Just like all the other twentysomethings who properly appreciate nostalgia, I was SUPER pumped for the return of my favorite Nick shows. Were Clarissa’s outfits as fashionably 90s as I’d recalled? Would I still be afraid of the dark? Was Doug still as awkward as Judy was a pretentious hipster?

So I programmed my DVR and waited patiently until the next day when I would watch while working. And it was fun. I realized Keenan and Kel wasn’t as funny the second time around, and All That didn’t really do it for me anymore. Fortunately, Clarissa and Doug held up to my prepubescent standards.

But still, I need more. I think my current lukewarm reaction mirrors those of my peers. Sure, we like the shows they have on now, but of all the old Nick programming these are not the ones we REALLY want to see. They need to throw Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Hey Dude, the Secret World of Alex Mack and Salute Your Shorts in the mix, now. Those are the shows that people sit and “hey remember that episode when…” about obsessively with their friends. Those are the ones that separate the cool kids who watched them, from those that didn’t.

Another show I’d like to see back is Hey Arnold!, which didn’t really hit me until reading Hey Arnold!: Five Reasons It’s Worthy of a Nick Comeback. My favorite part from this article: “As my brother so plainly put it, Arnold was such a great character because “he had swag.” I’d try to put it more… poetically, but it’s just the truth. After so many neurotic, loud, crazy cartoon characters on TV — SpongeBob, I’m looking at you — Arnold was a breath of fresh air. He was always unruffled.” I was so busy remembering the interracial love affair that was Gerald and Phoebe, and Arnold’s little hat that I forgot all the other quirky things about this show.

Aside from a name change (‘the 90s are All That‘ grates me and I wish it was a less obvious ploy for our collective attention), hopefully the programming team at Teen Nick, or whoever is in charge of such decisions, starts adding different shows. Until then, I will make due with fond memories and repeats of repeats of Clarissa Explains it All.