All That

Where have the good times gone, with the fear of getting in trouble with the FCC or (gasp) getting in trouble with the parents of the young viewers, has led to a very dumbed down version on what used to be a great sketch comedy show. Be warned this is just a long overdrawn complaint. When I was a kid this show was classic, It made us kids feel like we had a show just like SNL, and it was funny. Now, we have fear factor like antics, no talent actresses that seem to ride the coat tails of their older sister, and no imitations, what happened to kids imitating their older actor counterparts. Much like new SNL, new All That has gone down the crapper, metaphorically speaking, Nick needs to bring back their classic shows for their younger viewers, soon.

"All That" used to be one of the funniest shows on Nick. I started watching it when it began back it 1995 when I was eight years old. I remember watching it whenever it aired with my sister and brother, who both also enjoyed it. Sometimes even my parents would watch it and get some good laughs.

"All That" can be seen as "Saturday Night Live" for younger viewers. It was full of hilarious sketches and musical performances starring a teenage cast.

When the show began in 1995 it a had a fresh good cast. Some members of the good cast included: Angelique Bates, Josh Server, Amanda Bynes, Danny Tamberelli, Kenan Thompson, and Kel Mitchell. However, in 2001 things began to change. The scripts weren't as funny as they used to be and new cast members came that began to destroy the show including Jamie Lynn Spears, who just can't act for her life.

Overall I give the old cast of "All That" from 1995-2000 10/10 stars and the new cast from 2001 to the present 4/10 stars.

First off, I've read too many complaints about All That, and how lame it is, now that we've "grown up." GET A LIFE. If you want lame, watch the new All That. You'll be crying for something serious in about a minute, I promise you.

I don't know. Maybe I haven't grown up, or you all grew up too much, too fast. I would give just about anything to have all of the All That episodes on DVD, to watch them again and again, because I grew up with those guys, and it brings back very fond memories of my childhood, something that I don't often "click into." All That was real comedy, something that also is pretty rare around here these days.

To any of my All That guys that are reading this: I miss you.

Back when this show started in 1995, the cast, mainly the players like Keenan Thompson, Lori Beth Denburg, and Kel Mitchell, were all very talented and extremely funny, which made All That one of my favorite shows on Nick.

However, fast forward to 2005....and it's simply not the case. What was once a smart, funny show has now been replaced with a bunch of talentless teens running around on stage, pretty much saying "Look at us, we're funny! Laugh at us!" I watched an episode of All That on tape from 1995, then caught a new one from 2005. The differences are vast and very big. The 2005 All That episode was filled with unfunny sketches, and actors and actresses who were basically trying waaaaaaaaaay to hard to be funny and not succeeding in the least. (It's pretty much the same thing as the god awful "Amanda Show".) At least the 1995 version had funny sketches like Good Burger and such.

Overall, avoid the All That of now like the plague, but try and hunt down the older episodes if you can.

When I first saw this show on my aunt & uncle's Cable TV system, I wondered, "Who are these kids, and what is this show besides the funniest variety show this side of Saturday Night Live?" Now I watch it any chance I can get. Some of the funniest skits include "Vital Information," with Lori Beth Denberg(...and now Danny Tamberelli), and "Ask Ashley," starring the seemingly irrepressible Amanda Bynes, a young girl so outrageously hilarious, she HAD to get spun off on her own show. In fact, if Lorne Michaels wants to bring SNL out of it's slump, he should hire her as a guest host. I'm serious. She's that good.

Improvisational comedy for kids didn't begin with this show, nor is it likely to end with it, but in the history of variety television, "All That" should stand out, as a landmark show, due to it's ability to make kids and adults chuckle, and achieve a level of success that shows like "Flip" (1988) and "Way Cool" (1991) could never have had.