Stick Sticcly

Stick Stickly may be one of the least creative characters ever made, but he still holds a very special place in the hearts of 90s children for his several years of hosting Nick in the Afternoon. Most information on Stick Stickly says he hosted Nickelodeon's summer afternoon block from 1995-1998, but I always swore that I remembered seeing him on TV earlier than that.

I thought I was crazy for quite a while, but recently I found a small fan-site for Stick Stickly that mentioned him hosting a 1993 afternoon block during the school year called Afternoon Snack with Stick Stickly. To my joy, the website even had videos of Stickly's segments. I watched one marked "First Ever Stick Stickly Appearance."

Stick Stickly was in front of a chalkboard with Afternoon Snack written on it in normal writing. His design was a little different; his eyes were smaller, he had no nose, and his mouth was a straight line instead of being curved into a smile. He made a couple of corny jokes, then said Rugrats was coming up. The video ended at that point. I watched the next one - there were six of them and none had dates, but I could only assume they were in chronological order. The second one was called "Stick Gets Injured."

Stick Stickly had the same face from the first video, but his body seemed a little worn; there were a few splinters sticking out of his side. His full dialogue:

"Well, the dog next door buried me, but I managed to get it, the show you all voted to see! Hey Dude is up next, and don't forget to send in your post cards to vote for the special guest show you want to see! And remember, that address is..."

He sang the classic song about writing to him, but the tune was different than in later versions - much slower. After he sang the song, he just stood motionless for a few minutes before the video ended.

The third was called "Hang Stick." Stick Stickly was hanging in the air by a piece of string tied around his waist. A little boy who looked about five was also there, and the chalkboard had six dashes on it, representing a six-letter Hangman word. The kid was guessing letters and each time he got one wrong, the string around Stick's waist would move higher. The game would be over when it reached Stick's "neck."

The kid kept guessing letters and when the rope was one incorrect guess from Stick's neck, the letters filled in were C_NDLE. It was obvious what the word was, but the kid wasn't taking the game very seriously. Giggling, he guessed x. The rope moved to Stick's neck and his eyes flashed out of existence and were replaced by two X's. There was no sound for about thirty seconds; the kid stared at Stick's "body." Then, Stick's eyes flashed back to normal and he laughed, said he was fine and that Wild and Crazy Kids was on next.

The fourth video was called "Stick Quits." Stick was ranting about something that presumably happened in a segment the site didn't have a video of, saying no one respected him, that he was treated like a toothpick, how his father was a mighty ship, and complaining about how the dog kept burying him. The complaints seemed like jokes, but his tone was more serious than you'd expect. A little kid appeared - not the same as in video three - and told Stick that all the children loved him. Stick was silent for quite a while, then sighed and said he would stay. He reminded us to vote in the guest show contest again and said it was time for Rugrats.

The fifth video was marked "Stick Gets Mad (No Sound)." Like the description said, it was silent. Stick was moving very quickly, with body language indicating he was yelling. A little girl was cowering from him, clearly afraid. The girl eventually left and Stick just faced the screen; his animation was so simple that I couldn't tell if he was talking.

The sixth video was called "The Winner Revealed." Stick had a dark red stain on the top of his head, and one of his eyes was an X. Stick made no mention of his appearance and announced that the votes were in. It was time for the special guest show to air. His last bit of dialogue:

"It's been a long contest and the vote was close, but you, the kids, have decided! Coming right now, the classic you voted for, Candle Cove!"

That's it! A disappointing ending!