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Episode 22 of GeekCast Radio is the second installment of the Top 100 Animated Series Countdown. Mike finds many of his personal favorites landing on this episode much to the angst of Kevin and Phil. Join the guys for a truly diverse look at the next 20 shows on the countdown!!
Geeks:
Kevin “OptimusSolo” Thompson
Steve “Megatron” Phillips
Mike “TFG1” Blanchard
Phil Wheat from Blogomatic 3000
UNLEASH THE TOON IN YOU!!
I don’t wanna troll all your comments for this list, but you guys really don’t seem intelligent enough to make a list this grandiose; the quality of western animation (including animation/writing/voice acting/etc) during the “Television” era is so low compared to both earlier and later eras of animation, that it really makes no sense to have a list that is supposed to be the definitive Top 100 animated series (or at least better than IGN’s list) filled with shows from that time period. Also you probably should’ve limited this to just western animation (or animation that aired in America/Canada primarily) to make yourselves look less stupid (you guys admit you have no great knowledge of anime).
Also you guys should feel really, really bad about praising Silverhawks and then having really no idea what Cowboy Bebop even is; it’s one of the pinnacles of modern animation and music! Props on Phineas and Ferb though, it’s very underrated (guy who called it retarded, you really have no idea what you’re talking about).
I’ll stop now though because I’m just gonna verse my oppositional opinion over and over.
Again, please listen to episode 20 because otherwise you are just going to keep sounding ignorant. Would love more feedback but not about stuff we addressed in the opening episode. This list was limited to only shows that aired in North America on television which we clearly state in episode 20. So unfortunately you are the only one looking stupid at this point :)
@Sadsic – AS far as the list we mentioned if you’d listened that not all of us KNOW Anime. So some of our Canadian friends do which is how they ended up there. We claim to know nothing so we didn’t really comment. I commented on Cowboy Bebop and I said Phineas and Ferb is badly animated not saying it’s bad. I just don’t personally care for it. What is your background to say we are unintelligent? Who makes you the master of cartoons and what is your age and or animation preferences? It’d be nice to more comments but it’s not all bad. Plus WE included shows that IGN Majorly missed.
Like I said, I don’t wanna troll/flame y’all on opinionated issues because it goes nowhere, but y’all seem to have voted on your personal lists based first and foremost on nostalgia, secondly on name-recognition, and perhaps thirdly on actual quality. Don’t you see a problem there? When Gem and Captain N in #1 and 2 slots for the you guys really are just looking stupid and obviously biased when there’s so much brilliant animation out there with actual good quality. I understand most of you were 80’s kids and have allegiances to the toyetic franchises of that time, but you really should look with an open mind at shows from before and after the Television Era (mostly after since the Silent and Golden Eras are fairly obvious in their big stars).
First off as both kevin and steve said go back and listen to Episode 20 the introduction. Secondly no one made Jem or Captain N #1. Phil had captain N at #2 and I had Jem at #6…. but that was our personal rankings. The master list ranking you are hearing being revealed is what the Top 100 is! The master list ranking is made up of 20 individual lists. So there is very much a lot of diversity. The was the point in having 5 other networks collaborate with us. So the main countdown list won’t be a personal bias or anything like that.
@Sadsic – Actually nostalgia and personal bias played not part in my #1 through about #80 or so. I left the nostalgic picks for my bottom 10-20. It seems you are looking also with a narrow mind though. From what I can gather from you anything ‘new’ and technologically advanced is automatically ‘better’. Every decade has had its good, bad and ugly cartoons. Just because something is done with new methods doesnt make it a better show. A show has to be judged on MORE than just the animation that was or was not available at its time. I was a child born in the 80s but I only had FIVE 80s series in my Top 20. Again, this was made by 20 different people so don’t assume you know how any ONE of us actually voted (other than a few comments that have been made in the first 2 episodes)
@Sadsic I agree that all ‘lists’ like this are going to have opinions in them and so it seems pointless to debate but I am interested in more of your thoughts. Do you like the IGN list? I would guess that you didn’t like their list either since really the only ‘post television era’ (as you put it) toons they put on their list were every adult-swim/prime time toon from the past two decades. And lets face it not many of those had high quality animation. Just curious on your thoughts on their list. Also, just be aware that we fully mentioned that the 60-100 selections would probably be the most ‘biased’ I would say that maybe you should wait to hear the final 60 before casting too many more judgements :)
I’m definitely gonna listen to the rest of the list. Also I don’t think the IGN list was especially bad (it’s not correct, but it’s not too much off really). I just felt I should voice my opinion because it seemed like so much of animation was basically being cast aside just so specific franchises could get recognition in some way or another on this list so far.
Without much thought, this would be my Top 10:
10.) Frisky Dingo/The Xtacles/Archer (for being incredibly written, with really wonderfully funny characters)
9.) Tom & Jerry (for being the pinnacle of humorous cartoon violence)
8.) Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo (for being the pinnacle of anime)
7.) Home Movies (for being the funniest show I’ve ever seen)
6.) Batman: The Animated Series (IT’S BATMAN, MAN)
5.) The Flintstones (for shwoing the world that animation can be for adults)
4.) The Boondocks (for amazing animation and truly amazing social commentary)
3.) Looney Tunes (for showing what animation could truly be)
2.) The Simpsons (for the golden years, major influence on all tv afterwards. longevity)
1.) The Venture Brothers (for being the best TV show I’ve ever seen)
Wow, I can definitely say that many of those don’t warrant a place in the top ten. :) Thats what makes lists like this fun to talk about everyone has a different opinion. I will say that 4 of the ones you listed are deserving but you like IGN give way too much love to the Adult swim shows. How old are you may I ask?
Several thoughts:
-I don’t get the hatred of Dexter’s Lab. The first two seasons before it got brought back, anyway, were very funny. The character designs aren’t great but the general art design is actually quite high quality and made well to deal with its low budget (better so than a lot of cartoons that attempt “realistic” designs but just end up looking cheap and kind of ugly). Complaining about it ripping off the Looney Tunes? Never seemed to be a direct rip-off to me, and if it took inspiration, well, aren’t you supposed to steal from the best?
-A little fact-check: Dexter, PPG, and Johnny Bravo did not actually launch Cartoon Network. CN launched in 1992 showing mostly old Hanna-Barbera cartoons and some older classics. Realizing they needed new content to expand, they started making Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast for late nights, started looking into anime acquisitions, and most significantly started the What a Cartoon! project, where student films would be shown on TV as potential pilots and the successful ones would be made into series. Dexter, PPG, and Johnny Bravo were among those successes.
-The third of the first three Nicktoons you weren’t sure of: Ren and Stimpy, a show which should make this list somewhere (Rocko came sometime after, and I hope that has a spot on the list too). Also, I’d say there are three Nicktoons from the past decade or so that are definitely worthy of the top 100: Spongebob Squarepants (which love it or hate it has become iconic and I must say, I love it), Invader ZIM (a definite cult classic, and one that seems on the verge of a Futurama-style resurrection after an unfair cancelation), and Avatar: The Last Airbender (don’t judge it by the Shyamalan movie; this series has easily the best long-term ongoing storytelling of any American cartoon I’ve seen).
-Old Clone Wars>>>new one, at least from a visual perspective. The art in the old one is really quite good and looks amazing in motion. The animation in the new one is just really stiff and wooden and I can’t get into it. Plus, no Jar Jar or Jabba the Hutt’s offensive gay stereotype uncle in the old one, so that’s a major plus for it.
-If you haven’t seen Cowboy Bebop, I hope you’re now curious to check it out. It is a very different style from most popular anime, and it’s more inspired by American action movies with a bit of Bruce Lee thrown in. It was actually a big failure in Japan, but American fans loved it and made it profitable. There’s something of an ongoing character arc and it’s quite good, but each episode’s a stand-alone story, often switching between genres, from wacky comedy to dark horror to pure action to philosophically meditative. Possibly my favorite TV show ever. And the music in the show IS the best soundtrack to any TV show ever made.
Phineas and Ferb ONLY #62? One of the most musically diverse shows ever made? The character of Candace being perfectly voiced by Ashley Tisdale? Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien) as the dad? A character named Vanessa Doofenshmirtz? A secret agent platypus? A character named Isabella Garcia-Schwartz who says “Watcha DOOin?”
Are you guys on bad drugs?
Let’s see how you do with some of the other shows I am expecting to place very high.
EJKorvette on the boards
@Rubi-kun: yes I realized after recording CN started in 1992….but as you said they mainly reaired shows from past generations. PPG, Dexter’s and Johnny Bravo are what launched the fame they had.
@EJKorvette: As I said I didn’t even think Phineas and Ferb would have made the list at all. It was #61 not #62. And everything you said is correct about how musically diverse the show is. Hell we even deicated an entire GCR Ep to P&F. I love Phineas and Ferb, but as we have stated we are trying to think best of all time. And some people might not categorize P&F that way. Here’s GCR 13: https://www.geekcastradio.com/?p=1420
I was gonna comment but I agree and was going to state pretty much what Mike said above me lol.
It might be ironic, but I was bored today and reminiscing about old cartoons and their theme songs. Due to that I landed on the IGN list, and it was thanks to a comment in that list that I found you guys.
Great! You just added 4+ days of audio to my listening list… How the deuce am I ever going to catch up?
Oh, and just for information those 4+ days of audio is AFTER I deleted the the stuff I didn’t want and all your independent episode review shows.
Love it!
independent stuff….Wait what? Hope you like the countdown and continue to listen as we go along! if you want more in depth on the cartoons we grew up with check out ToonCast.
@OptimusSolo
I’m 20, I’m a musician, I am definitely biased to post Baby Boomer art in general.
sadsic probably would prefer a more anime-centric list, and that’s fine, but that isn’t what this list is set up to rank. Anime is just so vast that it really would need it’s own separate list. Several shows he listed in this top ten do not belong in the top ten of all-time. Boondock?!? I’ve seen it. It may have some social commentary to make, but it’s an adult show and it’s not one of the top ten of all-time. Looney Toons, yes. Simpsons. Tom & Jerry. Batman: the Animated Series. All top ten worthy. Not the others. Cowboy Bepop bored me. I couldn’t do it. I’m not a big anime fan. The plots are deep, but they move slow and I find many of the dubs to be unprofessional and flat. Just my opinion of many I have seen. I still like the animation and keep an open mind about them, but this list isn’t the focus for them. Venture Brothers? Number one. Wow! I mean, seriously…WOW! It may be your favorite, and that’s fine, but the rankings in my opinion should be based on popularity at the time of the show’s airing and life beyond, cultural impact, entertainment score, design, concept, voice acting, longevity. And most of all, I believe this list is attempting to list mainly shows for kids, not adults, although a few will make the list. Many of those Adult Swim shows just don’t cut it for me, and overall, I think they’re a niche. Nothing wrong with that, but best of all-time? No.
Cowboy Bebop maybe should be like in the low 50’s like 57-58
Phineas and Ferb I love! but as I said I was shocked it ever made the list. I think 61 is good for it.
I am pretty alright on this list for the most part, but I think Cowboy Bebop and Phines & Ferb should be higher. Maybe not as high i placed them on my list, but I think the shows are better made than some of the others. But who knows?
True , Mike. I think that both series would deserve to be in the top 50, but on the low end.
The big problem with this list is that you guys focus more on quantity than quality. Just because a show lasts one season doesn’t mean it was bad or not worthy of a show that lasted six, sometimes it just means that certain show didn’t need a long time to tell its story.
Also, you guys don’t need to keep bringing up IGN’s list. Your list already topped them just by your bottom 20 alone.
Keep up the good work.
thanks frank! Yeah we will continue to bring up IGN in our list because we rank stuff that they haven’t.
Glad you are liking the podcast!
I don’t rate quantity over quality but there is still something to be said for a show that lasts multiple seasons. Regardless of how long it takes to tell a story, ratings wise and avoiding cancellation for 5+ years is impressive no matter what! Thanks for the kind comments and keep listening man!!
I kind of regret my last comment. I wasn’t trying to accuse you guys of choosing quantity over quality, it just seems like for those shows that last a season or two you guys seem to prefer longer running series, and some long running series do suck (K.O.T.H ). Also, if any of you guys have Netflix I would suggest giving anime such as Bebop a try.
I’ve actually been working on my own top 100 animated series list since I came across IGN’s list a couple weeks ago (it’s very hard, especially when you’re solo). As a matter of fact, I found out about you guys from a comment on the IGN’s list board.
Sorry to rant and be a bother. Can’t wait until the next episode.
Glad you are liking the show!
As far as quantity VS quality, most of the 1 season things we mention is the anime stuff. As we’ve said we aren’t anime aficionados. Also we aren’t doing any research on the shows beforehand as besides kev none of us know what is ranking where.
So if we sound like we are just brushing a series off it’s because we probably know nothing about it.
If you want a really awesome anime review podcast check out Animezing Podcast at earth-2.net.
If you want more in depth cartoon talk check out ToonCast from us. You aren’t being a bother any and all feedback is welcome.
I appreciate it but to tell you the truth I’m mainly familiar with the anime on your list and DBZ, Naruto, Pokemon, Digimon, yugioh… basically anything widely known or regarded as the best.
What makes your podcast awesome (IMO) is that you guys aren’t afraid to speak your minds, even if it goes against popular opinion.
It’s sort of like the view, but it doesn’t suck.
hahahahahahahaha BEST COMMENT EVER! Thanks!
LOl well when started the Network Steve and I agreed that it would be Explicit!
I’m always one to speak my mind for the most part. To hell with being Politically Correct.
Yeah Idk who it was but the guy that dissed Family Guy is awesome. He hit the nail on the head.
If anything inspires my top 100 list it would be this, not IGN’s.
it was either me or JT as Kevin loves the damn show. I don’t outright hate family guy as much as I do Ren and Stimpy but still Family Guy sucks in my opinion.
I thought the first season or two was decent, and FG is okay for a laugh or two but the plots are just… and the characters… have the writers of this show ever heard of continuity? And can’t they have jokes that derive from the characters or plot instead of random flashbacks?
I do have to say Ren and Stimpy is truly overrated. If you’re a kid on a sugar rush then it is probably enjoyable for you but other than that I really don’t see it.
Wow couldn’t disagree with you more on that Frank!
I think Frank the bunny is gonna be the new mascot of ToonCast Beyond woohoo!!! finally someone who agrees with me!
@Optimus – I could see how you like the show. I used to be a fan but my taste changed over time. On the bright side many people love FG, whereas if I express my opinion to someone about it I get looked at as if I’m an alien or something.
@TFG1 – It’s funny you say that. Idk if you’re familiar with the film ‘Donnie Darko’. You see, Frank the bunny is a character, and a scary looking one at that.
@EJKorvette her name is Shapiro not Scwartz ;)
I can grant that Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends is the best of the Spider-Man cartoons, but that’s not saying much. I will say that I definitely have fond memories of Spider-Man sharing the same voice as Bumblebee.
Clone Wars… way too low. Should be much higher, and that other piece of crap has no business being higher. Ahsoka… dead at Grievous’ feet! That’s where she should be.
Danger Mouse is cool. I love those old British cartoons they used to show on Nick.
However, Super Mario Super Show should not be a top list of any kind. I would sooner put Saturday Supercade on a list like this. Peter Cullen as Mario, baby! PETER CULLEN!
lol that would be weird though neil. Cullen as Mario … yeah WEIRD!!!
But it happened! Peter Cullen as Mario. It’s Saturday Supercade, where all your video game friends get together. And it had Soupy Sales as Donkey Kong.
ohhh I get it now lol I thought you were just makin shit up as you went lol
care bears personally it should not be on this list
aladin i prefer the movie over the tv show
captain N the game master nothing to say
gummy bears ok placement
space ghost coast to coast needs to be lower
spiderman and his amazing friends ok placement
johnny quest good placement
dexter’s labortory i don’t want any hate but i think this should be a little bit higher
deathnote needs to be higher very interesting animation and very wierd characters
batman the brave and the bold should not be on this list
doug one of the original nick shows this should be higher top 60 at least
danger mouse should be higher
the critic good placement
super mario show should not be on this list
star wars clone wars 2003 perfer the movies over this one
johnny bravo ok placement
bravstarr nothing to say
sliverhawks good theme song ok placement
cowboy bebop needs to be a little bit higher
phineas and ferb why higher than recess needs to be lower