While as a kid I regularly watched the channel from mid 1999 through 2006/7, looking back I think the last good year of Nick was 2004. I actually found this wiki post the other day and I think it explains what I mean by that perfectly:

http://nickelodeon.wikia.com/wiki/2004

Keep in mind, I generally believe the Golden Age of Nickelodeon ending around 1997/8 while the Silver Age (when it was still good) ending around 2003/4.

I would say that 2004 was Nickelodeon's last great year in terms of the nicktoons that were around, the last year Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power (although some might disagree), CatDog, etc. were around and the last time Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents peaked. However, throughout 2005 & 2006 you still had mostly old Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents reruns, Invader Zim was still around (although cancelled in 2006), and Danny Phantom & Avatar: The Last Airbender were great shows. However other than that most of the nicktoons went on a huge decline, and as a result Nickelodeon has dumped all of its nicktoons to the Nicktoons channel itself and has had to rely on endless reruns of Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents like it still does today.

Now as for the sitcoms, bear with me on this one. The mid 2000's was like a Renaissance Age for Nickelodeon in terms of the live-action shows, and yes believe me or don't, Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified, and even Zoey 101, were much higher quality hit shows than some of those weak early 2000's sitcoms like Tiana or Cousin Skeeter. Ken & Kel is more of a late 90's Nickelodeon sitcom so I don't consider it as early 2000's even though it still played reruns in the early 2000's.

So I'd say 2004 was Nickelodeon's last great year in terms of the variety of nicktoons, however for the sitcoms the mid 2000's were still pretty great though. Now as for the game shows I'm not sure when that declined. You still had some pretty good Kids Choice Award years and game shows like Friday Night Slimetime and U-Pick live were still around for a couple more years. But shortly before NICK GAS was shuttdown in 2007.

For the Nick Jr. and Noggin stuff, whenever Blue's Clues got rid of Steve or whenever the Face Guy era of Nick Jr. ended, that's when Nick Jr. died for me. As for Noggin, when Feet Face got replaced by those idiotic Moose O' Moose and Zee hosts around early 2003 that's when the channel completely turned for the worse on me lol.

Overall I believe when Avatar: the Last Airbender ended and Drake & Josh ended that's when Nickelodeon completely jumped the shark 100%, however after all those nicktoons ended in 2004 it did go on a huge decline though, and a lot of the recent nicktoons as of late have not done well on Nickelodeon or has been a spin-off of a video game (Tak & the Power of JuJu; Rabbits Invasion), or has been a Dreamwork movie spin-off (Penguins of Madagascar; Back in the Barnyard).

For those who don't already know. When it comes to Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I like the early 2000's & mid 2000's equally. However for Nickelodeon I'd say early 2000's for nicktoons and mid 2000's for sitcoms. Disney Channel's sitcoms and original movies I preferred both times. However, when it comes to Cartoon Network and Toon Disney I strictly prefer the early 2000's over the mid 2000's without a doubt. Not saying that I didn't enjoy the mid 2000's for the channels but the early 2000's definitely had higher quality programming and much more variety at the time.

I would say that 2004 was Nickelodeon's last great year in terms of the nicktoons that were around, the last year Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power (although some might disagree), CatDog, etc. were around and the last time Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents peaked. However, throughout 2005 & 2006 you still had mostly old Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents reruns, Invader Zim was still around (although cancelled in 2006), and Danny Phantom & Avatar: The Last Airbender were great shows. However other than that most of the nicktoons went on a huge decline, and as a result Nickelodeon has dumped all of its nicktoons to the Nicktoons channel itself and has had to rely on endless reruns of Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents like it still does today.

Now as for the sitcoms, bear with me on this one. The mid 2000's was like a Renaissance Age for Nickelodeon in terms of the live-action shows, and yes believe me or don't, Drake & Josh, Romeo, Ned's Declassified, and even Zoey 101, were much higher quality hit shows than some of those weak early 2000's sitcoms like Tiana or Cousin Skeeter. Ken & Kel is more of a late 90's Nickelodeon sitcom so I don't consider it as early 2000's even though it still played reruns in the early 2000's.

So I'd say 2004 was Nickelodeon's last great year in terms of the variety of nicktoons, however for the sitcoms the mid 2000's were still pretty great though. Now as for the game shows I'm not sure when that declined. You still had some pretty good Kids Choice Award years and game shows like Friday Night Slimetime and U-Pick live were still around for a couple more years. But shortly before NICK GAS was shuttdown in 2007.

For the Nick Jr. and Noggin stuff, whenever Blue's Clues got rid of Steve or whenever the Face Guy era of Nick Jr. ended, that's when Nick Jr. died for me. As for Noggin, when Feet Face got replaced by those idiotic Moose O' Moose and Zee hosts around early 2003 that's when the channel completely turned for the worse on me lol.

Overall I believe when Avatar: the Last Airbender ended and Drake & Josh ended that's when Nickelodeon completely jumped the shark 100%, however after all those nicktoons ended in 2004 it did go on a huge decline though, and a lot of the recent nicktoons as of late have not done well on Nickelodeon or has been a spin-off of a video game (Tak & the Power of JuJu; Rabbits Invasion), or has been a Dreamwork movie spin-off (Penguins of Madagascar; Back in the Barnyard).

For those who don't already know. When it comes to Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I like the early 2000's & mid 2000's equally. However for Nickelodeon I'd say early 2000's for nicktoons and mid 2000's for sitcoms. Disney Channel's sitcoms and original movies I preferred both times. However, when it comes to Cartoon Network and Toon Disney I strictly prefer the early 2000's over the mid 2000's without a doubt. Not saying that I didn't enjoy the mid 2000's for the channels but the early 2000's definitely had higher quality programming and much more variety at the time.


Yeah 2004 was definitely the last good year for Nicktoons! However I do agree, being a tween for the mid-late 2000's, I preffered the live action shows from that time, like Zoey 101, Ned's Declassified, & Drake and Josh, much better than the early 00's ones like Taina, Lil Romeo, & Cousin Skeeter, but I still get pretty nostalgic over both eras for tween shows.

I also liked how upto 2004 on Nick and The N they still showed reruns of 90's shows like Clarissa Explains it All, Kenan & Kel, Pete & Pete, & Alex Mack.

Plus The Rugrats, Hey Arnold, The Wild Thornberry's, Rocket Power, & CatDog ended this year, and reruns of Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Ahh Real Monsters, & Angry Beavers ended this year as well! All of these shows along with the early 2000's ones like Invader Zim, Jimmy Neutron, Chalkzone & the good eras of Spongebob & Fairly Odd Parents, defined my early & peak childhood in the late 90's/early 00's.

So yeah 2004/5 for the most part was when the channel Nick along with their affiliates started to sharply decline. Similar to how 2006 was when Cartoon Network started to sharply decline.

I also think that the era we grew up in was more of a Silver Age, aka the Klasky Csupo Era of 1998-2004. Similar to how the CN City Era was the Silver Age for Cartoon Network from 2004-2006

2005 was also the year that Nickelodeon Studios shut down in Orlando, a place I vividly remember going to when I was 4 & 8 respectively. It defined a generation of kids who grew up in the 90's & early 00's. I would argue one of the things that defines Gen Y. IMHO a true Gen Yer would remember this place, even if they never physically went there, they would still be nostalgic of thinking how cool it would be to actually go there! Here's a link of the history of Nickelodeon Studios:

ItPkMIumy_o


I also agree that post 2005 Nicktoons weren't as good with the exception of Avatar the Last Airbender & CatScratch (a very underrated nicktoon). It seems everything after CatScratch hasn't been as good. And when Danny Phantom & Avatar ended in 2007/8, and Sponegebob & Fairly Odd Parents decline became very noticeable, the channel was Dead AF to me. When they changed the logo in 2009 and ended the original run for Nickelodeon magazine, that just solidified their death even more.

Unfortunately it has been that way ever since...  :\'( :\'( :\'(

No. I obviously don't think that 2004 was the last good Nickelodeon year. Hell, even for Nick Jr, I don't think that Nickelodeon sucked during that time. For the whole mid 2000s, the whole channel was friggin' awesome. Especially with 2007 to mid 2009, it was still awesome. I think you guys already know that from my signature, unless I change it again.

While as a kid I regularly watched the channel from mid 1999 through 2006/7, looking back I think the last good year of Nick was 2004. I actually found this wiki post the other day and I think it explains what I mean by that perfectly:

http://nickelodeon.wikia.com/wiki/2004

Keep in mind, I generally believe the Golden Age of Nickelodeon ending around 1997/8 while the Silver Age (when it was still good) ending around 2003/4.


Even with shows like Danny Phantom and Ned Declassified's School Survival Guide, it still shows that Nickelodeon was still being badass and not obsessed with pop cultural references.

Yeah 2004 was definitely the last good year for Nicktoons! However I do agree, being a tween for the mid-late 2000's, I preffered the live action shows from that time, like Zoey 101, Ned's Declassified, & Drake and Josh, much better than the early 00's ones like Taina, Lil Romeo, & Cousin Skeeter, but I still get pretty nostalgic over both eras for tween shows.

I also liked how upto 2004 on Nick and The N they still showed reruns of 90's shows like Clarissa Explains it All, Kenan & Kel, Pete & Pete, & Alex Mack.

Plus The Rugrats, Hey Arnold, The Wild Thornberry's, Rocket Power, & CatDog ended this year, and reruns of Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Ahh Real Monsters, & Angry Beavers ended this year as well! All of these shows along with the early 2000's ones like Invader Zim, Jimmy Neutron, Chalkzone & the good eras of Spongebob & Fairly Odd Parents, defined my early & peak childhood in the late 90's/early 00's.

So yeah 2004/5 for the most part was when the channel Nick along with their affiliates started to sharply decline. Similar to how 2006 was when Cartoon Network started to sharply decline.

I also think that the era we grew up in was more of a Silver Age, aka the Klasky Csupo Era of 1998-2004. Similar to how the CN City Era was the Silver Age for Cartoon Network from 2004-2006

2005 was also the year that Nickelodeon Studios shut down in Orlando, a place I vividly remember going to when I was 4 & 8 respectively. It defined a generation of kids who grew up in the 90's & early 00's. I would argue one of the things that defines Gen Y. IMHO a true Gen Yer would remember this place, even if they never physically went there, they would still be nostalgic of thinking how cool it would be to actually go there! Here's a link of the history of Nickelodeon Studios:

ItPkMIumy_o


I also agree that post 2005 Nicktoons weren't as good with the exception of Avatar the Last Airbender & CatScratch (a very underrated nicktoon). It seems everything after CatScratch hasn't been as good. And when Danny Phantom & Avatar ended in 2007/8, and Sponegebob & Fairly Odd Parents decline became very noticeable, the channel was Dead AF to me. When they changed the logo in 2009 and ended the original run for Nickelodeon magazine, that just solidified their death even more.

Unfortunately it has been that way ever since...  :\'( :\'( :\'(


What's even worse is that Nickelodeon has been making so many godawful shows, like Breadwinners and that new Alvin and the Chipmunks reboot. But with all due respect, I already quit watching the network since 2011. I could've liked Nick after they changed their logo, but it wasn't really the same when they rebranded themselves. It was just terrible.

Even with shows like Danny Phantom and Ned Declassified's School Survival Guide, it still shows that Nickelodeon was still being badass and not obsessed with pop cultural references.


Their live action shows and the nicktoons that debuted in the early 00's was what was carrying Nickelodeon for much of the mid 00's. Avatar and CatScratch were the only mid 00's nicktoons that were good

Their live action shows and the nicktoons that debuted in the early 00's was what was carrying Nickelodeon for much of the mid 00's. Avatar and CatScratch were the only mid 00's nicktoons that were good


So? You still had lots of great shows that were on Nickelodeon, along with reruns of Seasons 1-3 Spongebob and 2001-04 FOP back then. If you look at Nickelodeon now, you would just see nothing but godawful tween sitcoms and cartoons. Compare that to 2005-07/8 Nickelodeon, and you would rather go back to when Nickelodeon still had their Splat logo.

I would say that 2004 was Nickelodeon's last great year in terms of the nicktoons that were around, the last year Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power (although some might disagree), CatDog, etc. were around and the last time Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents peaked. However, throughout 2005 & 2006 you still had mostly old Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents reruns, Invader Zim was still around (although cancelled in 2006), and Danny Phantom & Avatar: The Last Airbender were great shows. However other than that most of the nicktoons went on a huge decline, and as a result Nickelodeon has dumped all of its nicktoons to the Nicktoons channel itself and has had to rely on endless reruns of Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents like it still does today.


Where is Avatar, Jimmy Neutron, Mighty bee, All grown up, Ironman, Kappa mickey, Catscratch, Three delivery, El tigre, Making fiends, Speed racer, Wayside, Skyland and Huntik? Say what you will about their quality, but there were alot of cartoons on Nicktoons and Teletoon(some are teletoon productions) post '04. Funny how only the older people say this.

Where is Avatar, Jimmy Neutron, Mighty bee, All grown up, Ironman, Kappa mickey, Catscratch, Three delivery, El tigre, Making fiends, Speed racer, Wayside, Skyland and Huntik? Say what you will about their quality, but there were alot of cartoons on Nicktoons and Teletoon(some are teletoon productions) post '04. Funny how only the older people say this.


For Avatar and Catscratch, they were already mentioned by mqg. But for the other ones you mentioned (except for Iron Man, Skyland and Huntik), they were all cool shows. I loved them when they were around during the late 2000s.

Where is Avatar, Jimmy Neutron, Mighty bee, All grown up, Ironman, Kappa mickey, Catscratch, Three delivery, El tigre, Making fiends, Speed racer, Wayside, Skyland and Huntik? Say what you will about their quality, but there were alot of cartoons on Nicktoons and Teletoon(some are teletoon productions) post '04. Funny how only the older people say this.


I'm talking the Nicktoons POST-2004 with the exception of very few, and yes those POST-2004 Nicktoons were quickly dumped to the Nicktoons channel due to being either low quality or low popularity on Nickelodeon and as a result Nickelodeon has been relying on endless reruns Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents like it still is now. All of what I have in bold I distinctly remember being quickly dumped to Nicktoons Network. As for Skyland and Huntik I don't remember seeing those in the U.S. The only ones on the list I consider as underrated that were really good were Catscratch and El Tigre, but guess what happened to these Nicktoons with so much potential, those were ALL cancelled after one season because of Nickelodeon's mediocre decisions like they've done with other shows recently. Invader Zim was also cancelled around the time as well. Jimmy Neutron and All Grown Up were great but debuted in the early 2000's, while Danny Phantom debuted in the year 2004 itself.

I'm talking the Nicktoons POST-2004 with the exception of very few, and yes those POST-2004 Nicktoons were quickly dumped to the Nicktoons channel due to being either low quality or low popularity on Nickelodeon and as a result Nickelodeon has been relying on endless reruns Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents like it still is now. All of what I have in bold I distinctly remember being quickly dumped to Nicktoons Network. As for Skyland and Huntik I don't remember seeing those in the U.S. The only ones on the list I consider as underrated that were really good were Catscratch and El Tigre, but guess what happened to these Nicktoons with so much potential, those were ALL cancelled after one season because of Nickelodeon's mediocre decisions like they've done with other shows recently. Invader Zim was also cancelled around the time as well. Jimmy Neutron and All Grown Up were great but debuted in the early 2000's, while Danny Phantom debuted in the year 2004 itself.



This times a thousand!

This times a thousand!


Over what? On how much you like the shows?

Over what? On how much you like the shows?


That I agreed that the mid 00's were still somewhat decent it's just that whenever Nick came out with an innovative idea like CatScratch they abandon it. Hence why Nick was sort of confused during this time, you also had a lot of imported cartoons on the channel and or toons based on movies. It's like Nick just lost creativity around this time and whenever there was a show that seemed like something fresh and exciting like El Tigre or Mighy B (I will admit I wasn't the biggest fan of these shows but I acknowledge that they were at least innovative), it would get cancelled...

Hence why my opinion on this era is a tad not different from yours, I was in my Tweens and young teens for the most part of this era so I was already critically analyzing the networks decisions they were making around this time

Where is Avatar, Jimmy Neutron, Mighty bee, All grown up, Ironman, Kappa mickey, Catscratch, Three delivery, El tigre, Making fiends, Speed racer, Wayside, Skyland and Huntik? Say what you will about their quality, but there were alot of cartoons on Nicktoons and Teletoon(some are teletoon productions) post '04. Funny how only the older people say this.

Question for you, Shemp: since you're Canadian, when do you think YTV (your equivalent of Nick) began going downhill? I've never watched it (considering I'm american), but from what I hear from older people, it was best during the 90s and 2000-2006. It went downhill in late 2006, when they got rid of the Animax block and the "Keep it weird" theme.

Their live action shows and the nicktoons that debuted in the early 00's was what was carrying Nickelodeon for much of the mid 00's. Avatar and CatScratch were the only mid 00's nicktoons that were good

I agree 150%!!!

To answer the original question yup it pretty much was the last good year for the network!! This was the last year that Nick felt like the Nick that I was first introduced to! The live action shows were what made the network decent in the mid 00s but the decline in Nicktoons was OBVIOUS. Sure you had Avatar and Danny Phantom, but when 2005 hit when Zoey 101 debuted and Unfabulous got popular, the network  just did NOT feel the same, it felt teeny bopperish, it felt like a wannabee Disney channel at the time. It was a VERY rude awakening. Though from younger people's perspectives like Baltimoreian (who was still pretty damn during the silver age period and were at peak kid age when it was in it's Bronze Age(2005-2009)) will obviously differ from mine, but to each his own.

I'm talking the Nicktoons POST-2004 with the exception of very few, and yes those POST-2004 Nicktoons were quickly dumped to the Nicktoons channel due to being either low quality or low popularity on Nickelodeon and as a result Nickelodeon has been relying on endless reruns Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents like it still is now. All of what I have in bold I distinctly remember being quickly dumped to Nicktoons Network.
All of those shows had massive following and remained in production for multiple seasons. Nicktoons and the other US network are extremely notorious for dumping foreign shows regardless of their quality or forcung changes that destroy the original appeal of the show.
"Good" shows pre-2004 had short runs or got outright cut: Notable ones people complain about are Sailor moon(Toi had a disagreement with the US dubbers who refused to alter their target audience to match that of the Japanese audience), Courage the cowardly dog, almost anything by 4kids and Dic, Ren &  Stimpy(original writers left mid-season, stupid plots began to ensue soon after), Cow and chicken(only lasted 2 years but has a huge following), Samurai Jack, Mike Lu and Og and Invader Zim.

- The Mighty bee received 3.1 million viewers since debut and was in the top 5 animated programs on TV.
- Ironman had one of Nicks highest rated debuts.
- Kappa Mikey received a 6.6 on imbd and an 8/10 on TV.com, almost all comments on youtube under Kappa Mikey are positive, which leaves me to wonder how you managed label a frequently cited nickoons "classic" under "low quality or low popularity.
- Three delivery; wikipedia:
"Episode 1 garnered 571,063 viewers. Episode 2 garnered 593,000 viewers. By episode 3, it garnered over 1.5 million viewers. It continued to stay #1 on Nicktoons Network until Wolverine and the X-Men garnered over 3.1 million viewers with its first episode. Three Delivery then became #2. It then dropped to #3 on Nicktoons Network ratings due to Avatar: The Last Airbender hitting #2 above Three Delivery. But it has garnered over 4.7 million viewers and has stayed at the top".
- El tigre, a show that received 4 awards and several cameos is "low quality or not popular?
- Making fiends quote from wikipedia:
"The series premiered with no promotion or press release. At one point, it was the highest rated original program on Nicktoons. Despite positive reviews and good ratings, the show was abruptly cancelled after airing six episodes" hmm.. more fuel to my earlier point.
- Speed racer received an 8/10 on TV.com, but you may have a point about this one as it was primarily made to promote the film. Still garnered a large fanbase.
- This has to be a joke, the show was nominated for best children's cartoon award and received positive reviews from critics, another "classic" by fans when discussing good 00s shows.

As for Skyland and Huntik I don't remember seeing those in the U.S.
Both are foreign shows that featured a sizable fanbase in the US like Code lyoko or Totally spies. They are also high rated but the former airs at night.

The only ones on the list I consider as underrated that were really good were Catscratch and El Tigre, but guess what happened to these Nicktoons with so much potential, those were ALL cancelled after one season because of Nickelodeon's mediocre decisions like they've done with other shows recently. Invader Zim was also cancelled around the time as well.
Ok so you agree in that note, but I pointed out that they and their rivals have been doing this for alot longer than post-2004, just your adult perception only noticing it now.

Jimmy Neutron and All Grown Up were great but debuted in the early 2000's, while Danny Phantom debuted in the year 2004 itself.

This is kind of flawed logic. So because a contemporary cartoon dates back a long time means the network has nothing on, even if the network features tens if these shows? If anything, it means the opposite, less new shows means less potential crap and more room for classics. So if CN and Disney stopped producing new cartoons today but continued to run their existing cartoons like Gravity falls and Steven universe, you would say those networks had nothing worthwhile on?