Top 10 Biggest "Uh-oh" Moments in Nickelodeon Shows
An "Uh-oh" moment is not like a "What the heck?" (or a stronger word) moment, as this mainly goes to moments that just seem pretty... wrong. Just the mere sense of a studio not knowing that stuff can be taken in a different direction or whatnot (although that's not always the case, as sometimes, it's just stuff that you wouldn't believe would fly past Nickelodeon then, and would most certainly not fly now).
If you are familiar with Nickelodeon behind the scenes, you might know that Dan Schneider is controversial. It has been hinted for quite a while that several of his shows include moments where the underage cast members show off their feet for no plot-relevant reason, merely as a gag.
This sounds incredibly creepy indeed.
You may say, "But Maddox, the Gone With The Wind controversy is only recent." I would say, if they merely referenced the book and movie in a non-offensive manner, like quoting the "Frankly my dear" line, then it wouldn't qualify for the list. However, a moment that does qualify is in one of the earlier episodes where after Sheen eats a candy that tastes "fishy" and starts reciting lines from Moby Dick, Cindy eats a candy that tastes like "fried chicken" (a stereotypical Southern African-American cuisine) and recites lines as Prissy from Gone with the Wind. Yes, that happened.
All Grown Up! is an underrated classic series. One of its highlights is an episode where Phil and Lil have separate birthday parties. The episode is titled "Separate But Equal", which references racial segregation laws in the early 20th century.
While I personally do not find the scene offensive, some do. It is honestly one of the biggest "uh-oh" moments on Nickelodeon. I was surprised it was even allowed back in 2003!
An earlier episode of Rugrats, "Grandpa's Date," is most well known for a scene with Lou Pickles saying he'll watch "Lonely Space Vixens" (a reference to adult movies) after he puts Tommy and Chuckie to bed. While that applies to a What the Heck moment, but not really an Uh-Oh moment, did you know that in the same episode, Tommy says he and Chuckie are "gypped" in a scene? Nowadays, that term is infamous for being a pretty big slur.
This episode has not stood the test of time as it implies that the only true love is heterosexual. This is ironic given that the fairy ruler is intended to be ambiguously gay. This sends a conflicting message.
Actually, the biggest crazy moment to me was the scene where Rocko was snooped on and recorded while he was nude getting some milk.
The infamous banned episode of the show is banned for a reason. The writers literally paired Rocko and Ms. Bighead together, which is really crazy.
By far the most controversial non-foot-related example from this show is the episode titled "The Hobo Party". What made it worse was that it aired around the time of the Great Recession!
Several episodes of SpongeBob have portrayed suicide as a gag. This includes both pre-movie and post-movie episodes, such as Gary Takes a Bath and The Algae's Always Greener. This trend stopped around 2014, possibly due to the original staff returning or Robin Williams' suicide that year.
Before I continue, I'd just like to say that I'm not canceling any of these shows nor am I saying that they "ruin" the show. However, the episode "Rock Bottom" has a gag where the bathroom signs were question marks. In 2000, it was just a detail that added to the weird atmosphere of Rock Bottom, but now, it parallels recent controversies over what bathrooms trans people should use.
