I swear I’ve typed some of this before, but I can’t find the thread and it bears repeating in any case. Cartoon Network has the best ads and “filler” programming, ever.
They’re currently running a series where they take scenes from old cartoons and bleep out random words to make it sound like the characters are swearing. It’s totally obvious, lowest-common-denominator humor. And it cracks me up every damn time. BATMAN: Grodd has done an excellent job of f[BEEP]ing us, Robin.
My other favorites:
[ul][li]Jinx the cat riding his big wheel down the halls of a hotel, finding Pixie and Dixie at the end, staring at him. “Come play with us, Jinxie.”[/li][li]The Wonder Twins’ public-service announcement where Jan finally realizes his superpower is lame. “I could get beaten by a sponge! It wouldn’t even have to be an evil sponge!”[/li][li]Speed Buggy and Jabberjaw talking about how they feel accepted at the network. “I’m a car with a tongue! I’m a car that can lick things!”[/li][li]Fred Flintstone, Thundarr the Barbarian, and Chicken carpooling and trying to find a parking space. “Wise Papa Smurf, corrupted by his own power! Can no leader go untainted?”[/li][li]The Toonami promo where Moltar referred to the “Sailor Moon”/“Powerpuff Girls” block as “one full hour of all-girl action!”[/li][li]And my favorite, the “Whiners Can Be Losers” Legion of Doom bit. “Solomon Grundy want pants too!”[/li][/ul]
I keep sending obsessive fan e-mails to the network asking if they’re ever planning to release this stuff on video or DVD, but no response. I guess they still serve their purpose, as I watch the network even when the programming itself is awful (which is frequently). And I’m not even a stoner!
Sorry, I can only stand so much “Ed, Edd & Eddy” or “Dexter’s Lab” or “Powerpuff girls…” before I throw up. The only good thing about that channel is they play old MErrie Melodies occasionally…
Although my favorite still is “My Best Friend Plank.” It is simply perfect. I’ve never seen anything capture the style of late 70s early 80s Sesame Street bits so perfectly.
I wish I had a much better computer system so I could go ahead and capture it all.
I even like a lot of their ‘regular’ original programming. OK, I got burned out on Powerpuff Girls when they were hyping the movie last summer, but I love Dexter and Johnny Bravo and Time Squad.
Regarding their 'tweener programming, there’s a video about Quick Draw MacGraw that’s excellent, and there used to be a bit about the Superfriends going to a movie that gave a wonderful sense of just how annoying they’d be to hang out with (‘More small bills!? Those take time to count…time we haven’t got! This calls for a twenty!’)
Although I love Adult Swim and the fillers/bumpers are often brilliant (that Pixie and Dixie Shining bit was perfect), I can’t share the same enthusiasm for most of their programming. Anime makes my teeth itch. Their original shows are just awful. And whatever happened to the reruns of the Batman and Superman animated series?
However, despite all those complaints, Cartoon Network is my favorite channel, for two reasons: Futurama and Home Movies.
I always liked the ESPN’ish filler commercial with Aquaman complaining that Fred Flintstone gets more vacation time than he.
And the Wonder Twin ones are just rolling on the floor hilarious. The one where they try to save the two kids in the stolen helicopter (or plane?) and the kids freak out when they see a talking eagle and a bucket of purple water and crash into a mountain. Too funny
I don’t get to watch CN as often as I used to, but I’m still a fan of Johnny Bravo and Dexter and Time Squad, but I always find the time to catch Adult Swim. Sealab 2021, Home Movies, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force keep me in stitches. The episodes of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law in which they recycle so many of the old Hanna Barberra characters, to me, more than makes up for the inane drivel HB pushed on us as legitimate cartoons throughout the 70’s and 80’s.
Oh. And Ripping Friends is the worst cartoon ever.
“I call that my ‘aquatic telepathy’. Heh-heh-heh.”
“A five-dollar bill won’t buy popcorn and drinks for all of us… This calls for… a twenty!”
“But those credits are rolling… and fast!”
“Can’t… move… feet stuck… to floor!”
One of the videos they used to show frequently had a remix of the Superfriends theme with completely nonsensical scenes from the show (including Wonder Woman smiling, with a mouse on her shoulder).
And I saw that they’ve finally put up some of the clips on the official website! They’re in the evil RealVideo format, but at least it’s a start…
It’s rather sad when the promos and bumpers on a channel are better than the programming. The promos are very good, and it’s great that they have shows for Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, but their original programming stinks (N.B., I haven’t caught Adult Swim yet, so that’s not included).
I don’t watch nearly as much as I did 2 years ago (even though the programming is better). Too many distraction keeping from some good stuff.
Anyways, I always like their Toonami techno “music videos.” Where they would take a theme, such as space, and create a montage of clips from various Toonami shows set to some techno music. A collection of those trailers would be cool to have as well.
A Toonami channel would be excellent but I’m doubting Cartoon Network would do that soon because their ratings would drop. They need a bigger backlog of Toonami shows that have already aired and left rotation. That way CN keeps they newest and best anime for themselves and gives all the old Toonami shows new airtime on a new channel.
An anime channel produced by someone else would be a completely different story, but many of the Toonami favorites would not be on it.
It occurs to me when I read this thread and see people saying that the programming stinks, that for it’s intended audience it does pretty well.
It’s a channel entirely dedicated to cartoons. Originally, and probably still, it is focused toward children. In that respect, of course a lot of the cartoons are going to be dumb to adults, and I think we forget that.
It has, however, connected, with several cartoons and shows like Adult Swim, to an adult audience. Certain shows have appeal to both audiences, and when you think about how difficult it must be to find shows like that, I think CN has an excellent track record.
On the other hand though, I do wonder at times just who is approving some of the shows they air.
The New Masters of the Universe and the original G.I. Joe episodes? Throw in Ripping Friends and I’m convinced that there are two separate departments in two different countries, without any means of communication, responsible for approving shows that get aired.
ADV apparently has a channel in the works. I doubt it’s going to ever be picked up by anybody I’m likely to see, though. They certainly have a large enough catalog for it.
I disagree I think that some of their original programming is simply brilliant as well. The original Dexter’s Lab had some of the slyest, funniest episodes I’ve ever seen. The one where he mutates his taste buds in order to eat greens but instead sets his greens appreciation through the roof become some Hulk like creature who says stuff like “Don’t make me hungry, you wont like me when I’m hungry.” just makes me roll on the floor.
And Ed, Edd and Eddy I didn’t like at first. Just didn’t get it. It was annoying and just plain wierd. But it used to come on before Toonami when there was nothing else on so I just left it on and then one day bing, I got it. Johnny 2x4 is a riot. Rolf, his pigs, his chickens and his beets are hilarious. And you have to respect a guy who called this show quits because he felt he was running out of good ideas.
Then of course the flash versions of Home Movies, Sealab 2021, etc. are all very funny. And let’s not forget the original Space Ghost Coast to Coast which not only started the whole thing but also brought into my home for the first time Dexter, the boy genius. Remember that special? Ahh Tad Ghostal.
While it’s true they have their fair shair of b-grade and c-grade comedy as well as a few down right stinkers I still say that this channel has the best writers on TV working for them.
Nick-at-Nite used to have similar comercials that were hilarious as mentioned in the OP.
There was one that had Opie telling Andy how Aunt Bea was giving everyone b***jobs. They beeped out the word. It was hilarious. There were others like them if anyone remembers?
