7 reasons Amanda Bynes was our ultimate hero in “The Amanda Show”

When we heard The Amanda Show was coming back to Nickelodeon this summer, we danced our little dancing lobster hearts out. ‘90s nostalgia is more popular than ever right now, and the network knows it. Last Friday, The Splat (a programming block on TeenNick), began airing re-runs of Amanda Bynes’s sketch comedy show, along with other throwback goodies like Rugrats, All That, and Rocko’s Modern Life.

The moment we watched the first episode, it all came flooding back to us how much we adored Amanda Bynes back in the ‘90s. It was a love that began when she was on All That, and grew even stronger when she started The Amanda Show. To celebrate her triumphant return to our TVs, here are seven reasons Amanda was our ultimate hero back in the day.

1. She was willing to do anything for a laugh.

Amanda didn’t care about looking weird, whether it was wearing false teeth or sobbing over a slice of pizza. She wanted to make people laugh, and her love of comedy was infectious. Her confidence made her extra cool, and set a great example for kids about to enter their teen years.

2. She played a wide range of characters.

Geek, aristocrat, hillbilly, cheerleader, game show host—you name it, Amanda did it with style.

3. She was an expert at spoofing other TV shows.

Nothing was off limits. Dawson’s Creek became Moody’s Point, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? became So You Want to Win Five Dollars?, Survivor became Stranded, and Judge Judy became Judge Trudy. To this day, all of her parodies are still hilarious.

4. She also expertly spoofed pop culture in general.

Blockbuster became Blockblister, a video rental store with knock-off versions of popular movies. eBay became Lunchbay, a website where you could auction off your lunch. Captain Crunch became Meatloaf Crunch, a cereal that tastes like dinner. Sonny and Cher became Melody and Thad, an inappropriate musical duo.

5. She had super cool friends.

And they were just as funny, wacky, and up-for-anything as Amanda was.

6. She spawned a ton of catchphrases.

Including “Mah-hah!” and “What are the odds of that?” and “Not a problem!” and “I cannot believe I just did that!” and, most famously, “Bring in the dancing lobsters!”

7. Behind the costumes and voices, Amanda was still a kid, just like us.

The Amanda Show was made for kids, and Amanda never lost sight of that. Her show didn’t try to appeal to anyone but her audience. She stayed true to kid humor, even when network executives were probably like, But why dancing lobsters?

Thank you, Amanda, for being one of our ultimate ‘90s heroes. Tune into the Splat to watch The Amanda Show!