Hey Arnold!

“Move it football head!” is a phrase that immediately brings back memories for those who watched Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold. For eight years (1996-2004) Hey Arnold! charmed audiences with the quirky characters of the
fictional town of Hillwood. After five seasons and 101 episodes of the strange kid with the unusually large, football-shaped head and untucked flannel shirt, the series remains one of the most loved “old school” cartoons of Nickelodeon.
Following the life of fourth grader Arnold and his group of friends (and enemies), the show focused on the odd situations that they often found themselves in. Living in a boarding home while being raised by his
senile grandparents often presented scenarios that Arnold handled with
humor and sincerity-whether it was dealing with his grandmother’s hilarious
delusions or his grandfather’s amusing obsession with “Sally’s Comet,” Arnold
accepted the reality of his odd circumstances. Coping with the bullying of Helga
Pataki was regularly the main focus of the school days that Arnold spent at P.S. 118. Helga, a
unibrowed tomboy who secretly praised Arnold within her
closeted shrine, often taunted Arnold in an attempt to mask her unrequited love. Although the show is no longer in syndication, the eccentric characters who many a time found themselves in mind-boggling situations, will always be a part of every fans’ childhood. For senior Roxanne Galvan, Hey Arnold! was her
favorite cartoon “because each episode had a moral lesson to it, [and] it was a cartoon with characters that were easy to identify with and learn from.”
While most viewers typically favor the protagonist of a TV show, for Galvan, her favorite character was the complete opposite; “I especially loved Helga because she acted so bold and mean, yet she was very self conscious and shy inside.”
By Features Editor Lindsay Croon