Dave the Dave’s Review Review: Kenan and Kel

I’m going to run out of Nickelodeon shows I like eventually. That’s why I limit myself to just doing them in August. But for now….

“Kenan and Kel” was sort of a spin off from “All That”. I actually was less a spin off than just taking the two funniest cast members and building them a vehicle. I agree with the choice, but I wonder if Katrina and Josh would have worked despite not rolling off the tongue as well.

The story here is as old as time. We’ve got two young friends trying to make their way through the mean streets of suburban Chicago. Kenan is a schemer, he always be scheming. He lives with his precocious little sister, his understanding mother and his very frustrated father. His dad is a very sympathetic character. I imagine the Spongebob people modeled Squidward after Roger Rockmore. They are both bald, short tempered men who have every right to be as mad as they are. I like to think the true season finale is him killing his son’s best friend.

But that wouldn’t be right! Kel Kimble doesn’t mean to agitate people. He just has nowhere to go. He’s more than a neglected child. He never leaves the Rockmore house. Hell when Kenan is at work Kel even hangs out there. This poor boy just wants someone to love him, take care of him, and buy him orange soda. Is that too much to ask?

The two pals really did get in to a lot of mischief. The episode I see every time I try to watch the late night reruns has Kel accidently getting everything in the Rockmore’s house stolen. But don’t worry they bankrupt Roger in the mean time at a local pizzeria while hoping the furniture is returned. These schemes are mainly fueled by Kenan’s desire to be rich. I don’t blame him though because he’s a cashier at Rigby’s and doing that job sucks. I worked at Kmart for four years. If I had the motivation I would have been doing schemes that made Kenan look as innocent as Pee Wee Herman.

The first episode sets the tone nicely as we see a scheme that gets them all the way to a courtroom. It really triggered the sue happy society we live in. DAN SCHNEIDER YOU ANIMAL! Maybe watching Kenan try to fleece a tuna company didn’t make the kids of today into greedy jerks, but it certainly added a fantastic non sequitur to our lexicon’s.

Kenan’s little sister had a crush on Kel and his boss was a square white guy. That’s all that really needs to be said about them. I will provide physical evidence of their existence.

I kept this review a little short. What more do I need to say about 90s Nickelodeon? It was a time that inspires nostalgia from 14 year olds today (They were born in 1999…just let that sink in). The station really was on fire. Then they put out “As Told by Ginger” and ruined all the momentum.

Kenan and Kel were a gigantic part of that original upward swing staring in two of the networks most popular shows. Kenan has now been on “Saturday Night Live” for over a decade and Kel has had numerous movie roles, voice acting gigs and currently is on “Wild Grinders” a show about that Rob Dyrdek guy. They may not be paling around now (and I’m mad that Kenan thought he was too good to be in the “All That” panel a year or so ago) but we’ll always have our memories. In fact, one final memory will be had next week as we end Nickelodeon month with the show you all voted in…all 8 of you. Thanks pricks.