On we go with the fan boy flagellation of shows I like less than this overlooked animated series of action, angst, and acerbic wit. GO TEAM VENTURE!

#12. Power Puff Girls & #11. Spongebob Squarepants

I’m generally going to call these kid shows that are merely primetime because of the advent of all-cartoon and child interest channels. Primetime is prime because finally you’ve got the brats to sleep, and if you’ve got teens they’re occupied: doing homework, on the net, getting drunk/stoned with friends, choking themselves, or fucking/pursuing it with other teens – whatever their hobbies happen to be.

This is adult time for adult shows. Too early for porn – if you’re single or dating – but late enough to reconnect with your spouse over a good laugh or other programming at your level of maturity. If you’re watching these kind of shows at primetime, feel free to bang your helmeted head against the monitor to show your anger. Teh wurdz wil goe wai sune.

#10. King of the Hill

Futurama: cancelled, but this bullshit is about to start season 13!!! Why is this show even animated when it could be a live-action sitcom without loosing anything? Can’t find a handsome native to play John Redcorn? Can’t find an elderly actor to do Dorf-like shtick to portray Cotton Hill (now dead)? It’s cheaper, sure, but shouldn’t animation be …um … er… ANIMATED?! Decent if clichéd characters and chuckle worthy plots, but what the hell that is impressive about the show escapes me. I do enjoy redneck humor, but the writers are as unimaginative as the characters they’ve made to mock uninspired red staters that form the bulk of a Fox audience.

The Top 10 is breached.

#9. Space Ghost: Coast-to-Coast

What we used to watch when we were the high/drunk teenagers. Funny for it’s time, it’s what I imagine IGN editors talk about when they’re trying to pal around with their writer subordinates – with similar scenes happening at Cartoon Network and other creative companies. Not quite for the Ovaltine generation of fan boy, but those a little older than us: the Grungers, spearhead of Gen X.

I do appreciate the dialogue focused comedy, but you can tell watching it now that it got over on being a novel concept: some awkward real life guest being pitched oblivious non sequiturs by a forgotten super hero. It’s descendants Sea Lab 2021, Aqua Teen and Harvey Birdman are more preferred for their faster paced bizarreness of concept and imagery.

#8 Home Movies

A rub because I really like this show, and for the first time must actually consider it next to Venture Bros. It’s animation is very choppy and blocky but intentionally so being told from the point of view of children. It’s dialogue and characterization are top notch being very witty but genuine with real personalities but not overblown. To contrast with King of the Hill, Coach McGurk and Bill are both fat losers. While Bill is over the top in his stupidity and depravity, McGurk fights to hide his similar flaws, sometimes, with clear macho overcompensating. You’ll chuckle at Bill, but you know someone like McGurk, making him funnier.

Home Movies is defeated because it’s simplistic, with Venture having both more depth and a complex plot archs with recurring villains that may not be fully detailed but soliciting questions – like a comic. Similar to King of the Hill, Home Movies could easily be live-action, sort of flat but funny. It’s a matter of mood whether I’d watch one or the other.

#7 The Critic

Absolutely stinks! One of the new generation to follow the Simpson’s, but not even a cross over in Springfield could save it. How it got this high I can’t fathom, more than likely some grundger added it for the memories of Jon Lovitz on SNL with Dana Carvey and Mike Myers during the post Eddie Murphy depression. Fox made the right call ejecting this puss ball from the line up – though many could‘ve stayed. For these excellent shows like Freaks and Geeks, The Tick and Firefly, we hold a line of silence …

#6 Ren and Stimpy

A classic that lets you know the list makers know their shit some of the time.

The exact opposite of the dialogue focused style, R&S was all about the juvenile gross out art and absurdity story ideas, like the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen. Remember the nerve-ending fairy? Gritty Kitty litter that could withstand horse shits? Don’t whiz on the electric fence! My friends and I laughed ourselves sore. For all this nostalgia I could get looped in, R&S is essentially a kids show like Power Puff Girlz and Spongebob. This is an excellently done cartoon, without the plot cohesion and substance of a real series though- just insanely surreal gags.

#5. Family Guy

So funny Fox couldn’t keep it cancelled. It’s syndicated reruns were beating the late night giants with their fresh guest and real life people, audiences preferred Quahog. Amazing, and deservedly so.

Characterization is the power of the show, which is otherwise a essentially a sketch comedy program. Someone makes an off the wall comment from left on say … Chester Cheetah being intense sending us to a sketch of the Cheetos mascot snorting chopped up puffs like blow and worshipping Neil Pert. In between these we have a pretty shallow but intense cast that gets really interesting once we get to the alcoholic middle-aged talking dog and the sophisticated super villainous talking gay baby.

The one fault that brings FG down is it’s unoriginality of concept, not execution. This is a more cartoonish Simpson’s with a more mature edge and satire traded in for pop cultural allusions. At the core it‘s another variant of the family sitcom started by Flintstones. Venture Brothers is based off Johnny Quest but is radically different from it’s forbearer taking the concept of a pulp super scientist with family adventure category into a comedic direction that has more substance than the original.

Thin? Thicker than your Mom’s lingerie, and from the way her head is furiously bobbing she agrees.

#4 Beavis and Butthead

King of the Hill style with Space Ghost appeal, NEXT! Think I’m too harsh, watch an old episode now.

#3. Futurama

This can’t be defeated … yet. Futurama was an excellent series that managed four seasons, and is still making movies until it‘s return (hopefully). If VB can make it that long, we’ll see get a rematch. Otherwise, I love them equally.

Both have an excellent balance of comedy and action, both are sci-fi themed, both have great memorable characters, both have made references to D&D and fan boy culture. Action packed with detailed characters and plot archs with enough adult content to get the rewind and pause buttons used – hence mature. Futurama had Gygax on though, that’s a tall mug of win with a shot of awesome boilermaker. Those that disagree may die of a crushed pelvis (not an awful way to go).

Venture Brothers is #4. South Park and The Simpsons are unassailable juggernauts, taking down them would require a cross into the realm of bullshitery – even more so than some may say I’ve gone.

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