Are YOU afraid of the dark??? Admit it- the clown episode, the doll house episode, the vampire episode, the pool episode- even the intro/theme song was scary! Look out- because the Midnight Society is back, as I break down season 1 through season 7 of this classic 90s Nickelodeon show!
Porkchop, Skeeter, Patti, Quailman, The Honkerburger, The Beets… If you grew up in the early 90s, you couldn’t get enough of Doug. Join The Nickelodeon Kid as he goes back and reviews this wonderful and original Nicktoon!
I think a lot of people would agree that part of what made “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” so great was the dreamy, alternarock soundtrack performed by the indie-rock band Polaris. The theme song, ”Hey Sandy”, was like a sweet, oozy dream syrup dripping into the happy glands of Generation Y’s collective brain sponge.
With the lush, green, suburban backdrop, this made for a completely unforgettable opening to one of the best kids show of all-time.
But to the naked ear, it’s impossible to decipher the lyrics to this song!
Well, thanks to the Internet, I was able to find a transcription:
HEY SANDY
Hey smilin’ strange
You’re lookin’ happily deranged
Could you settle to shoot me?
Or have you picked your target yet?Hey Sandy
Don’t you talk back,
Hey SandyFour feet away
End of speech, it’s the end of the day
We was only funnin’
But guiltily I thought you had it comin’Hey Sandy
Don’t you talk back,
Hey Sandy
Ohhhh-kayyyy… So that’s how it goes? The “Pete and Pete” theme song is a pre-Columbine ode to slacker violence?
“We was only “funnin’?”
No offence, Polaris, but this song is fucking stupid.
Was there ever a Kids TV show more magical, more subversive, and more fun than “The Adventures of Pete and Pete”? You wish, you blowhole! Just find a seat on the big orange couch- it’s time for The Nickelodeon Kid!
It’s easy to forgot how amazing Nickelodeon actually was until you rediscover the details that colored it in. Do you remember these 15 second bumpers? I probably saw these- oh, I don’t know- at least once during EVERY commercial break throughout the history of me watching Nickelodeon.
As I watched these again, I thought, it’s amazing how strongly these things were encoded into my kid-memory bank. I wonder how many times my little Ken brain actually absorbed these things. 150 times each? Easily. 300 might also be a good guesstimate. 500 perhaps? Who knows. But even though 15+ years have passed, I can still remember each of these with the clairvoyance of a psychic. Watch, and see how well you can remember them.
1. THE LOCKERS
This one has a cool, simple direction. As the camera pans across a school hallway filled with kids, we slowly see the Nick logo painted on a wall of lockers. But wait- here comes one last, little pip-squeak to slam his locker shut, and the logo lights up brilliant Nick orange. Sweet. Nickelodeon did an exceptional job of branding in those days.
2. THE GYMNIST
The intensity. The grace. The drama. When you saw this bumper, you wondered what the hell you were watching. But then she sticks the landing and leaves a magical orange footprint on the mat. Now it makes sense- Nickelodeon rules.
3. STREET THEATER
Get ready to get funky fresh with this one. I know I did the 400 times I saw it growing up. I almost signed up for a dance class one time, but my Dad stopped me. Check the comments section on the YouTube page- the composer of the song actually left a message!
