What was the worst Cartoon Network original?

[Avaitor]

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that ML&O deserves a little credit as the first Cartoon Network original to be an out-right bomb. Granted, I Am Weasel didn't last for too long on its own, but I think that's more because they pretty much ran out of things to do with the characters back on Cow & Chicken and less to do with its own reception.

Nick didn't have their first failed Nicktoon until the following year. And that's if you count Pelswick as a Nickelodeon original, because I believe it was a collab with Nelvana or something.

Why does this matter? Mike, Lu & Og came out during a high creative point at CN, and proved that not everything would sell from them, and that they can make less ambitious shows alongside stuff like Courage and C&C. That deserves some mention, I believe.

[Eddy]

Yeah, Mike, Lu & Og never really took off, did it? I know it wasn't for a lack of trying because CN advertised the hell out of it back when it was on. But seems like nothing could really save it. It certainly wasn't the worst CN original but it was just so forgettable.

Oh, you know, if we're counting ALL Cartoon Network originals, cartoon or not, I'd have to say the absolute worst has to go to Level Up. That show just makes me angry watching it.

[Avaitor]

I haven't seen Level Up, but it doesn't look like much of anything at all. I wouldn't be surprised if it really is the worst.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I saw five minutes of Level Up. It was horrifyingly obnoxious, and had less to do with video games than VR Troopers.

[Daikun]

Could it be...?

[Silverstar]

The worst CN original is one we never even got to see.....Team Toon.

It would've been another mixed media live-action/animation hybrid about 4 live-action kids who patrol the streets with cartoon characters' heads superimposed over their bodies.



Thankfully, this project was canned, so we dodged a bullet with this one.

[Peanutbutter]

I saw a couple episodes of Level Up after it's pilot movie. The movie was actually decent, but the main series was boring. It was really a slice-of-life high school show that focused way too much on the teen's lives getting temporarily disrupted by something from the Internet (not even from the game they play, various things like someone's dating profile avatar were used), as opposed to the much more fun premise the pilot movie had.


They really should have kept Maldark and have him try to run amok on Earth with a different monster. There are other ways the premise could have been expanded, but oh well. With Annoying Orange, I like the web series but the CN show was boring.

[hobbyfan]

I look at it this way.

Out of Jimmy's Head would get a vote on principle alone. This was a live-action sitcom with animated elements. There were, IIRC, no all-animated segments at all. This was kind of like Roger Rabbit crossed with, say, Ned's Declassified over on Nick. That's what the CN idiots were aiming for. The writers' strike, coupled with poor reviews and writing, as noted, killed the show.

Sheep in the Big City aspired to be a homage to Jay Ward in concept & principle. It bombed because of poor writing. It had to be bad when the Ranting Swede was getting more attention than Sheep. OBTW, the Ranting Swede's voice was, IIRC, ex-MTV VJ Kevin Seal.

Mad makes the list because the 15 minute format doesn't do it justice. Period.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force ([adult swim]) gets on the list because of the "animated colorforms" used for the titular "heroes"---and I use that term loosely. That it somehow developed a following is a miracle.

Another [as] show gets on the list, too, despite its' fan following---Harvey Birdman. The satire was too mean to certain H-B characters of the past, and played to the internet in certain cases. You can probably guess which ones. That isn't satire or parody, that's just disrespect. Because of its success a true revival of Birdman will never happen.

[Peanutbutter]

For me it's Mike, Lu, and Og. Boring show with terrible animation and designs. It was a show for little kids and toddlers that didn't get greenlit until there was no real network to air it. It wouldn't have been out of place on Nick Jr. back in the early 90s, but it had no business being on Cartoon Network anymore than Hamtaro airing on Toonami.

[Commode]

Sheep in the Big City and Harvey Birdman are great.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sheep in the Big City and Harvey Birdman are great.

Harvey Birdman is basically a series in the style of Naked Gun or Anchorman where the fun comes from humor being so all over the place and crazy- yet still focused on a core story that it takes seriously (no matter how ridiculous it might be) in the process. It's one of the few AS originals I can still watch and enjoy as much as I did when it came out.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I loved Harvey Birdman because it made fun of Hanna Barbera cartoons (and Phil).

[LumRanmaYasha]

I loved Harvey Birdman because it made fun of Hanna Barbera cartoons (and Phil).

I loved it because it made fun of Hanna Barbera cartoons and was sharply written satire laced with multi-layered jokes and hilariously awkward characters. Plus Phil Ken Sebben. 

[Avaitor]

Ugh, FYE is doing a buy 1, get 1 for a buck deal on their used TV sets. If I wasn't poor, that would mean that I could get the first 2 Harvey Birdman sets for under $10.

[Lord Il]

Squidbillies
Assy McGee

How do shows like these even get off the ground? Got to admit they've given me a chuckle or two. But for the most part... WTF??!