The Simpsons
One of the longest running, and most loved (and impersonated) series in television history, everyone’s favourite family has been on the air since 1989. The show plays out the working-class life epitomized by the Simpson family, consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie and has had over 28 seasons. It’s set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society and television.
Tom & Jerry
This 1940’s comedy by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera has been a family favourite for decades. Featuring rivals Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse, and a host of other characters such as Spike and Tyke, Butch and Mammy Two Shoes. The show revolves around the titular characters desperate attempt to outsmart each other, without getting in too much trouble with the Mammy Two Shoes. The “cartoon within a cartoon” Itchy and Scratchy from The Simpsons is heavily influenced by Tom and Jerry, with a considerably more violent twist.
Top Cat
Another William Hanna and Joseph Barbera show, and another huge favourite. Top Cat is one of the world’s favourite cartoon cats, featuring in things like banking adverts and even earning his own Slots at Paddy Power. The show ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. The overall plot-thread revolves around the local police officer, Charles “Charlie” Dibble, and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the alley, due to their constant scheming to earn a quick buck (usually by an illegal scams).
Scooby Doo
Scooby Doo is a children’s mystery written by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969, and still continues to run regularly to this day. The show has had over 30 films, both animated and live action, including the straight to DVD fan favourite “Scooby-Doo and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery”. The series follows the hijinks of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy and their talking Great Dane Scooby as they travel the globe to solve crimes in the Mystery Machine.
The Jetsons
The Jetsons follows George, Jane, Judy, Elroy and Astroy and their home in Orbit City. Written as the Space Age counterpart to the primitive Flintstones, The Jetsons takes place in a world filled with robots, spaceships and high tech machinery such as the household robot Rosie, an outdated but well-loved automated house maid. The head of the household, George Jetson works at Spacely’s Sprockets, and is generally a loving family man who always seems to make the wrong decisions. His boss, Cosmo Spacely always seems to come up with ideas to make more money, but they always backfire, with George taking the blame.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Sometimes referred to as TMNT, the Ninja Turtles are four fictional teenaged turtles named after four famous Renaissance Italian artists. They were trained by their adoptive father, the rat Splinter in the art of ninjutsu. From their home in sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated creatures, and alien invaders while attempting to remain hidden from society. The franchise exploded into live action movies, merchandise, video games and even food tie-ins. A running theme throughout all iterations of the characters is their unwavering love for Pizza.
Garon Cockrell is the Founder and Editor of Pop Culture Beast and host of The Pop Culture Beast Show. He founded the site over seven years ago to have a place on the internet to write about the things he loved. Since then, Garon has become a best-selling author (Demonic and Other Tales), an award winning screenwriter (Best Screenplay 2013 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival), and a cast member on the top rated podcast, Never Not Funny.