5. ZOOG DISNEY
In the recent wave of 90s nostalgia we've been experiencing, people miss the forest for the trees. It's a simple case of tunnel vision. Whenever I get online to chat about the 90s, me and my internet pals wax poetic about the all the great shows we used to watch. Our discussions most of the time revolve around old Nickelodeon shows like The Adventures of Pete and Pete, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Rugrats, All That, Kenan & Kel, Double Dare, etc. Very rarely do we ever talk of another network with such fondness. Sad how nostalgia can suffer from limited vision. Nickelodeon, contrary to popular belief, was not the only channel that played great stuff back in the 90s. Lots of other networks were on the ball, although they don't get nearly the amount of credit as Nick does. One network in particular that deserves some distinction is the Disney channel.
Yes, I know Disney is a big machine and I'm certainly not doing it any favors by getting all misty eyed about its 90's past. But what a past it was! The shows, while not as plenteous as the other networks', were just as highly regarded. Disney had great shows like So Weird, In A Heartbeat, FlashForward, The Jersey (for camp value), Even Stevens, Lizzie Maguire, Bug Juice (MTV's Real World for kiddies), and of course, The Famous Jett Jackson. If that wasn't enough for you, Disney provided great original movies that would premiere almost every month. Movies like
Brink, Zenon: Girl of the 21th Century,
Johnny Tsunami, and
Smart House more than made up for the scant library of original shows. Couple that with some great original concert series featuring 90's acts we are afraid to admit we liked, and great Disney cartoons like Ducktales, Dark-Wing Duck, Gargoyles, and Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers and you had a pretty solid network. But what is a great network without a great programming block (or at least an okay-ish one)? Surely Disney wouldn't let themselves be outdone by the likes of Snick and Fox Kids. Zoog Disney would be a halfway successful attempt to compete with the powerhouses. Looking back, it's easy to see that the core idea of Zoog Disney wasn't that inspired. It was a program block that aired afternoons and on weekends that featured shows introduced by little animated creatures known as Zoogs...
I guess you could say they are a kind of robot-bug type creatures who talked using hip phrases. Not very inspired, but to our young minds, it was heaven. The main draw of the Zoog block wasn't the characters, but the internet connectivity the block showcased. Disney viewers from around the world could log on to the Zoog website and see their names run across the screen in ticker-tape fashion during their favorite TV shows. It was a precursor to the hyper-connected way many of us watch TV nowadays. The chance to connect with viewers from all over and have your friends see your name on TV more than made up for the uninspired promotional materials Zoog block had to work with. It probably didn't matter in the end anyway. Thanks to the great programming Disney was putting out at the time, they could have had a talking toilet introduce the shows and it still would have been great. It just goes to show, it's not what's on the outside, but on the inside that counts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2tSGCprOLs