Being the parent of a three year old has opened my eyes to so many television shows and forms of entertainment that I may have otherwise missed.

It’s such a shame that the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana gets all the attention as THE popular kids’ show these days, because, well, have you ever watched it? It’s awful…the “acting”, the ridiculous storylines, and the painfully scripted and unfunny “comedy”. Ugh.

Nickelodeon is where it’s at for awesome kid comedy. Two of Quinn’s (and our) favorite shows are iCarly and Drake & Josh. Drake & Josh isn’t actually on anymore, but we always watch reruns (usually sandwiched between episodes of Spongebob Squarepants), and iCarly’s new season just started. While the acting on these shows isn’t top notch, it’s much more natural than the overexaggerated tripe on Hannah Montana, and the actors and characters are much more likeable. And these shows are FUNNY! I’ll even go on record to say that they’re better than Saved by the Bell, a show of a very similar genre from my generation.

iCarly stars Miranda Cosgrove (she got her start as the band’s manager in School of Rock with Jack Black) as a teenager who lives with her older brother and runs a mega-popular webshow with her friends. iCarly.com actually exists as a real website, and is basically a companion to the show, which is pretty clever.

Drake & Josh stars Josh Peck (now a fairly accomplished actor after his role in the critically praised The Wackness) and Drake Bell as best friends who become step-brothers when their parents get married. They have wacky misadventures, usually involving their younger sister (again, played by Miranda Cosgrove).

Because these are so popular at home, I included the theme songs on a mix CD I made for our recent trip to Lancaster, PA. For the first two hours of the trip home, Quinn asked to first hear the Drake & Josh theme, followed by the iCarly theme, repeatedly. And we love them so much, we gladly obliged.

Here is the video for the iCarly theme Leave it All to Me, as performed by Miranda Cosgrove:

And the video for the Drake & Josh theme Found a Way, as performed by Drake Bell:

Tags: 00s movies, 00s tv, 80s tv, 90s tv, disney channel, drake & josh, drake & josh theme song, drake bell, found a way, hannah montana, iCarly, iCarly theme song, jack black, josh peck, kid's music, kid's shows, lancaster, leave it all to me, miley cyrus, miranda cosgrove, mix CD, nickelodeon, school of rock, spongebob squarepants, the wackness