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Chicken: Is that it?
Dexter: No, that is not iiiit!

Cartoon Cartoon Fridays was a weekly programming block on Cartoon Network that showcased premiere episodes of the network's original animated comedy series (aka Cartoon Cartoons) from June 11, 1999 to May 16, 2003. During this era, the block would be hosted by a character from one of these series, who would interact with other stars and introduce the shows. When the "Cartoon Cartoon" branding was dropped, the block received a live-action ReTool simply called Fridays, which ran from October 3rd, 2003 to February 23rd, 2007. This version of the block had a more Variety Show setup, utilizing two live action hosts, a studio audience, comedy skits using live-action/animated/puppet characters, and musical & celebrity guests. It also expanded to showcase a mix of Cartoon Network original series and acquired series.

The programming block is one of the most notable aversions of the Friday Night Death Slot next to ABC's TGiF block. While older teenagers and adults were likely out of the house on Friday nights, most children found themselves with nothing to do other than watch television (doing their homework certainly wasn't an option!). And with Cartoon Network entering more homes and being the only channel showing anything brand new on that night...well, you get the gist. Nickelodeon and Disney Channel would later follow the animation channel's lead, moving the premiere slots for some of their shows to Fridays as well during the 2000s.

Following the end of Fridays (and extremely brief attempts at new programming blocks called Friday Night Premiere Thunder and Fried Dynamite), Cartoon Network moved new episodes of their comedy programming to Thursdays with a new block called Har Har Tharsdays, which lasted from March 6, 2008 to April 1st, 2010.note  At that point, comedy premieres shifted to Monday nights (while Thursday nights became an encore night for the Monday premieres), with new episodes of the network's shows eventually beginning to air on any given weekday night since 2014 (due to [adult swim] moving to 8pm ET/PT).

CCF had a short-lived revival, of sorts, years later in the form of a rebooted Cartoon Planet. In 2017, Cartoon Network returned to airing premieres of new episodes on Fridays with a block called Friday Party, which had promos that gave priority to Teen Titans Go! and unfortunately caused other shows to obtain lower ratings. After a short hiatus, CN began airing another Friday night premiere block in September 2017, this time with equal promotion given to all shows and a graphical style similar to that of the original Cartoon Cartoon Fridays.


Shows that aired on Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, in roughly chronological order:


Cartoon Cartoon Fridays provides examples of:

  • Animated Actors
  • Art Evolution: Dexter's design and voice changed in December 2001 to reflect his show's 2001 revamp.
  • Ascended Extra: Lenny Baxter, the comic book geek and one-shot villain from the Powerpuff Girls episode "Collect Her", appears occasionally to provide trivia from the various Cartoon Cartoons.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Johnny and Chicken complain about the Halloween party not being scary enough and next thing they know the lights go out.
  • The Cameo: Many characters from the Cartoon Cartoons that don't host make small appearances in the background:
    • Fred Jones unexpectedly showed up on occassions when any of the Eds (Double D alone or Ed and Eddy) were hosting.
    • Also, the Halloween special was crashed by a mysterious intruder. At the end of the show when the lights were fixed, he was revealed to be Aquaman.
  • Christmas Episode / Christmas Special: A Very Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Holiday Special, which aired annually until 2002, even having a Christmas in July run on July 20th, 2001.
  • A Dog Named "Dog": Johnny Bravo lampshades this trope as he prepares to introduce Sheep in the Big City
    Johnny: Waitaminute. He's a sheep and his name is "Sheep"? Does that seem weird to anybody else? That would be like if my name were "Big Hunk of Studly Man". Hey, waitaminute, that's pretty good.
  • Do Not Adjust Your Set:
    • Mojo Jojo once took over the network's transmission to show that he's taken over CCF. At one point, he interrupts the theme song to remind the audience he's taken over.
    • The Kids Next Door often interrupted the show in the weeks leading up to their show's premiere.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: The 1999-2000 season featured live-action people in various roles for the show bumpers. The 1999 Cartoon Cartoon Weekend had the cartoon characters in their places (i.e. Weasel as the weatherman and Dexter as the auctioneer, etc.).
  • Halloween Episode/Halloween Special:
    • The Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Halloween Party
    • Also, Scaretoon Scaretoon Fright-Days, which aired a Scooby-Doo movie and new episodes of Courage The Cowardly Dog as well as Grim & Evil.
  • Insult Friendly Fire: When the Time Squad hosted.
    Tuddrussel: (to Dexter) Sorry, partner. This Time Squad has room for only one four-eyed, squeaky-voiced, little know-it-all.
    Otto: Uh...thanks, Tuddrussel.
  • Interactive Narrator: Characters would often interact with Mr. Announcer (Tom Clark, and later, Doug Preis).
  • The Millennium Age of Animation
  • Massive Multiplayer Crossover: The entire concept of the hosting segments was for stars from different Cartoon Cartoons to interact with each other.
  • Motor Mouth: The auctioneer from the 1999-00 season.
  • Naked People Are Funny: Dexter once transported himself to the set via a transporting invention. It failed to take his clothes with him.
  • Noodle Incident: On the November 3, 2000 episode, Johnny notes Cow and Chicken taking the I Am Weasel timeslot by asking in Weasel and Baboon were fired for some "cafeteria incident".
  • Parental Bonus:
    • The scene with Ambiguously Gay satanic figures HIM and The Red Guy, along with a seriously creeped-out Johnny.
    • The Australian adaptation implies that Ms. Bellum has been on the cover of adult magazines. It also involves certain implications about the Mayor:
    Mayor: It's fun to be a star on this show. Don't you agree, Ms. Bellum?
    Sara: Certainly, Mayor.
    Mayor: And of course fame has its perks. Only last week, Ms. Bellum, I saw you... er... face on the cover of three magazines.
    Sara: It has been quite a honor, sir. Though I was not aware you read such publications.
    Mayor: Oh, only when I'm alone.
    Sara: O... kay.
    • Eustace has an Australian segment making fun of Him and Johnny Bravo for being "sissies" (but he follows it up with "That's okay if you're into that kind of thing. I won't ask if you won't tell").
    • Also from the Australian incarnation, this conversation occurs when Ms. Bellum and the Mayor discuss "An Ed Too Many":
    Sara: In this episode called 'An Ed Too Many', Double D finds himself the center of some unwanted attention.
    Mayor: Just like when the paparazzi here in Townsville photograph me in the back of my limousine with those three young—
    Sara: *clears throat* Mayor, we're here to talk about Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy.
  • Retraux: The original format with live action hosts were done in a style reminiscent of what was called the "Local Uncle Show" where a tv personality would host cartoons usually on the weekend. Many of these clearly tried to emulate things that would have been common back then, one of which even had a weatherman. (many a Local Uncle Shows were hosted by corny weathermen)
  • Roger Rabbit Effect: The four music videos shown during the Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest in 2002 and CCF's final year.
  • Running Gag: Every time Bubbles hosted (which was a lot) the announcer would get more and more angry.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Special Guest: The Grim Reaper along with Hector Con Carne and Boskov during the 2001 Big Pick Weekend.
  • Stock Footage:
    • Believe it or not, most of the hosting clips are often re-used for the host's next hosting week. This is most evident in the holiday specials.
    • Edd and Bubbles' sign-offs are noticeably shorter after the one-shot Cartoon Cartoon shorts disappeared.
  • Story Arc: Some of the hosting segments. For example, Johnny and Chicken interrupting Double D during the night Sheep in the Big City premiered, and Buttercup throwing Buck Tuddrussel into the six stacked monitors, causing the monitors to be knocked down in the process and the Time Squad spends the rest of the night putting them back in place.
  • Super Bowl Special: Aired on January 26th, 2001, with a tailgate party honoring Cartoon Network's Big Game XXIX: Bugs vs. Daffy special that following day.
  • The Worst Seat in the House: At the end of the Super Bowl Special, Chicken mentions that he hopes he doesn't sit behind the pole like last year.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Compared to how he normally is, as well as when he hosted solo, Eustace was far more genial when he hosted with Muriel.

Fridays provides examples of:

  • Anti-Humor: Milkman Fred's cooking segments.
  • The Artifact:
    • The early installments of the block featured a transporter that one host could step into and talk to Cartoon Network characters in person, along with a giant TV screen and 3 overhead computer screens used whenever the CN website was promoted during the segments. The transporter was used as a background prop long after it stopped being used for its intended purposes, and the giant TV screen remained intact - although it always played a loop of the Fridays logo spinning around instead of the show that was currently airing.
    • The same can be said about the intro sequence, featuring many Cartoon Network, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation characters (such as from Looney Tunes, The Jetsons, /Peter Potamus, Hong Kong Phooey and many others) whose shows were dropped from the schedule with CN's rebrand to their "City" motif in the summer of 2004, yet they remained intact in the intro and most likely soon became very unfamiliar to the block's target audience within a couple of years.
  • Big Fun: Provided by The Big Guys.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Nzinga to Tommy (though even she had her own Cloudcuckoolander moments, considering the nature of the show)
  • Continuity Cameo:
  • Credits Pushback: Fridays was one of the first blocks on Cartoon Network to do this. Over the credits, the credits are shrunk into a corner of the screen as the two hosts talk to us about what's coming up next on the block and their thoughts about what happened in the episode (in the earlier shows).
  • Cross Promotion: During the general credits sequence, which appears at the very end of every block, the hosts often advertised shows that aired the next day on Saturday Video Entertainment System or Toonami. Similarly, shows that had encores as part of the Fridays block, like Duck Dodgers and Atomic Betty, featured the hosts advertising when the next new episode would air during the credits.
  • Cute Kitten / Ridiculously Cute Critter: Whiskers, The Kitten Who Can Name Fruit.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • Evolving Credits: The intro was modified midway through, to add the new Cartoon Network logo, to replace Sheep with Ami and Yumi, and to add characters from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (Mr. Herriman was added in the "office" part, while other characters and the Foster's foyer replaced the Duck Dodgers characters and set that were there before).
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Whiskers, The Kitten Who Can Name Fruit is a kitten who can name fruit. Most of the time.
  • Excited Kids' Show Host: Tommy and Nzinga (and later, Tara). Somewhere between Type 2 and Type 3.
  • Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Used during the E-mail Time segments. However, the letters were fake.
  • Frank's 2000 Inch TV: A variation of this appears in the intro and is used in some of the bumpers. Instead of being one big screen, the Fridays TV consists of lots of monitors close together, each showing a different video on them and eventually forming a single video that can be seen on all of the monitors combined. Notably, each show aired in the early years of the block had at least one bumper featuring the TV - likely to save time for Cartoon Network promos and even out the time saved on host segments.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: Tapes can be seen in the back of the Fridays control room - some of which are labeled "Cartoon Fridays Leader" and others which are labeled after shows that have aired in the past on the block. Some of the tapes are actually of Toonami, including Zatch Bell and New Justice League Unlimited.
  • Greasy Spoon: The unnamed diner set where the Diner Lady resides.
  • Hostile Show Takeover: One day's hosting segments revolved around Tommy and Tara each trying to take control of the show. The Fridays logo in the bottom corner changes with who's currently in charge of the block.
  • Hilarious Outtakes: Occasionally, the kids will make a mistake while speaking. Typically followed up by an "Oops!" or "Pobody's Nerfect!" title card.
  • Hypocritical Humor: In an Ed, Edd 'n Eddy bumper, Nzinga asks us if we've ever wondered why Ed wears a sweater even when it's not cold outside. She is wearing a scarf while she's saying this.
  • Idiosyncratic Wipes: Used to transition between each sketch during the host segments. Because of the rapid fire nature of the sketches, there's a lot of them.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Scrappy is pretty keyed up when he points out that it is a little weird that only now would things be turning around for him when he has canonically been a part of the schedule since 1996. It still doesn't change that he may be onto something.
  • Manchild: Tommy during the later blocks.
  • Manipulative Editing: If a celebrity made an appearance on Fridays, you can expect the producers to take out of context quotes from them and play them during bumpers. This likely came about after the former writers of Space Ghost Coast to Coast started producing the show.
  • No Fourth Wall: The two hosts or the kids talk directly to the audience in the bumpers that appear before the show returns and over the credits.
  • Non-Interactivity: Subverted with the Game Time sketches. Sometimes the tasks done in the segments are possible to do, while other times they aren't possible (like pushing the envelope of comedy or using your hidden superpowers.)
  • Orphaned Punchline: The basis of one of the show's skits.
  • Perfectly Cromulent Word: The words in the Word of the Day segments are these.
  • Phony Newscast:
    • Occasionally used during some of the bumpers, and sometimes used to promote shows premiering in the days after the block.
    • Tommy & Nzinga became phony newscasters in order to promote Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. It's as silly as it sounds.
  • Previously on…: Used during some of the promos, featuring an out of context line from last week's show.
  • Roger Rabbit Effect: Used sporadically around the time the rebrand began. The hosts would occasionally interact with Cartoon Cartoon characters, which occasionally led to situations like lampshading why Numbah One would be willing to ask for assistance from the hosts.
  • Scenery Porn: The opening sequence featuring many Cartoon Network characters past and present, some of whom are only seen for a split second; and the flythrough at the beginning from orbit to Atlanta (CN and the other Turner nets are all based there- the building we see doesn't match up with the real building that's there, though).
  • Soap Within a Show: Done in the All My Fridays skits.
  • Special Guest:
    • Amy Lee once came on and performed "The Cartoon Song." Other celebrities and musical guests came on as well.
    • Viewers who participated in the PPG Style contest and won were able to join in some of the host segments.
    • George Lucas, of all people, made a guest appearance during the March 26th, 2004 broadcast. Because episode 11 of Star Wars: Clone Wars was premiering that night, Tommy took a trip to Skywalker Ranch, and was able to interview Lucas about the creation of the series' first season and his unique collection of items used while creating the original movies.
  • Spectacular Spinning: The original teaser promo for Fridays from September 2003 featured the old Cartoon Cartoon Fridays logo disc spinning around and rotating until it turned into the new logo.
  • Stock Footage: Animations from earlier Cartoon Network promos were used in the short bumpers that appear if no skits are shown.
  • Stop Motion: Used during Bad Clay Fables.
  • Surreal Humor: Let's see, you got Whiskers, The Kitten Who Can Name Fruit, the occasional visits from Longhaul the Puppet Trucker, and the sudden breaking out into dancing brought on by the "Big Guy Shimmy" amongst other strange characters, not to mention the relative shortness of most of the interstitial sketches.
  • Talking Animal: Long Haul, a dog who drives a pickup truck and shows off the items he's collected to the show's hosts and kids.
  • Title Card: Used after some of the sketches. There's a lot of them.
  • Variety Show: The interval segments had things from recurring comedy segments to special guest celebrities and bands.

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 
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Scrappy-Doo

While the Cartoon Cartoons are going to work, Scrappy-Doo laments how he's never given respect for keeping the cartoon industry fresh. While people like Buck Tuddrussel and Eustace like him fine enough, others either don't respect him or don't know who he is, leading Scrappy to have a complete mental breakdown.

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