Dexter's Lab (Season 1-2)

***Dexter's Laboratory*** is a sci-fi comedy cartoon created by Genndy Tartakovsky. Originally aired as part of the *What a Cartoon!* anthology series, Dexter's Laboratory was given its own show in 1996 and became the very first *Cartoon Cartoon,* the name given to most of Cartoon Network's original programming that was well known during the late 90s, to mid 2000s. It originally aired from 1996 to 1999. It was later revived in 2001, but cancelled in 2003.

## Plot

The story revolves around Dexter, a young boy gifted with an exceptional genius intellect who has a large laboratory that he hide in his parents house. However to his misfortune, his klutzy and hyperactive older sister Dee Dee is aware of his lab's existence and often barges in and trashes the place. His life is also more complicated by his rival, Mandark, who is just as intelligent as him though luckily has a weakness in the form of having a crush on Dee Dee.

## Why It Rocks

1. This is the first of the Cartoon Cartoons they ever aired, Which was a great start of the repetition.
2. Launched Genndy Tartakovsky's career, who would later go on to create other cartoons such as *Samurai Jack* and *Sym-Bionic Titan*, and would also be the director and the creator of the *Hotel Transylvania* franchise.
3. Led to the careers of other animators, such as Seth MacFarlane (creator of *Family Guy*), Craig McCracken (creator of *The Powerpuff Girls* and *Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends*), Butch Hartman (creator of *The Fairly OddParents* and *Danny Phantom*), Rob Renzetti (creator of *My Life as a Teenage Robot*) and Chris Savino (creator of *The Loud House*).
4. Many hilarious jokes.
5. Colorful and detailed animation, especially in the "What a Cartoon" pilots, and the first half of Season 1.
6. Creative inventions and plot devices.
7. Memorable characters like Dexter, Dee Dee, their parents, Mandark, Dexter’s pet lab monkey, Mandark’s pet lab duck, Dexter’s computer, the Justice Friends, Puppet Pals, Agent Honeydew, Commander, Dee Dee’s best friends Mee Mee and Lee Lee, Koosalagooppagoop, Douglas E. Mordecai III, Action Hank, and Mr. Phillips Luzinsky.
8. Two segments were also done for the show: *Dial M for Monkey* and *The Justice Friends*.
9. *Dial M for Monkey* and *The Justice Friends* overlapped with the show as Monkey as Dexter's pet monkey, and the leader of the Justice Friends, Major Glory, is one of Dexter's favorite superheroes.
10. Its original series finale, “Ego Trip”, was decent. After which, Genndy Tartakovsky left to create *Samurai Jack*.

## Bad Qualities

1. The series severely declined in quality when it was revived in 2001, when Genndy Tartakovsky gave the show to Chris Savino, and those new seasons have even aged worse today, considering that Chris Savino is a sexual abuser, and they wouldn't be the last time Savino would ruin a beloved Cartoon Network classic.
2. Even before the revival, there were some bad episodes such as the Christmas episode, "Dexter vs. Santa's Claws", "Rude RemovalTTSW" (the banned episode), "The Old Switcherooms", "Sore Eyes", "Jeepers Creepers, Where is Peepers", and "Dexter Detention".
3. Dee Dee can be annoying and unlikable at times.

## Reception

*Dexter's Laboratory* was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards.