So last night I was up depriving myself of sleep, when I decided to watch a little television. Personally I hate TV these days, it is all mindless dribble that makes me want to inflict pain on others. But despite my better judgement, I did a little channel surfing. After seeing oodles of paid programming and horrible MTV shows, I found myself delighted when I reached Spike TV. Ironic, huh? One of my all time favorite childhood shows was on: Ren & Stimpy.

I started wondering if the show really was all that good, or if it only was appealing because I was young. I have to say, Ren & Stimpy was quite possibly the best cartoon ever created. It was one of the few cartoons that was out there enough to entertain my demented young mind. It nurtured the side of me that was a little weird, and I think it helped shape part of my character while growing up. Scary thought, but it is true.

Think about it, this was the show that shocked me when they said 'crap'. God, I was only 7, I was still afraid to say damn. But this show crossed that line, with content not necessarily ok for kids under 10. I think the show is a hell of a lot funnier now looking back, I understand a lot more of the crude jokes and references. I wonder where our generation would be without this masterpiece of TV programming.

Which brings me to my point. Fast forward about 10 years. Turn on Kids WB around 4 p.m. What cartoons are we now subjecting children to? Pokemon....POKEMON? What the heck is that? Although I must admit, when killing time before I have to go to work, Pokemon is entertaining in a mind-numbing, drool-inducing kinda way. But what the heck ever happened to quality television? I watched a lot of TV when I was young and it was always very entertaining, but I hate TV now. Why is that? Becuase of shows like Pokemon and MTV's Room Raiders. These kind of shows do nothing to generate original thought or help young people develop.

Television today is stupid, and as ridiculous as Ren & Stimpy was, it at least made you laugh...it made you think a little bit. What ever happened to the good old days? They have gone down the drain with the likes of Full House and Beavis and Butthead.

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