Fridays, formerly known as Cartoon Cartoon Fridays (often abbreviated as CNF or CCF), was a Cartoon Network programming block that served as the marquee night for premieres, new episodes, and re-runs of the network's original series, which included the well-known Cartoon Cartoons. The block was shown weekly on Friday nights from June 11, 1999 through February 23, 2007. It was created by Steve Patrick and Christina Augustinos, with animation produced by Primal Screen.

The block aired between at 7:30 P.M.-11:00 P.M. (sometimes 7:00 P.M.-11:00 P.M.) from 1999-2001, 8:00 P.M.-12:00 A.M. (sometimes 8:00 P.M.-6:00 A.M. or 7:00 P.M.-1:00 A.M.) from 2001-2003, 7:00 P.M.-12:00 A.M. from 2003-2006 and then at 7:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M. from 2006-2007.

Each week on CCF, a different Cartoon Cartoon character would host; the hosting segments were often re-used throughout the block's run. While the block was primarily for Cartoon Cartoons, it later integrated non-Cartoon Cartoons such as Samurai Jack and What's New, Scooby-Doo?. In October 2003, CCF was rebooted in a live-action format as "Fridays", hosted by Tommy Snider, Nzinga Blake (2003–2004), and Tara Sands (2005–2007). It aired series outside the "Cartoon Cartoon" sub-brand, and also included skits, guest stars, and live musical performances.

Fridays was replaced with Friday Night Premiere Thunder in 2007. Until June 2007, Friday night was the only evening that was programmed for children on the network from 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., with Adult Swim originally airing on Saturday–Thursday nights (before moving to seven nights a week in July 2007).

On January 27, 2017, Cartoon Network went back to airing Friday premieres with the launch of the Friday Party! block.

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History

Creation

In 1999, Cartoon Network wanted to compete with other cable networks with their own original programming in prime time. To accomplish this, they created a weekly event titled "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays," a four-hour programming block featuring new episodes and premieres of Cartoon Cartoons (a collective term for early Cartoon Network Original Series).

1999–2000 season

CCF began on June 11, 1999. In its original format, it was hosted by live-action actors and actresses, with a series of cartoon-injected parodies, including fake lottery shows, weather forecasts, astronomy, a Cartoon Cartoon-themed marching band (performed by the GSU Tiger Marching Band), and livestock auctions. The intro for CCF involved lines and volume bars showing all the Cartoon Cartoons, including a techno remix version of the famous Cartoon Cartoons theme. The "Coming Up Next", "We'll Be Right Back", and "Back to the Show" bumpers featured by NFL stars who hung up cardboard pieces of Cartoon Cartoon characters. This format was used until June 2, 2000.

When CCF first aired, it had giveaways of Cartoon Cartoon-themed items that were raffled away by phone. The giveaways ended after a dozen or so weeks. CCF's commercials and promos featured live-action people acting like Cartoon Cartoon characters. The slogan for these commercials was "Are you cartoon?".

2000–01 season

Starting on June 9, 2000, CCF was revamped. This new version took place inside a white factory-like setting, where oversized ribbons (that emerged from the "Cartoons Cartoons" logo during the introduction) laid about. Each week, a character from a Cartoon Cartoon would host the block by announcing upcoming episodes and interacting with other random Cartoon Network characters on the set. To tie this all together, there was an off-screen announcer that introduced each host as well as the weekly commercial ads.

The following Cartoon Cartoon characters took turns hosting the show in this season:

Each character presented new episodes of their respective shows, as well as several pilots. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: Meet the Reaper won the Big Pick 2000, which was hosted by the Mayor. Sheep in the Big City was also a pilot that premiered in the Summer of 2000 and premiered as a full series on November 17, 2000.

In Fall 2000, the host would present new episodes of various Cartoon Cartoons, not just their own. Eustace's last time hosting alone would be in December 2000 and the following week would be Dexter's first time hosting. Sheep would host for one time only in February of 2001.

During this season, three new Cartoon Cartoons premiered on CCF: Courage the Cowardly Dog, Mike, Lu & Og and Sheep in the Big City.

2001–02 season

CCF was revamped again on June 8, 2001, and the bridging format featured newly-animated segments starring the Cartoon Cartoon characters. These segments were repeated until late summer of 2002. The following Cartoon Cartoon characters took turns hosting the show:

A new Cartoon Cartoon, Time Squad, premiered on the day of the revamp. A new Big Pick, featuring all of the pilots that premiered during the Summer of 2001, was held for fans to vote for which pilot would become a new series. The winner was Codename: Kids Next Door. Grim & Evil would also premiere the same weekend as the Big Pick.

Additionally, I.M. Weasel hosted the Big Pick Weekend 2001. Two holiday specials aired throughout the show's run, one for Halloween, and one for Christmas, both of which featured interactions between all of the characters, but the Cartoon Orbit site listed Weasel as the official host for both of these events. Despite these three events and his popularity as a character, Weasel never received his own regular hosting segment in rotation.

2002–03 season

The Summer had only four new episodes in one night and Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? premiered in July of 2002. Courage the Cowardly Dog had new episodes almost every Friday from June 2002 to November 2002 when the series ended. Codename: Kids Next Door would be the last Cartoon Cartoon to premiere on December 6, 2002, and What's New, Scooby-Doo? would premiere in the CCF lineup on March 28th, 2003.

On October 4, 2002, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays became Scaretoon Scaretoon Fright-Days. This special featured direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies along with new episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog and Grim & Evil.

CCF ceased on May 16, 2003, and on May 23, it was temporarily replaced with Summer Fridays (later renamed Cartoon Network's Fridays on September 5, 2003), which introduced the final two Cartoon Cartoons: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne, which were already airing as part of Grim & Evil.

2003–04 season

After CCF ended on May 16, 2003, Summer Fridays and Cartoon Network's Fridays were temporary replacements. On October 3, 2003, the new Fridays premiered. The bridging segments were done in live-action with a new set and hosts, Tommy Snider and Nzinga Blake, as well as new characters such as Whiskers, Big Guy Shimmy, Milkman Fred, and Diner Lady, and edutainment segments.

During 2003-2004, Fridays aired series outside the "Cartoon Cartoon" sub-brand, including Samurai Jack, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, ¡Mucha Lucha!, and Atomic Betty.

The original opening sequence for Fridays, used from 2003 to 2006, featured characters from just about every show that had ever been on Cartoon Network, including shows that later disappeared entirely from the network (examples being Looney Tunes, The Jetsons and Hong Kong Phooey).

2005–07 season

On January 7, 2005, Tara Sands took over Nzinga Blake's hosting duties. In February 2005, a month later, the show's set was also changed (along with a new graphics look), making it wackier and replacing most of the older characters in the intro with newer characters (such as the set of Duck Dodgers with Porky Pig are replaced by the new set of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with the show's characters, Sheep from Sheep in the Big City is replaced by Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura from Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, etc.). Two new original series premiered on Fridays that year: The Life and Times of Juniper Lee and Camp Lazlo.

On April 7, 2006, when Cartoon Network entered the Yes! era, the set received yet another facelift and now resembled the interior of a retro-chic house. This set was used until the show's end. The final three Fridays series premiered in 2006: My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Squirrel Boy, and Class of 3000.

During the 2006–07 season, the block had live musical guests like Nick Cannon, Cheyenne, Da Backwudz, Bowling for Soup, Morningwood and Jonas Brothers.

Fridays ended its run on February 23, 2007, and was replaced by Friday Night Premiere Thunder, which began airing on April 6, 2007, and later Fried Dynamite, which premiered on August 31st of that year.

Programming

Cartoon Network Original Series

Cartoon Cartoons

Cartoon Cartoon shorts

Post-Cartoon Cartoon/Cartoon Network Studios shows

Acquired series

Specials/Movies

Hosts

Tommy Snider: Tommy is the show's lovable co-host. With the maturity of a child and the heart of gold, Tommy sings, dances, and performs crazy pranks that drive Nzinga nuts. To say he is the comedic relief would be an understatement. Tommy enjoys water skiing, bowling, and saving the universe with his giant robot!

Nzinga Blake: Behind every great show is a great woman. Nzinga is the smart, energetic co-host of Fridays. With a strong fashion sense and no-nonsense attitude, Nzinga keeps Fridays is working order every week. One thing she'd like everyone to know is that the "n" in her name is unpronounced. She also enjoys cartoons, good jokes, and dancing.

Tara Sands: Tara is a host replacing Nzinga on Cartoon Network's (now defunct) weekly block Fridays. Outside of Fridays she does her work on anime dubbing.

Segments

These segments had characters such as Whiskers the Cat, Milkman, Long Haul, Diner Lady, Big Guys, Rev Chase, Vernon, and Motor Baby.

"The Big Guys" - four big men along with the Fridays cast do a signature dance for a short period of time.

"Long Haul the Puppet Trucker" - A bear puppet riding a truck and telling the audience what's in his truck every week, he had become a big part of the Fridays weekly block.

"Milkman Fred" - A old and jolly milkman who discusses fun ways to get a healthy source of milk in your everyday life, as well as the basic milk products.

"Diner Lady"- A waitress who takes orders for the audience, she usually announces upcoming shows.

"Rev Chase and Motor Baby" - A biker and a baby (who are basically toys), drive around a green-screened background, usually announce upcoming shows.

"Whiskers the Kitten Who Can Name Fruit"- A talking cat that says a different kind of fruit products every week.

"Wiggle Chicken" - A rubber chicken that wiggles around a random background. One week, the segment was challenged by another segment called Jiggle Lizard.

"Show and Tell" - An eager boy who loves participating in show and tell, though he seems to showboat rather than present anything and his teacher finds him quite annoying.

"Bad Clay Fables" - Fables written by Aesop that are retold in a crude and sarcastic matter.

"Travel Logs" - two talking logs that travel around the world. They manage to screw up everything they do and tick off everyone around them.

Credits

Cast

Charlie Adler—Chicken; Cow; The Red Guy; I.R. Baboon

Michael Dorn—I.M. Weasel

Jeff Glen Bennett—Johnny Bravo; Dad; Ace

Brenda Vaccaro—Bunny Bravo

Christine Cavanaugh—Dexter (2000–01)

Candi Milo—Dexter (2001–03)

Kat Cressida—Dee Dee (2000–01)

Allison Moore—Dee Dee (2001–03)

Kath Soucie—Mom

Eddie Deezen—Mandark

Roger L. Jackson—Mojo Jojo

Cathy Cavadini—Blossom

Tara Strong—Bubbles

E.G. Daily—Buttercup

Tom Kane—Him; Professor Utonium

Tom Kenny—The Mayor; Lenny Baxter; Valhallen; Lil' Arturo; Scoutmaster Lumpus

Jennifer Martin—Sara Bellum

Jim Cummings—Fuzzy Lumpkins

Kevin Michael Richardson—The Boogie Man

Matt Hill—Ed

Samuel Vincent—Edd

Tony Sampson—Eddy

Peter Kelamis—Rolf

Janyse Jaud—Lee Kanker

Marty Grabstein—Courage

Thea White—Muriel Bagge

Arthur Anderson—Eustace Bagge (2002–03)

Lionel G. Wilson—Eustace Bagge (2000–02; 2002–03, archive footage)

Richard Horvitz—Billy; Rodney J. Squirrel

Grey DeLisle—Mandy; Frankie Foster

Greg Eagles—Grim

Vanessa Marshall—Irwin

Pamela Adlon—Otto Osworth

Mark Hamill—Larry 3000

Rob Paulsen—Officer Buck Tuddrussel; Major Glory

Frank Welker—The Infraggable Krunk; Boskov; Fred Jones

Phil LaMarr—Hector Con Carne

Kevin Seal—Sheep

Nika Futterman—Mike

Macintalk Junior—Robot Jones

Ben Diskin—Numbuh 1; Numbuh 2

Lauren Tom—Numbuh 3

Dee Bradley Baker—Numbuh 4

Cree Summer—Numbuh 5

Keith Ferguson—Blooregard Q. Kazoo

Keone Young—Kaz

Harry Shearer—Mr. Announcer (1999-2000)

Tom Clark—Mr. Announcer (2000–02)

Doug Preis—Mr. Announcer (2002–03)

Jack Horkenheimer—Himself

Steve Swienckowski—Himself

Rick Rickers—Himself

Lorraine Lavender—Herself

BaBette—Herself

Ruby Dee—Himself

Tommy Snider—Himself

Nzinga Blake—Herself (2003–04)

Tara Sands—Herself (2005–07)

Don Kennedy—Milkman Fred

Chris Bieger—Diner Lady; Rat

Andy Merrill—Long Haul

Steve Patrick—Vernon

Rowan McCarthy—Whiskers the Cat

Matt Knudsen—Sonny Appleday

Crew

Studio—Primal Screen

Produced by—Christina Augustinos, Billy Cone, Steve Patrick, Chris Kelly

Written by—Chris Kelly, Billy Cone, Steve Patrick

Executive in Charge of Production for Cartoon Network—Linda Simensky

Logo history

These are the logos and intros from CCF and CNF through the years.

The intro of the block was used from June 11, 1999 to June 2, 2000. The intro of the block was used from June 9, 2000 to June 1, 2001. The intro of the block was used from June 8, 2001 to May 31, 2002. The intro of the block was used from June 7, 2002 to May 16, 2003. The Summer Fridays logo used from May 23 to August 29, 2003. The Fridays logo used from September 5 to 26, 2003. This branding of the block was used from October 3, 2003 to January 28, 2005. Seen on the screens at the show's set, intro (used from May 2004-March 2006), bumpers and promos. This branding of the block was used from February 4, 2005 to March 31, 2006. Seen on the screens at the show's set, bumpers and promos. The Fridays logo used from April 7 to August 18, 2006, then became a secondary logo until February 23, 2007. The graffiti-styled Fridays logo used from August 25, 2006 to February 23, 2007.

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Bumpers

These opening bumpers of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays (along with Cartoon Cartoon Weekend) were used on August 20, 1999 to May 16, 2003. Similar to the "Cartoon Cartoon" bumpers, but only the Cartoon Cartoon characters shouting "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays!" (or "Cartoon Cartoon Weekend!"). Grim & Evil was the only series who didn't use this CCF bumper and used the "Cartoon Cartoon" bumper instead.

CCF

CCW

Fridays sets

These are the sets from CCF and CNF through the years.

2000-2003: White set with oversised red, blue and yellow ribbons and six screens. 2003-2004: One screen on one of two screens on two of three screens with the CN character-based posters on the wall, two windows of each of the show's worlds, a computer, orange chairs, stairs, the heads of the CN characters on the square-shaped lights and the transporter. 2004-2005: Different version of the previous set with the windows of the buildings from the network's "CN City" era, the CN characters' heads from the "Now/Then" bumpers on the lights, striped walls, new objects and the checkered floor. A Halloween-themed set from October 2004. 2005-2006: Same as above, but there's a lot more objects and a few more changes. 2006-2007: Set was now resembled the interior of a retro-chic house.

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Trivia

In the "Yogi's ID" promo, the Fridays disc makes a cameo appearance at the Cartoon Network World Headquarters (a fictional headquarters in Atlanta, GA; used for promos from 1999-2002, the 2003 Fridays intro and the OK K.O. episode "Crossover Nexus"), but in the Latin America version, the disc is absent, along with the network's slogan "Screwy, Ain't It" (from 1998-2003) on top of the building. Also, the Fridays disc appears (where a woman holds the iconic disc at the red carpet) on the intro of the network's special, The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo .

episode "Crossover Nexus"), but in the Latin America version, the disc is absent, along with the network's slogan "Screwy, Ain't It" (from 1998-2003) on top of the building. In the "Scrappy Loses It" promo, the CCF set was in Studio C at the Cartoon Network backlot.

There was a promo for Cartoon Cartoon Fridays that intentionally aired on a different channel. The promo featured Edd, Johnny Bravo, Buttercup, I.R. Baboon, and Courage entering the channel without permission; the background was solid orange (implying this was meant to air on Nickelodeon or other networks such as A&E), and the characters were in a hurry to explain the block in about 30 seconds, as an executive from the other channel was after them. The promo can be seen here.

that intentionally aired on a different channel. The promo featured Edd, Johnny Bravo, Buttercup, I.R. Baboon, and Courage entering the channel without permission; the background was solid orange (implying this was meant to air on Nickelodeon or other networks such as A&E), and the characters were in a hurry to explain the block in about 30 seconds, as an executive from the other channel was after them. The promo can be seen here. Fridays also aired in Australia, Japan, and the UK.

In Latin America, the Fridays disc was replaced with the disc that has the letter C and the Cartoon Network logo.

There are two instances in which a character that was not a Cartoon Cartoon appeared on the block: when Edd hosted the block, Fred Jones made an appearance (accompanied by Eddy complaining that Cartoon Network played Scooby-Doo enough at the time), and Aquaman was the intruder during the Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Halloween Party , with Chicken actually mentioning that Aquaman wasn't a Cartoon Cartoon . Both events are somewhat ironic, as What's New, Scooby-Doo? and Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (a TV movie that premiered on the block from September 15, 2006) would air on the block later on.

appeared on the block: when Edd hosted the block, Fred Jones made an appearance (accompanied by Eddy complaining that Cartoon Network played enough at the time), and Aquaman was the intruder during the , with Chicken actually mentioning that Aquaman wasn't a . The CN character-based posters from the 2003 Fridays set (such as a poster of Shannon Westerburg, a poster for "Viva La Billy" and a poster of Captain Duck Dodgers) can be also appears in the "CN City" bumpers.

The Cartoon Cartoons and Fridays logos can be seen in the OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus". Also, the scary and sombre version of "It's Friday Night" (the Fridays theme song from 2003-2007) can be heard in the scene of this episode.

episode "Crossover Nexus". The "Cartoon Cartoon" bumpers for each show were replaced with the "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" bumpers, with the Cartoon Cartoon characters shouting "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays!".

Notes