That’s why 90′s Nickelodeon programming is so special to so many people – because it doesn’t disappoint. You loved it back then, and you love it now. The fog of time hasn’t clouded your judgment. Seriously, I just watched an episode of Rocko’s Modern Life on Netflix and enjoyed every second of it.

That’s why people were so happy about TeenNick’s decision to bring back some of the classics and air them weeknights at midnight.

So it fills me with great joy to present to you a particular Tumblr blog called FANARTICA. Created just 11 days ago, the blog joins together 19 artists who want to relive their favorite aspects of pop culture through art.

Here’s what they say about the blog –

A club of illustrators, taking some time out to pay homage to our favorite bits of pop culture.

Fanartica is a cold, cold place. Huddling in groups is the best way to stay warm. So gather ’round.

Their first theme in their “homage” is, you guessed it , 90′s Nickelodeon. The art covers many of the great shows, including Pete & Pete, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Ren & Stimpy, and Salute Your Shorts. There’s even a Weinerville reference. So far, the most common character to whom the artists have given their interpretations is Artie, the strongest man in the world (from Pete & Pete)

Along with the lead image, here are some of my favorites (Promethius & Bob, Powedered Toast Man from Ren & Stimpy and Rocko, respectively) -

And did you know that yesterday marked the 20th birthday of Nicktoons? On Sunday, August 11th 1991 three early classic aired for the first time. Doug, Rugrats, and Ren & Stimpy aired at 10 am, 10:30 am and 11 am respectively. They were followed by Salute Your Shorts and Wild & Crazy Kids. Ah, the salad days. If you want to see the whole lineup that day, check out nichandmore’s list.

I have a hard time talking about old school Nickelodeon without hitting up YouTube, so , enjoy –

[Hat tip to Mashable]

I’m not sure what planet I was living on when Nickelodeon made the best announcement they’ve made in years back in March.

Nickelodeon plans to begin re-airing some of its classics from the 90′s starting in July on one of their channels, TeenNick. TeenNick used to be called “The N” and is aimed primarily at viewers over the age of 13. The channel airs shows like iCarly and Degrassi, meant for a slightly more mature audience. It is available through most cable providers and on DirecTV and Dish.

The old shows will air during a two hour block from midnight to 2 am entitled The 90′s Are All That (get it?).

And everyone anywhere near my age feels a tug on the nostalgia strings.

What shows will Nickelodeon be dusting off? According to RewindNick’s YouTube channel, the new block will include All That, Kenan and Kel, Clarissa Explains It All, Salute Your Shorts, Pete and Pete, Rocket Power, Rugrats, and more.

That “more” better include Legends of the Hidden Temple. Just saying.

Nickelodeon just released a promo for The 90′s Are Al That, starring none other than Kenan Thompson of All That, Kenan & Kel, Good Burger and now SNL fame. In the promo, Kenan is seated on the SNICK couch and is asked questions about Double Dare. Check it out –

Why did Nickelodeon decide to do this? Apparently they had just heard too much buzz out there about the old shows to ignore it any longer. And the impetus to act came from social media, according to TeenNick.

“At the time, we were completely devoted to that audience ages 9, 10, and 11,” Keith Dawkins, senior VP and general manager of TeenNick, told EW. “It was ground-breaking and for the young viewers, a powerful and pivotal time in their lives. Those kids who are now 22, 23 and 24 want to bring that back.”

It’s true that old school Nickelodeon does hold a special place in the heart of my generation. And social media users definitely keep the memory alive. A quick Twitter search for Nickelodeon will give you plenty of results like this –

And Facebook has numerous groups demanding the return of 90′s Nickelodeon. “I WANT MY 90′S NICKELODEON BACK,” “Bring back a week of 90′s Nickelodeon,” “I love 90′s Nickelodeon” and “90′s Nickelodeon: Salute Your Shorts” are just a few of the many.

So yeah, the demand is high.

I’ll leave you with these two videos. There’s nothing like feeling a little warm and fuzzy on a Tuesday –

That means subscribers now have access to episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba, more episodes of Spongebob SquarePants, True Jackson VP, iCarly, and Dora the Explorer from Nickelodeon, so the children have more things to watch on Netflix.

The content expansion also includes new episodes of MTV’s Jersey Shore and The Hills, as well as episodes of The Buried Life and The City. It also has new shows from BET like American Gangster, and more Comedy Central content like episodes of The Sarah Silverman Program. There is also some amount of unspecified content form VH1, Logo, and Spike.

“We’re pleased to be able to offer programs to suit different ages and tastes and, as always, remain committed to bringing you more great TV shows and movies to watch instantly when and where you prefer,” wrote Netflix VP Content Acquisition Cindy Holland on the Netflix Blog.

Netflix is rapidly expanding its streaming on-demand offerings. Last week, the company announced a multi-year deal with Miramax, which will see the addition of a whole bunch of movies, which when combined, account for 284 Academy Award nominations.

In addition to expanding upon its content offerings, Netflix has also continued to expand upon the number of devices it supports. Recently, the company announced a new Android app that works for some Android devices, and said that they were developing for additional Android devices. As Google’s mobile platform continues to gain market share of its own, compatibility here will be key for continued Netflix growth, especially considering that Google is now renting movies directly from the Android Market and YouTube.

The virtual world will feature games, avatars, and social networking connected to the series.

The network is also expected to launch Monkey World, a social networking and massive multiplayer game that is an original concept that is not associated with any of its current franchises.

Nickelodeon is also creating a virtual world around its Neopets site called World of Neopia, and will add a paid option to Nicktropolis, the virtual world that is split into sections based on Nickelodeon television shows and other properties. SpongBob, Monkey World and Neopia will also have paid layers when the launch in 2009.

Nicktropolis brings in around 1.5 million visitors per month, and the paid feature will not affect that traffic because it charges only for extra features like personalization.

Another Viacom division, Paramount Digital Entertainment is using social networking application VooZoo to allow user of the virtual world There.com to share short clips from movies and TV shows. There.com users can buy the clips for $1.

MTV Networks is also offering clips from its shows to There.com users and on its virtual world, vMTV. The VooZoo app will be available in the second quarter in vMTV.
 

Now, for better or for worse, parenting advice isn’t going to get interspersed with episodes from "The Real World 413" or whatever else MTV is showing these days.  Instead, MTV Networks’s ownership of Nickelodeon will come into play, and its ParentsConnect community site is set to gain the most.

Babunga’s network, which includes BabyNamesWorld, WikiParenting, and 3dpregnancy, will be integrated into ParentsConnect.  "We are already a leader online with parents and families because of Nickjr.com, the number-one preschool-parenting website," pointed out Steve Youngwood, the executive vice president of Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids & Family Group.  "[W]ith the acquisition of Babunga’s family of sites and its integration into Nick’s ParentsConnect, we are also now leaders with expecting parents."

Mike Shields highlights one more relevant point.  "As part of the venture, the company will sell ads on a handful of smaller, non-Nick-owned sites, including ParentPreviews.com and Smartmomma.com, mirroring a recent trend wherein traditional media players aim to sell ads across the Web’s long tail."

Nickelodeon, MTV Networks, Viacom – trace the corporate path as far back as you like.  Wherever you wind up, though, it looks like the company is doing some long-term planning.