Slime Time Live (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2000-2004)

The series' logo

Status: Partially Lost

Slime Time Live was a game show that aired from January 24th, 2000 - July 2nd, 2004 in between regular programs that aired weekdays after school and was hosted by Dave Aizer, Jessica Holmes and Jonah Travick. The show was initially devised as a promotional vehicle for the network's launch of Double Dare 2000, a remake of the classic game show, similarly themed around Nickelodeon's signature slime. Interestingly, while Double Dare 2000 only lasted a single season, Slime Time Live lasted several years beyond the show it was initially meant to promote. The show went through many changes as it developed over the years. Gameplay, notes, and the shows that aired for each season will be described below.

Special Guests

Slime Time Live has had a number of special guests for the past 5 years and most of them included Tom Kenny as Patchy the Pirate, Dream, No Secrets and Stevie Brock.

Season 1

Slime Time Live initially aired from 4-5pm, leading up to new episodes of Double Dare 2000. It was clear Nickelodeon had a hit on its hands, and within a few months on May 2nd, 2000, the show was expanded into a 2.5 hour programming block, airing between shows and commercials from 4-6:30 pm weekdays. At the time, it was clear Slime Time was here to stay. This season lasted until June 30th, 2000.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The first hour of each show featured three Slime-U-Lator rounds. In each round, online voters would select one of three studio contestants wearing red, yellow, or blue. The selected contestant would be paired up with a home player, usually selected by Jonah from the Mail-O-Matic, which was full of postcard entrants. By phone, the home player would try to match up Nickelodeon characters shown on an onscreen game board. Making a match would win the game, and result in the studio contestant getting slimed by the contraption known as the Slime-U-Lator, and both would win a prize. If the contestant lost, host Dave Aizer would get a pie in the face. In the first season, the Slime-U-Lator was a single, large barrel contraption that would automatically turn over when a game was won. Cream-blasters were a feature of the Slime-U-Lator added later in this season. By a few months in April, players will be given 20 seconds to find the matching Nick characters on the gameboard.

After the first hour, more contestants would come in to play (usually three) elimination rounds, with the winners of those games moving on to the Super Sloppy Slime-off. The elimination rounds of this season introduced many Slime Time Classics, or favorite games that would return for many seasons, including Musical Pies and Sliming for Apples. This all culminated with the Super Sloppy Slime-off, in which two teams (blue and red) would be represented by two home players who, on the phone, would have to answer random Nickelodeon trivia questions. A correct answer would earn a pie in the face for a team member. The first team to have all members pied would win the game, a grand prize, and get a bin of slime dumped on their heads.

As with all seasons, skits, promos, and audience participation stunts would take place at random points between commercials.

SHOWS AIRED

A number of shows aired between segments throughout STL's run. Regular shows in the first season included Rugrats, Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, Double Dare 2000, Kenan & Kel, and All That.

Season 2

The second season premiered on September 4th, 2000 and lasted until November 22nd, 2000. This season resumed much the same way it left off, with a few minor gameplay changes. Longstanding traditions like the birthday pie in the face became cemented in place this season.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The Slime-U-Lator rounds remained, but gameplay would change to allow home players 20 seconds to find the matching Nick characters. The Slime-U-Lator was updated to include two barrels of slime.

The questions for the Super Sloppy Slime-Off now centered on random themes, rather than Nickelodeon trivia questions. The host would give hints about something relating to the stated theme, and home players would buzz in to answer. The themes became more random and ridiculous as the series progressed, such as "Things you wouldn't want to sit on," and "Wild Thornberrys animals you wouldn't want to find in your pocket." This made the segment a bit more humorous and engaging than the straight trivia questions of the previous season.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in the second season included Rugrats, Double Dare 2000, and Pinky and the Brain.

Season 3

The third season premiered on January 1st, 2001 and lasted until June 15th, 2001. Starting on February 5th, 2001, BubbleCast would be aggressively promoted. This was an online interactive platform, which prompted viewers to constantly engage with the Nick.com website while watching shows. BubbleCast would be phased out by the end of the season. Jonah and Jessica assume more prominent roles this season, with their roles clearly evolving from assistants to active co-hosts. Indeed, when Dave Aizer leaves to cover the 2001 Kids' Choice Awards in April, Jessica and Jonah hosted STL from Orlando. It also aired special editions like Slime Time SNICK Live which aired on March 10th, 2001 and March 17th, 2001.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The format is exactly the same as the last season.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in the second season included Rugrats, Rocket Power, and Pinky and the Brain.

Season 4

The fourth season premiered on September 3rd, 2001 and lasted until December 21st, 2001. This season saw a number of changes, especially when it resumed in January 2002. In Mondays throughout November 2001, STL would visit different schools, where they hosted Slime Time Takes Over Your School. Also in 2001, a feature called Head-to-Head Friday was played, which involved competitions to determine which of two shows would air, with the audience divided into two teams, and often taking part in competitions.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

Gameplay for the Slime-U-Lator rounds changed again, in that home players now got three chances to pick two numbers at a time, in an attempt to make a match.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats, Hey Arnold, SpongeBob SquarePants, Animaniacs, and Rocket Power.

Season 5

The fifth season premiered on January 7th, 2002 and lasted until May 24, 2002. Starting on January 21st, 2002, the NickVentures segment was introduced, which involved Jonah traveling across the country to find out what kids liked to do after school. This segment would usually introduce the mystery mess for the upcoming Slime-U-Lator round. It also aired special editions like Slime Time Live in Hypertime which aired on April 6th, 2002 and a Hey, I Wanna Be Arnold! Slime Time Movie Special which aired on June 15th, 2002 and June 22nd, 2002.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

Starting on January 7th, 2002, the Slime-U-Lator was revamped to include three barrels: two containing slime, and a third as the "mystery bucket," containing a mystery mess that was often voted for online. If the player won the game, their studio teammate would be slimed with all three buckets. If they lost, their teammate would only get the mystery bucket dumped on them. In January 7th, 2002 the Slime-U-Lator game was reduced to two rounds per show, but usually added an extra messy skit or stunt in its place.

Also in January 7th, 2002, the finale of the show was iconically renamed The Big Shaboozie, and the shaboozinator was filled with slime in addition to several different mystery messes, resulting in a unique, colorful mess at the end of each day. Winning contestants would also be blasted with the Cream Blasters and the Booty Blasters from the front and behind, respectively. In this season, teams started doing choreography of some sort when introduced.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats and SpongeBob SquarePants. Frequent Daily Nick U-Pick winners included The Amanda Show, All That, Taina, and The Brothers Garcia.

Season 6

The sixth season premiered on September 2nd, 2002 and lasted until November 27th, 2002. This season saw some radical changes to the show and its format, starting with the schedule, which now became a three hour block from 2-5 p.m. This was not the most convenient schedule change, as many kids did not get out of school until 3 p.m. The schedule change was presumably made so that U-Pick Live could assume the attractive 5 p.m. slot.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The format and gameplay changed quite a bit in this season. Gone were the classic Slime-U-Lator rounds that involved a phone-in home player. However, there were still games like Challenge Jonah, which allowed winning contestants to get slimed by a new slime contraption.

The new format could be summed up as "elimination rounds on steroids." The first section involved building teams, through a series of elimination rounds. I.e., in a series of competitions, 16 blue team contestants would be narrowed down to two players. The same process would be repeated for the red team. Once two teams of two had been established, then these teams would compete against each other in even more games, to gain points which could be used in the final Big Shaboozie showdown round.

The Big Shaboozie finale involved a large tic tac toe-style game board with nine numbers. In turn, teams could use their accrued points to pick numbers on the game board, in hopes of finding the winning square, The Big Shaboozie. If players found The Whammy square, then the opposing team automatically won the game. There were plenty of mystery messes thrown in behind the other squares. The audience of the winning team would get blasted with whipped cream cannons. This round introduced teams with a silly dance or cheer, orchestrated by team captains Jonah and Jessica.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Hey Arnold.

Season 7

The seventh season premiered on January 6th, 2003 and lasted until May 23rd, 2003. In this season, the show has been cut down to two hours, now airing from 3-5pm.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The format was pretty much the same as the last season, but now the contestants have been shortened to 8 players.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, and Hey Arnold.

Season 8

The final season premiered on September 22nd, 2003 and lasted until July 2nd, 2004. The final year saw a number of significant changes to format and scheduling. Very few recordings of this season are known to exist. From what is known of this season, the hosts appear much more casual and laid-back compared to previous seasons.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

The Splat Vat was introduced, which was a kind of dunk tank, used for various games with audience members and hosts. There was a call-in segment that ran similarly to the Slime-U-Lator rounds of previous series. Teams for The Big Shaboozie now wore orange and light blue, a change from the red and blue of the previous seasons. The Big Shaboozie was played in a similar way to the first few seasons, home players on the phone competing for their team in studio. This season, questions are asked in a "this-or-that" format. E.g., players might have to decide whether an item is "Desert" or "Dessert." Hosts would alternate each show, with Dave, Jonah, and Jessica all getting a chance to sit above the Splat Vat. At the start of The Big Shaboozie, the host would bank on a team they thought would win. If they chose the wrong team, they would be dropped into the Splat Vat after the winning team was slimed.

SCHEDULE CHANGE & CANCELLATION

Starting October 20th, 2003, STL moved somewhat abruptly to a 7am morning slot. Many cite this move as the beginning of the end for Slime Time. "Breakfast TV" was not an established convention for American children, many of whom were rushing out the door to catch the school bus by 7:30. Predictably, viewership declined. Also during this period, shows were pre-recorded, so the spark and freshness of the live performances decreased. Not much is known about why this significant schedule change was made so abruptly mid-season. It has been conjectured that Nickelodeon's higher-level executives wanted to kill off the show, and doomed its ratings by condemning it to an unfavorable time slot. Others speculate that executives wanted to cultivate a younger audience. Whatever the case, the writing was on the wall, and by spring of 2004, it was clear to the cast and crew that Slime Time Live would not be renewed. On November 26th, 2003 for the finale, the show broke the world record for most people slimed at one time.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats, Rocket Power, The Fairly OddParents, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Summer Slime Live

On August 4th, 2003, Nickelodeon aired Summer Slime Live which was a summer edition of Slime Time Live where it was hosted by Dave Aizer, Jonah Travick and Jessica Holmes of Slime Time Live and Brent Popolizio and Candace Bailey of U-Pick Live with Nickelodeon stars often appearing as co-hosts and it aired until August 29th, 2003.

FORMAT / GAMEPLAY

There are 2 teams of 2 contestants wearing light blue and orange playing games Roboslop, Kamp Itchee Goo-ee, Bobbin' for Bar-B-Q, A Bee in Your Bonnet and Game, Set, Splaaat and solo player games like the Splat Vat where contestants try to dunk Nickelodeon stars by answering questions, Brain Fart where they try to answer 2 questions right or they get blasted in the face, the Slime-U-Lator, which was a feature in Slime Time Live where they get 3 chances to match the 2 nicktoon characters on a gameboard and Drain Yer Brain, which has people looking for one of 4 spouts of slime.

SHOWS AIRED

Regular shows in this season included Rugrats, Hey Arnold and SpongeBob SquarePants. Frequent Nick.com Pick winners included The Amanda Show, All That, Cousin Skeeter, The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Kenan & Kel.

Availability

So far, as of October 2022, only a few full episodes of Slime Time Live and half the episodes of Summer Slime Live have surfaced.