The "Forgotten" Prime-Time Adult Animated Series

Another MTV animated show from the early 2000s (2002 to be exact). “Clone High” was a modern animated comedy featuring a high school full of history's greatest figures who had been cloned and were teenagers. The student body included the likes of Abraham Lincoln, JFK and Joan of Arc. Despite a decent voice cast and a cult following, MTV canceled it after one season.

One of the WB's first shows was "Mission Hill," a one season animated program from 1999 created by "The Simpsons" producers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The show might be considered “before its time” due to its focus on New York hipsters, years before hipsters became “in.” The show was centered on dorky teenager Kevin French (voiced by Scott Menville) moving in with his struggling artist/hipster brother Andy (voiced by Wallace Langham) in a Village-esque area in New York City. Supporting cast was made up of Andy's hipster friends. It occasionally re-airs on Adult Swim.

Short, fat, balding, and pathetic, Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz) was a New York-based film critic stuck in a miserable life of self-loathing. The show was known for its sharp writing based around a strong lead character and parodies of movies and television shows, many of which have held up (others not so much). The short-lived series lasted two half-seasons (1994-1995)- first on ABC and then on FOX- before being canceled for good. Sherman's catchphrase "It Stinks!" never became part of the national lexicon, although the phrase will occasionally pop up even today to deride crap movies. Sherman might be best known to non-”Critic” viewers for his appearance in the classic "The Simpsons" episode "A Star is Burns" (the one where Springfield holds a film festival).

Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy "Clerks" was a fascinating look at early/mid-20s ennui in the 1990s and is often considered one of the most notable films of the “indy revolution.” Its first follow-up was an over-the-top zany cartoon series on ABC featuring regular appearances by Charles Barkley, a detour into anime and science tips from Jay and Silent Bob. The core four from the original movie voiced their animated counterparts (Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith). Despite its tone being vastly different from the original film, the characters maintained their personalities (though in a somewhat exaggerated form), the long-suffering Dante and easy-going Randall still worked at Quick Stop and RST Video, respectively and the series was actually quite funny.

Unfortunately for the 2000 series, only six episodes were ever made and only two were actually aired on ABC. The show airs occasionally on Adult Swim.

Extra unfortunately was “Clerks 2.” If only Alec Baldwin made an appearance as evil land developer Leonardo Leonardo. . . the movie probably would have sucked anyway.

Before Will Ferrell became box office gold, and even more before Will Ferrell became box office poison, he was the voice of Bob Oblong, patriarch of the Oblongs. The show (which aired on WB for one season, from 2001-2002) featured the usual "rich people bad, poor people good" idea with the twist that the poor people were mutants due to toxic radiation from the rich. Bob Oblong had no arms or legs. His wife was a bald alcoholic. His youngest son was on various medications. His other sons were Siamese twins. His daughter had some sort of tumor protruding from her head. And there was a really fat girl. The show occasionally re-airs on Adult Swim.

In 1992, Stephen Bocho (one of television's super producers responsible for shows like “Hill Street Blues” and “N.Y.P.D. Blue”) came out with the animated series “Capitol Critters.” The show was a political satire that presented Washington D.C. from the point of view of rats and other animals and tackled serious issues like race and addiction. It was canceled after one month.

One of Comedy Central's earliest forays into animation was “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist.” The show featured Jonathan Katz, a Newhart-esque cartoon therapist who treated mostly comedians such as Ray Romano (before he made it big with “Everybody Loves Raymond”), Jon Stewart (before “The Daily Show”), Mitch Hedberg (before he died) and Dave Chappelle (before he made it big, and then went insane, with his show). The comedians' issues were their comedy routines, which were animated as well.

The show was animated in “squiggle vision,” where the edges of characters constantly squiggle, which made some viewers nauseous as all the characters looked like they had tremors. The show lasted from 1995-2000. Its lasting legacy probably comes in an occasionally repeated guest appearance on an early episode of “South Park” (“Summer Sucks”) where Mr. Garrison seeks therapy from Dr. Katz.

Before “South Park” became television's home for acerbic social commentary, before USA became "about characters" (characters being quirky detectives and badass ex-spies) there was Duckman (voiced by Jason Alexander). This edgy, constantly ranting, politically incorrect, private dick/family man lived in a simultaneously gritty and satirical world. The show was bolstered by Duckman’s straitlaced partner Cornfed Pig, assistants Fluffy and Uranus (who are repeatedly killed by Duckman), and disrespectful family (made up of his children and sister-in-law; his wife died before the series began). The series ran for four seasons, from 1994 to 1997, and its crude-yet-intelligent backbone has clearly influenced a number of shows since. The series, which is now on DVD, is just as topical and funny today as it was over a decade ago.

Before MTV became nothing but spin-offs of "Laguna Beach," the station had a short, last gasp at creativity in the early 2000s. "Three South," a one season show from 2002, was about the misadventures of dolts Sanford (Mark Hentemann a.k.a. Seacrest's co-host from the first season of Idol) and Dell (Brian Posehn), two morons at a pathetic college named Barder. The show's side cast included dorm-mate Joe (an over-achiever who used Barder as a safety school and had to go there after being rejected by Yale) and their R.A., a sickly albino named Todd. The show was essentially pure comedy with no morals or values to slow it down, and pretty much all of the characters were morons for our amusement. Understandably, it had to be canceled to make room for vapid girls struggling to talk about creating a plan for a fashion line.

Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse" was the best thing on "Saturday Night Live" for several years. “SNL's” TV Funhouse gave us, among other classic segments, “The Ambiguously Gay Duo,” “Fun With Real Audio” and the old-school claymation musical number “Christmas Time For The Jews.” Smigel is also the man behind Conan O’Brien’s Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, who cameoed on the show.

In 2000, Comedy Central and Robert Smigel made “TV Funhouse” into a half hour series. Styled somewhat after “Pee Wee's Playhouse,” the main cast featured a human named Doug and the “Anipals,” a gang of (stuffed) animals. The Anipals went on their own adventures including coke addiction, gambling addiction, and fighting against companies that test cosmetics on animals. The show also featured unconnected-to-the-main-plot sketches, many of which were animated. Such skits included “Wonderman,” the superhero who uses his powers to get laid; “Stedman,” featuring Oprah’s boyfriend as a “spy”; and “JoKamel” a Pokémon parody featuring the mascot of Camel cigarettes.

This show was arguably one of the best ever put on Comedy Central but was canceled after a single season.

When Hollywood super producer Robert Evans (“Chinatown,” “Marathon Man”) released his autobiography "The Kid Stays in the Picture,” America got Evans-fever. Comedy Central prescribed him his own animated series called "Kid Notorious" where Evans voiced himself. A mediocre-at-best attempt at Hollywood satire/parody, the show lasted one season.

“Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” has the honor of being the only prime time animated series to last more than one season between the end of "The Flintstones" in 1966 and the start of "The Simpsons" in 1989. It only lasted from 1972-1974, however. Harry Boyle (voiced by Tom Bosley) was the uptight conservative patriarch (the titular “father”) butting heads with his more liberal family. Yes, it was clearly inspired by "All in the Family." Though thirty years old, “WTYFGH” has definitely impacted some modern cartoon family guys, especially if you look at the character designs (particularly those of Boyle's daughter and wife). Extra credit goes to the show's opening credits for making a joke about the daughter possibly being raped.