Ok, I can see where you're coming from, but I don't agree with your conclusions. There were a couple of factors that shaped children's programming in the 80s and 90s. I won't really touch on movies. I'm also using my own definition of "dark". I would consider subversive material or material that treated violence…

No? When exactly was the height of PC? I can recall much being made of the "Augh, satanic worship!" but that was a moral panic. I wouldn't consider it the same as the "this is much too frightening for the children".

I'm kind of confused by all the "parents of today would never let this be on the air" comments in the article. Parents of today ARE the kids who watched this special when it originally aired. In fact, I'm amazed networks aren't airing it now for the nostalgia factor. If they did show it, I think there would be far…

He probably gets his bodyguards from the same place Dr. Dre did. Beat the shit/help beat the shit out of people you don't like? Deal!

I feel like they played the Nike ad just a little too straight. If they'd been slightly more self-aware ("Hello police? There's a killer chasing me. Hurry? Ffft, you don't need to hurry."), people would have loved it.

And they hate Illinois nazis

I've got Jake and Elwood. They don't really fulfill black cat sterotypes. They do fulfill Blues Brothers stereotypes which was unplanned and hilarious.

Dude, Jesus is the anti-zombie. We eat of HIS flesh.

I'll also defend Teen Girl Squad, Lil' Brudder and the Homestar Runner made entirely out of AOL CDs. God, that stuff was great.

The constant abuse Strong Sad got put through eventually turned me off Strong Bad emails (I'll admit it, I was pretty much a Strong Sad myself in high school), but I'll defend Cheat Commandos to the end.

The Cheat, we installed that light switch for you to turn the lights on and off, not hold light switch raves.

House of Leaves was an oddly diametric reading experience for me.  I loved all of the scenes about the house and I found Navidson and Green's story really well done.  I actually gasped out loud when the wall opened up behind Karen.

The story creeped me out when I read it, but it creeped me even more when I learned that the author was basically writing about herself.  She got put through one of those "rest cures" for three months and nearly had a breakdown.  She even sent a copy of the story to the doctor who prescribed the rest cure.  He…

Have you any idea how it feels to be a Manbot living in a Fembot's Femputer's world?

Complete the collection, throw Vasily Livanov in there too!

I've read it and felt that it did some really good world-building, particularly the section where Holmes rides into London post-blitz.  He has interesting things to say in the novella, not all of which is conveyed well.
That said, Chabon spends the entire novella playing coy about who the Elderly Detective is and it…

Yeah, there's a whole scene where they kill a girl who'd been mummified alive.  It's extremely traumatic when you're seven.  And if you're me, it's still extremely traumatic when you're in your mid-30s.

Enimem's "Kim" came out when I was in high school and plenty of guys wanted to hear that crap.  But yeah, there are plenty of examples of guy versions of the "you suck and I can do better" theme.  You either need to listen to more music or talk to more guys.

The "adorable" is probably a nod to this video: http://www.avclub.com/artic…

On the other hand, there is The Adventure of the Yellow Face, which was ahead of its time.