Kid Rivalry: Nickelodeon Vs. Disney Channel

There are rivalries between Batman and the Joker, James Bond and Blofeld, and countless others. One notable rivalry is between networks the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, the networks responsible for some of the famous shows your tweens are crazy about. I have a review of each network and some of their shhows.

Disney Channel

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
The show, which is about twins who live in a hotel, is funny enough, using slapstick as a key formula in the series. Dylan and Cole Sprouse (Cole played Ross's son on Friends) play Zack and Cody, respectively, who get into all sorts of shinannigans. Dylan is very swift and quick as a prankster who often falls by the wayside. It seems to come naturally, while Cole's geek Cody seems to be a tired formula. He tries way too hard to be nerdy. The real stars are the self absorbed rich London (Brenda Song) and Maddie (Ashley Tisdale). The two battle it out in every episode which earns the show's most laughs. Though, the self referencial jokes are tiring, mentioning Disney's sleeper sucess High School Musical and pretending that Maddie looks nothing like Ashley Tisdale, who co-starred in HSM.
Grade: B+

Hannah Montana
The show Hannah Montana chronicles the life of a pop superstar living each day as an ordinary tween and each night partying away at concerts. I've heard it all before. It's much like superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman, all of whom lead seperate, normal lives in the real world. Miley Cyrus is peachy as Miley Stewart, and Cyrus's real father, Billy Ray, plays her on-screen father. The family colloquials get tiring after 5 times in one episode. The "Sweet Niblets!" are really annoying after a while. It is a question whether Ms. Cyrus has a good voice? Some may concur, while others may say she has an effect that most won't remember in coming years. I don't think it's all that.
Grade: B-

Nickelodeon
Spongebob Squarepants
Spongebob Squarepants is a cute, peppy little guy who goes to work at the Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty, run by the greediest man since...well you think about that for a little bit. Even though parents may find the potty humor immature, it's probably the funniest, most well written, and smartest kid show in a long time. With many a luagh for the ones who get the humor, and a few giggles for the youg'ens, Spongebob is the show to go to when all else on television is impure and scadalous.
Grade: A

Drake & Josh
It's definately not the smartest show on TV, but it's okay. I'm talkin about Drake & Josh, the show about a slacker and a nerd who become brothers. Haven't we heard this before. The show is aimed at teens. It's repetative with bad sets and odd jokes.
Grade: C+

So you've just had a small taste of the networks. Who's better: Nick. Even though some shows are totally brainless, the little yellow sponge takes it home for the team.

Nick: B+
Disney: B

The Road to Gold: The Oscars!

The Oscars are famous for being prestigious, glamorous, and star studded. However, they're notorious for being long, boring, and dull. You can't really blame' em, it's an awards show, and awards shows all have those tenancies. This year, Jon Stewart hosted, what would normally be a predictable year, and brought spice, wit, and humor to the Oscars. His jokes are hilarious (After the montage on the voting process, Stewart beams and says, "And I thought it was up to the super-delegates!"). The show was much more engrossing than last year. Though, this year's show had the lowest rating in history: only 32 million viewers. The last time it was that low, it was the 2003 show and Chicago won Best Picture. This year's winners were exceptionally predictable. Best Picture went to No Country for Old Men. Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor were very predictable and they went to Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) as a greedy oil miner in the west and Javier Bardem (No Country), as a hit man, respectively. Best Actress was a little surprising. French actress Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for her portrayal of French chanteus Edith Piaf and Tilda Swinton won for the court drama Michael Clayton. The Coen brothers won for No Country, and, unsurprisingly, Ratatouille won Best Animated Feature. "Falling Slowly" from Once won Best Original Song, trumping Enchanted's three nominated songs. The one surprise for me was that The Golden Compass won Best Visual Effects, and not Transformers. It was a pretty good show, other than it was 3 1/2 hours (which is actually an improvement from last year, it being 4 1/2 hours).

Grade: B+