Two weeks in to the Jack Vita Show's Greatest Kids Show of the 2000s bracket challenge, the Sweet 16 is set in stone.
All of the classic Nickelodeon shows featured in this bracket can be watched on Paramount Plus. You can get a free one-week trial at the following link: jackvita.com/paramount.
Over 1,600 votes were collected from the past week and the people have spoken. Like round one, a high percentage of the round of 32's match-ups were not close. Just three of the week's 16 showdowns were decided by 10 votes or fewer. However, the three that were close were instant classics. Let's get to the scoreboard.
#1 Hannah Montana 58, #9 What's New, Scooby Doo? 57 — The South Region's number one seed found itself trailing early to the 2000s Scooby Doo reboot, whose fans felt disrespected by the low seed the show received. After over a dozen lead changes, WNSD? led late with just a half hour left. Hannah Montana was on track to be the first 1 seed bounced from the tourney, until some late campaigning from Hannah Montana backers swung the polls at the buzzer. Here's how close this thing was: I had tallied all of the votes from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with just three minutes remaining and it was a straight 57-57 tie. I was preparing for a tie-breaker situation, where I cast the lone tie-breaker vote to determine who advances and who goes home. Within the final two and a half minutes, Hannah Montana received a last second vote that put it ahead and it would determine the entire round. It truly was a buzzer-beater. Somewhere, One Shining Moment is playing in the background.
Despite struggling with a second round match-up, Hannah Montana fans proved to be a force to be reckoned with. HM backers were sharing the Instagram polls on their own individual Instagram stories, and calling in help from their friends. Make no mistake about it, Hannah Montana is going to be a very tough out for any show it faces.
#6 Rocket Power 56, #3 That's So Raven 50 — Heading into the tourney, the performance of Rocket Power was one of the toughest items for me to predict. Inspired by the explosion of extreme sports in the late 90s and early 2000s, the series is wonderfully emblematic of the early 2000s and is an excellent representative of the shows in this bracket. But would its style be too dated for voters in the year 2020? As millennials battled Gen-Zers once again in a generational clash, the millennials stood their ground for the surprisingly victory. This sets up a very intriguing Sweet 16 battle between Rocket Power and Rugrats, both of which were created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, and share similar animation styles.
#3 Fairly Odd Parents 52, Suite Life of Zack and Cody 45 — Close one, but I didn't really have a dog in this fight and I don't have many thoughts. Who would have predicted that both of Ashley Tisdale's shows would be sent packing before the Sweet 16? Not me. At least she will likely have better luck when we inevitably do a GOAT Disney Channel Original Movie bracket!
#10 Avatar: The Last Airbender 60, #2 Powerpuff Girls 49 — Avatar had great voter turnout once again and knocked out Powerpuff Girls in the bracket's biggest upset thus far. Avatar continues to gain momentum and prepares for a big time duel with Hey Arnold! later this week.
#1 Arthur 66, #9 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide 52 — Arthur looked invincible after its first round dismantilization of Little Bill, but after beating Ned's by just 14, I'm beginning to feel less confident in the PBS classic. It will have its work cut out for itself against Blue's Clues.
#2 Lizzie McGuire 55, VeggieTales 40 — Unfortunately for Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, the veggies just couldn't contain Lizzie McGuire, who scored at will. At one point it got so ugly that a hungry Ethan Craft threatened to snack on Archibald Asparagus, but thankfully Gordo was there to stop him.
#5 Blue's Clues 67, #4 Kenan & Kel 40 — I could tell Kenan & Kel wasn't going to last very long after it struggled against Cory in the House. Conversely, Blue's Clues is establishing itself as a title contender and Arthur will have its hands full in the Sweet 16.
#6 iCarly 67, #3 Even Stevens 40 — Similar to how Kenan & Kel barely got out of the first round, the writing was on the wall for Even Stevens entering this match-up. Still, this one disappoints me.
#5 Kim Possible 60, #13 Ed, Edd n Eddy 31 — Following Ed, Edd n Eddy's surprising first round upset over Phineas & Ferb, its next Disney oppponent was just too much for EE&E to contain. Keep an eye on Rufus the naked mole-rat, who could prove to be an X-factor in the Sweet 16 vs. Spongebob.
#2 The Amanda Show 76, #10 Dexter's Lab 39 — The Amanda Show continues to dominate the early rounds of the tournament. While the series' title isn't mentioned much in the year 2020, I still hear several references to the show's classic sketches quite frequently in my daily life. Whether it's "Amanda please!", "Bring in the dancing lobsters!", Totally Kyle, Tony Pajamas, Blockblister or Moody's Point, this show left an imprint on 2000s kids culture that remains lasting to this day, and is very well-deserving of this Sweet 16 spot.
#3 Hey Arnold! 73, #6 The Wild Thornberrys 32 — In a battle of two major 2000s Nicktoons, Hey Arnold! took the cake. It's unfortunate these two shows never combined for a crossover. I would have loved to see Helga Pataki and Nigel Thornberry on the screen together. Can we just salute Nigel while we're here? One of the greatest (and most bizarre) Nick characters ever.
#2 Rugrats 74, #10 Clifford the Big Red Dog 33 — The show that got a crossover film with The Wild Thornberrys is sitting pretty after its commanding victory over Clifford the Big Red Dog.
#4 Zoey 101 83, #5 Sesame Street 33 — Big Bird and the gang delivered one of the most resounding victories in round one, but Zoey 101 was a different animal. Jamie Lynn Spears and friends will be riding their Jet-X's straight to the Sweet 16.
#5 Adventures of Jimmy Neutron 84, #4 All That 22 — Jimmy Neutron unleashed another beating, this time on its round two opponent. The series is looking like a serious contender. Despite All That seemingly being the more iconic and impactful sketch show of the 90s and 2000s, The Amanda Show has been significantly more popular among the bracket's voters. It's quite surprising, but understandable.
#1 Drake & Josh 96, #9 Phil of the Future 9 — Sorry Phil. I really am. Your show was fun, but you were set up to fail with this second round match-up. D&J has been untouchable thus far.
And with that, we have our Sweet 16 matches set. Voting will resume on Tuesday and continue throughout the week. You can vote at my following social media handles. Make sure you are following along, checking this website and tuning in to the podcast!
Facebook - facebook.com/jackvitashow
Twitter - @JackVitaShow
Instagram- @jackvitashow
Here are my endorsements for the Elite Eight.
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