Best TV Episodes Never Made

Donkey Kong Country
S1 E23: Kong for a Day


Starts off relatively the same, minus the breakup with Candy Kong. K. Rool's plan would be quite different in this version; instead of using the Kremlings to frame DK, he takes a page from one of his old plans and creates a robot doppelganger. The DK robot insults Candy and Dixie, breaks Funky's surfboard and vandalises Cranky's Cabin. At some point, on his way home to scold the real DK, Diddy sees the robot with Krusha and Klump and realises what's going on.

When DK arrives at Cranky's Cabin, the other Kongs are there too and berate him for all the wrongs he seemingly caused (except Bluster, who's just there to see the look on his face). Cranky asks Diddy to be the new future ruler, but he refuses and tries to convince them that DK was framed with a robot. Nobody believes him and the two are banished to the snowy mountains.

After the two lament their losses with the iconic "Nobody's Hero", they're caught off-guard by heavy footsteps and a roar; it's Eddie the Mean Old Yeti! Eddie is about to attack them, but sees that DK is sad and asks what's wrong. It cuts to the three in Eddie's cave, as DK finishes telling him everything that happened up to this point. They have a deep-hearted conversation about friends and family. Eddie then reveals a secret: long ago, he used to live in the jungle with the other Kongs, but was banished after making a huge mistake.

Meanwhile, Krusha and Klump head to Cranky's Cabin with the DK robot, intent on seizing the Crystal Coconut. Cranky is shocked, but also angered at his "grandson's" return, and tells him to scram. When the robot tries to take the coconut by force, Cranky tosses a potion at it, causing it to short circuit and collapse. Upon hearing a loud "THUD", Klump and Krusha attempt to sneak inside, only for Cranky to launch them and the DK robot away with the trigger barrels. Realising that Diddy was telling the truth, Cranky contacts him and DK through the Coconut and tells them to come home. DK refuses, believing he'll be shunned by the other Kongs.

Later on, as DK, Diddy and Eddie continue talking, they are interrupted by the arrival of Funky's plane, followed by Bluster's barrelcopter. Cranky and the other Kongs apologise for jumping to conclusions and ask them to come back to the jungle; DK and Diddy forgive them. The Kremlings and a repaired DK robot then arrive (since their lair is connected to the mountains via cave) to claim the Crystal Coconut, which Cranky took with him. A big fight breaks out, but DK, Diddy and Eddie emerge victorious. Cranky offers to let Eddie come with them, but he declines, content with his current home.

EDIT: Moved this near the end of season 1, since Eddie is an antagonist in earlier episodes.
 
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Donkey Kong Country
S2 E15-16: Your Wish Is Granted (Parts 1 and 2)


Unlike the Kong for a Day, I don't have a full plot in mind here; this is more of a rough draft if anything. I like the idea that the show is a prequel to the games, even if Nintendo had nothing to do with it, so I'd try to bridge the two with a series finale.

The Crystal Coconut finally declares Donkey Kong to be the ruler of Kongo Bongo and uses its powers to reshape the island into its look from DKC1 before shattering. The Coconut's destruction causes King K. Rool to snap, going from a bumbling ruler to an insane tyrant. Teaming up with Kaptain Skurvy, he and the Kremlings launch a final attack on the Kongs, but are ultimately defeated. They escape via Skurvy's ship, the Gangplank Galleon, but not before DK hits K. Rool in the eye with one last Banana Slamma (explaining why it's bloodshot in the games).

A short montage follows, as the Kongs enjoy their newfound prosperity. DK and Candy share a kiss, only to be interrupted by Bluster, who announces that he's leaving the island to pursue a new career, as their fight with the Kremlings had ruined his factory. Bias speaking here, I wouldn't be against including him in the games (he could replace Snide in DK64, for example), so this scene would be cut if he were to appear outside the show.

Eventually, DK and Diddy become bored of all of the peace, missing the excitement of their old adventures. Cranky comes to them and sarcastically suggests that they collect every banana on the island; DK takes this seriously and drags Diddy along with him. As the sun sets, Cranky chuckles to himself and remarks that they'll be "great video game heroes" someday.
 
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Looney Tunes: The Next Generation​

Airdate: Saturday, October 14, 2000, 6 PM-12 AM
Network: Cartoon Network


LARRY STORCH (V.O.)
“The year is 1967. Bugs Bunny has retired. The Road Runner has run away. Daffy and Speedy’s careers are in shambles. Now, a new team of toons will attempt to live up to their legacy! And they’re going to fail. Miserably! Cartoon Network presents, Looney Tunes: The Next Generation!”

Not quite an “episode”, but a cross between a special and a marathon. After acquiring the exclusive rights to all the Looney Tunes shorts in 1999, Cartoon Network decided to have a bit of goofy fun with their new toys. So, on October 14, 2000- the anniversary of the 1967 Looney Tunes short Cool Cat- CN aired a six-hour marathon of all the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts featuring the new characters created by them during their short run at the end of the series. These are surrounded by short, self-deprecating interstitials starring Larry Storch (the voice of many of these characters) , showcasing trivia and rejected characters. Essentially, it was like an extended episode of ToonHeads. The marathon is as follows:

EXTRA) William L. Hendricks, the formation of the new studio, and the mandate to create new characters.
1) Cool Cat
EXTRA) Cool Cat’s possible origins as Toing Tiger, a rejected Hanna-Barbera character
2) Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Innocents Abroad, starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, alongside Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Mentions are also given to other literature-based Rejected Pitches - The Arabian Knights, Go Go Gulliver, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Misadventures of Robin Hood
3) Hocus Pocus Powwow - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, and guest starring Lo the Poor Indian
EXTRA) Rejected Pitches - Lo the Poor Indian, the guest star of the cartoon, and Choo Choo Jones
4) Norman Normal - a one-shot “Cartoon Special” produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
EXTRA) Interview with Paul Stookey, Behind the Scenes of Norman Normal, and a Rejected Pitch - Puff the Magic Dragon.
5) Big Game Haunt - starring Cool Cat, and guest starring Spooky
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Spooky and Buddy. The similarity to Casper brings up more Rejected Pitches - The Absent-Minded Mr. Memo, a Mr. Magoo-type, The Villain Still Pursues Her, which resembles Dudley Do-Right, and Rock and Rowel, which resembles the Flintstones.
6) Hippydrome Tiger - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Larry Storch recalls his experience on the cartoons’ productions
7) Feud with a Dude - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, and guest starring the Feudin’ Mountain Boys
EXTRA) Rejected Characters - The Feudin’ Mountain Boys
8) The Door - not produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, but distributed by them
EXTRA) The Door producer Bill Cosby’s relationship with Warner Bros., specifically in their records division. It’s brought up that in another world, WB might have produced Fat Albert.
9) 3 Ring Wing-Ding - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - The Big Top
10) Flying Circus - one-shot, starring Ace and Fritz
EXTRA) The original pitch for Flying Circus
11) Chimp and Zee - one-shot
EXTRA) The original pitch for Chimp and Zee, as well as a similarly exotically set Rejected Pitch - Hawaii? I’m Okay, which leads into two other ocean-set Rejected Pitches - Steamboat Phil and Jolly Roger
12) Bunny and Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches)
EXTRA) The Next Generation in comics, including Bunny and Claude’s semi-crossover with Bugs Bunny
13) The Great Carrot-Train Robbery - starring Bunny and Claude
EXTRA) Rejected Pitches - Way Out West, for its western setting, and two film-based pitches- Keystone Kops, and a Rejected Character - Butch Catsidy, a potential new foe for Speedy Gonzales
14) Fistic Mystic - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Hobo Bo, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Outlaw in Fistic Mystic. This possible reuse transitions into another Rejected Pitch - Time Flies, which was repurposed into the Daffy and Speedy cartoon See Ya Later, Gladiator.
15) Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too! - one-shot, starring Rapid Rabbit and the Quick Brown Fox
EXTRA) The original pitch for the intended series, where Rapid Rabbit was called “Jack Rabbit” and a Rejected Pitch - Road Runner Cavalcade, with the Bird Watcher.
16) Shamrock and Roll - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Paddy O. the Leprechaun, who later evolved into O’Reilly
17) Bugged by a Bee - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Jeanie the Genius, due to the scholarly-based setting of the prior cartoon, leading into two sci-fi Rejected Pitches - Space Train, and Lost Atlantis
18) Injun Trouble - starring Cool Cat, and the last ever Looney Tunes cartoon
EXTRA) Final Rejected Pitches - Lovey Doveys, Christmas Story, Toyland, Super Snooper, and a Li’l Abner TV series. Also of note is the studio’s other work (the opening titles for The Phynx, an anti-drug PSA for Lockheed, and Plymouth commercials), and the shutdown of the studio.

The marathon was rated TV-PG due to the offensive Native American stereotypes in Hocus Pocus Powwow, The Door, and Injun Trouble, and the generally more adult tones of Norman Normal and The Door.​
 
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Looney Tunes: The Next Generation​

Airdate: Saturday, October 14, 2000, 6 PM-12 AM
Network: Cartoon Network


LARRY STORCH (V.O.)
“The year is 1967. Bugs Bunny has retired. The Road Runner has run away. Daffy and Speedy’s careers are in shambles. Now, a new team of toons will attempt to live up to their legacy! And they’re going to fail. Miserably! Cartoon Network presents, Looney Tunes: The Next Generation!”

Not quite an “episode”, but a cross between a special and a marathon. After acquiring the exclusive rights to all the Looney Tunes shorts in 1999, Cartoon Network decided to have a bit of goofy fun with their new toys. So, on October 14, 2000- the anniversary of the 1967 Looney Tunes short Cool Cat- CN aired a six-hour marathon of all the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts featuring the new characters created by them during their short run at the end of the series. These are surrounded by short, self-deprecating interstitials starring Larry Storch (the voice of many of these characters) , showcasing trivia and rejected characters. Essentially, it was like an extended episode of ToonHeads. The marathon is as follows:

EXTRA) William L. Hendricks, the formation of the new studio, and the mandate to create new characters.
1) Cool Cat
EXTRA) Cool Cat’s possible origins as Toing Tiger, a rejected Hanna-Barbera character
2) Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Innocents Abroad, starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, alongside Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Mentions are also given to other literature-based Rejected Pitches - The Arabian Knights, Go Go Gulliver, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Misadventures of Robin Hood
3) Hocus Pocus Powwow - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, and guest starring Lo the Poor Indian
EXTRA) Rejected Pitches - Lo the Poor Indian, the guest star of the cartoon, and Choo Choo Jones
4) Norman Normal - a one-shot “Cartoon Special” produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
EXTRA) Interview with Paul Stookey, Behind the Scenes of Norman Normal, and a Rejected Pitch - Puff the Magic Dragon.
5) Big Game Haunt - starring Cool Cat, and guest starring Spooky
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Spooky and Buddy. The similarity to Casper brings up more Rejected Pitches - The Absent-Minded Mr. Memo, a Mr. Magoo-type, The Villain Still Pursues Her, which resembles Dudley Do-Right, and Rock and Rowel, which resembles the Flintstones.
6) Hippydrome Tiger - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Larry Storch recalls his experience on the cartoons’ productions
7) Feud with a Dude - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse, and guest starring the Feudin’ Mountain Boys
EXTRA) Rejected Characters - The Feudin’ Mountain Boys
8) The Door - not produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, but distributed by them
EXTRA) The Door producer Bill Cosby’s relationship with Warner Bros., specifically in their records division. It’s brought up that in another world, WB might have produced Fat Albert.
9) 3 Ring Wing-Ding - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - The Big Top
10) Flying Circus - one-shot, starring Ace and Fritz
EXTRA) The original pitch for Flying Circus
11) Chimp and Zee - one-shot
EXTRA) The original pitch for Chimp and Zee, as well as a similarly exotically set Rejected Pitch - Hawaii? I’m Okay, which leads into two other ocean-set Rejected Pitches - Steamboat Phil and Jolly Roger
12) Bunny and Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches)
EXTRA) The Next Generation in comics, including Bunny and Claude’s semi-crossover with Bugs Bunny
13) The Great Carrot-Train Robbery - starring Bunny and Claude
EXTRA) Rejected Pitches - Way Out West, for its western setting, and two film-based pitches- Keystone Kops, and a Rejected Character - Butch Catsidy, a potential new foe for Speedy Gonzales
14) Fistic Mystic - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Hobo Bo, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Outlaw in Fistic Mystic. This possible reuse transitions into another Rejected Pitch - Time Flies, which was repurposed into the Daffy and Speedy cartoon See Ya Later, Gladiator.
15) Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too! - one-shot, starring Rapid Rabbit and the Quick Brown Fox
EXTRA) The original pitch for the intended series, where Rapid Rabbit was called “Jack Rabbit” and a Rejected Pitch - Road Runner Cavalcade, with the Bird Watcher.
16) Shamrock and Roll - starring Merlin the Magic Mouse
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Paddy O. the Leprechaun, who later evolved into O’Reilly
17) Bugged by a Bee - starring Cool Cat
EXTRA) Rejected Pitch - Jeanie the Genius, due to the scholarly-based setting of the prior cartoon, leading into two sci-fi Rejected Pitches - Space Train, and Lost Atlantis
18) Injun Trouble - starring Cool Cat, and the last ever Looney Tunes cartoon
EXTRA) Final Rejected Pitches - Lovey Doveys, Christmas Story, and a Li’l Abner TV series. Also of note is the studio’s other work (the opening titles for The Phynx, an anti-drug PSA for Lockheed, and Plymouth commercials), and the shutdown of the studio.

The marathon was rated TV-PG due to the offensive Native American stereotypes in Hocus Pocus Powwow, The Door, and Injun Trouble, and the generally more adult tones of Norman Normal and The Door.​
Cool! How well did this special/marathon hybrid do?
 
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