Top 10 Hilarious Nickelodeon Running Gags
#10: The Girls’ Bathroom “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” (2004-07)
Top 10 Hilarious Ned’s Declassified Running Gags
In kindergarten, a frantic Ned Bigby made the fatal mistake of accidentally running into the girls’ bathroom –the ultimate taboo of the schoolyard. Even if it was just an accident, Ned’s blunder ended up haunting him all the way to middle school, constantly reminding him of his embarrassing mixup –usually thanks to bullies and hecklers. What’s even worse is that he somehow ends up making the same mistake again, repeatedly running into the girls’ room. However, Ned’s first embarrassing incident did carry with it a silver lining; it inspired him to create the guide to helping fellow students survive middle school– and with any luck, save them from sharing his humiliation.
#9: “Boobs” “Drake & Josh” (2004-07)
These two titular step brothers might not always see eye to eye, but one thing they can agree on is that their little sister Megan is a pain in the neck. For her part, Megan thinks the two are nothing but a pair of boobs –so much so that she’ll frequently refer to them as such. To be fair, with the way Drake and Josh constantly botch things, it’s an appropriate nickname, but she’ll throw it at the boys on ANY given occasion. Sometimes the two are legitimately ‘boobing it up’, other times she just seemingly wants to put them down for no particular reason. It seems unnecessary, but trust us, the name-calling isn’t the worst thing Megan does to her brothers.
#8: Cat’s Brother “Victorious” (2010-13)
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We all know that Cat Valentine is an oddball, but every now and then, she has a story to tell about someone even stranger than her – her own brother. Every tale and every mention of her brother paints him as a totally deranged weirdo – engaging in some rather bizarre and dangerous activity, like driving around with a trunk full of fake feet, or antagonizing a clown on a bus until the latter shot him. The list goes on. While we never see Cat’s brother on-screen, an episode of “Henry Danger” heavily implies that her brother is the villainous Frankini –played by Ariana Grande’s real-life brother. It’s a stretch, but based on Cat’s stories, who says he’s not one step away from super-villainy?
#7: Luna’s Song References “The Loud House” (2016-)
We all know that Luna Loud lives for the music, so much so that it’s become a second language to her in an almost literal sense. Every now and then, Luna speaks in lyrics taken from classic songs – from AC/DC to the Rolling Stones, from the Beatles to Aerosmith; name a well-known musical act and there’s a chance that Luna has mentioned them. Not only is it a nice treat for music lovers, but the shout-outs are also usually cleverly handled in whatever context they’re being applied –even those that get lost in translation. Of course, every now and then the loudest Loud sister will reference a song even SHE regrets mentioning.
#6: “Who Loves Orange Soda?” “Kenan & Kel” (1996-2000)
Top 20 Funniest Nickelodeon TV Running Gags
Who loves Orange Soda? Kel loves Orange Soda! He does, he does, he do-oes! So much so that whenever the carbonated treasure gets involved, he just HAS to express his love for it in the form of his iconic catchphrase. Unfortunately, his obsession with the bubbly drink isn’t exactly healthy –especially when others try to bribe or take advantage of cravings. But hey, no one can deny that it inspired one of the most iconic Nickelodeon quotes of the ‘90s. There have been others on the show to recite his famous song, but they don’t have the same passionate flavor in their words that Kel has - or go to the lengths he will for a bottle.
#5: “I’m Okay!” “Hey Arnold!” (1996-2004)
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Life’s pretty tough for Eugene Horowitz – constantly getting injured by bizarre forces left and right, he’s ostracized as the fourth-grade jinx. It’s kinda sad, but almost every time he ends up taking his lumps –which happens a LOT, he follows it up simply with “I’m okay” - adding humor to it all. It’s an age-old comedy trope where something incredibly painful happens to a character, and they just utter those two little words and everything’s right with the world again. Unlucky as he is, Eugene had made it his catchphrase. Even though he’s a walking disaster, it’s always endearing to see Eugene keep an upbeat attitude, brush himself off, and keep moving forward… right into his NEXT accident, most likely.
#4: Setting Stuff on Fire “iCarly” (2007-12)
We all know that Spencer Shay is an amazing sculptor, but a handyman he is NOT. Whenever he tries to fix something, the object in questions usually winds up catching fire. Heck, sometimes all Spencer has to do is TOUCH something to make it go up in smoke. What really sells the joke is that most of the time, the object in question isn’t even flammable, and yet Spencer’s “miraculous” touch sets it ablaze. One time, he managed to inexplicably turn a fire extinguisher into a flamethrower. While we think it’s hilarious, Spencer’s spontaneous fires leave the fire department feeling burnt out –pun intended.
#3: “My Cabbages!” “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (2005-08)
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Life in the Earth Kingdom isn’t easy for this poor street merchant. He’s just minding his own business, trying to sell his beloved cabbages… when suddenly, someone, most likely either the Avatar’s party or Earth Kingdom guard, comes along and smashes into his vendor stand –destroying his precious vegetables. When he isn’t getting mixed up with Avatar trouble, his cart will either get demolished or ransacked by oversized beasts; it ends up getting so bad, we don’t even see him for the rest of the series after Book Two. It’s safe to say that this wasn’t the right line of work for him; however, his luck turns around several years later when he becomes the founder of Cabbage Corp… though some things never change.
#2: “Uh… Internet?” “The Fairly OddParents” (2001-17)
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Almost every episode of “The Fairly OddParents” has a running gag of its own, but this joke managed to pop up repeatedly during the show’s first few seasons. One of the perks of having fairy godparents is being able to wish for almost anything you set your mind to. However, someone is usually around to question where Timmy got his suspicious new goodies or powers. His usual response is to simply say “uh… Internet?” It’s not that hard to believe. You can find anything off the Internet, and everyone around him –especially his parents- are gullible enough to believe it, no matter how ridiculous the wish is. That being said, he REALLY should be more careful about hiding his new toys. Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few repetitive honorable mentions. “Very Expensive” “Doug” (1991-99) “I Hate My Life” “Rocko’s Modern Life” (1993-96) Bird Brain’s Henchmen “T.U.F.F. Puppy” (2010-15)
#1: “My Leg!” “SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-)
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Whenever pandemonium breaks out in Bikini Bottom -or just an excessive amount of cartoony violence occurs- you’re sure to hear the archived recording of “My Leg” by Fred the Fish. There have been variations of this line, but the context is always the same – pure, hilarious pain. While the original recording was used less in the later years, the joke was kept alive via a full episode centered around the line –paying homage to what is essentially the Wilhelm scream of Nickelodeon, and one of their funniest recurring gags to date. The joke is so iconic that it even managed to sneak its way into an episode of fellow Nicktoon, “CatDog”.