u/zwewz

I was talking with my brother the other day about old YTV shows we used to watch after school, and out of nowhere Shuriken School came up. I feel like almost nobody ever brings this one up on here compared to stuff like Martin Mystery, Stickin' Around, or ReBoot, but it was honestly such a gem.

What made every single episode so fun was just how chaotic the plots were for what was basically a middle school setting. Every week, Katana School was hatching some ridiculous scheme to humiliate Shuriken School or steal their secret scrolls, and the stakes always felt absurdly high for a bunch of kids. You’d have episodes where Eizan, Okuni, and Jimmy had to survive a surprise exam in the middle of a spooky forest, track down a stolen jade artifact, or stop Katana School from outright buying out their campus.

The action was so good because Eizan wasn't even some natural-born prodigy—he was just a regular kid who kept figuring out how to turn everyday junk into ninja gear. Watching him outsmart rival students using a pair of chopsticks, an old wooden spoon, or a bento box made every fight scene so satisfying. And the awful disguises they came up with whenever they had to sneak into Katana School were completely unhinged, but somehow always worked.

Plus, the teachers added so much energy to the storylines. You had the principal constantly hiding in tiny cupboards, the school cleaning lady secretly being the most lethal martial artist on campus, and Jimmy B with his afro acting like he was starring in a 70s action movie. The animation style was super distinct too, kind of that mid-2000s French-Spanish co-pro style that had a totally different vibe from standard American cartoons.

It aired right around 2006 I think? Perfect era where you'd get off the school bus in Grade 7, throw your backpack on the front hallway floor, grab a bowl of Kraft Dinner, and turn on The Zone before even thinking about doing homework. The theme song was way catchier than it had any right to be, too.

Now I'm sitting here slacking off on a Friday afternoon, looking up old clips on YouTube instead of actually finishing up my work week. Anyone else watch this back in the day, or was it just my house?

I still remember the way the living room used to feel on those weeknights.

The house would settle into that particular quiet that only happens after dinner, when the kitchen light is still on but nobody’s really using it anymore. Outside, the streetlights would just be flickering to life, and somewhere in the background the furnace would kick in with that soft, familiar whoosh. I’d already claimed the good spot on the couch, remote in hand, waiting for the YTV logo to finish its little spin and the next bumper to roll.

And then Smallville would start.

There was something about watching it on that channel that made it feel different. Not like it belonged to some distant American network, but like it was ours for an hour. The picture quality wasn’t perfect. Sometimes the colours leaned a little warm, the way old cable used to. But none of that mattered. What mattered was Clark Kent walking those dusty Smallville roads, shoulders hunched under the weight of everything he couldn’t say out loud yet. The red jacket. The quiet intensity in Tom Welling’s eyes. The way the music would swell just a little whenever he looked at Lana like she was the only person on the planet who might understand him.

I was the right age for it. Old enough to feel the ache of not quite fitting, young enough to still believe that maybe one day the secrets you carried would turn into something powerful instead of something that isolated you. Every episode felt like it was speaking directly to the kid sitting cross-legged on the carpet, remote balanced on one knee, pretending not to care as much as they did.

Lex was still his friend then. That part still gets me. The slow, almost gentle tragedy of watching two boys who needed each other start to become the people who would one day destroy each other. You could feel it coming, even when the show was still playing it light. And YTV never treated it like background noise. It sat there in the evening schedule like it belonged, right alongside the shows that raised us. For a little while, Superman’s origin story lived in the same place as our after-school cartoons and weekend marathons.

I don’t know if kids today will ever understand what it meant to wait for something like that. No queue, no algorithm, just the quiet agreement that at a certain time the television would become a portal. You’d sit there and let the story wash over you, and when the credits rolled you’d feel a little older, a little more complicated, and somehow still safe.

I miss that version of the world. The one where Smallville could air on YTV and feel like it was speaking our language. Where a farm boy with a secret could make a whole generation of Canadian kids believe that the things that made them different might one day be the things that saved someone.

Some nights I still put an old episode on, just to hear that theme again. The living room is quieter now. The streetlights outside look the same. And for forty-odd minutes, I’m right back there — remote in hand, heart a little too full, watching Clark Kent try to figure out who he’s supposed to become.

I was sitting in my living room watching the rain hit the window, when out of absolute nowhere that iconic narrator voice echoed in my head:

"This is a true story, and it happened to a friend of a friend of mine..."

Instantly, I was eight years old again, sitting cross-legged on the carpet in my fleece pajamas after school, staring at our old box TV while the YTV logo bounced across the screen.

Does anyone else remember the absolute magical, eerie comfort of Freaky Stories?

Whether you were watching from a chilly suburban basement in Ontario, cozying up in a living room out on the Prairies in Alberta, or tuning in down in Nova Scotia, you know the exact vibe I am talking about. You come home from elementary school, toss your backpack and slushy winter boots by the front door, grab a bowl of Kraft Dinner or a pack of Dunkaroos, and turn on the tube. And then, right in the middle of the afternoon or during those legendary Dark Night Halloween marathons, you were greeted by Larry de Bug and Maurice the Maggot sitting in a booth at Ted’s Diner.

Two animatronic puppet bugs hanging out at a diner counter hosting an anthology series about urban myths. On paper, it sounds totally absurd, but in reality, it was pure Canadian TV magic. Larry in his little trench coat had so much charm, and Maurice was delightfully gross in the most lovable way possible.

What made Freaky Stories so special to me as a kid was how much artistic credit it gave us. It leaned into spooky urban legends without ever talking down to us or being overly sanitized. The animation styles shifted constantly between segments—one story would look like a gritty comic book, the next like sketchy watercolors, cutout paper, or surreal claymation.

And the stories! I swear half of my childhood paranoia came directly from this show, but I was completely obsessed:

- The girl who refused to wash her hair and ended up with a nest of spiders hatching in her beehive hairdo (I spent weeks checking my scalp in the bathroom mirror after that one).

- The family that brought home a potted cactus from a nursery, noticed a weird buzzing noise inside, and watched it burst open with baby tarantulas.

- The family that thought they adopted a hairless Mexican pet, only to discover at the vet that it was actually a giant sewer rat.

- The classic lovers' lane story with the bloody hook hanging off the car door handle.

And of course, Larry’s ultimate sign-off line at the end of every single episode: "Just because they never happened, doesn't mean they ain't true."

Looking back on it now as a woman in my early thirties, I get genuinely emotional thinking about that golden era of YTV. It wasn't just a channel; it felt like a secret, slightly weird club made specifically for kids across the provinces and territories. Shows like Freaky Stories embraced the eccentric, the creepy, and the wildly creative.

Does anyone else still quote this show randomly in conversation? Which urban legend segment permanently burned itself into your brain as a kid? I would love to reminisce with you all.

I was making a tea earlier and out of nowhere the Mona the Vampire theme song popped into my head, and man, the wave of nostalgia hit me hard.

Growing up, there was nothing quite like kicking off your slushy boots at the front door after school, freezing cold, and flopping down right on the living room carpet in front of the TV. YTV back then was just elite, but Mona was something special.

What I loved most about her was how she made everyday, boring kid life feel like this huge, shadowy adventure. She’d look at a weirdly shaped potato or a grumpy substitute teacher and instantly build a whole supernatural conspiracy around it with Charley and Lily. It made me look at my own neighborhood completely differently. I swear half of us spent at least one fall running around the backyard with a bath towel clipped around our shoulders pretending to hunt local monsters. And can we talk about Fang? Best animated cat ever, hands down.

Life moves so fast these days, but thinking about those quiet, chilly afternoons with a mug of hot chocolate, completely wrapped up in Mona’s cozy little spooky world, just makes my heart feel warm. It was such a sweet, innocent time to be a kid.

Just wanted to drop a little love for a show that gave so many of us the best memories growing up. Hope everyone is having a great afternoon out there.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been a huge fan of the animated series The Kids from Room 402 since childhood. Many years ago, back when the show was actively airing on television, I used to sit with a paper notebook and write down the names of the episodes along with my impressions of each one.

Recently, I found that old notebook in the basement of our house, and a huge wave of pleasant memories covered me. Flipping through the pages, I came across a list of my absolute favorite episodes from the series:

• Welcome to Safety Corner
• The One Man Committee
• The Arthur Kenneth Vanderwall Library
• Free Lunch
• The Girl in the Plastic Bubble
• Mercury in Retrograde
• The Low Sodium, Adult Swim Only, Early Bird Summer Vacation

The problem is that I cannot find the episodes listed above in the original English audio anywhere online.

I know that many people in the community recorded live TV broadcasts of The Kids from Room 402 on cassettes/VHS tapes back in the day (from Fox Kids, Fox Family, or Teletoon).

Maybe some of you happen to have these specific episodes stored away in your tape collection or private digital archives in the original English audio? I would be infinitely grateful if you could share them or point me toward a source!

Important note: I am already aware that all episodes of this series are available with Russian and Romanian dubbing. However, I don't understand those languages—English is my native language, so I am specifically looking for these episodes in the original English audio only. Please do not offer links, files, or suggestions for other languages or dubs!

Thank you so much to anyone who can check their old tapes or help out!

Hey everyone,

I’m so glad a space like this exists. Looking back, Teletoon was such a massive part of my life, but if I had to pick the one show that completely stole my heart—and still holds it to this day—it’s absolutely The Kids from Room 402. There was just something so special, so comforting, and so hilariously real about that classroom.

As a massive fan, there is one specific episode that lives rent-free in my head and always brings back the warmest wave of nostalgia: "The Half-Wit".

I’m sure some of you remember the plot, but it just pure gold: Jesse is desperate to be the funniest kid in class, so he memorizes an entire joke book of insults. It actually works so well that he lands an invite to Mary-Ellen's birthday party! But, of course, disaster strikes when he runs out of book jokes and tries to improvise his own material. Meanwhile, Arthur loses his ring and takes a job at the Lost and Found office with Polly and Mr. Besser just to find it. He brilliantly tricks Polly into leaving so he can keep all the lost treasures for himself. It’s such a classic, brilliant episode that perfectly captures why we all loved these characters.

Here is why I'm writing this: I have been searching everywhere, but I absolutely cannot find this specific episode anywhere in its original English audio.

I know there are Russian, Romanian, and other foreign dubs floating around the internet, but I don't understand those languages. For me, the magic of the show is tied entirely to those original voice actors we grew up listening to. It breaks my heart a little that such a masterpiece of an episode feels so out of reach right now.

I wanted to reach out to this amazing community to see if anyone out there happens to have an old recording, a digital file, or a safe link to this episode in English. It would honestly mean the absolute world to me. I would be endlessly, incredibly grateful if someone could share it and help me unlock this core childhood memory again.

Thank you all so much for reading, and for keeping the classic Teletoon spirit alive! ✨

I’ve been feeling incredibly nostalgic lately, and my mind kept drifting back to the early 2000s YTV lineup. Does anyone else remember running to the TV to watch Jacob Two-Two?

Growing up, that show was an absolute staple for me, and looking back, I realize just how deeply it resonated with me as a little girl.

Being small in a big world can feel so overwhelming when you're a kid. Jacob had to say everything twice just to be heard by his big family and the adults around him, and as a little girl, I felt that so deeply. It was the first time I saw a character who captured exactly what it felt like to be overlooked or misunderstood, but who still had the biggest heart and the bravest spirit.

The show just had this beautiful, slightly quirky, and comforting energy. From the brilliant, slightly chaotic Montreal-inspired setting to the incredible theme song and the comforting bond Jacob had with his friends and his dad, it felt like a safe little haven after a day at school. Jacob proved that you don't have to have the loudest voice to be a hero or to make a difference, and that's a lesson that has stayed with me all the way into adulthood. It genuinely remains one of my absolute favorite animated series to this day.

I'd love to take a trip down memory lane with you all—which character from the show was your absolute favorite growing up, and what made them stand out to you?

Hey YTVretro crew!

Since YTV aired both of these legendary anime back in the day — Naruto and Dragon Ball — I’ve been thinking about which one hit harder for you. Which one did you consider better or more exciting overall, and why? Was it the epic battles, the character growth, the humor, the story arcs, or just the pure nostalgia of catching them on TV after school?

To get the discussion going, here are a couple of the greatest lines that still live rent-free in my head:

From Naruto:
“I’m not gonna run away. I never go back on my word! That’s my Nindo: my ninja way!” — Naruto Uzumaki

From Dragon Ball:
“It’s over 9000!!!” — Vegeta (the line that broke the internet before the internet was even a thing)
or
“I would rather be a brainless monkey than a heartless monster.” — Goku

Drop your thoughts below! Which anime is your favorite, and why do you think so? Was Naruto’s underdog spirit and friendships more your vibe, or did Dragon Ball’s over-the-top fights and Saiyan pride win you over? Let’s hear your hot takes, childhood memories, and favorite episodes!

(Feel free to share screenshots, clips, or old YTV memories too!)

Hi everyone,

I received a class-action settlement payout from Facebook on a virtual Disbursement Prepaid Mastercard.

I want to use this virtual card to buy some items on AliExpress, but I know the platform can be highly sensitive with prepaid/virtual cards and security flags.

• Has anyone here tried using this exact disbursement card on AliExpress?
• Did the payment go through smoothly, or did it get declined/trigger an Alipay security appeal?

(Note: I will make sure the billing address is registered and matches on the card portal before trying, but I wanted to see if the card BIN itself is blocked or accepted by Ali first).

Thanks for any insights!

This melody, which I grabbed from a Naruto season 1 episode, is very beautiful and rare.

It is impossible to find it in a pure form, without the background speech of the Naruto characters.

Does anybody know why such a beautiful melody was never included in either the official or unofficial Naruto soundtracks?

It's such a shame that diamonds like these do not exist in a pure form!

I don't know how many of you remember curling up in front of the TV after school to catch Redwall on YTV, but if you did, you know exactly what I'm talking about. This show was something truly special, and it honestly baffles me to this day that it doesn't get brought up more when people talk about the great animated series of that era.

Based on Brian Jacques' magnificent book series, Redwall brought to life a richly detailed world populated entirely by woodland creatures—brave mice, wise badgers, and villains so deliciously menacing they gave you actual chills as a kid. Cluny the Scourge, anyone? That rat was terrifying in the absolute best way possible.

What really set Redwall apart from everything else airing at the time was its sheer ambition. It had genuine dramatic weight, a sweeping orchestral score, and storylines that never talked down to the audience. It felt epic. It felt like watching a high-fantasy novel come to life—because that’s exactly what it was.

YTV gave us a ton of great content during those years, but Redwall was quietly one of the finest gems on the channel. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and track it down. And if you grew up with it, trust me: it absolutely holds up.

Here's to the defenders of Redwall Abbey. 🗡️🐭