Geek Cast Radio Network's Top 100 Animated Series Countdown

I appreciate the history lesson....even if I knew all of that already! :D

Also I wasn't talking about ratings for Super Friends I am talking about links/sources where you can get ratings on all the various cartoons over the years. I searched and searched for that type of info years ago and could hardly find anything. I even spent over 3 hours on the phone with people from Nielson and they couldn't help me at all
 
I would whole heartily argue Beast Machines and Beast Wars are absolutely not even remotely the same series.

Same continuity? Yes. Same series? No!

You as well as anyone should know that Fox guided that series much more then Hasbro or Mainframe would have liked. There were constant threats of "We think we want this way! Oh, you don't? Well do it anyway or we're dropping the show!"

All you need to do is go poke any number of transformers communities today. Many of them are still livid over this treatment. Moreover if you try to tell any of them that its the same series ---- well, it's your funeral. The confrontation you would encounter is almost on par if I tried to convince you that the TMNT 1987 series and the TMNT 2003 series were the same series, to put into perspective.

The TMNT 2003 was in a very similar situation with 4kids as Beast Machines was with Fox. Following the above logic, I would have no choice but to list them separately as well.

The one show I think I would start to have some qualms about listing together or separately would be Batman TAS. TECHNICALLY its three different series. Batman: TAS, Batman & Robin and then the New Adventures of Batman. The breaks in the series really came more from studio stoppages then from changes in direction. That one of those series thats really too tough to call. I suppose I'd have to feel it out and see if anything else really has a worth while exception to the rule that I could justify NOT splitting it up.
 
Be sure to send in emails, comments, and voicemails right after listening to our final episode so we can comment the following week and respond with the wrap up episode.
 
I'm not saying they should be on the list. They're not very good. Certainly nowhere near as good as Beast Wars, Animated or even Generation One.

So what are you disagreeing with here. All I was saying is they are separate series in the same continuity rather than seasons of the same series.

Well if ya'll want to say Beast Wars and Beast Machines are that separate then I'll just go with it. It's better not to let it drag Beast Wars down.

And if we're gonna say Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer don't have to be part of TMNT 2003 I'm more than happy to go with that and rank it based only on that series and not the continuations.

Scooby-Doo is another series not mentioned in this talk of separating series but I certainly wouldn't lump them all together as one series. Not even the ones that shortly followed Scooby-Doo Where Are You. But there's so many Scooby-Doo spin-offs, sequels and remakes it gets as messy as SuperFriends. Of all of them probably only Scooby-Doo Where Are You truly earns a spot in the Top 100 but I could see people making cases for some of the better series that came out during the first run of the franchise as well as A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated (though it's a bit early to call that one IMO).

A lot of people tend to rank just one series in a franchise and in some cases you really shouldn't do that because it's almost inevitable the first series will get ranked and the others wont when the first series may not actually be the best of them. As I sight Ninja Turtles again and Beast Wars as prime examples (hah prime, I made a funny).
 
True! I just like the fact that they can hear that we are not ALL in agreement on these. Which is the main point in doing this in a podcast form for the first time I think it has ever been done rather than just throwing a list out there with no discussion :)
 
My thoughts on #40-21:

I can see why Superfriends would deserve to be placed on the list due to its sheer iconicness, but I'd have probably placed it a lot lower.

Heck, yeah! Pokemon WAS my childhood. It definitely deserves a spot on the list and I'm happy with its placement.

Good to see Samurai Jack placing so high on the list. Genndy put a lot of work into the series and it definitely shows. Perfect Top 50 material.

I'd have probably placed DBZ a bit higher due to the fact that it is one of the most iconic Japanese animated action shows and a lot of other shows drew at least some inspiration from it. Though, I do agree that the whole "seven hour power-up phase" thing was a bit silly.

Also glad to see Avatar this high up, but like everyone and their Grandmother has already told you the second you brought it up, it's not an anime. :p Anyway, I've never been particularly interested or dedicated to this show, but judging by what I've seen and heard of it, the quality definitely shows. No complaints.

I've never seen Reboot, so I have no opinions of its placement.

Though Talespin and Chip 'N' Dale are certainly entertaining shows and are by no means bad, I don't think I'd list them when thinking of the best cartoons of all time. At best, they would probably be somewhere in the mid eighties if I were to list them. I wouldn't place them both this high.

I definitely agree that Tom and Jerry should've placed higher. It's one of the most iconic cartoons in the whole world. I could see it in at least a Top 20 spot.

Since Alvin and the Chipmunks are such iconic characters and the 80's incarnation is arguably the best animated representation of them, I can see why the show made the list. I also agree that of all the live action/CGI cartoon adaptation movies, the Chipmunks flick was the best of the bunch. I think that's because Mr. Bagdasarian had a lot of control over the film and he knew how to use his father's creations. That led to the film having a lot of heart, something you don't usually find in such cash-ins.

I can see why Thundercats would make the list due to its massive cult popularity despite not being as well known as TMNT or Transformers, but I'd definitely place it much lower.

Ren and Stimpy deserves its spot on the list, John K's attitude notwithstanding. Its absurd style of humor would go on to not only mark its place in history, but also inspire a lot of similar shows. I agree that Adult Party Cartoon was a lot of wasted potential. I actually wouldn't object to Mike's idea of switching PPG with Ren and Stimpy, though. (What? I LURVE PPG! XD)

Inspector Gadget was a great show and I could see why it would appear on the list, but I would probably rate it just a tiny bit lower.

The Real Ghostbusters is one of my favorite 80's cartoons and I'll definitely agree that it's the best movie-to-cartoon adaptation. (Remember Rambo: The Animated Series? Ugghhh...) I also agree that while Extreme Ghostbusters wasn't as good as the first series, it wasn't bad by any means. It's not very often that an 80's cartoon gets a direct sequel almost twenty years later and many of the original VAs reprise their roles. That and the Real Ghostbusters crossover ep was all kinds of awesome. :D I just wish that the USA could get some good EGB DVDs. Maybe if we're lucky, that'll be Time Life's next project? ;)

Though it isn't the most well written show, Beavis and Butt-Head is a cartoon that makes me laugh every time I watch an episode at least once. Combine that with how iconic it was in 90's culture and the fact that Mike Judge is going to revive it soon and you've got a very unique show. It also had one of the most awesome movies ever. No complaints with its placement.

I agree that Rocky and Bullwinkle is a classic show and it really shows the uniqueness of Jay Ward's style. I would definitely place it a bit higher.

Great to see Pinky and the Brain placing so high. In my opinion, this show took the most enjoyable segment on Animaniacs and turned it into something really great. The stories were fun, the jokes were top notch, and it had what was perhaps one of the greatest theme songs of all time. No complaints.

Friggin' AWESOME to see Beast Wars on the list. It is easily my favorite Transformers show of all time and was a top notch show in every regard. The only complaint I have is that it isn't placed higher and above G1. I know G1 is the iconic first series, but Beast Wars just did everything so much better. I'm so hyped for Shout! Factory's BW Complete Series DVD set (With Dawn of Future's Past comic!), that I actually went out and bought IDW's Beast Wars Omnibus to compliment it. I'm a bit of a BW nut. :D

Garfield and Friends is a great show and definitely one of the best Garfield-related things of all time, but I'd probably place it a bit lower. I like Beast Wars more. I agree that The Garfield Show is definitely underrated, though. Especially the second season. Only certain cartoons have the pleasure of making a joke about the animators reusing characters designs from previous seasons. XD

Great to see Family Guy make the list and I think this is the perfect place for it. Not too high as to overrate the show, but not too low as to underrate it. Even though the show has its problems and some seasons are better than others, I'll always love it. The characters are just so appealing and some of the situations are just so funny that I can't help but be curious as to what's going to happen next. A bit of a correction on Mike's part, though: he said that he saw several Family Guy Halloween specials and they were rip-offs of The Simpsons' own "Treehouse of Horror" specials. This is incorrect, as Family Guy has only one Halloween special, Halloween on Spooner Street, and it premiered last year with very few "Treehouse of Horror" similarities. Just thought I'd let him know.

Overall, I thought this was another interesting crop of shows to add to the list. Most of them I can agree belong somewhere on the list and I'm curious to see where it goes from here. Looking forward to seeing what awaits in the Top 20. :)
 
TFG1Mike from GCRN checking in! I like all the discussion going on here. And Thanks to Andrew for making the thread.

As OptimusSolo said WE are the first to do a list this big in podcast form. And I'm sure it's been said before that we have 20 lists that are making up the master list. Yes we kinda have a bias against anime. Mainly because most of us don't know much of it.

Are we saying that our list is the "definitive" one no..... Our main idea was to give a list that was voted on by multiple geeks and cartoon lovers. Something that would be completely different then the IGN list.

Everyone just assumes that the IGN list is final and the last say so... I highly disagree!!

I don't remember who said they disagreed with me about Batman The Brave and The Bold, just being for silver age comics fans..........let me clarify my point.

Yes I see the "kid" appeal to the cartoon, but when I caught a few episodes of it and saw batman multidemensional/time traveling I was like WTF that aint batman!!!

At least not the batman I knew. I pointed this out on another forum and someone said that's what batman of the silver age of comics had done.

As far as PPG only coming at 100 well I'll let OptimusSolo explain his math on the points and voting.

BUT PLEASE listen to the actual podcast episodes. That is the point. We will be making a post with the list after Episode 25.

Everyone has different opinions and that aint a bad thing. I'm sorry if you don't agree with the list so far. But also take into consideration 20 people ranging from ages 19-40 submitted lists.

I'll check back in again. We are recording episode 23 tonight it will be out monday.
 
ok nevermind I see what you are saying about armada unicron and cybertron. however I thought you meant something else lol

I don't consider BW and BM separate but technically they are. hell when we interviewed Larry DiTillio we even asked him what BW Season 4 would have been if it happened. He said they would have returned to cybertron.
 
Excellent comments/feedback man and thanks for pointing out Mike's errors!! Look forward to hearing your comments after the Top 20 comes out tomorrow! :)
 
Beast Wars actually continued in Japan except it changed animation styles (to more traditional anime style) and actually DID go back to Cybertron.

The difference with Machines is since Fox purchased the series (not the franchise or brand mind you) they felt they could micro manage far too much.

I'm sure you'll agree that Fox in the 90s was a terrible, terrible entity that felt they had to micro manage everything (usually horribly). Heck, we still see glimpses of that today. Although I liked the Saban shows on Fox and I LOVED FoxKids on Saturday mornings, there are more then enough reasons I was happy to see Fox get out of the Saturday Morning Cartoon circuit.
 
Thanks for stopping by Mike, this is Sketch1984 from Twitter.

Well I don't know about only being able to enjoy Brave and the Bold if you were a Silver Age fan because I haven't read a single Silver Age comic and I just love that show to death. Perhaps I'd enjoy those comics given that but I didn't need to be familiar with them already to enjoy the show, appreciate the humor or the characterizations of the various DC heroes.

Actually the best part and the most significant part of Brave and the Bold in my opinion is how rich in DC lore it has become and all the homages to previous DC cartoons are also great. It's a very creative cartoon and that's why I like it despite it not being "my Batman" so to speak. I did after all grow up on Batman: The Animated Series as well.
 
You'll find with me I only count US continuity in anything. If it's in another language or subtitled I will not watch it. I've tried sitting through stuff that is subtitled or in other languages in their entirety and it just makes me want to turn it off right there.

Compared to 4kids I'd rather have foxkids back. although 4kids did give us turtles 2003 I love X-men 92 and spidey 94 and I always will I don't care what anyone says. I can watch those 2 cartoons over and over.
 
A bit of a correction on Mike's part, though: he said that he saw several Family Guy Halloween specials and they were rip-offs of The Simpsons' own "Treehouse of Horror" specials. This is incorrect, as Family Guy has only one Halloween special, Halloween on Spooner Street, and it premiered last year with very few "Treehouse of Horror" similarities. Just thought I'd let him know.

I phrased it wrong. What I meant was I have seen 3-4 episodes of family guy plus the crappy halloween special from last year. I had assumed they had more because it seemed like they had done it before.

I honestly could care less about family guy and the only real cartoon I blindly hate is Ren & Stimpy!!!!!!
 
Captain N is a great series that aged very well. Theres a lot of series that are hard to watch today because of the disconnected dialog and disjointed storyline.

Captain N is a series that still flows very nicely and aged a bit better then most the "80s standards".

Its really one of the series I looked forward to watching every single Saturday morning.

/edit

I am listening to the first podcast and I am a bit astonished.

Wolverine and the X-Men as well as G.I. Joe Resolute both didn't make the list. Thats pretty saddening. Those two series that were really ground breaking.

Teen Titans also didn't make the list. I was never a fan of that series, but I certainly believe it had a strong enough impact that it deserves to be in the top 100.
 
Most people dont and wont count the continuation of Beast Wars from Japan. For good reason. It was HORRIBLE. HORRIFIC. PAINFUL. Many small children scarficed their innocence by seeing that series.

Largely, I am inclined to agree for more then a few reasons.
 
That's a bit of a disservice to other fine people who worked on the show don't you think?

Looking forward to hearing the Top 20 tomorrow but from the sound of your twitter posts it's having some issues and wont be up at the usual time.
 
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