10. Everybody Loves Raymond- As an adult, this is one of my favorite shows STILL; as a kid, it was one of the few shows I could watch with the family and just have a fun time
9. Ducktales- Its like Indiana Jones meet Disney... and not half as crappy as you'd think that would be, actually, not crappy at all (but that theme song- so damn CATCHY!)
8. Superman TAS- All that was missing from this show was the movie Superman theme... a great version of the Man of Steel
7. Doug- The Nickelodeon version's higher up, the Disney version's oOK but lowr, maybe at #10... so I put it here. Doug Funnie, Skeeter Valentine, Patty Mayonaise... how can I ever forget you (and WHERE did you get those last names...?)
6. The Wild Thornberrys- If you'd asked me when this show was on if it made my top 10, I'd have laughted in your face. But this is, looking back, one of my favorites, and one of the shows I STILL love to watch... I love animals, and Eliza's like Indiana Jones as a 12-year old girl... this is a GREAT show for nature lovers, with good yet *gasp* subtel ways of teaching about the environment and making nature fun (look for the one with Jane Goodall guest starring... THAT'S what a kid show on nature should be- poachers, danger, some humor, fun... and a bit of a message)
5. Hey Arnold!- A kid in NYC with adventures and all sorts of fun classmates and boarders and grandparents... this show was just fun to watch, and often rather witty as well (DID Helga ever confess to Arnold her hidden love?) ;)
4. Batman TAS- THIS is what a kid wants from Batman. THIS is what an ADULT wants from Batman. The stories weren't watered down. They weren't EVER "kiddy-fied." There were real guns, real deaths, real explosions... and sometimes, real trauma. Look at Two-Face in the series and how he came to be him... he was just a nice guy with an absuive father in his past, and then an accident... or Mr. Freeze, he just wants to save his wife... and then you have the villians that really ARE villians. THE JOKER'S WILD! Heath Ledger is now THE Joker, but right after him I have to go with Mark Hamill (yes, that's right, Luke Skywalker's the Crown Prince of Crime) as the Joker. He was sneaky. He was mean. He had fun with his torments. He had that Joker laugh. He even created ethical dilemmas- in many ways, this is the pre-Ledger Ledger-type Joker. The art style is AMAZING- its dark, gritty, brooding. This is the cartoon that took kids seriously, and took the Dark Knight seriously. A lot of times this and the Superman series above would be shown back-to-back on TV... and while I loved both a LOT, Batman always seemed to be a bit deeper. Granted that's partly source material, but the WRITING... both are great, but this is the show that NEEDS to come out on DVD- I WANT IT. This WAS Batman for me pre-Nolan... no comics, just this. It was enough.
3. Dexter's Laboratory- I loved this show growing up- still do- because Dexter was ME. The short, ultra-white nerd who knows a hell of a lot more than anyone and has a wild imagination cool toys (and of course I loved Dexter because he had a freaking LAB, his toys were so COOL lol) and AWESOME parodies of pop culture this and that... episodes based around Star Trek (featuring Dexter as Capt. "Irk" with his nerd friends as "Spork" and "Dr. McBoy/Skins" at his side) James Bond, Star Wars, and Power Rangers come to mind, not to mention the Justice League spoof, "The Justice Friends..." this show was pure gold, and still is- for geeks and people with actual tans alike
2. Animaniacs/Tiny Toons/Pinky and the Brain- THE smartest kids shows EVER... just as much for 28 year olds as for 8 year olds (maybe more so...)
1. Tie: Rugrats/The Simpsons- I simply cannot choose betwen the two, one was my "cartoon" and the other was my "grown up show." I loved them both still do... I have Simpsons DVDs, and love to watch the Rugrats every now and again on YouTube. Ah... I could write a whole thread on just ONE of these shows, they were so golden, humor on so many levels, from the lowest potty humor to mive references to sexual inuendos and more. But maybe the best thing about these two- no only were they great shows, hilarious- they also somehow found the time to be sometimes surprisingly... well, heartwarming. Watch the Simpsons episode about Maggie's birth and why Homer doesn't have any pictures of Maggie at home ("I have them where I most need them" and I won't spoil any more... that's just beautiful, that ending) or Chuckie finally getting a mom in "Rugrats in Paris" after he'd been mommy-less for the whole decade the world had known him... priceless.
So that's my list... one thing: I never got to watch it as a kid, as a teen, really, so it loses out, but as an unofficial "11th" I put Futurama up there.
:D
Live Game "Shoot First"
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