I don't know what makes people hate the show but my only guess is the fact that it's paced a lot slower than most other shows and that it's very very dialog heavy. I love the show and I set it up as an example of how a cartoon can be smart and funny at the same time (well the later seasons anyway). I know the character designs leave much to be desired and the show has less animation than one of the poorer episodes of Rocky and Bullwinkle, but the charm is really in the characters talking and then they throw in at least one visual gag and even more so when they seasons progressed.
But my favorite thing about the show was Brendan Small's musical contributions. I read in another blog that a lot of the worst writers in animation are normally A: Stand-up Comedians and B: constantly making songs to put in the show so they can rake up Royalties. I think there were some other ones but I forgot to remember them and it's getting late. I don't know if a lot of people feel Brendan Small's writing is among the evil bastards among animated shows. Of course, I'm willing to bet many people who want to draw for a living don't even count the show as animated but more of some kind of radio play with pictures.
Would it work without the images of the characters? Would it be too cumbersome if all the characters were well designed and animated in at least 10 frames per second? Does the show not even belong in animation and should be live action?
