I spent a lot of time watching cartoons as a kid and has even carried over into my adult life, and through those many years, I have seen some great cartoons get cancelled way before they should’ve. Here are a few of those extinct cartoons that we can only look back on with fond memories and wonder why great shows like these get canceled.
Earthworm Jim (1995-1996) 2 Seasons, 23 Episodes
This was a short lived series based on the popular video game of the same name. It was a pretty cerebral cartoon, often making references to the video games, which may be lost on anyone who hasn’t played them. For instance, a cow crushes Jim or a number of other characters at the end of each episode, which is happened at the end of the first game. Sorry for the spoiler, but come on…the game is from 1994. You had 20 years to check it out. There has been talk about the entire series being released on DVD, but it has been pushed back or cancelled or something. There isn’t much on why it was cancelled, but since it ran on Kids’ WB, I’m assuming it was probably ineptitude.
Histeria! (1998-2000) 2 Seasons, 23 Episodes
Histeria! was an educational cartoon that ran on Kids’ WB. Think School House Rock, but you know…actually entertaining and funny. It was created by Tom Ruegger, one of the minds behind cartoon greats like Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky & the Brain, and Freakazoid!. The show would put a group of crazy characters into historical events where slapstick mayhem and hilarity would ensue. Despite all the asinine humor it would go on to talk about all kinds of interesting things about history ranging from a traveler trying to find one of the 14 cities named after Alexander the Great in ancient Greece to a surfer stoner kid interviewing J. Robert Oppenheimer. The series only aired 23 episodes of this show, but over 50 were made. I honestly wish I could see the episodes that didn’t run, but I guess those episodes are locked in a Raiders of the Lost Ark type warehouse somewhere. To date there has been no talk about releasing it to DVD.
Samurai Jack (2001-2004) 4 Seasons, 52 Episodes
A samurai wielding a magic sword gets hurled into the future by an evil wizard demon…thing or whatever. In the future, the demon wizard Aku is master of the entire planet which is pretty terrible for the guy that was trying to magic sword murder him. So, Jack spends the series looking for a way to get back to his time to defeat Aku and prevent the future he currently is in (I became cross eyed right there for a second). It was a pretty badass and violent show geared towards kids. It got away with such gratuitous violence by making the villains robots or aliens. So when Jack slices through countless limbs and power stabs through the abdomen of a foe and bathes in his fallen enemies blood, it’s ok because it is robot oil or alien goo.
Suck it Standards and Practices! That is just oil. I guess the only ones who might have a problem with this is robots. So we are safe until the robot uprising.
Here is where I put in the “Beware of Spoiler” disclaimer. The series ended before Jack could find a way back to his own time to have his final bout with Aku, thus giving everyone who watched the show, cartoon blue balls. There was talk about a 3D movie to wrap the series, but that has yet to happen.
Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009) 2 Seasons, 26 Episodes
Quite possibly the best interpretation of Spider-Man in any format outside of the comic books. Its stylized animation was packed with action, excitement, and angst. Spider-Man finally was able to portray his smart aleck wit, which was always lacking in most other versions of Spider-Man. The story was woven together with such care that I got so swept into the storyline that they seriously convinced me that Harry Osborne was the Green Goblin (something I knew was not true) only to show that Norman Osborne was the Green Goblin in the season two finale. I was so embarrassed that they pulled one over on me, but totally impressed with the fact that a kids cartoon was had me totally enveloped in the story. It was a widely acclaimed cartoon in the comic community and was considered the greatest Spider-Man cartoon by nerd experts everywhere. Sadly, it only lasted 26 episodes. It wasn’t technically cancelled as much as it was just completely screwed over. It was collateral damage after the Disney buy out of Marvel. Instead of continuing the show, Disney gave the ultimate middle finger to the Spectacular Spider-Man series and just made a new Spider-Man cartoon, the Ultimate Spider-Man. Sadly, the Spectacular Spider-Man series will forever be a great show that never have closure for its fans.
None of these villains were any match for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But a high pitched voice cartoon mouse…well that dude smashed the webslinger like a bug…or arachnid, whatever.
Freakazoid! (1995-1997) 2 Seasons, 24 Episodes
This is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. It combines my love of classic cartoon slapstick comedy with the superhero world. It was originally created by Bruce Timm (I shouldn’t have to mention who he is), but he dropped out when Steven Spielberg wanted something more comical. Tom Ruegger takes the helm and makes it pretty much one of the most insane things to be called a children’s cartoon. The humor, albeit childish in nature (like discussing the cultural differences on ways to say poo gas, which was crude vapors in Scotland) was way over kids’ heads. It ended up capturing an older demographic, myself included. However, that wasn’t good enough to keep the show going. The ratings were lackluster and the show went the way of the dodos. The show still has a strong following. Many of my friends and myself will go into a Freakazoid! quote marathon. It’s a short marathon since it only lasted 24 episodes and one of the episodes repeated an entire cartoon from a previous episode. It’s a shame this show missed its mark. Even Tom Ruegger was quoted “If prisons had Nielson boxes, Freakazoid! would still be on the air.” If only Tom…if only. On a side note, how cool would it be if Freakazoid! met Deadpool? It would probably just result in any one who watched it become instantly insane, but probably pretty cool too.
Well I can always watch the DVDs and just jam a bunch of food in my mouth. Actually that sounds pretty awesome.
These are just a few of the cartoons that I miss. I plan on doing more, so if you have any you remember and miss, let us know in the comments.
