the show a 7.4 on the targeted scale for this reason. I found, however, that I would have the odd laugh at the sheer absurdity of the show in some cases and for this reason I would grant the show an 8.0 on the enjoyability scale. The score was also rated a 6.7 on imdb, bringing the final rating to…
Final Rating - 7.3/10
All of the shows you used to watch are unfortunately outdated, the targeting towards a child’s mind is very obvious throughout all of these shows meaning they do not hold up as well as they used to in the same aspects. However, you can find a different kind of enjoyment through watching these shows and reminiscing in the nostalgia of it all. Although many of the jokes have lost much of their humour when heard by anyone over the age of 10, I would still recommend watching all the shows with friends and making fun of all the terrible jokes and maybe getting in a few genuine laughs too.
Images Cited
- “Top 25 BEST Cartoons of the 2010s.” YouTube, The Roundtable, 2 Jan. 2020,
- "Adventure Time" Anonymous
- “Phineas Flynn.” Phineas and Ferb Wiki, phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/Phineas_Flynn
- “iCarly Poster Art.” NICK UK, www.nick.co.uk/shows/icarly/ex7xov.