Dexter’s Laboratory ran for 78 episodes over its four seasons and remains a favorite of many children of the 1990s. The series focused on the titular character, a boy genius who has hidden a massive secret laboratory behind a bookcase in his room. There, he works on a number of inventions and devices and does his best to keep them from falling into the wrong hands – mainly, those of his hyperactive and ditsy sister, Dee Dee. He also manages to hide the lab from his parents, neither of whom have a clue of what’s happening underneath their house. Dexter must also fight against his rival, fellow genius Mandark, who seeks to steal many of Dexter’s plans throughout the series.

Dexter’s Laboratory featured a recurring segment that focused on “The Justice Friends,” a clear riff on many other popular superhero teams, that included Major Glory, Valhallen, and the Infraggable Krunk. But, instead of an action segment, it was instead presented as a sitcom, complete with a laugh track.

The success of Dexter’s Laboratory (along with other shows such as Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls) helped to refocus Cartoon Network on original programming rather than on reruns of syndicated material. The original Dexter’s Lab ran for two seasons, and then series creator Genndy Tartakovsky left to work on Samurai Jack and Star Wars: The Clone Wars; CN brought it back for a third season in 2001, though it recast many of the voice actors and didn’t exactly line up with previous continuity.

The series won a number of Annie Awards during its run, and was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards as well; it spawned comic books, novels, video games, and more.