Season 5 of The Flash has been a real slog. Last season wasted a lot of time but I was still mostly invested but this one really struggled to engage me outside of a few episodes and I can comfortably say there was maybe five truly great episodes out of this twenty-two episode run and that’s pretty shocking. I’ll get to my final thoughts on the season as a whole later, but for now let’s talk about some highlights of this episode.

They actually explain the time travel shenanigans and I’ll admit that I was being pretty stupid not to figure out something so simple. It totally makes sense for Thawne to play the longest game to get himself out of prison, very Machiavellian, as he was in season one!

Hell, his whole escape is just wonderful, we haven’t seen some good villain speedster kills since… season two of Legends? Geez, that was a while ago… Yeah, they walked it back but it was still kinda satisfying to see Thawne turn the tables on his sadist warden.

Thawne double-teaming Barry and Nora solo is a great way to establish how much of a threat he is, even to two West-Allen speedsters but then seeing Team Flash kick the absolute shit out of Thawne was a brilliant tables turn moment too. He even had nice things to say to everyone! That’s the Thawne we love to hate!

I’m in two minds on Nora snapping; because on the one hand, her becoming a reluctant Reverse Flash would actually be interesting (even if this show couldn’t pull that off as it is) but her actions finally coming to bite her in the arse is really good.

All of this planning Thawne did and he still found a new way to mess with Barry because Nora’s whole mission lead to her being erased from the timeline! And Thawne just twisting the knife to echo the same kind of sentiment he did when he killed Cisco way back when is fantastic. Okay, okay, I’ve talked about Thawne enough, Tom Cavanagh killed it and we’ll, in his own words, see him next Crisis so onto the big huge moment of the show; Nora’s death.

It hits harder than a truck, honestly. For all the shit I’ve given to the show this season, the moments it does best are the ones that make Grant Gustin cry because for as much of a bell-end, that deserves everything he gets, Barry Allen is; it still hurts to watch him lose Nora. Candace too, to an extent, but it’s Grant that carries emotional moments like this and it’s sweet to see Nora truly learn from her father’s mistakes and pick “heroic sacrifice” over “stupid decision that will no doubt kill someone down the road.”

In the same vein of sad departures, after all the off-screen romancing of new girlfriend Kamilla, Cisco comes to the decision to not only reveal his double-life but to also take the meta-cure himself. It’s a very understated swansong to Carlos Valdez but, at the very least, it was a sweet scene between Cisco and the most important person to him there; Caitlin/Frost.

It’s sad but he leaves with a smile and a gift for his best girl(s). Cisco, seemingly, made a super-suit for Caitlin/Frost and they both seem to like it so we’ll probably see that next season.

We also get a great scene with Captain Singh, whose actor also appears to be leaving, as he hands over Captaincy to Joe and acknowledges that Barry is The Flash and he knew all along. Man, I’m going to miss Patrick Sabongui, he was always a great addition to any episode.

In a montage during Nora’s farewell video she left in her diary, we also get a shot of Ralph getting back into the private eye game and picking up a case file with the name Dearborn. Hmmmm… Now that’s clearly foreshadowing for his one true love interest if ever I saw it…

And in the stinger; Gideon announces an incoming time flux and we see the infamous newspaper… change. With the year settling on 2019 and the rest of the date obscured, this is clearly foreshadowing the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover and I can’t wait!

This season really took it out of me and while I’ve threatened it before, I’m following through now. Discounting the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, this will be the last season of The Flash I will be covering on Flash Facts. I feel the series has run it’s course and the production crew have shown a real unwillingness for major shake-ups and that’s lead to the show on the macro scale being stale and boring to me.

I had fun with certain episodes and there’s been a few great moments this season but it’s not nearly enough to justify my time watching anymore, let alone reviewing. Thanks for everyone who stuck with this column and I hope you’ll join me again later in the year when the skies turn red, when worlds will live and worlds will die…

But until then, just remember:

Here we go with The Flash season finale and for all the shit I’ve given the show this season, I will admit that there were some genuine surprises to be had, starting with…

The death of HR Wells. I knew they were going to save Iris through shenanigans but I’ll give the show credit for a cunning bait-and-switch using established plot points; with HR taking Iris’s place on the business end of Savitar’s spike thanks to his image inducer. It’s a clever work around and had a real emotional impact for the audience and the team.

The Killer Frost/Vibe dynamic is interesting this episode too as Cisco’s gradual melting of Caitlin’s icy exterior pays off as she turns face and attacks Savitar for trying to kill Cisco. She even attends HR’s funeral, albeit from a distance, promising to come back to the team when she figures out who she is. Like I said previously, with Killer Frost apart of the Justice League in comics, it makes sense to give her a face-turn for some cross-media compatibility.

If there’s one thing I didn’t like was how they handled the Barry/Other-Barry scenes. Not that they’re bad, in fact they’re great, but they don’t go anywhere. We go through a whole song and dance with Savitar being saved by Team Flash only for him to reveal it was a waste of his time. And ours, apparently! Was he seriously that bored while waiting for Cisco to modify the speed bazooka that he figured he’d dick around with his old mates for shits and giggles? I dunno, good scenes but they served no purpose.

Naturally, the day is saved (and Jay gets broken out of the speed force to boot!) and everything is hunky-dory! …Of course, it isn’t. We need setup for next season and apart from a sly hint at a future villain (DeVoe aka The Thinker) we have a new dynamic to establish. With Jay free from the speed prison and no one to take his place, the sky erupts with lightning, demanding a speedster sacrifice and since everyone else has had a turn (and because he needs to serve penance for his numerous fuck-ups), Barry decides to go.

Wow, this is potentially a huge shake-up for the show! With Barry gone, Wally would become Central City’s Flash with Vibe as back-up. That’s great because the kid needs more development and can truly grow with Jay’s guidance. I mean, if it sticks. The absolute worst thing that could happen is that Barry returns within the first couple episodes (and I have a sinking feeling that he could) but I hope not. The Flash lineage is one of the longest running in comics and is as diverse as they come so seeing the sidekick become the hero is a great direction for the show to go.

This season has had it’s ups and downs, having a third speedster as the big bad was a huge misstep in my opinion but the huge crossover in the middle bolstered it and there were a fair few great moments so overall it’s an average season. I hope that we’ll be seeing a Brave New World when we come back next season but for now, as always…

Okay, so here’s the thing… Last week was a bit hectic for me. My mum went into heart surgery so I was looking after my family, and I had two extra TV shows to cover for Invasion Week sooooo… Deals With Our Devils slipped by me entirely and honestly… Kinda glad it did.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting premise for an episode but seeing things play out twice from two perspectives, which could have been done in an interesting fashion, kind of feels like padding while parts that I was genuinely interested in were barely expounded upon.

AIDA’s reading of the Darkhold is of particular interest because instead of what I expected ie; she couldn’t read it, she not only could but it was in binary as well. The line Thor said about science and magic not being as distinct as we perceive them to be clearly has some merit when it comes to the Darkhold.

Another segment was the conversation between Reyes and the Rider (is it too much of a stretch to call him Zarathos since Eli is flesh and blood?). It could have been a fascinating look at their relationship but was boiled down to it’s barest element; the deal.

The deal we finally see sealed in The Laws of Inferno Dynamics, which is a fantastic title. Again, the most interesting parts are from AIDA and Reyes, the former finally revealed as an LMD and the latter making sure his uncle can’t hurt anyone else.

It’s safe to say that Reyes was never going to be in the show for long so bowing out at the mid-season finale makes sense. Might as well take the opportunity to say that I’ve enjoyed Gabriel Luna in this role and it’s a shame to see him go. Hopefully he’ll be back in the future and maybe this will lead to a solo series in the future but for the short time we had him, Luna was a brilliant Ghost Rider.

I really liked this continuity nod toward the end of the episode. Very cute moment to cement Daisy’s return as a rostered Agent. Good thing Mac and Yo-Yo got together too because holy fuck, that was getting tedious. But this is the mid-season finale so we need a cliff-hanger right? Something to get people interested in the next arc. Something like…

Yeah, May being revealed as an LMD’ll do it! I can only presume she was replaced when she was still having visions. Could Radcliffe also been an LMD? Could Fitz? Anyone who has interacted with AIDA in the house is immediately suspect! Shame about whatsisname. Guy. Snappy.

Not a bad winter finale overall but I can’t wait to see how the show progresses with this rogue AI plotline. I guess I’ll see you guys in January!

The Flash finally runs head long at the mystery that’s run parallel to the week-to-week shenanigans; who is The Man in the Yellow Suit? The titular character makes his presence felt in a big way as even before the title card we see Barry in hot pursuit of his lemon-flavoured doppelganger. Will Barry catch him and will he get the answers he’s searched for his entire life? Let’s find out!

It’s Christmas time in Central City and Barry and Iris exchange gifts, Barry’s being a replica of Iris’s mother’s ring that she lost as a child. Eddie highlights the point that this isn’t the kind of gift friends get each other and I agree with him but siblings? Considering that Barry and Iris were raised together, I could totally see this played off as a nice brotherly gesture on Barry’s part if it wasn’t so bloody obvious that Barry is in love with her. Hell, even Barry’s dad, who is in PRISON, knows he is and Barry finally confesses and it’s awkward as all hell. Grant Gustin and Candice Patton are both fine actors but their characters have no chemistry. There’s a reason I’d rather see Caitlin become the love interest…

Speaking of Caitlin, her fiancé Ronnie makes himself known to her but tells her to keep away and that he’s “not Ronnie” but Firestorm, the first time we‘ve heard the name. He keeps repeating he’s not Ronnie and I twigged as to why. Firestorm is traditionally made of two individuals so if he’s not Ronnie, that must mean there is another person inside the Firestorm matrix. Most likely candidate is Dr. Martin Stein, a nuclear physicist he provides the brains to Ronnie’s brawn. A last minute save from Firestorm hints at a heroic path and hopefully we’ll see Firestorm flying over Central City again soon.

The Reverse-Flash is the main plot of the episode and he is a beast. He’s stronger, faster and is intimidating as hell. He breaks into Mercury Labs (hint at Max Mercury, maybe?) looking for a device that emits tachyons and Team Flash hypothesise why. Wells indicates that it could enable him to move faster than light and Barry is visibly shaken, as RF already has an edge. They ask Dr Tina McGee for a loan of the device to act as a lure and when she’s initially dismissive, Barry manages to convince her with some very sly tactics.

Flash Fact: Amanda Pays reprises her role as Tina McGee from the 90’s Flash show, where she acted alongside John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen.

Team Flash build a force field trap, Eddie and his taskforce strongarm their way into the opertation, despite Joe’s reluctance and the stage is set and the trap is sprung by the Reverse-Flash. In a surprising move, both Eddie Thawne and Harrison Wells are present in the room where RF is trapped. THIS THROWS EVERYONE’S THEORIES OUT THE WINDOW!

It’s a fantastic swerve to have both suspects in the room as the primary villain. Hell, Wells gets the shit kicked out of him and Eddie pisses his pants when RF gets in his face. RF bodies Barry at every opportunity, highlighting the experience of the former and the power he has over the latter. Barry admits that he’s been terrified of The Man in Yellow since he was a child, so he’s got the psychological edge on him too. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Firestorm, Barry would be toast.

Everyone licks their wounds in the aftermath. Joe reveals the existence of met humans to Eddie, but not much else. Wells is being patched up but still takes the time to reassure Caitlin that they will find a way to bring Ronnie home. The West family plus Eddie and Team Flash, minus Wells enjoy some eggnog around the West house. Cisco takes Joe aside and confides in him that there may have been TWO speedsters the night Barry’s mother was murdered. This could be leading to a Flashpoint-style confrontation at the end of the season and I can’t wait to see it play out.
Stinger for this week broke me as… well, just look.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! HOW!? How the hell did he pull that trick off because I just GAH! I don’t even. Wells is revealed to be the Reverse-Flash? Nah, not buying it. It’s too easy. Wells has spent all his time in the past making sure the Flash has a legacy, the M.O. of the Reverse-Flash is to typically steal that legacy from him, right? The easy explanation is that he’s Eobard Thawne, Eddie’s descendant but again, not buying that for a second. For all of his sneaky actions, Wells has been helping The Flash and appears to have a great respect for his legacy so between drawing Blackout’s blood and this device he fits to the RF costume, I think he’s actually trying to find a way to neutralise the Reverse-Flash’s speed force. Is that just wishful thinking? Maybe, but I can’t believe Wells is the bad guy, especially since it’s obviously not Tom Cavanagh in the suit.

What did you guys think of the mid-season finale? Let me know and I’ll see you guys in January for the Revenge of the Rogues.

The mid-season finale is upon us, SHIELD fans, and while I wondered if this would live up to the prospective hype of The Bridge last season and it knocks it out of the park!

Mack’s missing, Skye’s been kidnapped, Hydra is digging into the city and shit’s generally fucked. In the midst of all this tension, we get some nice bits of humour and levity, particularly from Hunter.

Kyle MacLachlan is on fine form, whether acting like the nervous father meeting his daughter for the first time, the grieving widow or the vengeful monster. It’s a testament to his acting chops that he goes through all these stages in 20mins and it feels organic for the character. We finally get his name, which is Cal, and I can stop calling him The Doctor. He loses control after Coulson kills Whitehall, robbing him of his revenge and proceeds to beat Coulson like an egg until Skye threatens to kill him/calls him dad. He reluctantly leaves but not before revealing her name; Daisy.

Ward continues to play the nutty sociopath we all love to hate. His actions are more on the side of heroic this episode but Raina is quick to call out his reasons and Whitehall takes advantage of that. Not only that, the audience gets some delicious catharsis when Skye is set free and proceeds to empty a clip into Ward’s ass. He survives, thanks to some padding and Agent 33’s assistance, and he lives to hopefully return as a smug cock one day.

Meat and potatoes of the episode is clearly the revelation of… stuff. But first, a moment of silence for Trip. Exposed to an alien mist, Triplett slowly carbonised like many other victims of the diviner and crumbled to dust in front of Skye. Yes, it’s a shame a character played by a black actor died but, really, Trip wasn’t getting anymore character development or screen time than Koenig and was way less interesting so why not bump him off? On the plus side, it appears Mack regained control of himself after the whole incident.

And finally, the main course. The Inhuman Awakening. Once inside the underground city, Skye and Raina (along with Trip) get trapped in a stone chamber, which opens to reveal a Terrigen crystal and the two women proceed to be enveloped by cocoons after being exposed to the Terrigen mists. Trip dies and the two emerge, Raina transformed into something all the more beastial while Skye appears unchanged, until the sight of her friend reduced to ashes causes her to tense and the room and surface above tremble violently.

Daisy Johnson stands revealed as the Inhuman Agent of SHIELD; Quake. It’s fantastic to see our first super-powered female human in the MCU is a character we’ve seen develop over the course of two seasons and I’m all in favour of the Inhuman storyline developing through TV in the lead up to the movie. Post credits scene reveals yet another Inhuman, a seemingly blind man, with another diviner. YOOOOOOO!

As expected, the Inhuman plotline advances and so much more can be made of the actions and events of this episode! A flawless episode of SHIELD and I can only hope those repercussions are felt when we return in Spring! See you then!

Doctor Who season eight comes to a close with Death in Heaven, a thoroughly dreary and depressing affair and something of a lacklustre finale, only saved by the performances of most of the cast.

The Clara Backdown can finally end because Jenna Coleman’s character, veteran of a season and a half, ends her tenure as a companion and I breath a huge sigh of relief. Clara could be a fantastic character at times but, as a whole, she is the wrong kind of companion for Capaldi’s Doctor. In a fun moment at the start of the episode, after Clara declares herself to be the Doctor, the credits roll and Jenna Coleman’s name swaps places with Capaldi’s, and her eyes replace his later in the credits. It’s a clever little wink to the audience. The final goodbye between the Doctor and Clara is a microcosm of their emotional relationship. Even knowing they’ll never see each other again, they’re all too willing to lie to one another, perfectly summed up in the line: “Never trust a hug, you can’t see someone’s face.”

Danny gets the short end of the stick, first getting jobbed out by a car and becoming a hired goon in a Cyber-Suit for Missy. His performance is strong as steel and gets a big damn hero moment and a speech worthy of Stacker Pentecost. Still, Samuel Anderson is a fantastic actor and despite getting dumped on all season, I hope to see him in other stuff in the future.

Guest stars come thick and fast, with the return of Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver as Kate Stewart and Osgood, respectively. Kate is still living up to her father’s legacy and I’m glad she keeps appearing, another case of a character we need to see more of. Osgood… Poor sweet and smart and adorable Osgood… I’m pretty bummed by her death, more so than Danny. Danny got to be a badass, Osgood was little more than fodder and that’s just plain wrong. Sanjeev Bhaskar also guest stars but his role primarily consists of saying “It was Captain Scarlet” and getting sucked out of a plane window. Such a waste of a good actor. We also get the return of… THE BRIGADIER! In a last minute save, a now Cyberised Brigadier saved his daughter after she fell from the plane and finally gets that salute he always wanted from the Doctor. Then he flies off, presumably to solder on a metal moustache and fight aliens as CyberBrig.

Missy; aka The Master, aka Missy Poppins, aka Miguel Sanchez Michelle Gomez takes the performance from last week and dials it up to Heath Ledger! Obviously taking some elements from John Simm’s Master and adding her own hectic, bat-shit-insane mannerisms to it. Gomez is a very express and energetic actress and I’m glad to see that transfer into her performance as the Doctor’s oldest nemesis. Missy escaped thanks to the Doctors’ intervention and moving Gallifrey out of time (Thus negating John Simm’s tenure as the Master?). Her ultimate fate is mysterious, as the effect of her being vaporised is the same as the teleportation she used earlier so perhaps she can return in the future!

Peter Capaldi’s first season as the Doctor has been very rocky. Inconsistent writing, coupled with the wrong companion has made this whole season very lacklustre, despite some very strong episodes and performances by him. As the Doctor and Clara part ways and the credits roll, we suddenly cut back into the TARDIS with a melancholy Doctor and a booming voice at the door. Our mysterious caller enters the TARDIS and…

IT’S SANTA! *flails* Nick Frost’s role in the upcoming Christmas episode is confirmed with his appearance here and I cheered. Love me some Nick Frost and he is going to play this perfectly! As for the Christmas episode itself? Check it out:

Nick Frost as Santa in a Doctor Who episode homaging John Carpenter’s The Thing? SOLD! I’ll see you guys at Christmas!

It’s been a long time coming but after teleporters, doomsday weapons, Chitauri electro-viruses and Asgardian bezerkers, we finally get back to the Centipede subplot as the Team investigate the prison breakout of Edison Po, whom you may remember from the stinger of Girl in the Flower Dress, by Centipede soldiers. The Team brings in some extra muscle in the form of a now stable Mike Peterson and set out to take the fight to Centipede, as Centipede plans to do just the same.

This was, by far, the best episode of the season and it makes me happy to see this show live up to its own premise. Despite declining ratings, I feel the last 5 episodes have really shown how good this show can be and I hope it lives long enough to continue this trend.

Skye’s mother subplot is touched on again and it’s laid out by Coulson and May that she can never know the truth, hence May pretending to look into it. May and Ward’s relationship is pushed when their blossoming feelings for each other are at loggerheads with their professionalism. There’s lots of fan theories involving either Coulson, May or both in the parentage of Skye and I really hope that’s not the case. As fatherly as Coulson is, it’d be just a little too trite for the show.

Mike Peterson’s return is VERY welcome. J. August Richards is a fantastic actor and it’s great to see him join the Team on the operation, even suiting up into a spiffy uniform that befits a SHIELD sponsored hero (See: Hawkeye & Black Widow) His Angel fighting skills are dusted off as he takes on three Centipede soldiers at the same time, even capturing one, only to have Centipede be revealed as the people behind the ocular implants from Eye-Spy. I really hope this group is revealed to be A.I.M proper, not just capitalising on their tech. Plus I kinda want to see what they’d do with MODOK in the MCU.

I said this on twitter a while ago but I would like to see this show expand the MCU in ways the movies can’t. Specifically, I’d really want to see the British equivalent to SHIELD in MI:13/Excalibur. That’s be really fun!

COULSON WATCH!

Yo, Coulson got kidnapped! In an immensely tense scene on the titular bridge, Coulson and Mike finally meet face-to-face with the mysterious Raina. The set up is that they’ll exchange Mike for his son Ace, who Raina kidnapped but once there, Mike regretfully admits that what Centipede really wants is Coulson. The two share a great scene as Mike clearly doesn’t want to betray the man who saved him and Coulson is understanding and even a little curious as to why they want him. Once the exchange is made, Mike hands Ace to Skye and instantly goes to redeem himself in a Big Damn Hero moment only to be caught in an explosion, consuming both him and the car Coulson was seemingly put into. Skye’s reaction acts as audience proxy.

But it’s a bait and switch! As Coulson and Raina escape in a helicopter and Raina expresses her employers desire, to know what happened to Coulson the day after he died. YOOOOOOOOO, DAT CLIFFHANGER!

The Bridge is a fantastic mid-season cliffhanger and the best episode of the season thus far. It’s what the show should have been from the word Assemble and given the other absolutely brilliant superhero show this week (Looking at you, Arrow) it’s been a damn good week for TV. We’ll be taking another break until January but they were good enough to leave us with a teaser of things to come! Check it out and I’ll see you all again in January!

I…. I truly don’t know where to begin this magnificent episode, I truly don’t. What the actual hell, Moffat? After so many mediocre episodes this season, you knock this one out of the god damn park! THIS is Doctor Who at it’s finest and I hope it manages to keep this standard up during the 50th Anniversary and beyond.

First thing I have to address is the opening, which has Clara appearing alongside various incarnations of the Doctor. It’s an amazing scene with some astounding stand-in work and some less fantastic green screen, though they do a great job of matching Clara’s attire with the style of the times. It says a lot that she could have fit into any Doctor’s incarnation and not looked out of place. We see her interact with the first Doctor directly and then just call after the other classic Doctors. It’s a great sequence and wonderful to see the old Doctors back in some form.

We’re back with the Victorian Gang too! Vastra and Jenny are at home while Strax goes to Glasgow on his weekend off to fight Scots! Brilliant. The Victorian Gang is always a welcome return as well as the Alex Kingston as Professor River Song. They’re a fun bunch but their banter is soon cut short as Jenny is murdered right in front of them by the Whisper Men. It’s a visceral gut-punch as she apologises profusely before fading from sight. Soon, everyone at the conference is under attack from Whisper Men and the episode kicks into high gear.

The music in this episode is absolutely fantastic, buidling on the atmosphere in each scene. The Doctor and Clara find themselves on the way to Trenzalore and these two have a great dynamic throughout the episode; Funny and sweet but tragic and heartbreaking at the same time.

Appearing at the Doctor’s final resting place (the TARDIS grown to gigantic proportions after a “size-leak) on Trenzalore, The Great Intelligence claims that this was his final blood-soaked battle and that he became something much darker towards the end, becoming known as The Storm, The Beast and, most terrifying of all, the Valeyard. For those who are relatively new to Who lore, the Valeyard is the Doctor gone wrong. An evil future regeneration between his 12th and 13th regenerations according to the Master.

Inside the tomb, the Intelligence finds the means to undo the Doctor’s every victory and triumph, and wipe out the universe in the process. As he does so, the Doctor convulses on the control room floor as the gang rush outside to see the stars vanish from the night sky. Slowly, the universe becomes colder and even the Doctor’s allies change for the worse, as Jenny disappears and Strax tries to kill Vastra. It’s a truly desperate situation. Clara, having remembered the events from Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, knows that she appears in other times to save the Doctor so naturally she heads into his timestream to undo the Intelligence’s machinations. Once everything is restored to normal and the Doctor is back in fighting shape, he has every intention of following Clara and saving her this time. As the others argue with him about this, River Song, enraged and frustrated, attempts to slap him only to catch it.

In the sweetest and heart-breaking scene in the episode, the Doctor acknowledges River’s prescence. Throughout the episode, she has only appeared to the others and not to him because this is River Song we met all the way back in Silence in the Library. She is the back-up copy of River. The Doctor and River share their final goodbye and it’s wonderful. A story that started 5 years finally reaches its natural conclusion as they say their goodbyes, only to promise to see each other again. I loved it!

Clara falls through time, encountering the Doctors and saving his life, explaining the mystery of the Impossible Girl but her story isn’t over yet! The Doctor appears to save her and he sees something that scares him. Clara confirms that she saw 11 Doctors as they stare at a silhouetted figure overlooking the dying embers of Trenzalore and the Doctor can only muster that the mysterious figure is the Doctor’s greatest secret. Clara collapses and as the Doctor carries her out, the figure speaks. He had no choice. He only did it in the name of peace and sanity. The Doctor scowls and departs protesting “But you didn’t do it in the name of the Doctor.”

The figure turns.

And the fandom collectively creamed itself as credits roll.

Oh, boy. Where to even begin… First up, JOHN F***KING HURT is the DOCTOR! Amazing! Secondly, there is so much speculation going on right now, it’s unreal. Many are saying that this is 9th Doctor, the one who ended the Time War to which I say, really? Every season since the series revival has steadily allowed the Doctor to put the events of the Time War behind him and go on with his life. What would be the point in dredging it all up again?
My thoughts? This is the Doctor’s final regeneration, since the Doctor established that the time tunnel was not only a gateway into his past, but to his future as well (And the Intelligence refered to him as “old man”). He went renegade and became something wholly unlike the Doctor that he lost the right to the name. He is the Time Lord Victorious, he is the Beast, the Storm, the Valeyard. That’s my take on it and I have to say it makes a whole lot more sense than a “forgotten” regeneration that would undo years of character growth. Hell, it might even be a good set-up for the 50th Anniversary…

And with that, we leave Season 7 and look forward to the future six months from now when The Doctor returns. What were your thoughts on the episode, John Hurt, and the season as a whole? Let me know in the comments and I’ll see you guys on 23/11/13!

Young Justice is one of the newest animated shows from DC Entertainment and Warner Bros and is a damn fine show. Debuting nearly 16 months ago, it’s only now that the first season has reached it’s finale. You heard me right, 16 months for 26 episodes. Yeah…… Cartoon Network are fucking assholes. But despite being spread across three years (2010-2012) and constant delays, the show has been consistently engaging. Any time the show has appeared on screens, it’s just as fresh and brilliant as when it left off.

Following the exploits of a covert ops team of teen heroes, Young Justice is written and produced by some of the best in the business, namely Greg Weisman (He of Gargoyles and Spectacular Spiderman fame) and Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, The Batman). Not to mention an all-star cast, running the gamut from DC Animated staples  to relative new-comers.

So with the Season 2 premiere only days away (Seriously, 16 months but Season 2 starts the week after Season 1 finishes? What clown is in charge of scheduling?) I’m going to be counting down my Top 5 episodes of Season 1, starting with…..

5 – “Welcome to Happy Harbor”

The third episode of the season is where we really start to see the team come together. In the hour-long premiere, the team solely consisted of Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad. They retrieved Superboy from Cadmus Labs, and Miss Martian was introduced just before it ended. It was a pretty dark episode to kick off but fun nonetheless. It’s in this episode where we start to get a feel for how the show is going to portray it’s team when they deal with the villain, Mr Twister, in a surprising show of teamwork. The only downside is the over-use of Miss Martian’s catchphrase “Hello, Megan!” but thankfully that lessens in the future episodes. A fun episode to showcase what the show is and well worth checking out.

4 –  “Coldhearted”

Kid Flash is the comedic relief of the Team so to have an entire episode focus on him and show he’s capable of growth was an excellent move. This is probably my favourite episode of the season so why is it only 4th? Because while I enjoyed it, other episodes did far better in terms of character development. Our red-headed speedster has to run across country to deliver precious cargo to a heart transplant patient, in the snow, with Vandal Savage standing in his way. It’s a recipe that works for me! Wally learns his lesson, grows up a little and even showcases his powers in a more successful way than ’Denial’ did but its just not as strong as some other episodes and this is purely on the list because I enjoy it. It’s my list, I’ll do whatever I want!

3 – “Secrets”

One thing you’ll notice about this show is that it has a definitive timeline, the show makes it clear what day of the year a particular episode takes place on, whether through on screen text or mentions on the show. Case in point, this episode which is a Halloween episode and while Conner, Wally and Megan do the usual Halloween schtick, the episode truly focuses on Zatanna, the relative newbie to the team. Zatanna and Artemis head out on patrol and encounter a seemingly unstoppable opponent in the form of Harm. Aided by a mysterious young girl, the two uncover a horrible secret that ties Harm and Secret together and is actually pretty dark, especially for touching on a subject that is danced around in many other shows. The dark and heavy A-Plot is balanced out by the B-Plot’s humour and shenanigans. From a story perspective, it’s a perfect episode and an excellent way to further add Zatanna to the team.

2 – “Failsafe”

The Justice League is dead before the credits. Yeah, this episode isn’t dicking around. Granted, this is obviously a “What If?” scenario because we’re only 16 episodes into the first season but it’s very apocalyptic and doesn’t mess around with killing off people. It’s an episode along the same lines as “Over the Edge”, an episode of New Adventures of Batman which is quite similar but nowhere near as good. Sorry, but it’s not! “Over the Edge” didn’t have lasting consequences while character development is at an all time high in this episode. We see the Team step into the shoes of their now-dead mentors and deal with this alien threat as the situation becomes more and more dire. Even the Team itself is not safe and while the outcome is obvious, the emotional impact of this episode is felt well into the later half of the series. I’m not giving too much away but it is well worth your time.

1 – “Usual Suspects” & “Auld Acquaintance”

I’m kinda cheating here by having the penultimate episode and finale as my number 1 but they feel so much like a two-parter that they deserve to share the top spot. Greg Weisman said that the theme of the first season is ‘secrets and lies’ during early promotion of the series and that really comes to the fore in these two episodes. The series has been steadily building it’s story from the get-go and these two episodes are where all those plot threads are tightened into one epic story. Who is the mole? What was The Light’s plan? Why did they use so many villains? How will the Team deal with such a threat? And what is “Phase 2”? It’s a rip-roaring two-parter that delivers on all levels and serves as set-up for season 2: “Invasion”.

Check out the trailer for Season 2 (SPOILERS)

See you next time!

ME BEING PRETENTIOUS AND ARBITRARILY RANKING A BUNCH OF TV CARTOONS

or

THE 100 GREATEST ANIMATED SERIES OF ALL TIME

The Final Chapter

Are you ready?

I don’t think you’re ready.

You’re not ready for what I’m about to drop on you.

The Top 20 Greatest Animated Series of All Time.

The greatest of the great, the best of the best, the cream de la French stuff.  These are the shows that have stood out among hordes of others and have shown a level of quality that no other show can rival.  They earned their stripes.

Lives will be changed.

Minds will be blown.

And the world will never be the same!  AGAIN!

Before we get to it, a quick recap of the previous 80…

100. YoungJustice/Thundercats (2011)

99. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

98. Mad Jack the Pirate

97. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

96. King of the Hill

95. Beetlejuice

94. Kablam

93. The Smurfs

92. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

91. Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc

90. Rugrats

89. Doug

88. X-Men

87. Static Shock

86. Aqua Teen Hunger Force

85. Cow and Chicken

84. Moral Orel

83. Filmore

82. X-Men: Evolution

81. The Angry Beavers

80. Space Ghost Coast to Coast

79. Home Movies

78. Kim Possible

77. Pirates of Dark Water

76. Sym-Bionic Titan

75. Peter Pan and the Pirates

74. 2 Stupid Dogs

73. Beast Wars

72. The Tick

71. Batman: the Brave and the Bold

70. Muppet Babies

69. Johnny Bravo

68. Teen Titans

67. The Alvin Show/Alvin and the Chipmunks

66. Mighty Max

65. Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures

64. Courage the Cowardly Dog

63. Roger Ramjet

62. The Critic

61. Goof Troop

60. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

59. Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers

58. Batman Beyond

57. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

56. Recess

55. Liquid Television/What-a-Cartoon Show/Oh Yeah Cartoons

54. Bobby’s World

53. The Fairly Oddparents

52. Aladdin: the Series

51. Daria

50. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

49. TaleSpin

48. Spectacular Spider-Man

47. Hey Arnold!

46. Aeon Flux

45. Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat

44. Tiny Toon Adventures

43. Futurama

42. Underdog

41. Freakazoid

40. Superman: the Animated Series

39. Invader Zim

38. Adventures of the Gummi Bears

37. The Schnookums and Meat funny Cartoon Show

36. The Jetsons

35. Garfield and Friends

34. Duckman

33. Ed, Edd, n Eddy

32. Bonkers

31. Pixie, Dixie, and Mr. Jinx

30. Beany and Cecil/The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil

29. Scooby-Doo: Where Are You

28. South Park

27. Jonny Quest

26. Gargoyles

25. Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

24. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

23. The Flintstones

22. Quick Draw McGraw

21. The Powerpuff Girls

And now, without further a-choo!  (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)

Let’s get it on!

20. Top Cat: Top Cat was one of the coolest cartoons ever.  It was one of the first primetime animated series debuting just a year after The Flintstones.  The title character, Top Cat (T.C. to his friends), was a street-wise, crafty, greedy, but still noble con man and leader of a gang of alley cats whose get-rich-quick schemes often faced opposition by beat cop Officer Dibble.  Like Yogi Bear before him, Top Cat was crafty and defiant of authority, though where Yogi tended to be a bit on the dim side, Top Cat was smart and a lot more cunning.  Top Cat had very strong writing and great voice acting, especially by Arnold Strong, who played the title character, but this series ranks so high up on the list based on the strength of the characters alone.

19. Yogi Bear: One of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time, Yogi Bear was the breakout star of The Huckleberry Hound Show, and is arguably Hanna Barbera’s most popular character.  The series of shorts featured the escapades of the crafty, impulsive, and always-hungry Yogi Bear and his soft spoken and level headed sidekick Boo-Boo as they tried to steal picnic baskets under the nose of Ranger Smith in Jellystone National Park.  Yogi and Boo-Boo were such great characters and their dynamic was absolutely perfect; Yogi’s appeal came from his persistence and defiant nature, and Boo-Boo’s laid back attitude and willingness to let Yogi make an ass out of himself made him the perfect sidekick.  The background designs and color palette of the show was absolutely gorgeous, a perfect blend of earth tones that really helped bring Jellystone to life.  A beautiful looking show with great characters and stories, Yogi Bear was truly one of the best of the best, and the less said about that crappy live action movie, the better.

18. Dexter’s Laboratory: Gendy Tartakovsky’s breakout hit series about a young boy genius and his secret lab helped put Cartoon Network on the map.  Dexter’s Laboratory was one of the network’s earliest original cartoons, starting out as a couple of animated shorts on The What-a-Cartoon Show and soon gaining enough popularity to carry a 30 minute series.  The setting of Dexter’s Laboratory gave it a number of directions to go in.  Dexter could travel through time, space, under the sea and inside a computer.  He’s encountered aliens, built giant robots, and even used a giant stone Abe Lincoln to battle his rival and his giant stone George Washington.  But the strength of the series wasn’t just that or the animation, which had that great cinematic level visual storytelling that Gendy is famous for, but was Dexter himself.  He was little kid who despite being a super genius, was still a regular kid.  He had to deal with things like school, getting picked on, crushes, as well as his pesky older sister, Dee-Dee; and Dexter using science to solve his problems almost always backfired on him.  He was smug genius, but also kind of a loveable loser at times.  The writing was brilliant and you can tell the crew really let their imaginations go wild with the show.  Dexter’s Laboratory was one of the most creative, energetic, and fun shows to come out of the 90’s.  It’s been imitated, but never surpassed.

17. Avatar the Last Airbender: The closest thing this generation will have to a Star Wars type epic. Avatar the Last Airbender takes place in a world made up of Benders (people who can manipulate the elements of nature).  The world is divided into four different nations corresponding to a different element and kept in peace by the Avatar, who is the only person who can control all four elements.  12-year-old airbender Aang is the latest incarnation of the Avatar but fears his destiny and runs away, only to get frozen ice, rendering him absent when the Fire Nation seizes control of the world and wipes out the airbenders.  Awakened from his frozen sleep 100 years later by two Water Tribe kids, Aang must fulfill his destiny and master all four elements to save the world.  Nickelodeon took a chance with this series and it paid off big.  The series lasted three seasons and each was better than the last.  Each season had a unique look and feel, as well as its own sub plots, while still being a part of a major overarching storyline.  It built a magical world with creative creatures and deep characters that were never one-note, but instead had their own strengths as well as faults, growing as the series went on.  The environments were gorgeous, the colors had so much feel to them that they took on a life of their own, and perfectly matching the corresponding elements the seasons were centered around.  The animation was insane, taking its cues from real martial arts choreography and assigning different kung fu style to each bending art a to make the fight scenes look like nothing else that’s ever been done in animation.  It had adventure, action, drama, humor, romance, peril, and overall fun.  Avatar the Last Airbender truly earned the right to be called “epic”.

16. The Venture Bros: Who would’ve thought a parody show could turn into such a unique and original experience?  Venture Bros is hard to sum up in a few words.  It’s main characters are the clueless “super sleuth” brothers Hank and Dean Venture; their father, former child adventurer and current hack super scientist Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture; and their bodyguard the hulking, murder machine Brock Sampson.  Their main foe is the mostly inept, butterfly themed super villain The Monarch who is bent on destroying Dr. Venture for some reason.  The show mixes elements from Jonny Quest, The Hardy Boys, comic books, pulp adventure stories and is jam packed with the best pop culture humor on television.  The show started off very stand alone, but by the second season the writing had improved greatly and has crafted a deep storyline with many unexpected twist and turns.  The show has rich character development and isn’t afraid to make long lasting changes and shake up the status quo.  Plus, for an Adult Swim show the animation is pretty good.  Venture Bros is not only the best Adult Swim show, but one of the best most underappreciated shows on television.

15. Eek! the Cat: I am a major fan of Eek! The Cat.  Bill Kopp’s most successful series yet about a kind-hearted, optimistic purple cat named Eek who attempts to help people often caused him great physical harm was a major staple of Fox Kids and was one of their longest running shows.  Eek had it all; the writing was funny, fast paced, and new how to utilize both pop culture jabs and classic cartoon slapstick to its upmost effect.  Eek as a character is one of my favorites, he’s not cocky, he’s not a jerk, he’s not selfish or cruel, he’s a nice guy.  He goes out of his help anyone, always following his motto “it never hurts to help”, although in his case, it usually does.  Eek also had a great supporting cast including his morbidly obese southern girlfriend Annabelle, his friend Elmo the Elk, and Sharky the Shark Dog who’s usually hell-bent on destroying Eek.  Despite being a show for kids, there was a ton of humor that adults could enjoy as well and would often parody movies that are geared towards adults like Jaws, Apocalypse Now, and Pulp Fiction.  Eek! the Cat was one of the best cartoons of its time and has been a huge influence on me.  I’m proud to have it on the list.

14. Ducktales: Ducktales brought the adventures of Scrooge McDuck from the pages of Carl Barks’ comic book to the silver screen.  The treasure hunting adventures of Scrooge, his nephews Huey, Dewy, and Louie, and air-headed pilot Launchpad McQuack was one of Disney’s biggest television successes.  This was like a kids version of Indiana Jones with its exotic locales, mystery, and daring adventure.  The characters were all fun and the show perfectly conveyed the strong family bond between them.  It could be heartwarming when it wanted to be, but never short changed us on the action.  Almost no scenario was too crazy for Ducktales; time travel, magic, haunted houses, cursed artifacts, and hidden cities were all common place in the universe they set up, but it kept itself grounded with its down-to-Earth characters.  In its last season , the show began to shift more focus to a new character, Scrooge’s accountant Fenton Crackshell and his alter-ego, the cybernetic superhero Gizmoduck.  Fenton/Gizmoduck was a fine character but his stories took away from the excitement we had been used to before.  Still, the good outweighs the bad and there was a lot good with Ducktales.  It built an endless world of colorful characters, exotic locales, and daring adventure; and gave us the most insanely catchy theme song of all time.  I bet it’s in your head right now.  Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg…

13. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show: Jay Ward and Alex Anderson’s classic about a moose and flying squirrel who, unintentionally, fought communism pretty much proved that a quality product could come out of a shoe string budget.  Rocky and Bullwinkle was amazing as both political and social satire comedy, and just a fun cartoon.  Despite its cheap and choppy animation, Rocky and Bullwinkle stands the test of time due to its top notch writing.  The show was serialized and really mastered the cliffhanger ending with its blend of suspense and humor.  The Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons weren’t the shows only offering, as it featured segments such as Dudley Do-Right, an action adventure parody about a heroic Mounty who foiled the plans of the evil Snidely Whiplash; and the time-traveling adventures of Mr. Peabody and Sherman in Peabody’s Impossible History.  Those shows were great, but to me ,the Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes were the highlights.

12. Beavis and Butt-Head: Never has dumb been so brilliant.  Beavis and Butt-Head’s premise is as simple as its main characters: the misadventures of two dim-witted teenagers who when they aren’t watching TV are looking for ways to either cause mayhem or score with chicks.  Beavis and Butt-head were great reflections of everything wrong with teenagers in the 90’s, and today even, but more than that, they were funny characters.  Their stupidity utter lack of common sense led them to make the simplest problems ten-time worse.  The animation was good for its time and Mike Judge’s visual style gave the show a grungy, realistic look to it that really made the cartoony nature of Beavis and Butt-Head much funnier.  A staple of the show was the commentary for music videos airing on MTV that the duo would provide between the episode segments.  It was both scathing and hilarious, and very insightful (well, as insightful as beavis and Butt-Head could get).  The show recently made a comeback after 13 years of being off the air, but aside from slightly improved visuals, you could barely tell it had left at all, it picked up right where it left off and the quality didn’t go down a bit.  It was great back then, and continues to be great today.

11. Darkwing Duck: The Disney Afternoon gave rise to many great cartoons, the majority of them you’ve already seen on this list, but without a shadow of a doubt, the best of the bunch has got to be Darkwing Duck.  Both a parody of the superhero genre, and a solid entry to it in its own right, Darkwing Duck was about a heroic yet sometimes inept superhero who protected the city of St. Canard from the forces of evil.  The show was a radical departure from the Disney shows before it.  The style was more rubber hose in nature and the humor was more focused on fast paced slapstick.  Darkwing Duck was also more action-oriented than the other shows in the line-up, but because of the slapstick could pass under the censor’s radar.  Darkwing was a great character.  He was egotistical, stubborn, and often relied too heavily theatrics, but was balanced out with his intelligence, nobility, heroic nature, an ability to cleverly pull out a last minute victory, and his supporting cast and rogues gallery were varied and energetic, and worked perfectly in tandem with our main hero.  The animation was the best of all the shows in the Disney Afternoon.  It had real emotional to it and made for some great visual humor.  Darkwing Duck had everything a kind could want in the 90’s and still holds up insanely well to this day.  The show experienced a brief revival in the form of a comic book series, and hopefully Disney will utilize this gem’s untapped potential more.

10. The Ren and Stimpy Show: Alongside Doug and Rugrats, The Ren and Stimpy Show was one of the original three Nicktoons.  But while the first two were very low key, Ren and Stimpy hit us all in the face with a sack of Gritty Kitty Litter.  Created by John Krisfaluci in the early 90’s, Ren and Stimpy, about an angry and violent Chihuahua and his dim-witted cat pal, and put the cartooniness back into cartoons.  John K took influence from classic Bob Clampett and Tex Avery cartoons, Hanna Barbera, The Three Stooges, and so much more when crafting the series and it’s very easy to see.  The animation was simply the best of its time, it was the polar opposite of Disney, it was crazy, it was bouncy, and it never held back.  The characters acted, an art which is lost in animation today.  With every move they made there was emotion to it, its timing was perfect it never used the same gag twice, there was life to it.  It was exaggerated as hell but there was also subtlety to the humor, for as much emotion as they actively conveyed, there was a lot more going on underneath it.  The music was jazzy and could tell a story well enough on its own.  After John K was fired from Nickelodeon, the show took a major downturn, but the Spumco produced episodes still hold up as animation gold.

9. Pinky and the Brain: This spin-off of Animaniacs proved to be just as popular on it’s on.  Pinky and the Brain told the escapades of two genetically engineered lab mice plotting to take over the world.  Pinky and the Brain’s dynamic was a classic double act, Brain was intelligent, short-tempered, stern, and ambitious in nature, in contrast to Pinky who was blissfully dim-witted, optimistic, friendly and crazy.  All the great writing from the Pinky and the Brain segments in Animaniacs carried over here.  The simple premise opened the door to many storytelling possibilities.  The Brain’s schemes were grand and original like becoming a country western star and using a hypnotic song to make people his slaves, or luring the people of Earth onto a papier mache copy to take over the real one, and were usually fouled up by Pinky’s stupidity.  The show mainly took place in the modern day but episodes could place them anywhere from the 1930’s to medieval times.  What really mattered was the core dynamic of Brain and Pinky, made all the more excellent by the voice acting of Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen respectively.  This show about two little lab mice was larger than life and hopefully we’ll see the duo return in the future to try to take over the world once more.

8. Animaniacs: C’mon, if Pinky and the Brain showed up on this list, you knew this wouldn’t be far behind.  After the success of Tiny Toons, Steven Spielberg went on to produce another, even bigger animated hit in Animaniacs.  Animaniacs was a cartoon variety show centered around three lost forgotten, at least in the context of the show, animated characters of the golden age: The Warner Bros, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner Sister, Dot.  The Warners were zany and chaotic in nature and served no other purpose but to drive people crazy.  Their personalities were strong and energetic, their dialogue was funny and unique to each character, and their designs echoed an earlier age of animation.  Other shorts in the show included The Goodfeathers, a Goodfellas/Godfather parody with New York pigeons; Slappy Squirrel, about a cantankerous old retired cartoon star; and of course Pinky and the Brain, who would spin-off into their own series. In addition the show was famous for its musical segments that fulfilled the educational quota of the show, but did it in a way that was entertaining as hell and didn’t make you realize you were learning.  We’ve yet to see another show like Animaniacs, and I doubt we’ll ever see one again.  It was a show perfectly of its time and was great satire of pop culture and entry into the legacy of Warner Bros cartoons.

7. The Simpsons: Many people of my generation can’t even remember a time when The Simpsons weren’t on the air.  This spin-off of The Tracy Ullman Show has managed to last well over 20 years and STILL has no foreseeable end in sight.   This show about a middle-class family of five and the crazy cast of townsfolk that inhabit Springfield, USA has become a major staple of pop culture.  Its dialogue is insanely quotable, terms it’s invented have made their way into our regular vocabulary, its characters both main and secondary are legendary, and the show has had cameos from so many celebrities from Adam West, to Kelsey Grammer, to Liz Taylor, to even Michael Jackson (supposedly).  In addition, its animation is pretty decent, and its voice cast is astoundingly talented.  The adventures of Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, and Bart Simpson have spawned video games, comic books, toys, a movie, and over 400 episodes.  This country would not be the same without The Simpsons.

6. Rocko’s Modern Life: Nickelodeon’s cult favorite cartoon about a wallaby named Rocko dealing with the absurdities of life was an obvious in for this list.  Rocko’s Modern Life debuted in 1993 and launched the career of creator Joe Murray.  Unlike most cartoons of the time, Rocko had much more appeal with adult audiences and the subtle little mature jokes they threw in the show were proof of that.  Rocko had some of the strongest writing, characters, and animation of any cartoon series  The animation, while not as exaggerated as Ren and Stimpy, was still filled with so much personality.  Its striking visual style was very wonky, with everything appearing unbalance, reflecting the off-center nature of the characters of that world.  Rocko’s Modern Life was filled with every kind of un-desirable that you would find in real life, especially in you lived in the city, all played off of fish-out-of-water Rocko, who served as the straight man of the show and our avatar into this crazy world.  The writing team took real situations from their lives and used them as inspiration for episodes; things like getting the trash out on garbage day and or going to the grocery store became major sources for humor in the show.  You can really feel all the fun that the crew was having making this show.  Great writing, great animation, great timing, great visuals, great voice acting, Rocko had it all, and the fact that it never took off more in the eyes of the mainstream is a shame.  Though it would give rise to one of the biggest cartoons of all time.

5. Batman the Animated Series: What can I say about this series that hasn’t already been said?  It’s Batman the Animated Series.  It’s one of the most universally praised shows of all time.  It gave life to the title character like no other series did before.  It did practically everything right.  I don’t think I really need to explain all the pluses of the show, so I won’t.  Here’s a quick rundown of everything the show did right, though: writing, animation, art style, color, backgrounds, staging, action, characters, voice acting, etc.  It’s Batman: the Animated Series, ‘nuff said.

4. The Ruff and Reddy Show: Before Scooby Doo, before Fred Flintstone, before Yogi Bear, before Huckleberry Hound, there was Ruff n’ Reddy.  This was the first of the Hanna Barbera cartoons for television and definitely the most unique.  The series was about the adventures of buddies Ruff, a smart aleck cat, and Reddy, a dimwitted dog; simple, right?  What made this show so unique was that unlike the shows that would follow, Ruff and Reddy was a serialized series with a story taking place over 13-part episodes.  I love shows that aren’t bound to one setting and can have characters in almost any kind of situation and Ruff and Reddy was one of the best of them.  The snappy dialogue, excellent character design, and great lead characters, and brilliant voice acting by Daws Butler and Don Messick made up for the limited animation, which in itself wasn’t bad at all.  It’s rare to see any serialized cartoons anymore and it’s a shame because it’s a great format, and the show utilized it well.  Each episode was around four minutes long and the cliffhangers did leave you wanting more.  Despite being the first, Ruff and Reddy tends to be forgotten among the Hanna Barbera classics, but it’s influence can be seen and felt among the many shows that would follow it.

3. Spongebob Squarepants: For reasons I’m still trying to figure out, SpongeBob Squarepants has become the most popular cartoon in America today.  The character himself has become one of the most beloved, recognizable, and long-lived characters in animation history.  Created by former Rocko’s Modern Life writer Stephen Hillenburg, and has proven in almost every way its successor, Spongebob SquarePants is about the adventures and misadventures of a cheery and energetic yellow sponge who lives undersea with his friends and neighbors.  The show has done what every cartoon aspires to do, appeal to as wide an audience as possible.  Kids can appreciate the bubbly characters and great cartoony animation, while older audiences can find enjoyment in the great writing and subtle adult humor.  SpongeBob has thrived for over 10 years and has succeeded Rugrats as the most popular show Nickelodeon.  It’s unassuming in its brilliance and proven it can go on strong for years to come.  In an era where it’s rare that cartoon character reaches the heights of those of the golden age, SpongeBob has become a staple of pop culture and will be remembered for years to come.

2. Huckleberry Hound: Ruff and Reddy may have been the first, but Huckleberry Hound was the best.  Hanna Barbera gets a lot of flack for its limited animation and essentially creating the big divide between television and feature animation, but it doesn’t get enough praise for the stuff it did right, which was everything else.  Great writing, beautiful color mixes and background designs, strong character designs, top quality voice acting, and fleshed out, likeable characters.  Nowhere else were any of those qualities exemplified more than in Huckleberry Hound.  As I said for Ruff and Reddy, I like shows where characters aren’t bound to one setting, and Huck sure wasn’t.  The great thing about the show was that Huck could be anywhere and anything.  A cowboy, a cop, a knight, or just regular old Huck, what stayed constant was his character.  Huck was laid back, kind-hearted, and a little slow, but had his breaking points, he felt very much like a real person, and the way he broke the fourth wall and talked directly to the audience made us feel like we were a part of the show.  Huck would win some and he would lose some, but maintained his appeal throughout, and Daws Butler’s voice acting was the icing on the cake.  Huckleberry Hound was one of the first and without a doubt the best of the Hanna Barbera cartoons, and even today holds up among the modern offerings.

We’ve gone through 99, but now is the moment of truth.  The number one greatest animated series of all time is…

1. Captain Planet and the Planteers: Proof that the greatest animated series are created by crazy billionaires.  The show was about teens from all across the globe that were given magical rings, each embodying a different classical element, by the spirit of Earth, Gaia to fend off eco-terrorists.  When in trouble the teens would combine their powers to summon earth’s greatest champion, Captain Planet, a blue-skinned, green mullet having superhero whos powers included flight, super strength, and the ability to constantly make the worst puns ever.  Also you could kill him with trash.  Granted the writing sucked, the characters were all bland, the animations were awful, and Captain Planet was one of the worst superheroes ever, but the show had something none of the other 99 shows on this list had…Heart!

Okay I’m just messing you, the real number one is…

1. Samurai Jack:  I’ve gone on and on about how great Gendy Tartakovsky is, but I can’t say it enough.  The man is one of the best animators of our time and this series is proof why.  A time-displaced Samurai trapped in the far future must figure out a way to get back to his own time period to stop and evil demon named Aku from conquering the world as he’s already done.  That was the premise of Samurai Jack.  It was as simple as that, but still brilliant.  It had a set end point, but was in no rush to get there.  It was a ticking-clock show with no ticking-clock.  The show could go in so many directions and explore many different aspects of its world, and it didn’t have to worry about staying on track because it’s ultimate destination was in the past, not the future.  The reason Samurai Jack is at number one is mainly because of one thing, the visuals.  No other cartoon on or off this list has even come close to matching the level of visual storytelling this show achieved.  I feel like calling it cinematic would be an understatement.  This show proved multiple times it did not need dialogue to tell a story, but instead relied on the breathtaking color style, dynamic staging, and some of the most crisp and fluid animation I’ve ever seen.  Jack was like the Batman of samurais.  He was determined, he trained hard, and triumphed over his enemies using his cunning, his bravery, and his sheer will alone.  He was seemingly invincible but most of the time a victim of circumstance.  Aku proved to be a great villain; a looming shadow constantly hanging over jack who was both menacing and humorous.  Each episode was it’s on mini epic, with a color set and musical score tailor made to it.  Samurai Jack could cover a wide range of emotion, it could be adventurous, funny, serious, uplifting, heartbreaking, or unapologetically whimsical, but no matter what, it was always fun.  Ultimately what made the show brilliant led to its undoing.  It’s experimental style of storytelling didn’t catch on well with the mainstream and it was cancelled before we could get a series finale.  Normally that would be a negative but sheer brilliance of the show keeps me from holding that against it.  What it did right and what it did wrong was one in the same, but what it did right it did really right.  Samurai Jack was original, inventive, and absolutely astounding.  I can’t think of another show more deserving of the number one spot.

So there you have it, there’s my list of the 100 Greatest Animated Series of all Time.

I eagerly await your bitching and moaning.