Okay I'll admit the main reason why I watch this is because I was trying to do this ranking of all the Nickelodeon Movies and Hey Arnold: The Movie being one of them. I didn't want to just watch the movie and be done with that because I heard a lot of great things about the show and I enjoyed catching a few episodes whenever I was up late on NickToons as a kid. But now I had an excuse to finally watched this certified classic.
It was overall a great show with a very charming cast of characters. I liked seeing them just be kids without trying to pretend that it's something it isn't. It is just a relaxing slice-of-life show where kids deal with every day problems. The show even dealt with some serious topics which was welcome and very ahead of its time. Arnold is such a compassionate and caring lead, Helga is the living proof that female simps exist and I love seeing all her misadventures, I didn't think Gerald was a very good friend mostly because how often he sides with the other kids in situations but I did occasionally get a few chuckles out of him, Harold seems to be the stereotypical fat "bully", but I like how he isn't just a bully and they don't really lean on his weight problem unless it was the focus of an episode. I love how cheerful Eugene is even when he always gets tortured throughout the series, Sid's excessive nature kinda got on my nerves at a few points, Phoebe was very enjoyable, Rhonda was the best kind of enjoyably unlikable, I wish I had someone like him in my life, and Stinky is the epicest character to ever ever!!! Most of the episodes are just good instead of great and reason I gave it this high rating is because how consistent the quality was. Like for the entire second of the show, there were only 4 to 5 episodes I didn't like which is extremely impressive for an 8-year run. Yeah, it got a little rehashy towards to later seasons and not every character was enjoyable or likable, but that's to be expected, but I think it's good stuff far outweighs its bad. I don't really have a ton to say compared to shows like Scooby-Doo: Mystery Inc. or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) because its not story-driven, but I didn't really mind.
Best episode: Arnold's Christmas
Worst episode: Arnold Betrays Iggy
Also are we not gonna talk about how Stinky exposes Sid for french-kissing a frog in “Sid and Germs” and how Arnold had a threesome with Lila and Timberly in “Timberly loves Arnold”
