I’m going to write a number down for you … forty-one. Do you happen to know what the significance of this number is other than one less than the answer to life, the universe and everything? This number, dear friends, is the amount of years that Batman has appeared on television in animated form.

Starting in the late 1960s as a cheery, non-violent super-hero, Batman has been with us in one show or another for four decades. Sometimes he’s been paired up with his trusty partner,  Robin. Other times he’s been paired up with other heroes or with the Justice League. There were also times that he was just there by his lonesome. Regardless of what version of the Dark Knight it was,  Batman has always been the coolest animated hero. Let’s take a look at his long television history, starting in the heyday of Saturday morning cartoons.

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The early days of Cartoon Network were an interesting time. Looking for ways to stretch their current lineup of older, yet classic, cartoons the cable channel launched an initiative to not only find new material but to also give creative control back to animators and directors who had certain visions. The result of this initiative was World Premiere Toons, later to be called the What a Cartoon! Show.

The new showcase introduced a number of cartoons that eventually became regular series on the network. This included Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and a small cartoon that featured three adorable preschool girls who could wipe the floor with you while eating their graham crackers and milk. The young ladies I speak about are The Powerpuff Girls and, for several years, they and their creator were the darlings of the network.

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As part of the annual Thanksgiving festivities, the Cartoon Network had a float in the big parade for Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. Their turn eventually came up on the broadcast, and the Foster crew were ready to sing “You’re My Best Friend.” Ahh, but things were not exactly what they seemed. Matt Lauer kind of blew the surprise, telling everyone that something was coming, but it was still something to see. They ended up RickRolling the parade, but in a very cool way. See it for yourself after the jump. And make sure you stay for the end, it’s very cute.

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Did you know Adult Swim was putting on a second episode of Robot Chicken Star Wars? I’m not sure many people knew, because I sorta stumbled onto it while flipping through my DVR guide the other night.

Not everything clicked with me, but there were some definite highlights:

Stormtrooper’s Take Your Daughter to Work Day — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing jokes centered around this odd office “holiday.” The scene with Obi Wan using the Force on the Stormtroopers and not affecting the daughter was great.

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masterpiecepumpkin

I don’t know how it happened or when it happened but sometime between my childhood and now Halloween became a big business. As big as Chrismakwanzakuah in many cases. The evermore elaborate costumes, the re-theming of every product you purchase, the decorations. Face it, from September until October 31st Halloween permeates every fabric of society.

Even television has taken advantage of this time. With so many channels on the air now, it was inevitable that they would use the time that they have to modify their schedules to a more creepy Halloween theme. Problem is, there is so much on during it’s hard to keep track. That’s where we come in. If you click ahead you will find a comprehensive list of every Halloween-themed show and movie that will be airing from 7:00 a.m. today to the wee hours of Saturday morning. Please use this in order to program not only your DVR but your day.

And, if you’re tired of all this Halloween crap, fear not … Christmas decorations begin going up 12:01 a.m. on November 1st.

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Cartoon Network

I remember the first time my son saw the Pink Panther. Yep, you guessed it: Right on the side of a bag of home insulation. He peeked his head into the attic, his eyes locked on the iconic, pink creature on the side of the bag and said: “What’s THAT?!” Thinking nothing of it, I told him he was a cartoon I used to watch as a kid and that I remember it being funny. Well, that was it.

Cut to two years later, and we’re still sorta abusing the full series set of Pink Panther cartoon DVDs at home, but it’s finally subsiding quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong — they still bring back memories anytime they’re on. I’m just tired of them. Come on, there’s cooler stuff on that this! What, they’re not for me? Bah!

Now comes word that a new Pink Panther cartoon is in the works from the Cartoon Network. All I ask of anyone who knows me is this: please, for the love of all that is wholesome, good and baby jeebus, do not tell my son about this show. Me and my two DVRs will thank you.

Cartoon Network

(Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2 – Series Premiere)

There I was, butt firmly placed in a section of my sectional, watching commercials on Cartoon Network featuring SimCity Creator, Sim Kingdom, and the movie City of Ember. A movie, by the way, that I never heard of until Friday night, despite the fact it’s being produced by Tom Hanks and stars Tim Robbins and Bill Murray. I guess I’m a bit out of touch.

So, watching commercials. Right. I’m sitting there, enjoying these commercials, when suddenly Star Wars begins running. Well, I thought it was Star Wars. Yoda was there, and so was R2D2. There were clones, and light sabers, and that effect where all of the stars become straight lines as a ship jumps into hyperspace. Yet, there was something different about it all. The characters were a bit stiff and their mouths were big but they didn’t really move that much. Plus, Yoda had some long, thick strands of grey hair. Perhaps I was watching Star Wars from an alternate universe.

Turns out, I was watching the new animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Huh. Who knew?

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