# Lamest Cartoon Series Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409 "2019-02-12T16:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/41 "2019-02-13T01:56:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [JOT the Dot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOT_(TV_series)). JOT was a white splotch with arms and legs who faced a child’s level choice between good and bad in every episode. The cartoon was produced by the Southern Baptists, and had heavy references to Jesus and the Bible. > > In this episode, [JOT lies to his mother AND learns the meaning of the word “abomination.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTN0VW86jyA) > > It makes _Davey and Goliath_ look like _Toy Story_. Dear god. I grew up watching Mr. Peppermint, but somehow I had suppressed the memory of Jot for more than forty years. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/42 "2019-02-13T03:06:27Z")
I’d have to go with the original [Baby Huey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Huey) cartoons from Harveytoons. Even as a little kid I couldn’t stand these. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/43 "2019-02-13T03:46:03Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > IIRC he was “tutored” each episode by a Mister Know It All scientist guy. Mr. Wizard the Lizard. “Drizzle Drazzle Druzzle Drome Time for this one to come home.” Damn your eyes for reminding me of this. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/44 "2019-02-13T03:51:42Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Dear god. I grew up watching Mr. Peppermint, but somehow I had suppressed the memory of Jot for more than forty years. Mr. Peppermint ranks behind only Mr. Rogers in my esteem for children’s TV hosts. I can forgive him for almost anything. But JOT is like asking me to forgive LBJ for Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/45 "2019-02-13T05:01:48Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Well he’s got all those kids around him who think he’s pretty awesome. Give them a few years and who knows how things will go. Ew. Pass me the brain bleach, wouldja? > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Caillou > > Every episode features Caillou freaking out about going up stairs or getting splashed with water and then saying “but mommy, I’m scared” in that fake kid falsetto voice and then the mommy replies “That’s OK, Caillou, just give it a try” in her wholesome, slightly condescending voice, and then Caillou walks up the stupid stairs and says “Look mommy! I did it!” then the theme song plays and then he does it again with baking cookies or cleaning up his toys. To each their own. I thought _Caillou_ was actually rather charming. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/46 "2019-02-13T05:09:41Z")
Didn’t we do this recently? Ah, here it is… [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=854168](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=854168) ETA: I still love Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/47 "2019-02-13T06:20:17Z")
> [@ricksummon](#): > > How can you not like **ALF Tales?** Who could forget the episode where the fairytale _Rapunzel_ becomes a tale about how the Witch owns every TV station in the kingdom and King Ronald Reagan defeats her by creating a Federal Communications Commission? 😃 > > (Seriously. I am _not_ making this up.) heres my worst cartoon list [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864437&highlight=cartoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864437&highlight=cartoons) but the first few seasons of the alf carton was rather sophisticated then they retooled it and it disappeared …… and you want a convoluted cartoon? the story of “lazer tag” the series ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/48 "2019-02-13T06:57:50Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **Davy & Goliath.** > Christian TV at it’s nadir. I glanced at this once or twice as a child, and even my infantile brain was insulted by the stop-motion animation. Apparently the puppets were repositioned twice for each second of film time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/49 "2019-02-13T07:03:31Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I grew up in the 80s, a time when network execs in charge of Saturday morning cartoon would literally greenlight _anything_, giving us timeless classic such as: > > Kissyfur - escaped circus bears escape to a swamp and start a taxi company. > Potato Head Kids - kinda like Muppet Babies, only with… anthropomorphic potatoes. > Denver the Last Dinosaur - he wears sunglasses, skateboards, and plays the electric guitar. If your grandparents were forced to come up with a “cool” cartoon character in the 80s, it would be exactly this. > ALF Tales - you read that correctly. > Wuzzles - a group of bizarre winged hybrid animals > Rubik the Amazing Cube - no comment necessary. > Pac-Man - no comment necessary. > Popples - no comment necessary. > Teen Wolf - :smack: > Shirt Tales - based on characters that originated in Hallmark cards. Seriously. > The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang - yeah, this happened. > Laverne & Shirley in the Army - seriously? Seriously. Despite my love of toons, you make me glad I usually stayed in bed until noon on Saturdays because I was out partying the night before. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/50 "2019-02-13T07:16:00Z")
you know the wuzzles were created by Disney? it was their 2nd tv cartoon after the “adventures of the gummi bears” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/51 "2019-02-13T07:26:50Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Every episode features Caillou freaking out about going up stairs or getting splashed with water and then saying “but mommy, I’m scared” in that fake kid falsetto voice … I took a course in voice acting years ago. We covered everything from straight reads to character voices. For the latter, the men were encouraged to do all kinds of things (accents, growls, and so on), but not to “go high.” In other words, not to try to imitate women or children, whose voices are naturally higher-pitched. The women in the class, among other things that they could learn and accomplish with their voices, had to learn to speak like little boys. A little research indicated that many of the little boys in cartoons were indeed voiced by women. I’ve never seen Caillou, but I’d bet that they either got a man who could do a “fake kid falsetto voice,” (heck, I can do one, but I’d never put it on a demo) or a woman who didn’t know how to do a boy’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/52 "2019-02-13T14:38:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > That is probably a good thing–I’ve seen only two or three episodes, but one of those was [pro-genocide](https://alaskanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/veggietales-a-call-to-genocide/). That’s a bit extreme of an article; basically they’re not saying the cartoon is pro-genocide, but rather that particular biblical passage isn’t particularly appropriate for teaching the lesson that they’re trying to get across. Oh, \*\*kunilou \*\*and **Maserschmidt** - fun fact about Mr. Peppermint! Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers is his son. (back when he died, it seemed like every news article had to mention that, so it stuck in my head.) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/53 "2019-02-13T15:13:38Z")
I had the misfortune of seeing an old Bozo cartoon (remember Butchy Boy?) a year or two ago. Oh. My. God. was that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/54 "2019-02-13T16:50:22Z")
Milton the Monster. You’ve been warned. ETA: Why did Hercules jump all the way down from Mt. Olympus, but have to run all the way home? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/55 "2019-02-13T17:11:32Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Caillou > > Every episode features Caillou freaking out about going up stairs or getting splashed with water and then saying “but mommy, I’m scared” in that fake kid falsetto voice and then the mommy replies “That’s OK, Caillou, just give it a try” in her wholesome, slightly condescending voice, and then Caillou walks up the stupid stairs and says “Look mommy! I did it!” then the theme song plays and then he does it again with baking cookies or cleaning up his toys. Oh, if we’re going _ **there** _, and to _Brother Bear_, then I really don’t like the current PBS _Curious George_ cartoon. Mom likes them, just to pass time as white noise, because she’s sure noting will come on and trigger her. But that _Curious George_ cartoon, man, I loved those books as a kid. But George doesn’t speak in the books. Now, somehow, he has to monkey squawk “uh-huh uh-huh” to everything. A dialog with an immature chimp? Damn you. Damn you all to hell. No disrespect to the voice actor, they’re just doing their job. But why do this? I learned just fine from a mute Curious George. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/56 "2019-02-13T18:32:22Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > …The women in the class, among other things that they could learn and accomplish with their voices, had to learn to speak like little boys. A little research indicated that many of the little boys in cartoons were indeed voiced by women… Like Bart Simpson, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/57 "2019-02-13T18:41:28Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Oh, if we’re going _ **there** _, and to _Brother Bear_, then I really don’t like the current PBS _Curious George_ cartoon. Mom likes them, just to pass time as white noise, because she’s sure noting will come on and trigger her. > > But that _Curious George_ cartoon, man, I loved those books as a kid. But George doesn’t speak in the books. Now, somehow, he has to monkey squawk “uh-huh uh-huh” to everything. A dialog with an immature chimp? Damn you. Damn you all to hell. > > No disrespect to the voice actor, they’re just doing their job. But why do this? I learned just fine from a mute Curious George. And we could devote an entirely new thread to PBS cartoons, I think. It’s subjective though, in many cases (of course). George didn’t bother me so much in the cartoon and I know he didn’t speak in the books because of his role as a silent observer of the human condition and/or a mischievous outsider who kept getting into trouble. Adding a voice in the cartoon provides an audio cue for him and makes him more of a participant in the story, I guess. I appreciated Magic School Bus but I never liked it that much. I liked the lessons and all that but the animation was kind of cheap and I could tell that Lily Tomlin recorded her lines separately. Those two shouldn’t really be a knock against a cartoon but there you go. My wife never liked Martha Speaks but I always thought it was kind of clever and well done. Again, it’s subjective. I also liked Word Girl as well for similar reasons. We both disliked Sid the Science Kid – if given the opportunity my wife would love to throat punch Gerald. Our two children are beyond PBS Kids age range now (17 and 11) so we don’t see these shows anymore. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/58 "2019-02-13T19:08:38Z")
Speaking of Davey and Goliath, Gumby was surprisingly lame considering he had something of a cult following. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/59 "2019-02-13T20:41:20Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Speaking of Davey and Goliath, Gumby was surprisingly lame considering he had something of a cult following. Gumby’s appeal was due to its weirdness and surrealness even if the show’s plots could’ve been conceived by a five-year old. It also helped if you watched the show while herbally-enhanced which likely accounts for its unexpected cult following during the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409/60 "2019-02-13T21:31:25Z")
_[Dick Tracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dick_Tracy_Show)_. Probably the only cartoon whose title character only made cameo appearances. Every episode started out the same way: Tracy, at his desk, would be speaking on the phone and say, “Right, Chief, I’ll get on it right away.” He would then put his wrist radio over his mouth (conveniently saving on animating his lips) and call one of his detectives. The rest of the episode would show one of the four (Joe Jitsu, Go Go Gomez, Heap O’ Calorie, and Hemlock Holmes) comically investigating a crime. Halfway through, the detective would say “Hold everything!” and all will freeze, and then “Calling Dick Tracy.” You’d see a little bit of Tracy asking a few questions. Then the call would end and the action would resume. After the criminal was caught (and they used a few of the actual comic strip villains), the detective would call Tracy again, who’d congratulate them on a job well done. It also didn’t help that the detectives were stereotypes that wouldn’t fly today. The “Hold everything! Calling Dick Tracy” line did become a catchphrase among kids, but the show itself was awful [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-cartoon-series-ever/829409.md?page=4)