Blog Talkback: Toons of the 2000s: Top 5 Cartoon Network Originals

Given I didn't really care much for most of the originals made for CN for this decade (vs. Courage, PowerPuff Girls, etc.), guess hard to dispute the list... though glad to see "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" is nowhere on it...

My favorites from this decade (that I guess wouldn't merit being on the list):

- Time Squad: Peabody and Sherman meets "Time Cop"... thought it was amusing.

- Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?: Short-lived, but I thought the antics of seeing him try to get through high school life were funny.

-B.
 
So did EEnE, but it's on the list. The thing with toons that appear at the brink of the decade is that they are a product of that decade but run mostly during the next decade. So though they are technically '90s toons, they can also be considered toons of the 2000s. A similar thing happened with the Nicktoons list listing SpongeBob.
 
Yeah there should have been an hounerable mention secion for this one. While I'm glad say Secret Saturdays is on it (I love that show) it's lacking some shows like Courage, and Kids Next door even just getting mentioned.

Too bad The eds had to end up on that list given how much I dispise that show, hell it's on my "Bottom five" list but that's just me.
 
Well, like I said earlier that didn't stop Secret Saturdays from making the list. Out of all the shows in this list, that one is the most recent show made in this decade and debuted in late 2008. I'm just glad that Gym Partner and Squirrel Boy didn't make the list.





This one I'll give you since we share the same opinion on Chowder's declining quality since season 2, for me it sort of disqualified Chowder from earning a spot on the list. While most of these shows listed got stronger as they went on. Even I'll admit that Fosters was great up as it built up steam as it progressed.
 
No "Sheep in the Big City"? I call ultimate shenanigans.

"Foster's" made #1. I'm sorry, but I'm supremely bothered by this. It had some good moments, but the bad ones linger far more for me. ("Impostor's Home for, um, Make-em-up Pals" may well be one of the worst episodes of anything this past decade.)

Also, while it started shakily, I agree that "Chowder" should've, at least, gotten an honorable mention.
 
I think Jack earns the #1 spot over Foster's, personally. Foster's was fun, but Samurai Jack had a certain air about it that none of the other Cartoon network originals have ever really had.
 
This decade was an odd one.

I have mixed feelings on Ben 10. One of those shows that got better as the seasons wore on, and one of the few popular shows during CN's 'dark originals' period. But Ben and Gwen could be off-putting at times... sometimes both at the same time. Honestly, though probably deserves a place... unless Ben 10: Alien Force is eligible, in which case I'd vote in the second series in as an overall better product.

Secret Saturdays, while exploring new ground with a retro feel, I felt really did not start to really wow me until late in the first season. I'm not really sure if that's enough to merit a Top 5 of the decade. Codename: Kids Next Door is probably a better choice... even though I had a falling out from the show in Season 4 and 5 and then loved the show again in Season 6 + finale movie.

Megas XLR is a touch cookie to figure out. I loved the parodies and such, but really, I can't seem to remember anything unforgettably memorable from it. But given some of the other options available, maybe no one else earned a spot in the Top 5, putting Megas in by default.

I started to fade away from Ed, Edd n' Eddy in the fourth season, but I don't think it was anything serious until they moved out of the summer environment and into fall for Season 5. New territory, yes, but the episodes just weren't that interesting anymore. Again, the finale movie made me love the Eds again, saving their reputation.

Samurai Jack... a great show, stands out for many reasons because of the whole 'actions speak louder than words' theme Jack had going. Great stories, great visuals, but again, as the series wore on, I had to wonder... I'm running out of things to say I like about this show. And the fact that there was no ending (Jack never defeated Aku or returned home) has to be a huge gash.

Foster's deserves the #1 spot, but, yes, again, the show fell off in Season 4 (wow, Season 4's the fall-out point for a lot of shows, isn't it?), but recovered towards the end of Season 5, had a good enough Season 6, and the finale was something special.

Wow... now that I look back, Cartoon Network never seemed to have a long-lasting show that was great all the way through. A good number started off well, fell off, but recovered to end on good notes, but still... and remember, these are the good shows! That doesn't put much stock in the total quality of the bad shows, does it?
 
Aw, no Flapjack?
Maybe next decade.
Makes me wonder what the show will achieve in the coming years...

But I do like the list though,
especially that TSS & Samurai Jack got a spot.
Now I'm hoping even more badly that TSS can get renewed.

I'm already wondering now what the next list will consist of,
with 5 new CN originals coming out within the next year.
There has got to be at least one amazing cartoon out of that batch.
 
I think that this is a nice list. Despite premiering last year, I think that The Secret Saturdays deserves the fifth spot. Even though it took a few episodes to get the storyline going really strong in season one, I think that it has proven that it has the ability to have an interesting storyline. Plus, the family dynamics among the Saturdays themselves is quite refreshing compared to other animated families.

I barely saw one episode of Megas XLR, so I can't comment on that show's quality. I've seen a few episodes of Ed, Edd, n' Eddy, but it never really stood out to me. As much as I enjoyed watching Samurai Jack, a part of me thinks that it's better in the number three spot. It's still a great show with impressive animation and fight scenes. Still, it felt like there wasn't much progression in the storyline since I didn't think that Jack was any closer to his goal at the end of the series than he was at the beginning. Of course, the movie that they're working on will hopefully solve that issue.

I'm not sure if I would put Foster's in the number one spot. My main issue with the show was how Bloo was handled. In the premier, he was tolerable, but he was too much of an annoying jerk for me to handle. At least some of the other characters were much more likable, such as Wilt. Though, I will give the series credit with their specials. The series premier, Good Wilt Hunting and Destination: Imagination were excellent, especially the last two, and were much more enjoyable for me to watch the regular series. I think that it does deserve a spot in the list, but I would have put it the number two spot. I'm not sure what I would put in the first spot. Still, despite my disagreements with this list, I understand all of the reasons behind why they're there in the first place.
 
I remember reading about the Samurai Jack-Frederator deal years ago. So glad to see there's finally momentum going forward! I guess we're looking at a 2011 release.

As for Megas XLR, I'm still waiting for WHV to release it on DVD.
 
I would have replaced The Secret Saturdays with Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The Secret Saturdays hasn't been around long enough to be considered one the best of the 2000's, imo.

My Top 5 would be:

5. Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
4. Megas XLR
3. Samurai Jack
2. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
1. Ed, Edd, n Eddy

Even if you don't like EEnE, it was around longer than any other ones listed, so that's why I would have put it at #1.

This was still an ok list overall, even though I disagree with some of it.
 
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