alt.tv.nickelodeon Presents: The Nicktoon Rewards: Category Spotlight
I decided to "spotlight" some of the categories on alt.tv.nickelodeon (and, for good measure, rec.arts.animation), pretty much explaining my choice of nominations. Here they are.

Best Moment (of all time)
Otto skating with Tony Hawk, Rocket Power, "Enter the Hawk-trix"
Hey, if you're gonna have an ep with Tony Hawk, you're gonna have to at least have a main character skate with him, right? (Not to be outdone, Reggie's Big Break has his big sis Reg skating with Andy McDonald.) "Power Play", OTOH, was another story.
The Rocket siblings tying for Prince(ss) Waikikamukau, Rocket Power, "Race Across New Zealand"
The Rockets finally bring something home, and at the same time, Reggie's win is one for girl power.
Angelica and Tommy singing at a concert, Rugrats, "All Growed Up"
The flashbacks, the fact that they're older, and the fact that they're singing at a concert. They all add up, don't they?
Arnold discovers map in parents' journal, Hey Arnold!, "The Journal"
It's the main reason many Nick viewers are pushing for the 2nd film to conclude this particular thread.
Nigel knighted, Thornberrys, "Sir Nigel"
What can I say? It's Nigel's crowning glory.
Sasha kisses Ginger, Ginger, "Camp Caprice"
Because it got everyone's hope up for a good romance between the two (tho "Ginger's Solo" was another story).
Arnold dumps Lila, Hey Arnold!, "Timberly Loves Arnold"
Because it changed everything for him. It also set up everything for the inevitable Helga confession too.
Didi gives birth, The Rugrats Movie
It's a nicely done sequence, something you probably wouldn't expect to see on the TV show. Though Dil himself does leave something to be desired... :/
Chuckie speaks for the first time, Rugrats in Paris
It not only resolves the plot, but also changes everything. Finster talking to the adults now (although just one word)? Now that's a clever idea.
Helga's confession and the kiss that followed, Hey Arnold! The Movie
HA! fans were probably waiting for it ever since Craig said in a chat that it would happen. (Then again, this was the same chat that he mentioned his spinoff in.)
Eliza's confession, The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Sets up one of the nominees for Best Character Development: her big sis Deb being threatened to be changed into a baboon. The sequence that followed also showed the whole point the trailer tries to make: you don't need extraordinary powers to do extraordinary things.
Helga whispering "Merry Christmas, Arnold", Hey Arnold!, "Arnold's Christmas"
Because someone submitted this to me in an email. Judging from the way the person wrote, it sounds like another sweet moment from the show.
Darren kissing Ginger, Ginger, "Foutleys on Ice"
We were waiting for this all year. ;-)
And these were suggested by others:
Wacky Deli, Rocko's Modern Life
Happy Happy, Joy Joy Song, Ren & Stimpy
Tak Battle, Invader Zim, "Tak, The Hideous New Girl"
The "Pass It On" segment, Angry Beavers, "Story Time"
'The Fairly OddPrimates' sequence, Fairly OddParents, "Abra Catastrophe"
Arnold's birth, Hey Arnold!, "The Journal"
Harold sticking up for Patty, Hey Arnold!, "Hey Harold!" and "Harold vs. Patty"
Gerald sticking up for Arnold, Hey Arnold!, "Bag of Money"
Eugene singing "Keep Your Sunny Side Up", Hey Arnold!, "Eugene, Eugene!"
Helga meeting Arnold for the first time, Hey Arnold!, "Helga on the Couch"

Best Regular Character (Male):
Arnold: Probably the smartest main character in a Nicktoon, until Jimmy came along, but he doesn't make Arnold any less deserving of a nomination...
Tommy: There's something to be said about Rugrats' born leader... but imagine what he'll do with a video camera in All Grown Up!.
Gerald: Tall on personality, urban legend knowledge... and hair. ;-)
SpongeBob: People seem to like him a lot, so there. Happy?
Zim: Put him in there just for sentimental reasons. Who cares what the execs think anyway? ;-)
Otto: Hey, he has his fans.
Doug: This guy here did goody two-shoes stuff and wrote in a diary... long before Arnold and Ginger came along.
And the following were suggested by Jennifurface from The Sunset Arms Forum:
Chuckie
Phil
Jimmy Neutron
Carl Wheezer, Jimmy Neutron
Carl Foutley, ATBG
Timmy
Cosmo
Dib
Twister
Patrick
Rocko
CatDog
Norbert
Daggett

Best Regular Character (Female):
Reggie: The only bright spot in the whole of RP. Her plots are better than the average RP plot.
Debbie: Just about everyone who watches TWT likes Eliza's big sis. Even the reviews for the movie say that she steals the show. Think about it.
Angelica: People who like Rugrats seem to like her, so she must be doing something right... ;-)
Helga: Her character actually has depth, and was even pencilled for her own spinoff.
Phoebe: This school genius actually has some personality behind that big brain... try saying that for most other geniuses.
Ginger: Many schoolgirls can relate to her, even if her life is a bit unrealistic...
Courtney: Rich, popular, well-dressed... and quite air-headed, but likeable.
Eliza: Might not be the best looking girl on the show, but you can't really hate someone who's really into nature...
Marianne: Kudos to her for putting up with such a weird family.
Gaz: An email suggestion gets this Zim character nominated. Go figure.
To balance out Jen's nominations above:
Lil
Cindy Vortex
Wanda

Worst Regular Character:
Nigel: Big nose, big teeth, and a snotty British accent. What more could you want?
Donnie: Well, if you behaved like an animal, no one would like you either! ;-)
Eliza: Glasses, freckles, braces... I know KC were not trying to make her pretty (they wanted to give her a big nose as well), but did they have to make her so ugly??? Sometimes, personality alone isn't going to be enough.
Otto: The lamer RP plots usually seem to center around him. For example: Otto tries to get a new move named after himself.
Twister: He might be good with a camera and a skateboard, but not so with that Tommy Pickles voice of his. Especially with all those lame comments...
Dil: He's gross on Rugrats... I say you wait for All Grown Up!.
Kimi: Well, some people are complaining about her addition...
Taffy: Does Rugrats really need teenaged plots?
Jimmy Neutron: He intruded into other programming for crying out loud!

Best Recurring Character:
Nadine: The resident bug lover of Hey Arnold!, who wouldn't want her to get her own focus ep? ;-)
Sheena: Same deal with the resident pacificist. ;-)
Curly: What's not to like about a maniac who wants to free animals from the zoo?
Kip and Biederman: And how about this Abbott and Costello-ish pair of poachers?
Peapod Kid (HA!): OK, we don't know that much about him (quite frankly, this is why I'd left him out the first time), but apparently, his family is about as well-off as Rhonda's. Besides, it's not every day you can call a kid a vegetable and get away with it.
Susie (Rugrats): The voice of reason on the original, now trying to be a singer on All Grown Up!... shades of Taina perhaps?
Trent (RP): He's a potential love interest for Reggie. Enough said.
Breezy (RP): She's caught Ray's eye, now let's see if she catches your votes.
Mipsy (ATBG): Well, she's been around enough to be an annoyance to Ginger, but not enough to be a regular, so she's parked here.
Suggested by Jen:
Randolph (CatDog)
Lola (CatDog)

Worst Recurring Character:
Mackenzie (RP): Known mostly for winning a sandcastle contest, beating not only Lars but also Reggie, she's annoying beyond belief.
Timmy McNulty (Rugrats): Before Dil came along, the same voice actress Tara Strong did this character's voice. Think about it.
Lila (HA!): Even some Hey Arnold! fans don't like her. Think about it.

Best Character Development:
Susie, minor character on Rugrats, becomes regular on All Grown Up!
It's not every day that a minor (at best) character on one show becomes a major character on another, so this is worth a mention.
Arnold dumps Lila
Suddenly, Helga's chance for Arnold has been significantly increased. It's remarkable enough that this show gets rave reviews despite its utter lack of character developement... so imagine how rave the reviews would be if they did have it.
Arnold dumps Ruth
Submitted by Jen.
Chuckie speaks for the first time
OK, it's just one word, and it hasn't played a big role in the plot of a TV ep yet... but still worth a mention.
Debbie threatened to be turned into a baboon
alt.tv.nickelodeon's Gideon keeps saying that an ep where this threat comes into play is going to be made... no matter whether one is made or not, this particular development at the very least gets the sisters closer.
Darren's braces removed
His face literally gets changed for the better. It's a set up for the whole Ginger/Darren thing in Far From Home as well.
Harold making friends with Patty
Submitted by Jen also.

Best Newcomer:
Noelle (ATBG): She's weird, telekinetic, and just the right girl for Carl. How can you not like her? ;-).
Charlotte (Rugrats): Now we know where Angelica gets her bossiness from.
Lulu (Rugrats): Nice to see Grandpa Lou get married to someone...
Taffy (Rugrats): Hey, she's talented.
Susie: Not just the voice of reason, but the most talented of the babies.
Kimi and Kira: As they say, opposites attract. Especially where Kimi and Chuckie are concerned...
Trent (RP): Reg's love interest. Enough said.
Breezy (RP): The new employee at the Shore Shack, and Ray's new love interest.
Lola (CatDog): Suggested by Jen, again.

Worst Newcomer:
Dil: I seriously suggest you just wait to see him in All Grown Up!.
Taffy: And I repeat myself: does Rugrats need teenaged plots? They can save those for All Grown Up!.
Lulu: Grandpa Lou made Rugrats, but he's not even around anymore with her around.
Lila: As said above, some HA! fans don't like her.

Biggest Disappointment (of all time):
Waste of NHL stars, Power Play, RP
OK, if you're going to go through all the trouble to get NHL stars to cameo in your sports-based show, the least you could do is get them to play with the main characters (see my note on RP's Tony Hawk cameo). However, the machinations of the plot prevent this from happening... go figure.
Sasha back with Clover, Ginger's Solo, Ginger
It's bad enough that the last thing Ginger wanted to see after such a long trip to his school was Sasha back with his old GF, it's even worse when you consider that it is directly in the face of what he said in Camp Caprice: that looks and money didn't matter. But it is apparent here that the only reason Sasha is attracted to Clover is for those 2 things... once again, go figure.
Joe Murray's promise to return after Rocko
Well, he promised (shrugs)...
Craig Bartlett walks out on Nick
He'd been talking so much about the 2nd movie and what was going to happen and all, and quite a few of us at the Nick newsgroup were pumped up... and then this happened. Couple that with a bad showing for the telefilm-turned-cinema film, and you get a recipe for disaster.
Rejection of HA! spinoff The Patakis
Same deal with this one. He also talked about it a lot, and then he told us that all the Viacom nets rejected it.
Low earnings of HA! movie
It had been hoped that a good gross for the film would help Nick reconsider the whole thing about the 2nd film... but not with only $13m gross.
Eliza Unplugged delayed, after promos for it had aired
It's ironic that some people think that the kiss they'd shown in the promos was the reason it got delayed... and it's also the final ep of a 5 ep story arc, not unlike the eps with Tyler Tucker, as well.
Preschool Daze still unaired on Nick US, Rugrats
Not only do they have a spinoff based on this ep (KC promises a new look for it as well) coming sometime soon, characters from that ep have appeared in at least 2 other eps of Rugrats that have been aired in the US as well. What gives?
Ren and Stimpy eps edited on Spike TV
They said it wouldn't be edited, but they edited it anyway. How's that for a slap in the face?
Zim cancellation
Clear proof that Nick is trying so hard to shove the adults off the Nick bandwagon. It was popular... among adults and Emmy voters, but (apparently) not among the all-important (to them) kids' demo.
The "snapback", Hey Arnold! The Movie
Because it "takes back" the most important moment of the series.
The slowness in airing the remaining HA! eps
Enough said. Submitted by Jen.

Worst Decision:
Arnold's refusal to tell Wartz who gave him a Full Moon, HA!: I mean, his friends did something wrong, and he's trying to protect them? Doesn't that, I dunno, fly in the face of his beliefs?
Reggie withdraws from triathlon she's trained so hard for during first leg, Rainy Days And Sundaes, RP: The way I see it, why would you waste all your hard training over a trifle of domestic trouble?
Reggie jumps off windsurfing board during Race Across New Zealand, RP: Her point was to get attention. Since she was in the lead, winning the sailboarding race should have done the trick, and probably would have been a better way to do it as well.
Otto plays hockey with broken leg, Otto's Big Break, RP: Tito may have said "Friendships are more important than foolish pride", but I don't think there's anything more foolish than this.
Noelle tries to catch bus... using telekinesis, Foutleys on Ice, ATBG: Uh, Noelle? The bus has an engine...
Ginger + bank sign = trouble, Ginger the Juvey, ATBG: Uh, why not ask Courtney what she wants, instead of getting it from her "best" friend? (At least she knows who to avoid listening to now...)
Eugene kisses Lila, Eugene, Eugene!, HA!: Submitted by Jen, again.

Most Underused Character:
Nadine, HA!: She may have had a focus ep with Rhonda, but when you consider that just about everyone else with "interesting" character traits has had a focus ep on their own, the girl with the spider braids seems to have been left behind in that aspect.
Brainy, HA!: You can often find Helga pummeling him, or him wheezing, but that is pretty much it for him.
Sheena, HA!: Nadine is still better off than Sheena. She's been in a handful of eps (her aunt is also school nurse), but the school's resident pacifist wasn't the focus of any of them.
Phoebe, HA!: OK, she may have been in enough eps (and has had enough focus eps) to qualify as having major character status, but when you consider that she only got one line in the film based on the show (and then got beaten up in a riot), you just know she probably feels so underused.
Remy, FOP: He only got one ep, and there are some FOP fans on the Nickdisk boards who think that he deserves more.
Breezy, RP: One year, KC were hinting that she and Ray would be getting married. The next, they were saying that Ray would be getting a new girlfriend in Hawaii in the next RP telefilm. Talk about underused.
Trent, RP: Reggie's got a major crush on him... but with only 2 eps to his name, I have serious doubts that this relationship will work out.
Susie, Rugrats: With this character, there has at least been some form of rectification... besides her spot in Rugrats Go Wild, she appears more often in All Grown Up!.
Sherry and Trish, RP: If Otto's best friend Twister gets so much screen time, why don't Reggie's best friends?

Best moment (of 2003):
Lil wants to be treated as an individual, Coup DeVille: OK, twin separation might be a compulsory plotline (or even character trait) for twins, but All Grown Up! approaches it with a little style.
Arnold drops Lila, Timberly Loves Arnold: It's nominated for Best Character Development.
Nigel knighted, Sir Nigel: Nominated for Best Moment period.
Mrs. Gordon passes away, No Hope for Courtney: Surprising, yet done sublimely. And to think that this ending was shoe-horned on...
Slam dropped... Martians and Sumos replaced in scheds with classics: No one likes them anyway! ;-)
TWT film nominated for Best Song at Oscars: It's Nick's first nomination in that category.
The Ginger/Darren kiss, Far From Home: Another Best Moment nominee that happened this year.
Pending:
The Shane/Eliza kiss, Eliza Unplugged: I'm sure it's going to be good when it happens...

Biggest disappointment (of 2003):
Eliza Unplugged delayed, after promos for it had aired: Well, if you promote something, you should show it.
Previously announced Nicktoon based on Skeleton Key cancelled: Some people were looking forward to it, but I guess when Zim got canned, this could only be inevitable.
Slam dropped... Zim dropped from its only schedule spot: It's Zim, for crying out loud.
TWT film snubbed from Best Animated Feature at Oscars: How are Treasure Planet and Spirit superior to this film, I wonder?
Rugrats Go Wild: More proof that crossovers don't work.

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