# Does anyone else remember this 80s show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319 "2010-06-24T04:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/1 "2010-06-24T04:05:28Z")
In the 80s, I think it was on Nickelodeon. Basically it was a voice reading a comic book while a camera panned from panel to panel. Sometimes it was a comic about two babies called Sugar and Spike and sometimes it was the comic Swamp Thing. I remember the opening was a kid riding his bike to a comic books store to the tune of “Ride of the Valkyries.” Anyone else see this? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/2 "2010-06-24T04:24:23Z")
Yay, I finally get to answer one! From the Toonopedia website: > [@](#): > > (There was talk of a Sugar & Spike animated series in the 1960s, but Mayer nixed it because he was strongly opposed to anyone else handling the characters. They did, tho, **appear in the early Nickelodeon series Video Comics in the form of still panels, with dialog and narration from off-screen voices.** ) So, I am guessing it was the show Video Comics 🙂 > **[Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Sugar and Spike](http://www.toonopedia.com/sugspike.htm)** > > Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation Also pretty cool is that that show was one of the first aired by Nickelodeon. > [@](#): > > When Nickelodeon first launched on April Fools Day, 1979, our goal was to give kids a place on television just for them. We began as the kids’ programming block of the Qube Network and we were available to just 600,000 subscribers in Columbus, Ohio. The first programs we aired were Video Comic Books—cartoons from around the world, “Nickel Flicks,” and “Pinwheel”, a show hosted by a human with a bevy of puppets. Did you happen to live in Ohio, by chance? 🙂 Or maybe Nick re-ran those later, once it had a bigger broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/3 "2010-06-24T05:09:48Z")
Interesting. That was before my kid was old enough to watch Nick, which was pretty early - the time of Danger Mouse, Belle and Sebastian, Today’s Special, and You Can’t Do That on Television. But I actually read the Sugar & Spike comics when I was a kid, so I would so have watched that. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/4 "2010-06-24T13:28:16Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Did you happen to live in Ohio, by chance? 🙂 Or maybe Nick re-ran those later, once it had a bigger broadcast. New Jersey actually. Thanks for the link though. Glad to know the show really existed 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/5 "2010-06-24T13:42:41Z")
**Quimby** , great memories you’ve brought back with this OP. 🙂 Some of the Video Comics dealt with advanced topics in science fiction. I believe these may have been based on actual short stories published in pulp SF magazines. I’m going to have to bowdlerize a ton due to hazy memory, but here’s two such episodes I can recall: - There was one where a time traveller bought up some gold and started moving through the future. He’d stop every so often to check on his investment – and to his delight, the price of gold rose to astronomical levels and he became hyper-rich. He getting going further into the future, execting his gold to keep rising in value. He could have stopped at any point and settled into a comfortable existence, but the rising value of his investment spurred him on. Then, at his last future stop, he saw that everyone was wearing gold clothes, driving gold vehicles, building houses out of gold, etc. It turned out that gold somehow became super-abundant, and that it was no longer worth very much at all. For some reason, he was unable to go back to the past, so he ruined his investment through game-show style greed. - Another one – that I remember in much less detail – involved the smartest man in the world making a living taking questions from the _hoi polloi_. The guy just sat and took questions in a huge office/temple thing that could accomodate tons of people waiting in line. I can’t remember the plot – either a rival “smart man” appeared on the scene, or one of the Average Joes out there gave him a question he couldn’t answer. Or something. I remember loving that episode, but very little about the actual plot. ☹ … I’d love to get these SF-type Video Comics on DVD. Never seen them available, though. Wonder if Nickelodeon still has the rights? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/6 "2010-06-24T13:46:14Z")
Can’t imagine how I missed/don’t remember this…I can remember back to when Nickelodeon was 8 hours of Pinwheel in the morning and the rest was imported Canadian kid shows. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/7 "2010-06-24T13:58:34Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Can’t imagine how I missed/don’t remember this…I can remember back to when Nickelodeon was 8 hours of Pinwheel in the morning and the rest was imported Canadian kid shows. Hmmm. _Pinwheel_ and _Video Comics_ were both around in 1980, but by the time _You Can’t Do That On Television_ came out, _Video Comics_ was either gone or close to gone ([link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_(TV_channel)#Relaunch_as_Nickelodeon_and_national_expansion_.281979.E2.80.931990.29)): > [@](#): > > **Relaunch as Nickelodeon and national expansion (1979–1990)** > Pinwheel was re-launched as Nickelodeon on April 1, 1979, and despite its prior history on the QUBE system under the Pinwheel name, Nickelodeon has declared that 1979 is the network’s official launch year. It began airing on various Warner Cable systems, beginning in Buffalo, New York and quickly expanded its audience reach. Shows airing during its broadcast day (which initially ran from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on weekends) included _Video Comic Book_, _Pop Clips_ and the long-running \*Pinwheel \*(now formatted as a daily hour-long series that ran in a 3-5 hour block format, and was a precursor to the Nick Jr. block) along with other shows such as _America Goes Bananaz_, _Nickel Flicks_ and By the Way. In 1980, new shows were added to the lineup, including _Dusty’s Treehouse_, _First Row Features_, _Special Delivery_, _What Will They Think Of Next?_, _Livewire_, and _Hocus Focus_. Also in the same year, _Video Comic Book_ was renamed to _Video Comicz_. > > The original Nickelodeon “pinball” logo, used from April 1, 1979 to 1984.The network’s original logo was a silver pinball with the “Nickelodeon” title in multicolor. Nickelodeon’s first popular series was _You Can’t Do That On Television_, a Canadian sketch comedy that made its American debut on Nickelodeon in late 1981. On April 12, 1981, the channel extended its hours from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. ET by turning its channel over to the Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS) and, later until 1985, A&E Network after ARTS merged with NBC’s struggling cable service The Entertainment Channel. In 1983, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment began divesting its assets and spun off Nickelodeon and two other channels, MTV and the now-defunct Radio Television Station (RTS) into the newly-formed subsidiary MTV Networks. After a while the network became known for its iconic green slime, originally featured in _You Can’t Do That on Television_. The green slime was then adopted by the channel as a primary feature of many of its shows. In the early years, other shows such as _Livewire_, _Standby: Lights, Camera, Action_, \*The Third Eye \*and \*Mr. Wizard’s World \*were part of the regular Nickelodeon time slots. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/8 "2010-06-24T14:07:30Z")
Hmmm…my family got cable sometime in the 1980-1981 timeframe…obviously must have been after “Video Comicz” disappeared. I’m very sure I started watching Nick before YCDTOTV appeared. Some really Nick early stuff I remember that “no one” else seems to remember: A science-y show with Jack Palance A “kids around the world” show called “Spread Your Wings” with a butterfly logo A Canadian show centered around a bush pilot ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/9 "2010-06-24T14:42:26Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Hmmm…my family got cable sometime in the 1980-1981 timeframe…obviously must have been after “Video Comicz” disappeared. I’m very sure I started watching Nick before YCDTOTV appeared. Thinking on it some more … I think what actually happened is that _Video Comicz_ just started getting shown less and less frequently and in more erratic time-slots. I remember tuning in at given times expecting it to be on, and finding that something was showing in it’s place. > [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Some really Nick early stuff I remember that “no one” else seems to remember: > A science-y show with Jack Palance Any chance you’re conflating the early-80s episodes of [_Ripley’s Believe it Or Not_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001588/#self) with the very cool Nick science show [_What Will They Think of Next_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Will_They_Think_Of_Next%3F)? [Joseph Campanella](http://images.tvrage.com/people/1/517.jpg) was one of the hosts of _WWTTON_. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/10 "2010-06-24T15:01:04Z")
Hmmm…I must be mixing the two in my head. “Believe it… …or not…” The memories come flooding back. Thanks… 🙂 Unfortunately on youtube “Classic Nickelodeon” seem to mean 1990s Nick. Get off my lawn! ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/11 "2010-06-24T17:00:44Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Thinking on it some more … I think what actually happened is that _Video Comicz_ just started getting shown less and less frequently and in more erratic time-slots. I remember tuning in at given times expecting it to be on, and finding that something was showing in it’s place. This matches my memories as well. I seem to recall it being on very early in the morning. I didn’t have cable until the early 80s. > [@bordelond](#): > > Any chance you’re conflating the early-80s episodes of [_Ripley’s Believe it Or Not_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001588/#self) with the very cool Nick science show [_What Will They Think of Next_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Will_They_Think_Of_Next%3F)? [Joseph Campanella](http://images.tvrage.com/people/1/517.jpg) was one of the hosts of _WWTTON_. I remember WWTTON as well! It has cartoony drawings and the hosts faces’ would pop up in a circle as they talk about different topics. One I specifically remember was the story of how a candy bar got melted in a scientists coat pocket and that was how they discovered microwaves could heat food. ---
**Author:** ![tvguy1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58f4c7/32.png) [@tvguy1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tvguy1979)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/12 "2013-10-06T04:56:15Z")
I’ve found a couple clips on YouTube… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hdm0JgM8UYU/hqdefault.jpg "Video Comics- Nickelodeon (circa 1979-1981)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdm0JgM8UYU) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rOMS3A5vVag/hqdefault.jpg "Video Comics promo- Nickelodeon, 1980") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOMS3A5vVag) ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/13 "2013-10-07T19:01:14Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Any chance you’re conflating the early-80s episodes of [_Ripley’s Believe it Or Not_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001588/#self) with the very cool Nick science show [_What Will They Think of Next_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Will_They_Think_Of_Next%3F)? [Joseph Campanella](http://images.tvrage.com/people/1/517.jpg) was one of the hosts of _WWTTON_. Huh. I had no idea Nickelodeon started out with so much Can-con. _Science International/What Will They Think Of Next_? _You Can’t Do That On Television_? Next you’re going to tell me they showed _The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein_ and _The Raccoons_! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/14 "2013-10-08T01:00:06Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Can’t imagine how I missed/don’t remember this…I can remember back to when Nickelodeon was 8 hours of Pinwheel in the morning and the rest was imported Canadian kid shows. Hmmm. Zombie something something Anyway, not just Canadian kid shows, they showed some British kid shows too, like the original Tomorrow People series (now being reimagined on the CW, for some reason). Man I couldn’t get enough of that back in oh, 82 or thereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/15 "2013-10-08T01:48:34Z")
> [@tvguy1979](#): > > I’ve found a couple clips on YouTube… > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdm0JgM8UYU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdm0JgM8UYU) > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOMS3A5vVag](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOMS3A5vVag) Totally worth the bump! Thank you! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tvguy1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58f4c7/32.png) [@tvguy1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tvguy1979)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/16 "2013-10-12T06:00:58Z")
Here’s a couple more Nick tidbits from that era… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cOHA9pSJQTM/hqdefault.jpg "Nickelodeon ORIGINAL Mime 1980-1981") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOHA9pSJQTM) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XvWh26vI5YM/hqdefault.jpg "Hocus Focus early Nickelodeon TV show from 1981") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvWh26vI5YM) ---
**Author:** ![strobson1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@strobson1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strobson1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/17 "2026-01-28T11:01:25Z")
the time traveller comic was the richest man on nine planets. great episode. the smartest man in the world. great episode. astronauts crash land on a giant metal ball, like a small Death Star. it had two robots on it standing over a vat staring into space. they study the robots and find one arm each is made of a special metal like zinc or copper. the astronauts ask aloud what are the robots waiting for? the robots answer we are waiting for something. our creators the krill were almost wiped out by a flying space monster. so they built this device to destroy it if it ever came back. the robots then see the monster approaching and go into action. but they’ve been waiting for so many years they break down. the astronauts call back to earth to ask for help from earth’s greatest minds. none can figure out the answer. one of the earth’s greatest minds has a son who is a friend of the smartest man in the world. he’s told the son made up stories of the krill for a while now. the son tells his dad that his friend knows all about the krill. the dad hesitates but agrees to give son all the pictures and info to share with smartest man. the smartest man looks at everything and can’t bring himself to tell the boy he made up all of the stories of the krill. the boy asks if smartest man can help the stranded astronauts. he responds yes billy I believe I can. tell the astronauts to link the robots arms together and put the unique metal arms into the vat. they do so. which immediately activates the weapon and destroys the monster. the smartest man explains to billy that the robots were merely a connective conduit to a simple giant battery. the end ---
**Author:** ![strobson1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@strobson1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strobson1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-remember-this-80s-show/544319/18 "2026-01-28T11:02:16Z")
great episodes