Victorious’ comeback reminds us of its impact

Photo courtesy of Gamerscore Blog, Flickr

First airing in March 2010, the Nickelodeon hit show “Victorious” shined on every kid’s TV. The show became an instant hit, filled with music, humor, friendships, love and a talented cast. 

“Victorious,” only consisting of 57 episodes, plus a 90-minute crossover special with “iCarly,” “iParty with Victorious,” has received several awards, including 5 Kid Choice Awards and one Hollywood Teen TV Award for Favorite Television Actress (Ariana Grande). Though the show ended in 2013, “Victorious” has remained relevant and enjoyable to kids and teens all over. 

After years of waiting, on Friday, Nov. 1, the Nickelodeon classic was added to Netflix. Fans all over were Freaking the Freak Out, and they were sure to share their excitement all over social media. 

Stars from the show expressed their gratitude on Twitter, thanking their supportive fans. 

Leon Thomas III, who played Andrè, tweeted, “Shout out to everyone watching victorious on @Netflix. We really appreciate the continued support.” 

Lead Victoria Justice also shared a variety of throwback photos from the set in celebration of the Netflix release, and the rest of the cast left loving comments. 

Along with the initial joy and praise for the opportunity to binge the show, the internet was quick to turn “Victorious” into a major meme and topic of discussion. 

Since most of the viewers of “Victorious” were between the ages of 8-13 while the show was still on air, rewatching the show during adulthood has brought up several observations. 

It is clear that the writers of the hit show included a variety of inappropriate innuendos, along with just some fairly odd scenes or phrases. As a kid watching the show, these jokes and instances most likely went over their heads. But now as adults, looking back on the fairly crude episodes are causing some to question how these writers got away with their actions, and it makes sense as to why some parents would not let their kids watch the show. 

Dirty jokes are in almost every episode, along with very uncomfortable scenes. 

A particular episode that has sparked concern is season one’s “Sleepover at Sikowitz’s.” On Netflix, the episode description reads, “Sikowitz invites the gang to have a sleepover at his house in order to teach them a lesson in method acting.” 

Sikowitz, a high school male teacher, invites six 16-year-old students to his home for an overnight challenge in which they must dress and play as a particular character the whole night, or they will be forced to leave. As kids, this seemed like a fun improv game outside of school hours. However, the entire scenario is extremely unorthodox and possibly alluding to the concerns of teacher-student relations. 

Furthermore, outspoken – and frankly, disappointed – fans are raising the question, “can they all really sing?” 

Victoria Justice had the starring role as Tori Vega, putting the “Tori” in “Victorious.” She was always the lead in the school plays, the primary singer in all of the songs and ultimately treated as the biggest star on earth. This character execution has upset fans, claiming that Jade (Liz Gillies), Cat (Ariana Grande) and the other male characters deserved better recognition and performance opportunities. 

All of the other cast members have exhibited powerful performances that have surpassed the talent of Tori, yet Tori still ended up on top. 

Fans are using Tik Tok, Twitter and other social media platforms to recreate scenes, make up new jokes, praise the rest of the cast and put down Tori. “Victorious” is bringing a community of people together who can all enjoy the show and sing along to the hit songs together. 

Overall, whether you’re watching Victorious on repeat as a dedicated fan, for the first time or simply just to admire Beck (Avan Jogia), the show continues to impact and grow with our generation, always reminding us to “Make It Shine.” 

 

emelvin@ramapo.edu