Why Does Everybody Hate the 'New' All That? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 09-11-2005, 02:54 AM

About the subject of "All That" supposedly on the verge of getting cancelled, half of me doesn't want it to get cancelled. I along with a lot of you, grew up with the show. "All That" like its grown up counterpart "Saturday Night Live" and "All That"'s predecessor, "You Can't Do That On Television" have become sort of TV institutions. Why would Nickelodeon want to cancel "All That" now when their perfect chance was to do it after the sixth season (the last before the full cast change)!?

The other half of me kind of welcomes the idea of Nickelodeon shuting down "All That." The fact of the matter is that the "new" cast (i.e. Lisa Foiles, Chelsea Brummet, Jack DeSena, Kyle Sullivan, Shane Lyons, Giovonnie Samuels, etc.) will never, ever be accepted by many diehard fans, who grew up watching the likes of Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Danny Tamberelli, etc. I think Nickelodeon should give "All That" a break for at least five years bringing it back. "All That" just isn't the hip, innovative show (the product has become stale to put it in another way) that it was when it started ten years ago.

Personally, the real problem with the new "All That" isn't the actors themselves, it's the writing. The show has seemed to become too predictable, artificial (i.e. too much reliance on special-effects), repetitive, dumbed down, and crudely done. Instead of twisted, offbeat, and clever skits like Baggin', Saggin' Barry, the Loud Librarian, Leroy and Fuzz, Pierre Escargo, Earboy and Pizza Face, Super Dude, Ishboo, and Katrina Johnson's Ross Perot (just to name a few), we now have absolutely cliched, gross, and utterly stupid recurring sketchs like Sugar and Coffee, Connect the Zits, Coming at Ya!, Bucketman, Trashin' Fashion, Randy Quench (a lame reworking of Repairman), the Rougenecks, alien family restaurant, Jim Tasty, the LAMOS, the Tilt-a-Hurl, etc. A lot of the newer sketches seem like ripoffs of better executed sketches:
*Bridgett's Slumber Party=The Girls' Room from "The Amanda Show"
*The Zortogs=The Coneheads on "SNL"
*The Rougenecks=Whatever the name of that hillbilly sketch was on "The Amanda Show"
*Giovonnie Samuels as the eldery driving instructor=Lori Beth Denberg as the Loud Librarian
*Randy Quench=Repairman
*Claude Grimes=Ralph and Nigel Forrester
*Vocabulary With Lisa=Leroy and Fuzz in reverse (i.e. the puppet is the abuser in the latter sketch)

There have been some relatively good sketches on the new "All That" though like 2gether 4ever and the sketch were Buddy Hackett played a "long lost" "All That" cast member.

I think the new "All That" also made the mistake of not at least acknowledging certain past trademarks of the show. I mean, the musical guests (which at first were totally hip-hop and R & B acts) are no longer introduced with the tag "Lets give a 'round of a sound to..." Also, there's no "Big Ear of Corn" present and there's no announcer there to say prior to the TLC theme song "Fresh out of the box, stop look and watch..." Plus, once they finally brought back the Vital Information segment, they picked the wrong person to do it. Why does Lil' JJ have to always sound so hostile while delivering the vital information? Personally, "All That" should've gotten Lisa Foiles to do the Vital Information segment in the mode of her "Vocabulary With Lisa" character/skit.

Courtnee · 09-11-2005, 04:34 PM

everyone hates it beacuse it blows. deal with it

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 09-11-2005, 06:27 PM

Well, actually...you're right in a way. I think the show is terrible now, but hasn't Saturday Night Live had it's down points? If it was cancelled as soon as it hit it's first bad point, all of those years of its revived comedy wouldn't exist. I don't know...

tvje · 09-11-2005, 09:47 PM

I like your idea of Nick having an All That type show in a couple of years. But they should call it something else.

Dan Schneider could just create another sketch show.

The term All That is so 90's. Kids today are way to young to remember when the phrase "All that and a bag of chips" was a popular term.

By the way the elder school bus driver is not Giovonnie Samuels who left the show before this season. It is played a by a new castmember named Kianna Underwood. And in my opinion that character is more Miss Pidlin than Loud Librarian.

tvje · 09-11-2005, 09:56 PM

To be fair, not all of the old All That characters are original. Before Leroy and Fuzz there was Mr. Bill.

Lamont · 09-11-2005, 10:04 PM

Sorry but you cant compare the bad seasons of SNL to ALL THAT having a bad season... SNL was a classic in the late 70s and although they had some lame seasons, they had a RICH AND GLORIOUS past to look back on

ALL THAT does not

the show is awful and has always been awful, it is humor for preteens that is not funny at all

Sorry folks, but face it
the show blows

tvje · 09-11-2005, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamont

Sorry but you cant compare the bad seasons of SNL to ALL THAT having a bad season... SNL was a classic in the late 70s and although they had some lame seasons, they had a RICH AND GLORIOUS past to look back on

ALL THAT does not

the show is awful and has always been awful, it is humor for preteens that is not funny at all

Sorry folks, but face it
the show blows

I agree, you can't compair them. Some people compair the new All That to the 1980-81 season of SNL. That season SNL had Eddie Murphy. No one on the new All That is and every will be in Eddie's league.

But I disagree, about All That not having a glorious past to look back on. It might not be as glorious as the Not Ready For Prime Time Players years of SNL. But the old All That was great.

TMC · 09-12-2005, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvje

I agree, you can't compair them. Some people compair the new All That to the 1980-81 season of SNL. That season SNL had Eddie Murphy. No one on the new All That is and every will be in Eddie's league.

But I disagree, about All That not having a glorious past to look back on. It might not be as glorious as the Not Ready For Prime Time Players years of SNL. But the old All That was great.

Similarities between "SNL" and "All That" (besides the fact that Kenan Thompson appeared on both shows):
*Amanda Bynes is in a way the "All That" version of Bill Murray. In other words, many people mistakenly assume that both were on their respective programs from the very beginning. Amanda Bynes joined "All That" in I believe the third season (she replaced Angelique Bates) while Bill Murray replaced Chevy Chase in the second season.

*In the final season of the "classic era" "SNL" (1979-1980), Bill Murray pretty much had to carry most of the weight of the show since Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left the year before. In the last year of the "classic era" "All That", Christy Knowings had to carry much of the load for the girls because Amanda Bynes (the only other female cast member at the time) was gone half of the time because she was working on her own show for Nickelodeon.

*Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who were arguably the heart and soul of "SNL" during the early years, leave the year before the last of the "classic era." Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, who were argaubly the heart and soul of "All That" during the early years, leave the year before the last of the "classic era" of their respective show.

*Lorne Michaels, several original writers and producers, and the last remaining original "SNL" cast members leave after the fifth season. Kevin Kopelow, Soup (the long time "All That" announcer), Josh Server (the last remaining original cast member) and several other original writers leave "All That" after the six season.

*Viewers who were loyal to the original casts of both "SNL" and "All That" automatically hate anything that involves the cast that succeeded them (especially the Jean Doumanian produced season of 1980-1981).

*Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscipo had to pretty much singlehandely keep "SNL" afloat during the post Lorne Michaels years in the early 1980s. Jack DeSena and Lisa Foiles (who is one of the few "new" cast members who is remotely talented at sketch comedy) seemingly has had to carry most of the weight of the "new" "All That."

*Ann Risley, who was a cast member during the infamous 1980-1981 season of "SNL", and Jamie Lynn Spears both arguably had no business being on a sketch comedy program to begin with. Ann Risley allegedly got on "SNL" at the suggestion of Jean Doumanian's longtime confidant, Woody Allen, who reportedly hated "SNL." Risley at the time, was not widley known for her comedic skills. Jamie Lynn Spears supposedly got on "All That" (besides the obvious fact that she has a famous older sister) after publically stating her desire to be on "All That."

*In the 1984-1985 season (the last year before Lorne Michaels returned), "SNL" tried to compensate the loss of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscipo by recuiting people who were already relatively famous before being on "SNL" (e.g. Billy Crystal and Martin Short). In the first year or two of the "new" "All That", they seemed to try to want to take the heat of the new kids by bringning in a variety of weekly "special guest stars."

tvje · 09-17-2005, 06:04 PM

*In the final season of the "classic era" "SNL" (1979-1980), Bill Murray pretty much had to carry most of the weight of the show since Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left the year before. In the last year of the "classic era" "All That", Christy Knowlings had to carry much of the load for the girls because Amanda Bynes (the only other female cast member at the time) was gone half of the time because she was working on her own show for Nickelodeon.

Why did that effect Amanda's screen time on All That, yet when Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell got their own Nickelodeon show, it did not effect the amount of screen time they got on "All That." If anything, they got more screen time.

Is it because "Kenan & Kel" was a sitcom, thus did not require the wardrobe changes of the "Amanda Show", or that Amanda did not have a comedy partner, like Kenan and Kel had with each other?

TMC · 07-23-2024, 03:19 AM

It's been a really long time since I checked this particular thread out. But after the Quiet on the Set documentary, I'm convinced that the 2002-2005 run of All-That (in other words, Seasons 7-10) was hurt by the fact that Dan Schneider by this point in time, was the sole creative voice or force. In the earlier seasons, there was input by Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins, who also created All That. I've addressed this before but, Schneider has a very dark, gross, demented, and mean-spirited sense of humor. And even back then, he couldn't keep his crude, child-inappropriate, suggestive tendencies or indulgences in check.

09-11-2005, 02:54 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,797	Why Does Everybody Hate the 'New' All That? About the subject of "All That" supposedly on the verge of getting cancelled, half of me doesn't want it to get cancelled. I along with a lot of you, grew up with the show. "All That" like its grown up counterpart "Saturday Night Live" and "All That"'s predecessor, "You Can't Do That On Television" have become sort of TV institutions. Why would Nickelodeon want to cancel "All That" now when their perfect chance was to do it after the sixth season (the last before the full cast change)!? The other half of me kind of welcomes the idea of Nickelodeon shuting down "All That." The fact of the matter is that the "new" cast (i.e. Lisa Foiles, Chelsea Brummet, Jack DeSena, Kyle Sullivan, Shane Lyons, Giovonnie Samuels, etc.) will never, ever be accepted by many diehard fans, who grew up watching the likes of Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Danny Tamberelli, etc. I think Nickelodeon should give "All That" a break for at least five years bringing it back. "All That" just isn't the hip, innovative show (the product has become stale to put it in another way) that it was when it started ten years ago. Personally, the real problem with the new "All That" isn't the actors themselves, it's the writing. The show has seemed to become too predictable, artificial (i.e. too much reliance on special-effects), repetitive, dumbed down, and crudely done. Instead of twisted, offbeat, and clever skits like Baggin', Saggin' Barry, the Loud Librarian, Leroy and Fuzz, Pierre Escargo, Earboy and Pizza Face, Super Dude, Ishboo, and Katrina Johnson's Ross Perot (just to name a few), we now have absolutely cliched, gross, and utterly stupid recurring sketchs like Sugar and Coffee, Connect the Zits, Coming at Ya!, Bucketman, Trashin' Fashion, Randy Quench (a lame reworking of Repairman), the Rougenecks, alien family restaurant, Jim Tasty, the LAMOS, the Tilt-a-Hurl, etc. A lot of the newer sketches seem like ripoffs of better executed sketches: Bridgett's Slumber Party=The Girls' Room from "The Amanda Show" The Zortogs=The Coneheads on "SNL" The Rougenecks=Whatever the name of that hillbilly sketch was on "The Amanda Show" Giovonnie Samuels as the eldery driving instructor=Lori Beth Denberg as the Loud Librarian Randy Quench=Repairman Claude Grimes=Ralph and Nigel Forrester *Vocabulary With Lisa=Leroy and Fuzz in reverse (i.e. the puppet is the abuser in the latter sketch) There have been some relatively good sketches on the new "All That" though like 2gether 4ever and the sketch were Buddy Hackett played a "long lost" "All That" cast member. I think the new "All That" also made the mistake of not at least acknowledging certain past trademarks of the show. I mean, the musical guests (which at first were totally hip-hop and R & B acts) are no longer introduced with the tag "Lets give a 'round of a sound to..." Also, there's no "Big Ear of Corn" present and there's no announcer there to say prior to the TLC theme song "Fresh out of the box, stop look and watch..." Plus, once they finally brought back the Vital Information segment, they picked the wrong person to do it. Why does Lil' JJ have to always sound so hostile while delivering the vital information? Personally, "All That" should've gotten Lisa Foiles to do the Vital Information segment in the mode of her "Vocabulary With Lisa" character/skit.

09-11-2005, 04:34 PM	#2
Courtnee MAN VS SAMMICH. Forum Star Join Date: Mar 23, 2005 Location: Louisiana Posts: 16,413	everyone hates it beacuse it blows. deal with it
	__________________ Whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection A freckle on the nose of life's complexion The Cinderella or the shine apple of its eye I gotta fly once, I gotta try once, Only can die once, right, sir? Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see, I gotta have my bite, sir. Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer" I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade

09-11-2005, 06:27 PM	#3
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	Well, actually...you're right in a way. I think the show is terrible now, but hasn't Saturday Night Live had it's down points? If it was cancelled as soon as it hit it's first bad point, all of those years of its revived comedy wouldn't exist. I don't know...
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

09-11-2005, 09:47 PM	#4
tvje Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 26, 2002 Posts: 1,402	I like your idea of Nick having an All That type show in a couple of years. But they should call it something else. Dan Schneider could just create another sketch show. The term All That is so 90's. Kids today are way to young to remember when the phrase "All that and a bag of chips" was a popular term. By the way the elder school bus driver is not Giovonnie Samuels who left the show before this season. It is played a by a new castmember named Kianna Underwood. And in my opinion that character is more Miss Pidlin than Loud Librarian.
	__________________ tvje

09-11-2005, 10:04 PM	#6
Lamont Lamont says Smile! Forum Veteran Join Date: May 28, 2005 Location: Deep in the Heart of Nowhere Posts: 5,217	ALL THAT IS awful Sorry but you cant compare the bad seasons of SNL to ALL THAT having a bad season... SNL was a classic in the late 70s and although they had some lame seasons, they had a RICH AND GLORIOUS past to look back on ALL THAT does not the show is awful and has always been awful, it is humor for preteens that is not funny at all Sorry folks, but face it the show blows

09-11-2005, 09:56 PM	#5
tvje Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 26, 2002 Posts: 1,402	To be fair, not all of the old All That characters are original. Before Leroy and Fuzz there was Mr. Bill.

09-17-2005, 06:04 PM	#9
tvje Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 26, 2002 Posts: 1,402	*In the final season of the "classic era" "SNL" (1979-1980), Bill Murray pretty much had to carry most of the weight of the show since Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left the year before. In the last year of the "classic era" "All That", Christy Knowlings had to carry much of the load for the girls because Amanda Bynes (the only other female cast member at the time) was gone half of the time because she was working on her own show for Nickelodeon. Why did that effect Amanda's screen time on All That, yet when Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell got their own Nickelodeon show, it did not effect the amount of screen time they got on "All That." If anything, they got more screen time. Is it because "Kenan & Kel" was a sitcom, thus did not require the wardrobe changes of the "Amanda Show", or that Amanda did not have a comedy partner, like Kenan and Kel had with each other?

07-23-2024, 03:19 AM	#10
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,797	It's been a really long time since I checked this particular thread out. But after the Quiet on the Set documentary, I'm convinced that the 2002-2005 run of All-That (in other words, Seasons 7-10) was hurt by the fact that Dan Schneider by this point in time, was the sole creative voice or force. In the earlier seasons, there was input by Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins, who also created All That. I've addressed this before but, Schneider has a very dark, gross, demented, and mean-spirited sense of humor. And even back then, he couldn't keep his crude, child-inappropriate, suggestive tendencies or indulgences in check.