B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping Discovery Kids into the ol’ VCR. 

Friends, I want to take you back to a magical time. The year? 2002. 

A 10-year-old Baillee was carefree (well, not exactly, but more so). 

She sat down to see what new channels were available with her family’s new-fangled cable box. 

And lo and behold, she discovered something incredible: Discovery Kids. 

Okay, so I can’t tell you the EXACT time I started watching Discovery Kids, but it was an integral part of my childhood along with The N and other lineups. 

Discovery Kids wasn’t as heavy a hitter as The N, and it didn’t boast as many offerings as bigger networks, but there was something special about it. 

Discovery Kids fit perfectly within the zeitgeist because it checked all of the boxes for a memorable lineup: 

• A supernatural teen show 
• Shows for the girls and gays 
• Battle of the Sexes reality TV 
• Educational cartoons disguised under weird premises 

They even had Sara Paxton, which calls for a bonus point. 

Video source: BB’s Dolls & TV Archive

If you aren’t familiar with Discovery Kids, here’s a really quick primer: 

Discovery Kids originally started on NBC as their version of One Saturday Morning all the way back in 2002. Over a four-year period, Discovery Kids would continue to expand its programming to around 15 shows throughout its tenure. 

Most of these shows lasted for two to three years, with an unfortunate number only lasting for a season or year. 

Discovery Kids only lasted as a programming block for around three years before their contract was severed with NBC. 

I personally don’t ever remember watching it on NBC but rather its own channel. I couldn’t find a lot about the dedicated channel, but here we are. 

Video source: RebelToonz

While I’ve mentioned that Discovery Kids had 15-ish shows during its time, there are six big shows that live rent free in my head: 

• Tutenstein 
• Darcy’s Wild Life 
• The Saddle Club 
• Kenny the Shark 
• Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls
• Strange Days at Blake Holsey High 

In all sincerity, the theme songs to Kenny the Shark and Darcy’s Wild Life STILL pop into my head occasionally. 

It still makes me giggle to think that Noah Reid, aka Patrick Brewer, was a lead on Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. 

I will still admit that the only time I considered being a horse girl was when watching The Saddle Club. 

It’s so funny how these little shows plant themselves in our memories and take us back to a simpler time. 

It’s like they sit there and wait for us to think about them, so they can still give us comfort. 

And yes, I am saying that a cartoon about a resurrected mummy is making me misty-eyed, thank you.

Video source: Tutenstein – Official Channel

I digress. 

Discovery Kids didn’t have the longest tenure, but it definitely had a long-lasting impact on this here pop culture writer. 

You can find clips and episodes around the internet, but as I’ve said before, it’s not the same. 

However, it’s nice to know that whenever I want to take a walk on the wild side, my old friends are there waiting for me.