The Mount Rushmore of 2000s Nickelodeon Characters -

By Sam Bergstrom

This is an independently submitted op-ed and does not reflect the views of The Tower.

If you already read about my 2010s Nickelodeon Mount Rushmore, then you know I have a soft spot for the underrated characters that are quirky yet passionate. In terms of 2000s characters, I definitely enjoyed watching the universally liked characters, but there are still a few niche characters who appealed to my youthful heart. In light of this, I present here four characters from 2000s Nickelodeon shows who dazzled onscreen and made our childhoods all the more fun.

Image Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes.

Megan Parker – Drake and Josh

Before Miranda Cosgrove was the star of iCarly, she played the witty yet conniving little sister on Drake and Josh. Whenever Megan walked into the room, there was a tense and anxious feeling that something bad was about to unfold. Megan got away with whatever devious act she put her mind to, which I think every little kid watching—myself included—envied. No matter how much Drake and Josh were tortured, their parents always viewed Megan as an angel because she would never get caught. My personal favorite scene of hers is when—after they accidentally kill Megan’s beloved hamster—she drives Drake and Josh to the brink of madness in “Megan’s Revenge.”

Image Courtesy of IMDB.

Chase Matthews – Zoey 101

Chase wasn’t the coolest friend of the Zoey 101 friend group, but he had his own quirky swagger that I loved. No matter how many times he would constantly rave over his love for Zoey, he never developed the confidence to ask her out, afraid that it may jeopardize their friendship. This always made Chase a fascinating character, because you were always waiting for him to shoot his shot, even when you knew there was a 99% chance he was holding onto that ball of love. For crying out loud, he attended a boarding school in England just because he thought Zoey was going to school there. If that’s not devoted love, I don’t know what is!

Image Courtesy of tenor.com.

Patrick Star – Spongebob Squarepants

Don’t get me wrong, Spongebob, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton are all immaculate characters. But there’s something about Patrick’s personality that always appealed to me. He loves to go with the flow and act accordingly with his passions and desires—most of the time those being eating and fooling around with Spongebob. In my opinion, Patrick is not dumb or lazy; he is a simple starfish. He is even philosophical at times, asking important questions such as “is mayonnaise an instrument?” He even enhanced the study of wumbology. “I wumbo, you wumbo, he, she, me…wumbo.” I think every kid should look up to Patrick to see how they can become a loyal friend while also seeing life from a more simple perspective.

Image Courtesy of Amazon.

Gibby – iCarlyIt’s always difficult when I walk into a room to resist the masculine urge to yell “Gibaaaaay!” Gibby had many memorable moments on iCarly, but his most prized one came when he saved his friends from the captivity of Nora in “iPyscho.” When Gibby busted into the house and wrestled Nora to the basement, he cemented himself as a character of not just humor, but love as well. Obviously, in the early seasons, Gibby was iconic for taking off his shirt. But as the show progressed, he became comical in all sorts of new ways, like when he opened a restaurant underneath the high school or teamed up with Mrs. Benson to sabotage Freddy and Sam’s loving relationship. He also carried around an artificial replica head, and they became inseparable. Quite frankly, I feel like if Gibby had his own web show, it would have gotten more views than Carly and Sam’s.