Kids' Court - Nick Knacks Episode

[@pronkb000]

"In a highly unusual ruling, the California State Supreme Court declared this week that O.J. Simpson attorney Alan Dershowitz is, quote, 'one ugly bastard.'"

[@angelmarie2281]

Fun fact: A guy I went out on one date with a few years ago said he was on this show as an audience member. The date was really fun. Both of our schedules are crazy busy so there was no second date.

[@adinkobrin-brody5513]

Fun Fact: my dad auditioned for it, it was originally supposed to be a kid as the judge so he was going to be the judge, they loved him but they didn’t cast him because of his NY accent

[@morbidsearch]

Maybe you should arrange a 6am slot

[@angelmarie2281]

@@morbidsearch That would be perfect a few years ago when I was both single and not working at the place I am at now. 😂

[@Eclisper]

@@adinkobrin-brody5513 that seems like a dumb reason not to cast someone

[@Mafon2]

I was actually an actor on a few court shows. What's good about them is that they need a constant stream of people, so even a non-pro can get a part, but you sign a paper not to appear on the show (and sometimes on the channel) for at least a year, 'cause they want to present it as a legit case xD.

[@thesmileyemo]

What I want to know is why this 9 year old had a job.

[@honeyyb]

It used to be a lot easier for kids to do odd jobs like paper routes, mowing lawns, washing cars, etc

[@christophermartin1785]

For what it's worth, I remember watching this show as a kid. The only time I remember the audience shouting "Fair!" was to a kid who said it was unfair that his mom wouldn't let him watch R-rated movies. Hope you got to see Robocop at a friend's place, Kiddo.

[@jaggerguth4391]

Robocop The Series Anyone?

[@NoraQRosa]

14:50 ok not gonna lie, that's one of the best commercials for a TV show I've ever seen. It perfectly communicates the premise, setup, and execution of the show in a 30-second package while also giving you all the info you need to know to watch the show, all in an incredibly entertaining way. I wish I could see more ads like that when I'm forced to sit through ads.

[@goodtarjones]

I was a complete tv junkie when I was a kid, and I would always try to wake up extra early on Saturdays to catch early morning oddities. I actually did see Kid’s Court once at 5 a.m. central time, and I never forgot it despite being half awake at the time. It’s a show you never forget

[@kingkat8080]

I'm 43, so when this show debuted I was 8. I watched a ton of Nickelodeon when I was little but I don't recall seeing this show until I was like 12-13. Of course, it was on at 6am. I can totally see why this bombed and even back then, I thought it was a bit hokey. Although, this was the late 1980s and it seemed like there was a ton of just really weird stuff out then, i.e Max Headroom. The fact Nick kept this in reruns as long as they did, is pretty weird. I'm sure by 1993 most had forgotten about Kids Court and today no one under the age of 35 would even remember it.

[@SaberTail]

Was not expecting Alan Dershowitz

[@LeftyPem]

Shout out to the kid at 18:00 who got away with a “Crocodile Dung-dee” shirt on air. 👍

[@MissAshley42]

Thank you for reminding me that The People's Court soundtrack is FIRE!

[@danderson8431]

That host once saw a picture of Howie Mandel, and then chose his new look.

[@jldraw]

Although generally speaking, "Kids' Court" was broadcast well after my time as a regular Nickelodeon viewer, I do have a few vague memories of the show. The first was it's early morning time slot as I have a vivid memory watching it while I was up all night sick with the flu and was trying to tire myself out by watching television. The second would be the absolute confirmation that the kids in the audience were always out for blood. The most notable occasion was when they did something that I'm sure Nickelodeon would've thought unthinkable and sided with a parent regarding an offense that her son had committed. I can't remember the particulars but they brought in two actors to play a mother and son and the kid actually ended up either getting sentenced to a month's worth of extra chores or a grounding. So the audience didn't necessarily always side against adults in these cases. It was more of a popularity contest where if something about either the plaintiff or the defendant rubbed up the audience the wrong way, they would throw the book at them.

[@johnnyb325]

I believe I remember the case you're mentioning. I THINK it involved a kid who had a collection of comic books/magazines which the mom deemed a fire hazard and asked him to move. After she asked several times and he didn't do it, she got rid of them. I remember being surprised that she won the case, even though I rationally understood that she was right.

[@meyerj75]

@@johnnyb325 Actually, he had TV Guides also.

[@apbuitron]

You really knocked this one out of the park considering how little footage you had to work with! Keep up the great work!

[@beipiaosaurus]

Amazing job as always. 18:33 A Grand Jury IS actually the opposite of a little jury ("Petit Jury"- thank you, LegalEagle). 25:31 "coordingators" I must say the most surprising part was that the kids in court were audience members. I'm guessing the talent coordinators kept this on the DL, so that most of the audience thought they were the actual plaintiff and defendant. Otherwise why get so worked up about punishing a scapegoat? What a missed opportunity to take the "plaintiff and defendant" after the show and film them acting out the decided punishment for a future episode though!

[@edgeman83]

My one memory of the show was an episode where a kid who collected TV Guide issues had his parents throw them all out. Even today I teeter on the edge of it being unfair or not.

[@caa1000]

I did not feel attracted to the Kids Court back in the late 80's, but now watching this, I wondered if kids really learned about our justice system and probably that same generation still watching Judge Judy and People's Court or even the Spanish one 'Caso Cerrado'? Unleash the lawyers... Good Nick Knack topic you got!

[@1dbanner]

It was a unique show, but I actually learned things from this program. At first, I thought it was some kind of odd game show, but I wound up learning the basics of our legal system (in a small way). I learned the meaning of the word "plaintiff" from this show. All in all, it's not a bad legacy for a short-lived series, especially now that Nickelodeon has nothing like this today

[@angelmarie2281]

That Guilty or Innocent show looks wild! It looks like The People's Court mixed with Match Game. Haha.

[@boogiedaddy3434]

Wow, another show I had completely forgotten about until I saw this video. I was still a bit fuzzy as to whether I remembered this or not, until it showed the Judge-o-meter ... I definitely remembered that thing. Thanks once again for taking me back!

[@waffledog]

Oh, 80s kids TV. Screaming at a robot to solve minor problems? How quaint. Alexa! Order more Honey Nut Cheerios! No, not regular Cheerios, I said Honey Nut Cheerios! AAAAAAAAA!

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. (The first song with lyrics, called Seikilos, had the moral of "YOLO".)

[@wanderinggstars]

It's so interesting how intertwined with entertainment and government laws are. If laws prevent people from making money...they get changed

[@KaiserBeamz]

I don't know why I am surprised a show about court proceedings in the late 80s had an Alan Dershowitz connection but...

[@MrMatteNWk]

Then in the next decade of future Trump lackeys on Nick, "What Would You Do" with Marc Summers and Paul Manafort kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpasmKylfrFppdE

[@patrickdoring7149]

Paul Provenza looks like he could be related to Bob Saget.

[@tannith_toyart]

One of my favourite things about this show (this show being Nick Knacks, not Kids' Court) is that whenever you talk about a show you like, I inevitably end up liking it too just from the way the video's presented. You can tell this show is gonna get a charitable conclusion from the way it's talked about all through the episode.

[@SaviorGabriel]

@29:40 Greg Lee would know a thing or two about the justice system. He did spend plenty of time chasing after Carmen Sandiego, after all. :P

[@BM-wh5qk]

LOL The thing I remember best about this show was the weird "Plaintiff" and "Defendant" signs the kids stand behind.

[@niccage6375]

Honestly this show had a great concept.

[@AwestaKhalid]

Wow. What a gem this doc is.

[@Medraut00]

"It's one sharp stick away from Lord of the Flies" bwhahahaa loved that bit. best part

[@thebreakdownpodcast]

Why did no one question that the kid had a job?

[@mikeczech1]

Lord of the Flies: The Game Show

[@good03boy]

There was an episode where 1 of the kid actors was played by Chris Lobban before he played Kevin St. James on Welcome Freshmen.

[@mikesilva3868]

Love this show its one of my favorites from my childhood 😎

[@TheBronyBraeburn]

For years, I thought I invented this show in a fever dream. Maybe I saw it once or twice at some extremely early hour in the morning when I was half asleep and it somehow stuck with me.

[@hifijohn]

I loved SNLs version where jon lovitz plays the devil being sued.

[@skycakemusic]

Great to see the TV Guidance Counselor podcast on this. Lots of interesting stuff on there.

[@Moonbeam143]

I started watching Nick in the 90s when they were playing the reruns, and I don't remember watching it at all. But it does look like something I would have liked.

[@pokepress]

Glad that Greg Lee found a more promising kids’ show to work on not long after. Perhaps he met Marc Summers through that pilot and that’s why Marc had a cameo on Carmen Sandiego.

[@DigiRangerScott]

I got sent here because I’m being sued by a 12 year old for “having a giant pimple”

[@ZemeckisTEN]

“Trash sells” Well, that’s literally at least 97% of reality TV in a nutshell, so…

[@Showsni]

Really entertaining episode! I live in the UK, but don't think I ever saw the UK version of Kid's Court; by the time we had cable television, Nickelodeon was more in the Kenan & Kel era. In a way it reminds me a little bit of Get Your Own Back, though - two children would each bring an adult they had a grievance with on the show, then the pairs compete in a bunch of games to win the right to gunge their adult. Seems like a punishment the jury on Kid's Court would have been all for!

[@matthewhunter1193]

Hi I'm Saul Goodman! Did you know that you have rights?

[@dantheman8103]

Going off memory, but I do seem to remember one time in the Fair or Unfair part, where a kid complained that his parents would not let him watch R rated movies. The host basically said "why would you watch that stuff" teasing him, and then maybe because he said that first they audience actually did say "fair". May have been the only time. lol.

[@esperderek5383]

I wonder what the overall record of plaintiff vs defendant is on this show.

[@PersephoneDarling28]

Also I really like the pulling kids out of the audience approach. They've just got enough lack of polish to feel like they're actually regular schmoes in court but they're not so bad at acting the show becomes unwatchable

[@gojikranz]

This show is only ten days older than me. Getting to the I am alive era soon!

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

Nick Knacks' comments make me realize just how young l am. I grew up with Rugrats and Wild Thornberrys, just to give you an idea.

[@christopherjudge1138]

Kids' Court on Nickelodeon: September 10, 1988-August 1st, 1993! BTW, Kids' Court isn't the only time a kiddie TV show would do court case reenactments. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood had a visit to an odd place for a children's TV show, a traffic court, filled with community theater people with no talent, which first aired on PBS on March 10, 1972! Later that year, Inside/Out had an episode even odder, where a little girl took her family to court, where a case was reenacted! Also, in an episode of Pee-Wee's Playhouse in 1989, Miss Yvonne and Mrs. Renee, at each other's throats, took their case of the one-of-a-kind dress to Judge Pee-Wee, who turned the Playhouse into a courthouse! As for Kids' Court, it was a BIG mistake for Nickelodeon! Also, I didn't realize that Greg Lee, co-host for another Nick show, Total Panic!, was the host of the 4th pilot of a reboot of the show!

[@MusicandDancing4Ever]

All I gotta say is I enjoyed the show as a kid. The show was seen from a kid’s perspective, even if the punishments were unfair, this show wasn’t to be taken too seriously, just a fun show.

[@williamcrowe2576]

I remember one episode where the grievance was gender politics in regards to a school wrestling team.

[@EvaFull]

So many forgotten flashbacks came back to me just seeing the title alone. Can’t wait to dig into it.

[@allanforbes7720]

I remember the crowd saying "fair" after a kid complained about always being called on by his teacher in class. Paul said, "Well, maybe because she knows you have the right answer?" "…" "Fair or unfair?!" "…fair…"

[@mattamiller2002]

I liked this show. Watching kids work through kid's problems on their own was fun I guess, even if it went off the rails sometimes. Sort of mirrored real conversations you might have with your friends. I don't really remember it being too crazy most of the time. Maybe that's just I was a kid too, but I think the spaghetti thing might be an outlier.

[@bradyanderson6311]

Paramount+, here it comes.

[@Scarybug]

I remember when this was on Nickelodeon after Saturday morning cartoons were over on the 3 broadcast networks and I was so disappointed.

[@user-vr8ul3fd7d]

Paul Provenza was great on the season of Empty Nest he was in.

[@MikeEZ]

Shout out to the kid in the purple hoodie at 3:36-3:50.. I could relate because this show used to put me to sleep as a kid LMAO

[@bullmonty764]

Hey if you guys thought Greg was too harsh on Mister Ed for its modern insensitivity…just wait until next time, because he’ll have to deal with stereotypes by the truckload

[@GoingRampant]

Honestly, I thought from the name that this was a King Arthur's Court thing... I guess I was thinking of A Kid in King Arthur's Court. Interesting concept, I guess, but court shows always struck me as boring, and I doubt even a kid-oriented court show would have interested me as a kid. Yeah, you really did a lot with a little. Good job. ...I see we're getting into the minstrel show origins of cartoons... fun...

[@kyleward3914]

I think this show may unintentionally have given me a somewhat skewed idea of how courts work when I was a kid.

[@joeybaseball7352]

Its exactly how courts work.

[@beautychao7]

I hope the Loud House makes a episode about this show.

[@animefan25]

That would be interesting. They already had a episode based on "Legends of the Hidden Temple".

[@beautychao7]

@@animefan25 Yeah I saw that. And maybe Guts or Finders Keepers.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

Never thought you’d be using a clip from a Quibi show.

[@segundovargas]

13:57 Never before has the phrase "thin-skinned" been more apt.

[@jaggerguth4391]

Host: What Will Be The Punishment. Girl 1: I Want Her to Be Sent to The Electric Chair. Boy 1: I Want Her To Be Thrown in The Lions Den. Girl 2: I Want Her to Be Forced to Watch Waterworld for 10 Hours.

[@bakomusha]

I remember seeing this and Mr. Wizard at the 6am slots a few times when I was REALLY young. It might be my earliest Nick memory, since I much preferred The Disney Channel when we first got cable. Being the baby nerd I was, I much preferred Mr Wizard. Hell if I can remember why the hell I was up THAT early THAT young tho!

[@catholiccontriversy]

Sorry, but to me there is only 1 kid's courtroom show on Nickelodeon, and that is Judge Trudy.

[@katherineperrin4817]

Bring in the Dancing Lobsters!

[@jemmytaveras]

Just out of sheer curiosity in that book you mention do they talk about a court show called: caso cerrado? thanks!

[@XJCherokeeBear]

19:58, They Gave Us Nickelodeon GUTS

[@skystarless]

I was definitely watching Nick by this time but I have absolutely no memory of this show... In that first kid vs kid case, the defendant said he had to go to work? What kind of 'job' did this 12-year-old kid have that his 'boss' wouldn't help him lock up a bike? I have so many questions 😂 I also didn't know court shows had such a long history. Today I learned!

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

TIL even UK Nickelodeon used those bumpers common on US Nick in the 90s.

[@joeybaseball7352]

An 8 year old is late for work?

[@pokepress]

It seems possible that Nickelodeon did some audience research and found there was a small but vocal group of viewers that really loved the show, so that’s why they considered bringing it back. It’s sort of that “we have something here, how do we unlock its full potential?” Type of deal.

[@BlueSpiceSpace]

God damn those mobs are bloodthirsty

[@aarons9259]

"I had to go to work...." Um, what?

[@darktetsuya]

I do vaguely remember this one. but I didn't realize these kinda shows dated back that far! (as an aside did people's court do 'ask the audience' back then? I can't recall) compared to now, but I guess with the people's court coming back, nick wanted to take on that kinda show. half-surprised they haven't tried to attempt a reboot given how many of those kinda shows are out there now!

[@yszman6478]

I do recall there were times when the audience would yell "fair".

[@meyerj75]

Twice if which Paul would also yell out "Fair?!?" in a more humorous, sardonic manner with another short, off-beat gesture. One involved a kid whose mother wouldn't allow him to watch certain movies.

[@DarthLink2]

I am honestly looking forward to how you handle Looney Tunes...

[@JamesLewis2]

This is the show where I first saw the word "plaintiff", and I think also the first show where I saw peak ("VU") meters.

[@theblarneystone1023]

yooooo can't wait for looney tunes!

[@jimmymelendez1836]

I never got into Kids Court when I was a kid. I really didn't. Geez, where did you get the freak out retro music from earlyer in the episode?

[@jkpstudios3456]

I will wait patiently for an El Tigre episode on Nick Knacks. ...In the near future.

[@redwaytoo]

21:00 oh dear god who let Alan Dershowitz near children...

[@carmineknight9123]

Love this!!!! So much interesting stuff going on.

[@PersephoneDarling28]

Imagine if Kids were the Executioners in addition to Judge and Jury too hahahaha

[@Quawnaime]

Next you’re going to talk about the longest cartoon that Nickelodeon had that wasn’t a nicktoon

[@PinkieLopBun]

Even including Nicktoons, I think Looney Tunes was being made for longer.

[@Quawnaime]

@@PinkieLopBun I know I’m just talking about Nickelodeon airing it not the overall series

[@thezenitsufan1249]

Looney Tunes was on Nickelodeon for close to 12 years

[@Quawnaime]

@@thezenitsufan1249 actually 11

[@meyerj75]

@@thezenitsufan1249 Looney Tunes never made it to 2000.

[@technoir2584]

Lol the host of the show looks a lot like Richard Rameriz AKA The Night Stalker.

[@mightyfilm]

If you think deep and hard about this show's premise, if it wasn't for them being kids, it's quite a horrifying dystopian vision. Something about this feels like it should be a parody TV show in a Robocop movie. Or at least a Simpsons episode.

[@jamesmoss3424]

A kids version of the people's court cool. 😀👍

[@retroflashbackdude]

My grandmother was on People’s Court when Ed Koch was judge. She was suing a dry cleaners that ruined a rug she’d bought on a trip to China.

[@jamesmoss3424]

@@retroflashbackdude that sucks.

[@CartoonTriper]

*OBJECTION!*

[@samfeldstein4498]

I take it next one's going to be a long episode considering the extensive history of the Looney Tunes?

[@pronkb000]

Looney Tunes is worth a Nick Knacks-esque history in its own right--in the Star Trek episode he talked about how Trek is a franchise that needs no introduction. Looney Tunes is very much the same. It's a concept that Greg is fully admitting that he's not willing/fit to take. So I think the episode is going to be more about its history on Nick specifically. This was one of the first TV rights deals that I saw, even as a 6-year-old kid, as a "big deal." Like, I could tell that this was significant in a big-picture, adult, business sense for Nick that they were able to get the rights to these shorts from Turner and whoever else was airing them. It's like a much lower-key, kiddie version of the FOX network landing NFL rights in 1994. And the history of the shorts on Nick should prove interesting. Nick had to get the WB library in pieces, as Turner still owned the rights to portions of the library for a good while longer. Nick was also one of the rare places that seemed to show a lot of the B&W cartoons and some of the later Freleng Enterprises shorts. I don't recall seeing much of those on TNT's old Wide World of Shorts block.

[@meepmoop2308]

@@pronkb000 Right. Also, the history of looney tunes is out there for anyone who wants to learn. But the value in Knick Knacks is its histories of less well-documented shows. There's surely a lot of interesting history behind looney tunes on nickelodeon, and a deep dive into the whole franchise would distract from that.

[@vgtrp]

This is another Mandela effect Nick show for me, in that I thought there were more episodes than there were. I was one of the kids who watched it at 6:00 before school, and thus thought there were more episodes. While not my favorite show Nick made, I did enjoy it, and I don't think anyone yelled fair during the sound off.Also, I'm anti-social Bosko in terms of what he represents, but pro-life Bosko in terms of being a teaching moment of why these cartoons are problematic and learn from them.

[@pokepress]

The UK bit was interesting-I’ve often wondered if this kind of show existed in other jurisdictions. Most countries probably have some sort of arbitration framework, but it might not be compatible with this kind of show.

[@markstevens9249]

Does the name Juvenile Jury ring a bell?

[@meyerj75]

Now that you mention it, I wonder why Pop Arena never did?

[@bluebaron6858]

I have never heard about this show

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

The bike one I think it was both at fault because the kid gave him a lock that wouldn't work and the other kid didn't try to keep it safe

[@lap456]

This was one of many shows that I only saw by Cable in the Classroom. Getting up very enarly every weekday just to view Mr Wizard's World I have menonies of almost 100% of Nick's Cable in the Classroom shows. I do remember an time at age 9 at an YMCA summer camp an kid bough Robocop 3 and since I refosred to watch it wean one of the otter YMCA guys found out on their own he wanted to take to an real court and put me in an real jail because of this show. In fact I used that in Jr High to sunt-up all the SEGA Kids since I just don't care about what they did.

[@kiwikarp9509]

So I'm only around 7 minutes into this, but I feel like this concept would work better as a live show at an amusement park or something. I wouldn't want to watch an audience make choices about the case, I'd want to be in the audience and make the choices myself. As a prerecorded TV show it doesn't sound very appealing.

[@jessicanewton8051]

"kids screaming for the death penalty at a robot judge" the real danganronpa beta

[@marcomacias3960]

it is the same Chauncey St that did GUTS

[@Unguided]

This was one of those weird shows that was on at 6 AM for years.

[@kingkat8080]

Yup! sure was! I remember well.