WAIT... Remember 6Teen?

wait remember sixteen oh my kitten of course you  do i've seen the comments asking for this video   to be made canadian animated sitcom series  16 start a group of six friends who work at   but never seem to leave their local galleria mall  running for a solid four seasons from 2004 to 2010   the series made its debut in canada on teletune  sunday november 7th 2004 at 6 p.m it's a show   created for young teens and the creative team  was incredibly dedicated to that as this certain   demographic was found to be watching more and more  adult media for the more intelligently written   content they reflected that in a show that both  marketed towards young kids but was more complex   in character development and interpersonal  relationships today we're going to take a   look at what this iconic slice-of-life mall rat  show was all about what happened to it and more   also thanks to its iconic extremely catchy  theme song even if you don't remember the show   very well you probably remember the intro and  speaking of intros it's almost as cool as mine i am taking the day off any objections they never  listen the girls of the group are nikki wong the   purple haired quick-witted and sarcastic girl  with alternative style jen masterson the athletic   responsible and strong-willed one and caitlyn  cook the friend with a very sheltered elitist   upbringing but who proves herself to be fiercely  loyal and kind the boys include wyatt williams the   musically talented soft-spoken and anxiety-ridden  friend jonesy garcia a lazy and arrogant serial   flirter who despite some of his pretty immoral and  sometimes downright illegal activities does care   deeply for his friends you grow to like him kinda  and last but oh my gosh so very much not least   jude lezowski an absent-minded mellowed-out skater  boy who constantly surprises with his wisdom   and honesty his heart is always in the right  place the show starts off with a group of five   friends but they get their iconic sixth friend  when jen gives her classmate caitlyn her old   job at the squeeze lemonade stand because  caitlyn's father cuts her off due to a few   rather large purchases causing her credit card to  max out the six slowly get to know caitlyn over   the course of the following episodes due to the  squeeze being their prime hangout spot where they   can't get busted by paul blar sorry i mean ron the  rent-a-cop for loitering together they navigate an   after-school social and work life while learning  how to be good friends to each other 16 was   originally created by canadian power duo jennifer  perched and tom mcgillis who also created shows   like my babysitter's a vampire all of the total  drama island cinematic universe and stoked they   even produced lucas the spider together and i  don't care what anyone says lucas the spider is   adorable 16 was originally titled the mall but  was later changed to 16 in development and yeah   a much better and instantly more relatable name  they decided on the mall culture of the mid-2000s   was the last time malls performed with any kind  of success with the economic recession in 2008   kickstarting what would be the unimaginable fall  of the commercial giant the north american mall   extensive studies beginning in 2017 started to  predict the inevitable death and abandonment of   the commercialized and widespread north american  mall not to mention the last few years themselves   and the start of the 2020s did nothing if not  further progress that decline in profits for   the stores that filled up the majority of malls  out there and additionally the boom of bezos   e-commerce coupled with heavy oversaturation  there were not enough people who needed to go   somewhere to get their things leaving the hollow  husk of what we know today as the dead maul but 16   really got their timing right and took advantage  of the phenomenon when it was still an important   part of pop culture i mean it wasn't the 80s but  hey malls are still popping we're going shopping   the show managed to capture that specific  nostalgia i had for hanging out at the mall with   my friends and being that insanely cool teenager  i knew i was alright the show started airing when   i was a bit younger to even be driving and going  to the mall with friends but it eventually equaled   out with that and i eventually had some quality  mall hangouts and fine i wasn't that cool okay   what do you want from me the mall itself becomes a  very unique and equally convenient place to throw   six friends into a myriad of complex interpersonal  social dynamics while dodging authority figures   there were clear-cut antagonists and or general  oppressors that aren't their parents due to   being set in a mall coach halder and paul i'm  so sorry i mean ron the rent-a-cop offer high   stakes which often leads to a member of the gang  almost losing their jobs in jonesy's case almost   mall complex that is 16. oh i'm a genius 16  starting november 7th tell a tune it's unreal   oops typically a show about 16 year olds would  fall back on school as the typical setting but the   galleria mall offers endless opportunities for the  writing team this world revolves around the mall   as the social epicenter of their town with stores  coming in and out of business any setting or any   kind of character they wanted was achievable we  meet a different side character in almost each   episode due to the setting being such a popular  place there are movie theaters all kinds of fun   restaurants and a variety of clothing stores to  represent the diverse teen social groups such as   the goss the clones and the jocks it's where every  group comes to clash the concept of the galleria   super mall is ever expanding to the plot's demands  which explains why jonesy is able to find and get   fired from a new job virtually every episode  16 is somewhat of a formally decorated show   as well with a nomination for a pulsinella award  in 2005 winning the award for best of children's   television to fall under the age group of 9 to 14  years old that year in the alliance for children   and television the theme song performed by phil  narrow won a daytime emmy award for outstanding   original song as it should nero is a renowned  veteran rock musician who has also worked with   musicians or a part of kiss white snake and yes  the show also ranked in the top 10 series amongst   kids 6 to 11 on its network despite its success in  canada it didn't do nearly as well in the united   states this could be thanks to censorship as up  to 25 episodes of the 93 episode series were never   permitted to air in the u.s this is because of  various different reasons and believe me there are   a lot of them canada was considered more relaxed  with their network guidelines but when the show   was given to nickelodeon for the united states  many episodes of the show didn't make the cut   some of those reasons include violence addiction  cursing objectification of the female body crime   theft suggestive themes adultery double dating  implied nudity menstruation and two episodes   were banned because of side characters who were  confirmed that they were gay this could be why   the show didn't do nearly as well as they'd hoped  because upon rewatch some of the banned episodes   are the most entertaining and memorable as well  as cut clear storyline parts out of the show   that can confuse you if you don't watch them all  and a lot of what the banned episodes had to offer   are really great except when jonesy actively  commits a crime by spying on women without   their consent multiple times in different episodes  the art style is simple using flash animation and   staying away from harsh or bold outlines the  style is heavily geometric and can sometimes   feel liminal with sprawling real estate but not  a lot to fill it up it can sometimes just feel a   bit empty while i do wish there was more detail in  the background art side of things i do appreciate   the general tone it gives the show everything  suddenly feels less dramatic and more domestic   as opposed to its sister show total drama island  where there are more physically demanding and   dangerous activities that conditioned the theme of  the show and its locations to be its own character   the marketing team also capitalized on the flash  player craze of the 2000s by releasing a bunch of   16 online games that were available to be played  on nickelodeon and cartoon network websites sadly   with the brutal death of flash play media a select  few have been re-uploaded to different sites like   a sudoku-inspired mini-game as well as a skate  challenge an intense skating game that requires   a lot of focus if you go on the intense mode  it was dare i say intense also games like maul   rush and barista star were just a couple of the  games that survived the great flash games white   i think what really helps bring these characters  to life in the show aside from their relatability   to either yourself or others that you may know is  the voice actors terry mcgiren brought jonesy's   cocky but somehow clumsily charming character to  life stacy de pass brought out the tough on the   outside but sweet on the inside character of nicki  that somehow is also compatible opposite of jonesy   potentially making him a better person i'll let  you be the judge of that christian potenza offered   the laid-back and chill vibes of jude that remind  me of at least a couple of the friends i had when   i used to skateboard megan fallenbach showed off  the hard work ethic and the overachiever attitude   of jen jesmal givens gave those perfect hipster  vibes with a social and economical conscience   if not coming off a little too pretentious to  his friends and others sometimes and of course   brook de orsay who played into the rich girl  who needs to be humble to bid and learn to be   independent while establishing a friend group  that will truly like her for her and not for   material related motives this all culminates  in what feels like a real group of friends   all from what on the surface would look like they  would all be in different friend groups there was   a character here that you could place yourself in  the shoes of and how these preconceived thoughts   of oh this person would never hang out with that  person quickly fade away as the show spends its   run time dealing with all their differences  that will overall bring them closer as a group   rather than push them away this show is great  i've personally watched it completely through   about four or five times at this point as it's  easy to throw on and enjoy and at this point i   feel like it is a top five cartoon for me i enjoy  the setting and the character so much as the slice   of life genre is where my overall enjoyment lies  but as we move away from malls being the hangout   spot or in existence in general it feels like a  time capsule that emulates those days it feels   nostalgic to a time that wasn't even that long ago  and i love returning to this era with a smile on   my face reminiscing on the good old days of the  past but when one mall closes another mall opens   wait that's not right but you know what i mean  let's talk about the future of 16 now i should   go sorry later can't get enough of them all i'm  home neither can these guys nick's got a brand   new show about 16 working at the mall in terms  of any kind of revival well here are my thoughts   as of right now nothing is in the works or being  talked about however 16 sisters show total drama   island was confirmed recently for a two-season  revival through hbo max and cartoon network   with the original survival island concept not a  spin-off with toddler versions of the characters   and for some reason a young jude from 16 is there  without any side character driven subplots no the   og total drama island as far as we know is coming  back the revival is something that which fresh tv   president and creator of both shows tom mcgillis  initially denied ever being possible in a reddit   thread from 2018. nope sorry to be a dream killer  but there's no market for this experience in the   wider entertainment marketplace right now however  our kids grew up and went on to do other things   so there is no market for a show like this right  now in my opinion and that's okay we just need to   create something special and different for newer  audience of varying age groups obviously he was   wrong about total drama but what if this concept  could be applied to 16. in 2018 we were given a   seven minute reunion mini episode psa titled vote  dude in which the characters now 18 discuss the   varying socio-political climate of america they  hit as many hot topics as they can and no i'm not   talking about the store that once was an alt haven  but now as a funko pop and pop culture t-shirt   store they even root themselves into our universe  by referencing american politicians by name   anyways they let jude hot box a lemon and i think  that's pretty funny it's like letting shaggy and   scooby-doo canonically do the same just with the  mystery machine oh wait they did okay yeah they   were just cooking some food sure it all just felt  so right heck they really wanted this to stand out   as there was blatant cursing as the clones diss on  nikki it may sound like a shocking difference from   the show that at least we got while growing up but  in the context of what the original non-censored   canadian version was it felt right at home with  the themes the show tackled and more true to life   within my own or even your own friend groups it  ends with garth pointing out that they are all   canadian citizens and don't necessarily need to  be concerned with united states policies and law   making this reunion gave us a taste of what  a reboot potentially could look like in the   past the episodes were heavily censored and not  in the way that we touched on earlier this psa   lets them actually act like they normally would  have as real teenagers if a reboot were to happen   and it's entirely possible as we've learned  from total drama then it would have more freedom   possibly be on a more adult network streaming  service or something that would offer that freedom   that would give them creative liberties to discuss  adult themes as the adults that they are now   at the age of 18. like mcgillis said something  different for newer audiences of varying age   groups there's a lot of ground for them to  cover with the death of the modern mall and   the struggles that the galleria would face as  well as the more adult themes that would make   for some pretty interesting and again relatable  stories that anyone can find themselves in   if there isn't a total 18 revival it's possible  that we could get a spin-off or a fusion of the   characters in a different show similar to how  mcgillis and the total drama production team   made toddler jude a prominent character in the au  daycare spin-off total dramarama so what are your   thoughts on a reboot for this do you think they  could swing it towards a more mature audience but   also in general how do you feel about the show 16  let me know in the comments as always thanks so   much for watching and make sure to hit the like  button and subscribe for more content like this   follow me on twitter and i'll be back with  another video soon but until then later you

Channel: Jordan Fringe

Views: 273,376

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Id: eEMLBjblCUY

Length: 14min 22sec (862 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 01 2022