Five Best Cartoon Network Original Series on Netflix Instant

In light of Cartoon Network releasing a massive amount of mostly old and some ongoing series of theirs onto Netflix Instant, I figured it would be helpful and fun to make a list of the top five Cartoon Network original series currently on Netflix Instant. No complaining about Family Guy, Futurama or American Dad not being included on the list as they’re not originally from Cartoon Network.

1. Justice League / Justice League Unlimited (2001-2006)

A sprawling, epic series that managed to take literally hundreds of characters– many of which have been cultural icons for decades (a.k.a. the original seven) but still created unique and interesting takes on these characters– and really got the audience to care about them and to forget about what came before.  Justice League is not just the best Justice League story outside of the comics, it’s as Complex Magazine called it in 2012 “the best Justice League story ever, period.”

Best Episodes: “Legends”, “Wild Cards”, “This Little Piggy”, “Fearful Symmetry”, “Panic in the Sky”

2. Home Movies (1991-2004)

This selection breaks my own rule about being a Cartoon Network original series as Home Movies were developed and aired on UPN, but the show was canceled after only five episodes and then was picked up by Cartoon Network where it had the distinction of being the first show ever aired on the Adult Swim programming block and the resulting 47 episodes were all produced and aired on Adult Swim.  Most of the shows humor was delivered in the form of improvised conversations between the voice actors of the show and the numerous comedians they brought in to guest star on the show, most notably Louis C.K. as “Andrew Small” father of the main character “Brendon Small.” After the show ended, series co-creators Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small went on to create Bob’s Burgers and Metalocalpyse, respectively.

Best Episodes: “Director’s Cut”, “Dad”, “Curses”, “Those B*itches Tried to Cheat Me”, “Temporary Blindness”

3. Samurai Jack (2001-2004) (pictured above)

Although at first glance this show just seems like mindless action, it’s really more like mindful action.  Samurai Jack is not really about the narrative so much as it is about images, which weirdly enough is something not too often encountered in animated series.  The world that Samurai Jack takes place is, although ostensibly being set in the future, is hyper-stylized and anachronistic in nature, which makes for some great images and plots.  Although the series never finished, its creator Genndy Tartakovsky has repeatedly claimed that he plans to wrap the series up with a feature film at some point in the future.

Best Episodes: “Jack and the Three Blind Archers”, “Jack and the Scotsman: Part 1″ , “Jack and the Swamp Monster”,  ”Samurai vs. Ninja”, “Tale of X9″

4. The Boondocks (2005-?) 

A hilarious, controversial comedy that was canceled after three seasons (but apparently a fourth is in being produced).  The Boondocks ended up turning into a huge cultural touchstone with Riley-as-Scarface posters and T-shirts seemingly everywhere and exclusive to the T.V. show creation – Uncle Ruckus becoming one of the most well-known and oft-imitated characters in the history of animation.

Best Episodes: “Let’s Nab Oprah”, “… Or Die Trying”, “Stinkmeaner Strikes Back”, “Attack of the Killer Kung-fu Wolf B*tch”, “Smokin’ with Cigarettes”

5. Adventure Time (2010-Present)

This show is a lot less consistent than the shows listed above it as a lot of the jokes (and sometimes entire episodes) are hit and miss, but this show definitely deserves quite a bit of credit for being one of the most daring and ostensibly inventive children’s show to come along in a long time.  This is one of those T.V. shows you can watch Youtube clips of for over an hour and not even notice how much time you’ve spent doing so.

Best Episodes: “Evicted!”,”The Eyes”,  ”Guardians of the Sunshine”, “Mystery Train”, “Video Makers”

image from www.cafepress.com