Dexter’s Laboratory

[Jawscvmcdia]

Hopefully some of you may know what I’m talking about, but a show called Dexter’s Lab ran for a few seasons. I am still a big fan, anyone else?

Topic

[Mr Flibble]

I used to be a big fan, not seen it for about 10 years though…

[John Hoare]

One of my favourite series ever. Labretto is a stunning piece of television.

A shame the series lost it for Seasons 3 and 4, once Tartovsky left. Still worth watching, but nowhere near as good as it was.

[Ben Paddon]

I fell in love with the original “What A Cartoon” short, and was thrilled when it was picked up for a full series.

[Jawscvmcdia]

Well Tartovsky moved onto other things, and the other directors picked up the show such as Rob Renzetti etc.

[Mr Flibble]

One of my favourite series ever. Labretto is a stunning piece of television.

I thought I’d seen pretty much all the Tartovsky ones, but I’ve never seen this one before…

I need to find the lightbulb one with (mostly) no speech (DiM) and the one with the forward/reverse machine Sdrawkcab :)

DVD release in the UK please! (It’s released in Australia, how can we import from there…?)

[John Hoare]

Well Tartovsky moved onto other things, and the other directors picked up the show such as Rob Renzetti etc.

They made a good stab at it, and the later shows are certainly not worthless. (And I recall Season 4 being better than Season 3 – proper title cards, for a start!) But it does feel like some of the soul has gone, for me. Exactly the same happened with The Powerpuff Girls (which I love even more than Dexter’s Lab) when McCracken left.

It doesn’t really help that I’m not keen on the change in animation style either – cleaner, yes, but the character animation feels less interesting, and I don’t like the revised character designs as much. And I always felt the depths that Dee Dee had disappeared once Tartovsky left, to be replaced with “annoying sister who breaks things” and that’s it.

[Jawscvmcdia]

Christine retired as-well as the original voice of Dexter and was replaced by Candi Milo.

[John Hoare]

I forgot all about that!

I want to see them all over again now.

[Jawscvmcdia]

http://www.watchtvsitcoms.com/dexterslab.php

[Mr Flibble]

Next: Fairly Odd Parents. A similar style of cartoon, but for Nickelodeon instead of Hannah-Barbera. Created by Butch Hartman, who also worked on Dexter as a writer and storyboard artist.

[Monkeynuts]

I used to bloody love all the Cartoon Cartoons that they showed on Cartoon Network. They always used to get really weird after a certain time though. Especially Courage the Cowardly Dog, that could be some scary shit

[Ben Paddon]

I loved the What A Cartoon pilot for Courage, but the series never seemed to capture the same spirit.

[Danny Stephenson]

They still show Cartoon Cartoons on most evenings, actually. But yeah, they are usually the more bizarre affairs. I remember one clever Powerpuff Girls episode (i’m sure John will able to tell me this) where I think every line spoken is a Beatles lyric.

[John Hoare]

I remember one clever Powerpuff Girls episode (i?m sure John will able to tell me this) where I think every line spoken is a Beatles lyric.

Meet the Beat-Alls. A favourite of most of Powerpuff fandom!

I love Jewel of the Aisle – especially the ad parody, which is perfect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdNpzhXO-aI

[Ben Paddon]

The irony is that people who hate the constant pop culture referencing in modern television also seem to love “Meet the Beat-Alls”. Because they’re dumb.

[TheLeen]

I fell in love with it when I saw D & DD.

[John Hoare]

Yeah, D&DD is bloody brilliant. And I’ve never even played D&D!

I like Meet the Beat-Alls – it’s very successful at what it’s doing – but it’s far from my favourite Powerpuff ep. I find other episodes far more emotionally satisfying, have far better stories, and are far funnier.

[pfm]

Normally I would scoff at someone finding Powerpuff Girls episodes ’emotionally satisfying’ but one would only need to briefly peruse my youtube history to know that this would be ridiculously hypocritical.

[Nick R]

Samurai Jack Region 2 DVD release, please! (Who needs a Daredevil film when you’ve got the Samurai Jack episode with the archers?)

I like Meet the Beat-Alls – it?s very successful at what it?s doing – but it?s far from my favourite Powerpuff ep. I find other episodes far more emotionally satisfying, have far better stories, and are far funnier.

I think Meet the Beat-Alls even tops The Rutles (which it also references!) as my favourite Beatles homage ever.

I had cable around 1995-96, so I was able to see the original What A Cartoon! pilots on Cartoon Network – but soon after that we went back to terrestrial TV and I lost interest in kids cartoons that weren’t Animaniacs or Earthworm Jim. So I never really appreciated the Tartakovsky/McCracken cartoons when they were first shown. It was only thanks to sharing a house at uni that had NTL/Virgin Media that I was able to watch Cartoon Network’s 11-till-1 Cartoon Cartoon blocks and realised how great Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends are. (Ed, Edd & Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Kids Next Door and Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy… much less so.)

[Mr Flibble]

I never saw Powerpuff Girls when it was on – if I had access to it now then I’m sure I’d love it.

Ed, Edd and Eddy had a certain charm – it was completely surreal for one thing, but IIRC it did rely a little too much on the same few gags.

[Ridley]

…and realised how great Dexter?s Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack and Foster?s Home for Imaginary Friends

Kids’ shows with depth. Off the top of my head, I’d bunch Reboot with them aswell.

Oh and Animals of Farthing Wood, and its clone Noah’s Island.

[Anonymous]

One of the great things about having kids is that you’re forced to watch shows you wouldn’t ordinarily touch with somebody else’s bargepole. I found both Dexter and the Powerpuffs very accessible as an adult and still enjoy them (even though my girls have moved on to the horror that is Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers).

Top cartoons, and Mojo Jojo gets some of the best lines going.

[Jawscvmcdia]

Dexter’s Lab hasn’t got a DVD release.

[TheLeen]

Has, too.
http://chaos.com/product/dexters_laboratory_season_1_1667162_43698.html

[Jawscvmcdia]

Well what I mean is no western release.

[Nakrophile]

Excellent cartoon. I liked I Am Weasel as well, and Cow and Chicken.

[John Hoare]

I bloody love Grim and Evil – it always felt like the true successor to the great 90s/early 2000s Cartoon Network shows. Now it’s finished, is there anything else as good now?

I really, really want to love Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends – a great idea, and it’s bloody CRAIG MCCRACKEN – but something is stopping me. (No, it’s not the lack of laugh track, now fuck off.) It’s fun and all, but I feel I should love it an awful lot more than I should.

[Jawscvmcdia]

I’ve decided to do my own Dexter’s Lab flash.

Here’s a little taster – http://www.mediafire.com/?llybiwmnjmh

[Dave]

>I?ve decided to do my own Dexter?s Lab flash.

I thought Lab Flash meant something very different

[Anonymous]

Samurai Jack was freaking awseome as well. Might just have to grab those DVDs soon.

This website (despite my infrequent visits) will make a pauper yet!

Courage was totally fucked up. I loved it.

[Author]

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