10 topics the Big Orange Couch podcast should cover
As the Big Orange Couch closed another Podtober last month, cohost Joey reiterated a point from when this author reached him earlier that week.
“That might bring an end to Podtober, but of course we’re not done talking ’90s Nick,” he began.
“I don’t know when that time will come,” he continued, then rapidly added, “but not yet.”
It was a brief reminder that the content well could theoretically run dry during the millennial life expectancy. Granted, when Joey told this Substack space that when listeners and recurring guests stop feeding them fodder, “we’ll know the podcast has run its course,” there was an envelope of assurance around that statement.
BOC’s base is growing, so for now the wealth of worthwhile ideas can only follow suit. In addition, an uptick in interviews like this week’s chat with Nicktoons alum Melanie Chartoff signals a greater stock in sustenance.
Even so, it does not hurt to warn against complacency. And to paraphrase the title toddlers from Rugrats, when it comes to the Big Orange Couch losing its purpose…
Bob forbid!
Accordingly, here are 10 suggestions for Joey, Andrew, and company’s consideration.
Draft a Figure it Out panel/Dream Figure it Out panel
In its first three-and-a-half years, BOC has built its portfolio largely on “favorites,” “versus,” fan fiction, and individual episode reviews. But early this year, Andrew and Joey tried something new when they emulated fantasy sports and “drafted” their own Nickelodeon lineups.
That format would befit an installment centering on Figure it Out, a program they have yet to discuss in depth. Another appropriate approach would be the one they took to their “Dream SNICK Lineup” and “Make Your Own SNICK Tape” episodes.
Either way, this would cover a broad scope of ’90s Nick, as the majority of the game show’s rotating panelists were from the network’s house.
When mentioning Figure it Out in passing, the BOC podcasters have dropped a few indicators as to who they liked on it and who they didn’t. Drafting an ideal fantasy quartet would let them build on those references.
They could even take time to name Nick personalities who never joined the panel, but would have made good guests.
Favorite Baseball Episodes
America’s “First Kids’ Network” covered enough bases with America’s pastime to plate a couple of runs.
One Big Orange Couch installment already delved deep into “Field of Pete” from The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Odds are that episode would rank high on most, if not all of the podcasters’ lists if they took up this topic.
With that said, there is ample competition from the Nicktoons alone. Hey Arnold! turned a triple play through “The Baseball,” “The Vacant Lot,” and “Dangerous Lumber.” Doug depicted a renegade team challenging the sexist local organized squad. Rocko’s Modern Life and Rugrats presented a day at a fictitious major-league park.
Back in live action, there was MLB pitcher Tom Glavine’s guest spot on Cousin Skeeter’s “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Barely qualifying as a ’90s storyline, having premiered in late August 1999, that equals at least eight eligible episodes. Any edition of Wild and Crazy Kids featuring a hardball-inspired competition could factor in as well.
Favorite Game Show Episodes
“Rocko’s really great at using game shows to move their stories along,” Joey remarked in a recent installment.
Indeed, the segments “Fortune Cookie” and “Heff in a Handbasket” memorably center on Filburt and Heffer, respectively, as contestants. One could also make the case for “Dear John” in this category, as Rocko attempts to win much-needed kitchen repairs on a Jeopardy!-like program.
Speaking of Jeopardy!, the late Alex Trebek played along in a parody of himself and his magnum opus as Alan Quebec on Super Stumpers in the “Game Show Didi” segment of Rugrats.
Bob Eubanks essentially followed Trebek’s act by playing the host of a Newlywed Game spoof on Kenan & Kel. Like Filburt in “Fortune Cookie,” the protagonists of the late-’90s SNICK staple try to win a new house.
And Nick was not above lampooning its own game shows on its scripted programs. In October 1999, Hey Arnold! had its title character lead his grandparents and their boarders on the Double Dare-esque “Fighting Families.”
From around the decade’s other bookend, Clarissa Explains It All’s “Brain Drain” is one other can’t-miss candidate.
Favorite Educators
When this author — at a previous employer — wrote a piece on the Bart Simpson-Seymour Skinner rivalry, it elicited some admitted changes of heart. None other than my brother, upon logging a few years of working with children around Bart’s age, said Principal Skinner has grown to become “a more sympathetic character.”
At least one Big Orange Couch guest is an educator himself — the cool kind who screens Rocko’s “To Heck and Back” for his students on Halloween. But ’90s kids in other fields are also reaching the age where they understand both perspectives in a friction-laden adult-kid dynamic.
With a handful of principals and more teachers between them, ’90s Nick shows yield enough personnel to rank. Whether each podcaster assesses according to their eyes from then, now, or one of each is, of course, their discretion.
Favorite Legends of the Hidden Temple Rooms
Olmec’s temple underwent several renovations in its three years of use. The deceptively simple-looking Shrine of the Silver Monkey was the sole constant.
At any given time, the temple had a dozen rooms. Between revisions and replacements, those 12 spaces combined for roughly 45 variations, all with unique challenges. (Or, in rare cases, a dearth thereof, e.g. the Heart Room.)
The all-time tally depends on who you talk to. The show’s Fandom page counts three versions of the Observatory and two versions of the King’s Storeroom as their own respective entities.
Regardless, whether they base their choices on entertainment value, degree of difficulty, or any other criteria, the BOC gang has bountiful discussion fodder in this subject.
Favorite GUTS Events
In the same spirit as the Legends rooms, this topic would entail evaluating dozens of candidates. Although refreshing one’s memory on all of them would take ample time, research, and patience.
At least Olmec explained all of the Legends rooms in a nutshell, and contestants were only ever in one for seconds at a time. Conversely, one likely needs to see every GUTS event in multiple minutes of action to form a fair assessment.
With that said, after they build it up little by little while podcasting on other topics in the meantime, it would be worth the wait to hear BOC’s take.
Favorite Moving Episodes
Take it from someone who has relocated more often than he cares to count: It never gets easier. For a kid, in particular, watching a friend pack up and vanish to another locale is almost as hard to take.
Odds are everyone lived either side of that scenario, if not both, at least once growing up. Even if a move does not materialize, the real or perceived specter of separation from one or all friends takes a toll.
That said, bless ’90s Nick for producing myriad episodes that address all of those angles. Many storylines offer the perspectives of those fearing or coming to terms with relocation and those they might or will leave behind.
Where applicable, characters will take measures to avert or reverse the move. Otherwise, substantive plots give way to poignancy, a rarity for the network but refreshing for everyone.
Favorite Non-Holiday Winter Episodes
South Park aside, pop culture’s ratio between depictions of Christmas and of winter beyond the first major post-Solstice holiday is self-explanatory. For snow, ice, and cold, clean air buffs, there is nothing wrong with hearty holiday entertainment. But there are at least two more months of the chilly season to appreciate.
On that note, if and when someone shows a genuine January or February storyline, it stands out. In their golden (or golden orange) age, the Nicktoons especially packed enough to reminisce on and rank in a podcast.
The first half of the ’90s yielded Rocko’s “Cabin Fever” and “Snowballs,” Ren and Stimpy’s “Big Flakes,” and Rugrats’ “The Blizzard.” Later Hey Arnold’s first season delivered “Snow.” Then 1999 witnessed several Wild Thornberrys’ stories in mountainous, subarctic, or Scandinavian settings plus Rocket Power’s “Ice Queens” and “Otto 3000.”
Favorite Sibling Combinations
Right away, Andrew and Joey named the “least favorite” section of their “favorites” lists after Clarissa’s brother. That move alone signals an open gateway to a full BOC installment, as the Clarissa-Ferguson dynamic was one show’s take on a pervasive trope.
Whether you liked silly, over-the-top portrayals of sibling rivalry, sentimental moments of unity, or both, most ’90s Nick shows packed something for everyone. In general, they dished up something in the former vicinity. But almost every prominent pair (or even troika) of siblings also had a departure from their friction somewhere in their chronicle.
It is a safe, though never certain, bet the BOC’s cofounders would put the title tandem from Pete and Pete in the canopy of their rankings. But besides the Wrigleys and Darlings, the list of those eligible for this ranking includes no fewer than 15 possibilities.
Write an Episode: Legends of the Hidden Temple
As the title indicates, this format has the podcasters laying out their fan fiction for a scripted series. Legends is a unique game show that could work for it, as every installment centered on a story.
Be honest, who among former viewers of this program didn’t have a legend they never heard from Olmec but wish they had?
Each participant in this hypothetical BOC chat could name an object, swing into their best Olmec impression with a 60-second story behind it, and then quiz their couchmates with Steps of Knowledge questions. For good measure, they could also propose the formats for three Temple Games based on their chosen legend.