Sketch
not like those other old guys
Serious WESTERN animation?
You mean like cowboys?
I couldn't resist.
ToonEGuy that episode of Family Guy is far from the ordinary though I don't think it was good per say it was rather disturbing but it had compelling drama.
Anyhoo, I don't think anyone mentioned the Hellboy DTVs. Those are pretty good if you can find them.
Marvel and DC made a few good DTVs as well (and also some less than good ones).
I second the thoughts on Sym-Bionic Titan. Not every episode was brilliant but several of them are very compelling mature storytelling not dressed down or heavily censored.
Several episodes of the 2003 Ninja Turtles are very dark or grim, particularly "Same as it Never Was" in which Donatello is sent to a future where Shredder has won and he see's some truly terrible things, "Bad Day" in which the turtles are systematically hunted down when their existance becomes known to the world (this did not affect continuity however as it's a what if scenario), "The Darkness Within" which has the turtles going up against a demonic creature of some kind that gives them terrifying visions and "Insane in the Membrane" in which Baxter Stockman goes crazy when he creates himself a new body (after Shredder left him nothing but a brain and eyeball) which is decaying. That last one didn't air on TV. The focus on the final season is about a Shredder who is actually a demon who has come to unleash his horrors upon the world. There's also the whole underground storyline, the mutant outbreak storyline, the backstory of Hamato Yoshi and the overall conflict between the Footclan and the TMNT being handled very seriously. It also has plenty of light hearted fun moments but it balances these light and dark elements exceptionally well for 4 to 5 seasons.
You mean like cowboys?
I couldn't resist.
ToonEGuy that episode of Family Guy is far from the ordinary though I don't think it was good per say it was rather disturbing but it had compelling drama.
Anyhoo, I don't think anyone mentioned the Hellboy DTVs. Those are pretty good if you can find them.
Marvel and DC made a few good DTVs as well (and also some less than good ones).
I second the thoughts on Sym-Bionic Titan. Not every episode was brilliant but several of them are very compelling mature storytelling not dressed down or heavily censored.
Several episodes of the 2003 Ninja Turtles are very dark or grim, particularly "Same as it Never Was" in which Donatello is sent to a future where Shredder has won and he see's some truly terrible things, "Bad Day" in which the turtles are systematically hunted down when their existance becomes known to the world (this did not affect continuity however as it's a what if scenario), "The Darkness Within" which has the turtles going up against a demonic creature of some kind that gives them terrifying visions and "Insane in the Membrane" in which Baxter Stockman goes crazy when he creates himself a new body (after Shredder left him nothing but a brain and eyeball) which is decaying. That last one didn't air on TV. The focus on the final season is about a Shredder who is actually a demon who has come to unleash his horrors upon the world. There's also the whole underground storyline, the mutant outbreak storyline, the backstory of Hamato Yoshi and the overall conflict between the Footclan and the TMNT being handled very seriously. It also has plenty of light hearted fun moments but it balances these light and dark elements exceptionally well for 4 to 5 seasons.
I'd posted this back in 2016, over ten years ago!