Cartoon Cartoon Fridays: You With Us?
In 2000, Cartoon Network entered the new millennium with ambitions to not only to shed their skin, but to compete with other cable networks with their own original programming in prime time. A weekly event titled "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" began on June 8, 2000 and was a 4-hour block of programming in which Cartoon Network aired all of their original "Cartoon Cartoons". Written by Chris Kelly, Steve Cone, and Steve Patrick, the on-going series slowly changed from a series of cartoon injected parodies (such as fake cooking shows and weather forecasts) into a full series of hosted segments. Each Friday night, the block was hosted by one of the network's stars.
"Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" took place on a pristine white set, in which oversized ribbons (that have emerged from the
"Cartoons Cartoons" logo during the introduction) lay about with a monolithic presence. Each week, a new character such as Blossom (The Powerpuff Girls), Eustace (Courage the Cowardly Dog), Edd (Ed, Edd, n Eddy), or Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo) would actually host the program by announcing upcoming episodes and interacting with other random cartoons on the set. To tie this all together, there was an off-screen announcer that introduced each host as well as the weekly commercial ads. The feeling of a chaotic television set and "live" hosts ushered in a weekly event that garnered Cartoon Network with some of its highest viewer ratings from 2001-2002.
Some of the most memorable moments of "CCF" involve seeing characters from all of Cartoon Network's original shows interact with each other. Brought to life by the folks at Primal Screen video production, "Cartoon Cartoons Fridays" had critical acclaim and displayed some of the network's best programs. In the introduction, the infectious "bum bumm bumm" of the the theme song (thank you Michael Kohler) swirled you into the upbeat insanity that set the pace on Friday nights. While the show only lasted three years, the success of this formula led to what we see today as "Cartoon Network's Fridays", replacing the characters with live hosts, taking the original idea to the next level. While "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" may no longer be, the original idea and spirit have manifested into a groundbreaking program that has entertained all ages.
Cartoon Cartoon Fridays was produced by Christina Augustinos, Billy Cone, Steve Patrick, and Chris Kelly. It featured the guest voices of Charles Adler (Chicken, Cow, Red Guy, I.R. Baboon), Arthur Anderson (Eustace), Jeff Bennett (Johnny Bravo), Christine Cavanaugh (Dexter), Matt Hill (Ed), Roger L. Jackson (Mojo Jojo), Tom Kenny (The Mayor, Lenny Baxter), Jennifer Martin (Sara Bellum), Candi Milo (Dexter), Tony Sampson (Eddy), Tara Strong (Bubbles), Samuel Vincent (Edd), Thea White (Muriel), Lionel G. Wilson (Eustace), Greg Eagles (Grim), Grey DeLisle (Mandy), Richard Steven (Billy), and Kevin Seal (Sheep). Mr. Announcer was voice by Tom Clark.