6. “Rocko’s Modern Life”
This is the best of all the Nickelodeon cartoons. It pushed the envelope without going as far as, say, “Ren and Stimpy,” which too often became a gross-out show. “Rocko’s Modern Life” wasn’t that, and it also had more real storylines in it. There was satire and cleverness. Rocko was a wallaby, but he was also an everyman. “Rocko’s Modern Life” was a safe stepping stone for kids into more mature comedy. It also has an incredible theme song.
5. “Phineas and Ferb”
The people behind “Phineas and Ferb” went as far as to say that they didn’t create their show for kids; they just didn’t exclude them from the potential audience. That makes the show a crowd-pleaser for almost any audience. The titular characters are half-brothers spending their summer vacation trying to have as many crazy adventures as possible, and they pretty much always manage to do it. Also, their pet platypus is a secret agent with a nemesis who is a mad scientist, who is one of the funniest characters in any family-friendly cartoon. If you missed out on “Phineas and Ferb” because you thought it was just kid stuff, you should amend that.