10) Fish Hooks

Season 3 launched a new arc of Oscar and Bea potentially being an item, and so far for season 4 we are starting to see Oscar grow in terms of not just being the nerdy kid at school but also the nerdy kid at school chasing a somewhat popular but always friendly girl.  Fish Flakes is an episode that showcases the edgy art direction of the show perfectly as it definitely hearkens back to the John K. era of programming geared towards a younger audience. Last year this series was the only Disney representation on the End of Year list, but with a bunch of episodes in the hopper with a lot of promise there is no reason why this show can’t gain.

 

9) Phineas and Ferb

 

If it wasn’t for the fact that we had that awful ‘Cliptastic‘ special, Phineas and Ferb would be ranked quite a bit higher.  Reason being is as we traverse through the Disney series’ fourth season we are starting to see the writers really branch out from the formulaic plot lines of seasons past in favor of more daring escapades like as seen in ´Primal Perry´,  ´Where´s Pinky?’, and the ‘Bee Day/Bee Story’ half hour that was just brilliant. This is one of Disney’s biggest properties and it gets bigger this year with games, a Marvel special, and more, so if the show stays good this could be a banner year.

8) Venture Bros.

Somehow Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer were able to do the unthinkable and give us a pretty remarkable season of Venture Bros. after a several year hiatus. The guys aren’t letting up on the guest stars as big names like John Hodgman, Paget Brewster, and Brendon Small continue to come in, deliver, and leave to make way for bomb after bomb of hysterically written non sequiturs that just leave their Venturoo fans laughing hysterically. The ratings show that Venture Bros., is a HUGE hit for Adult Swim and with that Doc and Jackson could probably just spend their summer in Oahu. Instead they schedule another Con appearance to do what these guys do best…win over new fans.

7) Crash and Bernstein

This series had such an uphill battle to climb. Like, when was the last friggin’ time you saw a show starring a Henson-puppet make it in prime-time?? Friggin ALF!! Even Paul Fusco would blush at all of the marketing that Disney is doing to push this series and it is slowly but surely starting to pay off.  Crash and Bernstein has already been picked up for a Season 2 and the story lines are starting to evolve from Plot 1= Crash, Plot 2= anyone else into Crash weaving his way in and out of both. The series is REALLY good when Landry Bender and Oana Gregory are used a lot as well as Mary Birdsong as they provide for this hell hole of a house making you root for the brothers no matter how much trouble they cause. And with new additions like ‘Roland’ it helps add more spice to a series before you get to settled in with the original cast.  Keep an eye out, these guys are working hard to deliver product.

6) Out There

Out  There is the best new animated series of 2013 so far and it could potentially run the rest of the year depending on how Justin Roiland (Chris)’s other new series Rick and Morty pans out.  I got a lot of flack for comparing this show favorably to Wonder Years as opposed to the band wagon series of 2012 Freeks and Geeks, but this show has all the ingredients to do what Judd Apatow’s old series could NOT do…a season 2 pickup. With a stellar cast that includes the aforementioned Roiland, John DiMaggio, and Kate Micucci it only works because of Ryan Quincy’s take on Chris that somehow sews up all of the characters into one line even when you include guest stars like Nick Offerman, Ellen Page, and Sarah Silverman. IFC has a chance to do build around this series with a stellar animation lineup for years to come.

5) The Simpsons

If you are surprised that The Simpsons are on this list then let me ask you….why? What do you think makes a show of any stature stay on the air for 24 seasons?? For me its the constant modernization of the series that is constantly being ripped off and somehow still making this show very important to not only cartoons but to television. STELLAR contributions have come this season in the form of guest stars like Fed Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth MacFarlane, and others and next season looks to build on that. But, I think what this show does best is it constantly holds a mirror to America like no one else can and always stays topical. From ‘Mapple’ to hipsters, and everything in between the Simpsons writers have you in their sights and if need be will make sure they’ve got you by the balls. 

4) Bob’s Burgers

Yes, Bob’s Burgers ranked higher than The Simpsons and is so far FOX’s best animated series but it was rather close. For every episode that exudes pure brilliance like ‘It Snakes a Village‘ and ‘Family Fracas’ we get inundated with formulaic Tina plots that just feel so forced but are there because the character is super popular.  The program really shows its strength with guest stars that fit in with the Bob’s-verse like a glove with Ben Schwartz, Jon Hamm, and others all doing their part but the real reason the show stays great is because of Bob and Linda. The married duo provide ample funnies whilst flipping their spatula at the old-school family archetypes where the husband acts like a moron and the wife has to clean it up. The series also benefits more of doing one plot with the whole family as opposed to two plots which can get convoluted, so we shall see how the show does at year’s end with the Fourth Season coming up, soon!

3) Archer

How could this show NOT be on the list? For season 3 we got heavy with guest stars like Bryan Cranston, Jack McBrayer, and Burt Reynolds but season 4 seemed to do less of that and instead give us hysterically plot-driven story lines like Archer getting bit in the dick by a snake and potentially getting Lana preggo (or is Cyril the dad??) We also got a lot of great cross-overs this time around with the Archer/Bob’s cross to help start off the season on the right foot, only to quietly tuck us in to bed with a Sealab inspired two-parter with Jon Hamm as a guest star. I have heard criticisms of this prior season’s lack of one-liners but I say why the hell should Adam Reed just write in one-liners for the sake of one-liners?? When you have someone like Matt Thompson is helping man things at Floyd County Prods. the real winning combo of this series isn’t just the one-liners its the whole package that begins and ends with Jon Benjamin and the rest of the cast , stellar animation, and writing that is so good it makes me angry.

2) Gravity Falls

The decision on Numbers 1 and 2 were decided by FRACTIONS of a grade score and so this could be a tops battle that changes every week between now and January when we post the best shows of the year. ‘The Deep End’ was one of the best episodes of any series this year and it shows the range this series can deliver. Whether its early teen angst type stuff with the twins and their respective crushes, or the action-packed fantasy adventure land that constantly makes you wonder what’s next? On top of that, we are starting to get reoccurring characters contribute on a constant basis like Lil Gideon and now even Soos is starting to get into the mix a bit more each episode as well. The writing is usually stellar, and although Jason Ritter (Dipper) kinda weighed the show down a bit at the gate, he really is blossoming because of Gravity Falls and the program is better for it.

 

1) Regular Show

The best animated series…SO FAR. Yep, keep in mind we have a second half of the calendar year to go! But, Regular Show has went from finishing 7th last year in our year’s end to working its way back up the charts at being the best show most notably due to the confidence that Season 4 seems to have. Episodes like ‘A Bunch of Full Grown Geese‘, ‘The Last Laserdisc Player‘, and a handful of others have shown the growth this writing staff has taken in continuing its dominance of animated nostalgia all the while keeping us in check on the Margaret/Mordecai relationship that seems to have blossomed this season. If the guys making this show keeping pushing out quality like this, they may have to rename themselves not just The Regular Show, but The Best Show.