The Wide World of Dirt

This new recurring column is about making up for mistakes in judgment I have made, and believe me, I’ve made a plethora of them. I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again.

In this particular instance, I was doing a podcast a few years ago with a few friends, and the debate stemmed from a Cartoon Network programming bracket.

The final two were Ed, Edd, n Eddy and Regular Show.

At the time, I just finished Regular Show, and it spoke more to me at that time in my life, being a relatively aimless 22-year-old person. Nothing wrong with that.

I prefer a more linear narrative to the episodic format found in Ed, Edd, n Eddy. It was only right that I defended my choice for Regular Show to be the best show in the history of CN.

When you combine my personal preferences with the fact that Regular Show (along with Adventure Time) helped save the network in the early 2010s, I made a solid case.

But now, I’m here to tell you that I was wrong.

Ed, Edd, n Eddy is by far the best show Cartoon Network has ever broadcasted.

The show debuted during a time when the field it was playing against for airtime was fierce. Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and Cow & Chicken were all doing numbers on the channel at the time, so The Eds had to scrap from day one.

From the time that The Eds premiered at the beginning of 1999 to the time that it ended in late 2009, twenty-two (22) shows premiered and ended their runs, including heavy hitters like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samurai Jack, and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.

The Eds nearly lasted long enough to be on during the same time period as Cow & Chicken and Regular Show, which is absolutely insane.

I look back on that conversation I had, and I think that I forget about what The Eds had to go up against and how long it lasted. The show had an immense impact on the network, something I believe I hadn’t considered enough.

When you think about it, shows like Gumball and Regular Show might not have gotten picked up if it weren’t for the success of The Eds.

Think back to One + One = Ed. You remember when Eddy ripped off Jimmy’s outline. You remember how Eddy kept falling through that hole.

If it wasn’t for The Eds, we wouldn’t have as many shows that challenge the dimensions and universe of cartoons. That’s conjecture, sure, but if one show tries it and becomes unsuccessful, the network isn’t going to try that again.

The one part of this show that makes it stand out the most is Rolf.

The son of a shepherd is easily the funniest cartoon character that isn’t a main character in the history of animation. There are some great ones out there, like Lionel Hutz and Kahn Souphanousinphone, but the champion is Rolf.

There aren’t many main characters that have an over one-hour highlight reel of funny moments on YouTube, but in a show that runs at a wicked pace, Rolf has one.

For whatever reason, The Eds made sure to focus on their side characters, and Rolf never showed up dull. Every time that man hit the screen, it was some hilarious chaos.

The Eds also utilized sound effects so damn well, so much so that other Canadian-based animation studios took notice. The less we talk about that, the better.

One could argue the show got stale towards the end of its run, and I won’t disagree too much with that. Once the studio focused on making the movie, there was a decline in quality, but that took it from elite company to a really good show that missed occasionally.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

And the finale of the show might be one of the best series finales ever made. Big Picture Show was everything the series was, and it didn’t leave any stones unturned. We finally met Eddy’s brother! He was a dirtbag, but at least we got to find out for ourselves.

The finale premiered during a time when the network was falling on hard times on the animation front, and it still did numbers. Perhaps it knocked a little sense into the heads of Cartoon Network to stop hanging out with Andrew WK. Who knows!

All in all, I regret arguing in general, but I regret arguing and being wrong even more. Ed, Edd, n Eddy is the greatest Cartoon Network show to hit the airwaves.

Regular Show is still second though.