Ok everyone, now that we have filled out the bracket, it’s time to vote for the best show in television! We are going to vote round by round proceeding with the first round in the Animated and Miscellaneous regions. List all your choices in the matchups for that region, so for this first round, you need to pick your favorite in each of the eight matchups. You will have until midnight on Saturday to vote in both threads. I’m going to do a write-up of each matchup in the beginning of each thread, and will mark my vote with a spoiler. Lets get to it.
#1 seed Looney Tunes vs. #16 seed Tiny Toon Adventures
Here’s a fun fact about Tiny Toon Adventures: Steven Spielberg was an executive producer for the entire run of the show. Tiny Toons was a spin-off of Looney Tunes, so it is somewhat fitting that they are matched up here in the first round. Could the plucky spin-off (see what I did there, Tiny Toon fans?) upset the granddaddy of them all?
#8 seed Rugrats vs. #9 seed Ducktales
This one is hitting the 90’s kids where they live. Tommy Pickles and the Rugrats gang got into a number of wild adventures, had a number of film spin-offs, and later spawned a sequel series about the babies once they became teenagers. Ducktales followed Scrooge McDuck and the trio of Huey, Dewey, and Louie throughout Duckberg and featured one of the quintessential cartoon theme songs. This is quite the tough matchup.
#4 seed Family Guy vs. #13 seed Beavis & Butthead
Here we pit two of the most well-known, vulgar cartoons against each other: the Griffin family versus Beavis and Butthead. Beavis and Butthead have become synonymous with crass, dumb humor, but they helped lay the groundwork when it came to animation for adults. Family Guy is certainly known for a similar style of humor, but also features trademark cutaway gags and other sorts of self-referential comedy.
#5 seed King of the Hill vs. #12 seed Hey Arnold!
We see Mike Judge’s other successful animated series, King of the Hill, pitted against the football head from Nickelodeon, Hey Arnold! King of the Hill brings Judge’s signature style to middle America and follows Hank Hill and his family with subtle wit and lots of laughs. Hey Arnold! follows Arnold and his friends in their adventures across New York.
#3 seed South Park vs. #14 seed Animaniacs
Animaniacs follows the Warner Brothers and their Warner Sister Dot, on misadventures through the movie studio, and featured a number of other recurring characters and gags (including a Goodfellas homage in the form of a trio of pigeons). South Park probably needs no introduction as most are familiar with the foul mouth children brought to life by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for 20 years.
#6 seed The Flintstones vs. #11 seed Scooby Doo
This is a yabba-dabba-doozie of a matchup. Two of the most iconic shows in the world of animation and both spawned lackluster live action film adaptations. On the one hand, you have the citizens of Bedrock, who bring the laughs courtesy of more rock and animal puns than you can shake a stick at. On the other hand, you have the Mystery Inc. gang, solving crimes and eating snacks.
#7 seed Doug vs. #10 seed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Another killer matchup for the children of the late 80’s into the 90’s. Doug was a show that followed Doug and his friends through their journeys into adolescence with a funny and often poignant take. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles told the story of four turtles that were transformed into crime fighters with ninja weapons and names of Renaissance painters.
#2 seed The Simpsons vs. #15 seed Futurama
We see a matchup that pits Matt Groening against Matt Groening. We wouldn’t have one of these shows if not for the cultural impact that the other had. Let me just say, if you haven’t watched Futurama, check out Futurama, because it is not only hilarious, but can also pack an emotional punch from time to time. We all know what the Simpsons bring to the table, as an iconic show with some of the most well known characters, not just in animation, but in television history.
#1 seed Looney Tunes vs. #16 seed Tiny Toon Adventures
Here’s a fun fact about Tiny Toon Adventures: Steven Spielberg was an executive producer for the entire run of the show. Tiny Toons was a spin-off of Looney Tunes, so it is somewhat fitting that they are matched up here in the first round. Could the plucky spin-off (see what I did there, Tiny Toon fans?) upset the granddaddy of them all?
Not in my book. Looney Tunes gets my vote.
#8 seed Rugrats vs. #9 seed Ducktales
This one is hitting the 90’s kids where they live. Tommy Pickles and the Rugrats gang got into a number of wild adventures, had a number of film spin-offs, and later spawned a sequel series about the babies once they became teenagers. Ducktales followed Scrooge McDuck and the trio of Huey, Dewey, and Louie throughout Duckberg and featured one of the quintessential cartoon theme songs. This is quite the tough matchup.
In the end, I have to go with Rugrats.
#4 seed Family Guy vs. #13 seed Beavis & Butthead
Here we pit two of the most well-known, vulgar cartoons against each other: the Griffin family versus Beavis and Butthead. Beavis and Butthead have become synonymous with crass, dumb humor, but they helped lay the groundwork when it came to animation for adults. Family Guy is certainly known for a similar style of humor, but also features trademark cutaway gags and other sorts of self-referential comedy.
While it is nowhere close to as funny as it was a few years ago, Family Guy gets my vote.
#5 seed King of the Hill vs. #12 seed Hey Arnold!
We see Mike Judge’s other successful animated series, King of the Hill, pitted against the football head from Nickelodeon, Hey Arnold! King of the Hill brings Judge’s signature style to middle America and follows Hank Hill and his family with subtle wit and lots of laughs. Hey Arnold! follows Arnold and his friends in their adventures across New York.
While either would be deserving to advance, I have to give it to Hey Arnold!
#3 seed South Park vs. #14 seed Animaniacs
Animaniacs follows the Warner Brothers and their Warner Sister Dot, on misadventures through the movie studio, and featured a number of other recurring characters and gags (including a Goodfellas homage in the form of a trio of pigeons). South Park probably needs no introduction as most are familiar with the foul mouth children brought to life by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for 20 years.
Animaniacs has a certain nostalgia factor working for it, but I’m not going against one of my all time favorite shows here, South Park gets my vote.
#6 seed The Flintstones vs. #11 seed Scooby Doo
This is a yabba-dabba-doozie of a matchup. Two of the most iconic shows in the world of animation and both spawned lackluster live action film adaptations. On the one hand, you have the citizens of Bedrock, who bring the laughs courtesy of more rock and animal puns than you can shake a stick at. On the other hand, you have the Mystery Inc. gang, solving crimes and eating snacks.
This is a tough matchup, but in the end, I’m voting for The Flintstones.
#7 seed Doug vs. #10 seed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Another killer matchup for the children of the late 80’s into the 90’s. Doug was a show that followed Doug and his friends through their journeys into adolescence with a funny and often poignant take. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles told the story of four turtles that were transformed into crime fighters with ninja weapons and names of Renaissance painters.
This is a tough one for me, but I have to go with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
#2 seed The Simpsons vs. #15 seed Futurama
We see a matchup that pits Matt Groening against Matt Groening. We wouldn’t have one of these shows if not for the cultural impact that the other had. Let me just say, if you haven’t watched Futurama, check out Futurama, because it is not only hilarious, but can also pack an emotional punch from time to time. We all know what the Simpsons bring to the table, as an iconic show with some of the most well known characters, not just in animation, but in television history.
I think this is a closer matchup than the seeding would indicate, but with that said, there is no way I can vote against The Simpsons here.
