I’ve been procrastinating a lot lately, which has lead to me watching a lot of old television shows. While laughing at all of the 90s humor and blushing at the covertly dirty jokes that went over our heads as children, I realized there were some serious lessons that television shows taught us. Here are just a few.
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Originally, I despised Jimmy Neutron. I hated his hair, his robot dog, and his know-it-all attitude. But as the show progressed, Jimmy got knocked down a few peg and showed us not-so-know-it-all students that it was okay to be smart, and it was okay to be more like Sheen and Carl.
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Any time that Jimmy and his friends got into trouble, we would burst through his ear canal and see him getting a “brain blast” that would help to save the day. But without his trouble-making friends, Jimmy’s ego would explode. Either way, it made me want to get way better grades in science class.
Kim Possible
As little girls growing up, we were frequently spoon-fed movies about princesses and damsels in distress, and sometimes, even crime-fighting princesses like Mulan were not enough for us to think we could be badass. But when Kim Possible came out, all gender stereotypes were reversed (even though we didn’t know what that was called).
All we knew was that Kim was crazy intelligent, could kick some serious butt, and still looked trendy all the time. She even frequently had to save her bumbling best friend/boyfriend Ron Stoppable. Also, their arch-enemies, Shego and Dr. Drakken, had similar role-reversals; every plan by Dr. Drakken was easily foiled and Shego would just roll her eyes and try to help Drakken.
Spongebob Squarepants
I’m pretty sure people aged anywhere from 20-35 would still shout out the response to “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?” if pressed. Spongebob seemed to be beloved by everyone in our generation, and Nickelodeon is still producing new episodes (they know a hit when they see one). Despite being particularly creepy on paper; he was in his 30s, worked at a burger place, had a pet cat, and loved harassing his neighbor, Squidward, Spongebob was actually a great role model.
Spongebob was prompt, fun-loving, kind, and an amazing friend. In the Spongebob Squarepants movie, Spongebob and Patrick search for King Neptune’s crown in order to clear Mr. Krabs’s name. Spongebob is forgiving when Patrick messes up and accidentally releases the bag of winds; he is understanding, even though he was not promoted by Mr. Krabs; and he befriends Neptune’s daughter because of his loving personality. I wish I was as happy as Spongebob was.
Boy Meets World
This show was known for its ability to hit us right in the feelings. I was crying when Shawn ran away from home because he didn’t think his parents loved him, I was rooting for Topanga and Cory even when the odds were against them, and even when I hated Mr. Feeny, I also knew I loved him.
But one of the most important lessons that kids learned from this show was how to develop of love of learning. It sounds a little cliché, but Mr. Feeny and Mr. Turner reminded kids that were watching BMW at 4:00pm as soon as we got out of school that some lessons were learned out of the classroom. Plus, who didn’t want a neighbor like Mr. Feeny?
