Almost every era of Cartoon Network has a legion of fans who would consider him the best. The most popular of all is undoubtedly CN City Era, which featured an exceptional lineup of animated series and a collection of iconic bumpers. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the one era where no one will ever claim to be her favorite.

Infamous for its focus on live-action programming, Cartoon Network’s CN Real Era remains the most controversial in the channel’s history. For most fans, live-action series have no place on the channel, and their conception was a mistake from the start. For others, the era’s flaws lie not in its concept but in its poor execution. Yet, as with everything, some fans remember this era fondly, mainly for the few series that far exceeded the quality of their contemporaries.

13

It’s painful to look back on the high-fructose adventures of the boring orange

Starting in 2009, The boring orange began life as a YouTube series. Loved by some and hated by others for its unusual art style and immature humor, the series is still ongoing, with the channel it hosts boasting over 13 million subscribers. It’s far more successful than Cartoon Network’s baffling adaptation of the property ever was.

The High Fructose Adventures of the Boring Orange fails to please fans and haters of the YouTube series. Distinguished as a live-action series by the presence of its only human character, Nerville, the series is just as crude, irritating, stupid and repetitive as its online counterpart. And, due to the limitations of being on Cartoon Network, the supermarket adventures of Orange, Apple, Grapefruit and the rest of the oddly animated cast are incapable of even capturing the outrage that is at the heart of the show’s success. original series.

12

Bobb’e Says is one of the shortest real-life CN series

Many of Cartoon Network’s live-action series are simple imitations of other, better shows. This includes one of CN Real’s initial core programs, Bobb’e says. Hosted by Bobb’e J. Thompson, Bobb’e says is little more than a less funny version of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Thompson had gained popularity in the 2000s through his work on shows like It’s so Ravenand he is able to bring his typical charisma to Bobb’e says. However, that’s not enough to make up for the lackluster writing he gave as host of the show or the just plain unfunny nature of most of the clips he shows. Bobb’e says was one of the first two CN Real series to be canceled, and nothing of value was lost.

11

Incredible Crew is a mediocre sketch comedy show

Shortly after the failure of the Disney Channel comedy show, So random!ended, Cartoon Network launched its own failed sketch show, An incredible crew. An incredible crew is remarkable for created by Nick Cannon and to star a young Shameik Mooreas well as being the last live-action series produced by CN. As for its actual content, An incredible crew has nothing interesting to offer.

There are funny jokes in An incredible crew; it would be irremediable if that were not the case, but they are so rare that they are almost more surprising than pleasant. No surprises can be found in the musical sections of the show, which are always chores to get through. These portions of Amazing Crew are still better than the prank sketches, which embody the worst of early 2010s humor.

10

Man, What Would Happen Was One of CN Real’s Signature Series

Man, what would happen this is what happens when MythBusters is removed and reorganized to be aimed at middle school students with short attention spans. The result is a show that is more boring than funny, and incapable of pulling off the antics of three teenagers have the wackiest experiments they can think of engaging. The hosts try too hard to appear cool, and since it’s a kids’ show and the protagonists aren’t scientists, none of the experiments they do are exciting, dangerous, interesting, or memorable.

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Man, what would happen was one of the most popular CN Real series and one of the two sides of the programming block. Because of this, it’s not just a boring reality show, but a boring reality show with dozens of episodes. Due to its length, completing the entire course is like a test of endurance. Had Dude looked more into being a counterfeit and worked to make the scientific aspects of MythBusters attracting more children, rather than barely using them, it could have had a chance of appealing to a wider audience.

9

Out of Jimmy’s Head predates the actual CN era

Based on Cartoon Network’s first live-action film, Reanimated, Out of Jimmy’s head was the first live-action series to air on the channel. Like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel’s most popular live-action series, Out of Jimmy’s head is a sitcom. Unlike sitcoms produced by Cartoon Network’s main competitors, the series features extensive animation, such as the main character has the brain of a Walt Disney parodyand sees and hears his creations.

Out of Jimmy’s head could have been the template for a live-action series on Cartoon Network. Aside from incorporating animation, everything about the series is cartoonish, from the strange events happening around Jimmy to the alien and supervillain living in his house. Unfortunately, the series fails to live up to its full potential, being mean-spirited, too random, and completely lacking in likeable characters.

8

The hole in the wall is perfectly visible

Hole in the wall didn’t start out as a Cartoon Network series. This simple game show on teams try to fit their bodies through strange shapes in the walls originally aired on Fox and was simply picked up by CN. There’s nothing more to the series than its basic premise, but for what it is, it can be fun.

The biggest problem with Hole in the wall that’s how repetitive it is. The only things that differentiate the episodes from each other are the symbols that the contestants must control themselves to pass, and the contestants themselves. There’s no variety in the humor of seeing people get thrown into the water after failing a challenge, and no contestant has a standout personality.

7

The Othersiders is hilarious and bad

There are few legitimately good ghost hunting series. The idea of ​​creating one centered around a group of ghost-hunting kids, lacking both expertise and equipment, never had a chance to make it into the select few. Although it seems obvious, The others was always created to be part of the initial CN Real block.

Very little happens in any given episode of The others. Most of each’s runtime is devoted to the main cast wandering through dark spaces, attempting to contact ghosts, and the group arguing over their discoveries. There’s so little going on in the show that it becomes unintentionally funny, largely because of the disconnect between the stars’ enthusiasm and their mundane activities.

6

The next level had the potential to be better

One of the last live-action series to premiere on Cartoon Network, Higher level isn’t as bad as most of its predecessors. Based on a film of the same name, Higher level follows a group of high school students who fight to defend Earth against video game characters who try to invade it. The premise isn’t too original and the writing isn’t particularly funny, but there’s a clear effort put into the series that many of its contemporaries clearly lacked.

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Higher level benefits from a clear focus, defined characters who aren’t actively annoying, and decent CGI for the time. Its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness; it’s laughable how little the series understands the gamer culture it’s based on. It’s not worth revisiting, but when it comes to shows just for kids, we could do a lot worse.

5

BrainRush is a mildly entertaining game show

BrainRush has one of the simplest concepts a series can have; It is a game show where contestants are forced to answer trivia questions while riding a roller coaster. Compared to other quizzes, BrainRush lack of tension, interesting questions and pleasant participants. However, due to its difficult-to-make-completely-boring premise, it’s much more entertaining than the actively bad shows included in CN Real.

BrainRush was one of the first CN Real series to be canceled, but its concept had greater longevity than many of the series that survived it. Game shows are timeless, and with more interesting contestants and a clearer focus on questions that kids would know the answer to, this could have become a fun series. He would also have benefited from finding more ways to draw comedy out of the contestants rather than just getting them to eat before riding a roller coaster.

4

Destroy Build Destroy is the most iconic CN Real series

Andrew WK is the face of CN’s real eraand it’s unsurprisingly one of the best things about it. In every commercial and bumper he’s made for the channel, the charismatic rock star gives everything he’s got to make his live-action programming more exciting than it actually is. WK’s own show, Destroy Build Destroyis largely no better than most of CN Real’s other reality shows, but the energy he brings elevates the series above most of them.

Destroy Build Destroy is a game show in which two teams of competitors destroy each other’s vehicles, rebuild them into something new, and then use them to compete in a unique competition, with the losers’ vehicle exploding at the end. Apart from the presence of WK, this series has nothing to offer. DBD is repetitive, the contestants are all too clumsy and can’t build or destroy themselves, and the competitions that close each episode are boring.

3

Survive This is a solid, comprehensive reality TV show for kids

Survive this is a Canadian reality television series not created in-house by Cartoon Network. It’s probably because of these origins that the series is so much better than any CN original reality show. Survive this follows a group of teenagers who attempt to briefly survive in the wild with limited supplies, and while nothing terribly exciting happens, it’s mostly enjoyable.

Compared to CN Real’s other reality series, the direction is solid, the kids it stars all stand out, and the challenges they participate in are diverse and engaging. Les Stroud runs the show well, bringing the same energy that made his previous series, Survivora success. Being a series where teenagers regularly kill animals, it’s weird to see Survive this next to the CN Real series, much more sanitized, but this is entirely to its advantage.

2

An unnatural story deserved a second season

After the initial failure of the CN Real series, Cartoon Network produced two one-hour live-action dramas, both head and shoulders above every other live-action program they had made or released. they would never do. While Unnatural story was nothing special, it has a decent premise, solid acting by the standards of the time, likable characters, and plenty of charm. The series follows Henry Griffin, a teenager with a multitude of unique skills acquired during his travels around the worldas he uses his talents to solve the mysteries around his new home.

Unnatural story is episodic and classic, but it constantly finds ways to keep things fresh and interesting. Accompanied by his two best friends, Henry confronts thieves, mobsters and assassins, with his brain as his only weapon, and solves cases linked to cultures around the world. Even though the series doesn’t have the budget to make the most of some of its big ideas, it still captures the spirit of adventure and mixes it with adequate teen drama.

1

Tower Prep is the Only Legitimately Good Live-Action Cartoon Network Series

One might wonder if the whole CN Real debacle was worth it just for Preparing the tower. Worthy of being alongside most Cartoon Network programs, Preparing the tower is a serial science fiction drama about a school for teenagers with superpowers and four children who have no memory of how they got there. The writing is strong and intelligent, the constant tension is palpable, the four main characters are all well-realized, and the story and world are both exceptionally realized.

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Created by Paul Dini, best known as one of the main writers and producers of Batman: The Animated Series and the co-creator of Harley Quinn, Preparing the tower offers an atmosphere just as haunting and mysteries as captivating as his earlier works. Its teen drama fits perfectly into its ongoing storyline, fully drawing viewers into the lives of Ian, CJ, Gabe, and Suki and making them genuinely care about them. Unlike any other live-action series produced by Cartoon Network, it had a dedicated fan following. Preparing the towerand a massive backlash occurred when it was canceled after its first season ended on a cliffhanger.