Doug (1991-1994)- Introduction

Along with Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats, Doug was one of the three original Nicktoon shows. Not only is it my favorite of those three, but it's one of my favorites from the entire network. To this day, I still look back on it fondly and various references still crop up in my head from time to time. 

It's a very simple concept: Doug is an 11 year old boy who's the new kid in Bluffington. And the show takes us through episodes of his day to day life. Problems he encounters and resolves are the same ones a lot of kids deal with, whether it's bullying, first crushes, peer pressure, school woes. Some of the same subject matters also occur in "Hey Arnold!," which came out a few years later. (Another of my all-time favorite Nicktoons, but more on that at a much later date).

Another recurring theme in "Doug" is when he imagines himself as some of his fictional heroes and they go on to resolve predicaments that parallel his own. Quailman (who proudly wears his underwear over his pants) is his version of Superman, Smash Adams (James Bond) and Race Canyon (Indiana Jones). 
But Quailman is the one who makes the most appearances and what most people who'd seen the show probably remember. 

(along with his faithful companion Quaildog)

Before going too far, the next few posts that follow will focus strictly on the Nickelodeon version of the series. Once it went over to ABC and the cast changed, I completely lost interest. It just wasn't the same anymore. (I've stopped watching many TV series I loved for this one reason- voice actors really can make or break a show and I'm extremely loyal to original cast members in most cases). 
There was also a movie called "Doug's 1st Movie," and that was also a bit of a disappointment. It focused on the mythical monster of Lucky Duck Lake, whom Doug and Skeeter disguise as a student to protect it. Patti was also mad at Doug for the majority of the movie for various reasons, so that killed it a bit for me. 
I did get two things out of it, though.
1) it was the first time I heard the name Hermione so when I started reading Harry Potter, I knew how to pronounce her name without any difficulty
2) the producers answering questions about the series was very entertaining, especially when they ran away because they were afraid to answer the question: "When is Doug gonna kiss Patti?" 
As far as I know, they never did... which sucks because much of the series was rooting for them to get together. 

Hmm... that's another reason why "Hey Arnold!" had such a huge pull for me. Helga's huge crush on Arnold and all the shenanigans she went through to keep it secret from him. Again, more on that later.

***

As I listed all of the scenarios I remembered from the series, hoping to single out some highlights to talk about, I realized that I'd retained A LOT. 

Of the 100 or so segments, I remembered all but at least 25 of them from memory. 

So it might be best to break them down into themes. One involving Doug interacting with certain characters. A couple that have to do with sports. And several "how'd I get into this mess?" instances because he'd found himself in over his head a few times through the series. 

I found a channel on YouTube that has several episodes, so I might revisit a few of those over the next few days.