25 years after its original premiere, this now lost Cartoon Network series is still the funniest science-fiction series that has ever aired with the channel. Cartoon Network is in the midst of a revival era for some of their biggest shows. Many franchises from the 2000s and 2010s have made their comebacks with all sorts of fun new projects, but there are many others that have yet to get the same chance. In fact, there are many Cartoon Network shows that have pretty much disappeared with no legal means of seeking them out easily.
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That’s the case for Time Squad. Originally making its debut with Cartoon Network on June 8, 2001, 25 years ago, this animated series offered up a very fun take on the past that saw historical figures depicted in a hilarious new kind of way. It wasn’t the most notable series when you think back to the massive library at the time, but the Cartoon Cartoons block was that much funnier when it was around. But all these years later, you can’t really stream or find it in the United States.
Time Squad Premiered 25 Years Ago But It’s Lost Now
Originally created by Dave Wasson for Cartoon Network in 2001, Time Squad was the tenth of the Cartoon Cartoons branded effort that saw massively successful returns with franchises like The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Ed, Edd n Eddy and more. But it unfortunately had nowhere near as much luck as the other shows. Only running for 26 episodes across two seasons, it always felt like Time Squad had a lot of trouble getting off the ground when it came to getting attention from fans at the time. Which is especially a shame when you look at the talent behind it all.
Set millions of years in the future, Time Squad follows a special organization that monitors the timeline and corrects an issues that pop up throughout history. The series centers around a hilarious trio with a young history buff named Otto (Pamela Adlon, who’s most famous for being Bobby Hill in King of the Hill), a Time Squad officer who’s a little dumb named Buck (Mark Hamill, who’s been in franchises like Star Wars, Regular Show and more), and a robot keeping them in check named Larry 3000 (Rob Paulsen, known for franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs and more).
The trio gets their missions to fix inconsistencies across the timeline in order to preserve the future, and it’s the kind of premise that really feels like it was before its time for an animated series. It’s such a high sci-fi concept that there are multiple blockbuster franchises that use it these days for their own benefit, but it just didn’t draw cartoon fans into its orbit. It’s a shame too because it used multiple people throughout history such as Napoleon, Abe Lincoln, Edgar Allen Poe and more to hilarious extent. It’s the kind of show that you would expect to reach higher heights with adults if launched a decade or so later.
What Happened to Time Squad?
Time Squad was just a victim of circumstance. Not only did it not get a lot of attention from Cartoon Network fans at the time, it was also the final series to be launched under previous management that was going through a tumultuous period with disagreements from those at the top. It was also the first full Cartoon Network Studios production following the death of former Hanna-Barbera co-founder William Hanna, and ultimately only got two short seasons released within the span of two years.
While it did get some awards nominations, it didn’t seem like critics at the time really “got” it either. It was criticized for offering more laughs than actual historical facts, and that was kind of the point of it. Time Squad was just using its historical premise to tell as many hilarious jokes as it possibly could, so it wasn’t really trying to be educational. It also didn’t really get too much home video support either, and that’s why it’s so impossible to watch on streaming platforms these days. It’s been especially buried over the years.
Warner Bros. Animation had removed a ton of its content from HBO Max and many of these classic shows have found new homes with streaming platforms like Tubi and Hulu. But Time Squad is nowhere to be found. It’s not streaming, it’s not available on physical media, and it isn’t airing on TV in any classic form. It’s been essentially wiped out from the memory of all but those Cartoon Network fans who had been able to catch it when it was airing and appreciated it for what it was. But in its current form, it really won’t ever get that appreciation either.
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