Checkered Past

Credits

Compiled by
AlmightyKingPrawn

Editions by
TheRealMarcel2000

Background

Checkered Past is a programming block on Adult Swim that premiered on August 28, 2023. Playing right after Cartoon Network shuts down for the night at 5pm, it shows classic Cartoon Network shows such as Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter's Laboratory, Ed, Edd n Eddy, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The block airs on weekday evenings, Monday through Friday.

1st ID (July 17, 2023-)

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Visuals: There is the skull from the 5th Cartoon Network Productions logo, albeit redesigned and no longer with the Cartoon Network logo in its checkerboard teeth. Above it is the white word "CHECKERED" in an arc, and below is "PAST". Globs fly towards the skull as its bones fly away and the text trails off elsewhere. The globs turn the skull into the face of Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory as the background starts to pulse. Eddy from Ed, Edd n Eddy bites Dexter's head like a jawbreaker and stuffs it in his cheek. A fire burns over him, transforming him into Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. She in turn transforms into Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog doing his trademark scream. It briefly changes back to the Checkered Past logo.

Trivia: The heads represent Checkered Past's lineup during the block's launch.

Variant: An extended version exists.

Technique: Monochrome 2D animation.

Audio: A calm, vibey beat.

Audio Variant: The extended version has the sounds of the bones rattling, crunching, fire flaming and a scream from Courage (likely provided by Marty Grabstein).

Availability: It debuted on a tweet by Adult Swim on July 17, 2023, and later used as an actual television bumper on August 30, 2023.

2nd ID (Warning! This is Checkered Past) (August 28, 2023-)

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Visuals: These IDs consist of an old CRT television (which is the Panasonic PV-C1320 13" TV/VCR Combo) floating around in space, showing the skull before showing text.

Variants:

• The TV floats towards the camera, glitching with an image of Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory (as seen in the Dexter's Laboratory episode "Critical Gas") and then the skull on a black circle. The TV hollows out, showing an infinite amount of TVs behind it floating forward and replacing it in succession. The various TVs have different text on their screens, together reading "THIS IS CHECKERED PAST WHERE WHAT YOU ONCE LOVED AS A CHILD RETURNS TO YOU WHEN YOU MOST NEED IT. NOW. NOW. NOW." Further "NOW." screens continue zooming in as everything gets more glitchy, with Dexter glitching in again.
• The TV is seen with the Checkered Past logo on its screen to the side facing the right, turning towards the viewer. As it turns to fully face the viewer, it reads "THIS IS CHECKERED PAST. YOU MAY FEEL THINGS YOU HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED". Before that sentence is over, a glitch of a screenshot from the intro of Ed, Edd n Eddy appears. It glitches back in with the TV, now a Panasonic one in a '90s/2000s room where it completes the text: "SINCE YOU WERE A CHILD. ONE OF WHICH IS JOY. WELCOME TO YOUR RELAXING JOURNEY BACK IN TIME." The logo zooms out to see the room better as this happens. The TV is connected to a Toshiba VHS player and a Nintendo 64. There are three N64 controllers - grey, purple and transparent, and blue - and some cartridges. Other things on the entertainment center, from top to bottom shelf and left to right, are two Archie McPhee cat finger puppets (grey and Siamese), a small trophy, an action figure, a round blue plush with sneakers, what are either DVD or game disc cases, a large cartoon glove(?), a model car, and a red rubber American football. To the left, a skateboard leans against the wall, and an appropriately checker-marked backpack with red highlights sits beside it. On the wall to the right, there is a sticker that is cut off, but may say "CHECKERED" in a graffiti font, a bizarre grey rubber cat head that looks like it is screaming with its tongue sticking out (a puppet also manufactured by Archie McPhee), and a clown sticker. A milk crate below the quirky wall ornaments has a stack of CDs, a metal figure, and a bottle of the long-discontinued drink Orbitz on it.
• The TV moves from the right to face the viewer and changes its screen from the skull on a black circle to "THIS IS CHECKERED PAST" in the same manner as before. It further reads "THEY SAY YOU CAN NEVER COME HOME AGAIN". The TV glitches into a blue error screen with "PLAY" and a play button on the top and a date on the bottom, before it transitions to showing a 16-bit blue door zooming forward in space. The door opens, revealing a checkered portal. Zooming through in a glitchy way, the sequence ends up in the same 90s/2000s room as before, only now with the screen playing a scene from the Courage the Cowardly Dog episode "Perfect" where Courage lays on Muriel's bed with bloodshot eyes, exhausted.

Technique: Mostly CGI, with variants using live action, 16-bit, and 2D animation.

Audio: An announcer whispering "Warning!" before whispering the text on the screen. On the door variant, he additionally whispers "We've opened the memory door in your head. Who's there?". There is also faint synth music and glitching and typing sounds.

3rd ID (August 28, 2023-)

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  Dee Dee from Dexter's Laboratory at a beach.
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  Jonny from Ed, Edd n Eddy in an abandoned town.
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  Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy in a city.
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  The Eds from Ed, Edd n Eddy at a subway station.
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  Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog inside a snowy shack.
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  A tumbleweed chasing Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog.
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  Dee Dee from Dexter's Laboratory dancing on the road.

Visuals: Similar to the current Adult Swim IDs since March 2014, these IDs consist of a character from either Dexter's Laboratory, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd n Eddy, or The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy in a live action environment. The skull logo is usually very well hidden within the scenery.

Variants:

• Dee Dee from Dexter's Laboratory sits at the beach by a large and elaborate sandcastle, watching the waves as the wind blows through her hair. The skull is hidden to the right of the sandcastle, formed from pebbles.
• Jonny from Ed, Edd n Eddy rocks back and forth on a rocking purple rooster in the distance of an abandoned town, as we pan across the road.
• The screen pans through the grungy backstreets of a city. Eddy from Ed, Edd n Eddy is chewing a lollipop by the wall of a storage unit, which has the skull on its door.
• In a subway station with the skull on a black sign on the wall, all three of the Eds are standing around. Eddy is chewing a lollipop like the previous variant, while Edd beatboxes into a microphone (which is being plugged by a bass amplifier) and Ed does a bizarre dance to it that eventually devolves into him slamming his head against the ground.
  • A sequel of sorts to this has Edd, now much closer, continue beatboxing and Ed continue dancing, only now they are on the subway. Eddy stares unamused in the corner. The skull isn't hidden here, instead appearing in a black circle on the bottom right of the screen at the end.
• Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog shivers inside a very small abandoned cabin in the snowy, freezing woods. There are snowshoes and a shovel outside, and an oil barrel nearby has the skull on it.
• In a beautiful countryside of rolling hills and orange autumn trees, Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy waits by the stone fence of a pasture. The gate is open, and a flock of Scottish blackface sheep stares cautiously until a brave one steps out.
• There are three different variants with Dexter dancing in a red hoodie by a boombox: one on a tropical beach with coconut trees (one of then with the skull), one by a rusty and flooded abandoned factory with lots of stairs (the skull by one of the staircases), and one in an empty cafeteria at night.
• There are two variants with Eustace from Courage the Cowardly Dog digging a hole in the ground with a shovel, one in a green grassy park as cars pass by (with one of the road signs showing the skull) and one on the beach by his skull-branded lounge chair.
• Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy sits at the edge of where a graffiti-covered road cuts off into a beautifully vibrant green rainforest, taking in the view. A river ripples below, and there is a rainbow in the sky and a mountain in the distance.
• Valhallen from Dexter's Laboratory plucks his purple v-neck guitar on the rocky shore of an ocean. Some of the rocks are frozen with icicles. The skull is etched into one of the rocks.
• In a park full of beautiful orange and yellow autumn trees and falling leaves that cover the entire ground, Eustace sits on a bench with a grumpy expression.
• In a completely barren desert with cracked ground, a low mountain, and no plants, one of the cracks forms the skull. We shift focus to see Courage running from right to left panicking in the background.
• There are piles of snow and conifer trees beside a freshly plowed road. Grim waits for the snow to let up inside a bus stop with the skull on it.
• Courage runs back and forth terrified as a tumbleweed chases him across a desert road. The skull is on a billboard in the background.
• Dee Dee carelessly dances between ongoing traffic on a very busy highway. One of the white dashes is replaced with the skull.

Technique: 2D animation mixed with live action.

Audio: Varies depending on the variant between chill beats/lo-fi music that you would typically find on IDs from Adult Swim and environmental noises.

Audio Variants: There are two audio variants of the "Grim with sheep" ID, one with a smooth hip-hop synth beat and the other with the sheep bleating.

4th ID (August 28, 2023-)

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Visuals: On a white background, Dexter flies around like a deflating balloon. He turns into a white, wavy line over a darker backdrop, forming the hair of Mandark. Mandark burps out Dee Dee, who disintegrates into a spaceship that Dexter is flying. The ship drops two baseballs, which Mandark tries and fails to catch in his mitt. Dee Dee, wearing a robotic suit, catches one of them, and pitches it to Dexter at the bat. He hits the balls, causing it to explode into pink and blue light and confetti that forms the skull.

Technique: Sketchy 2D animation.

Audio: A funky synth beat, with children cheering at the end.

5th ID (August 28, 2023-)

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Visuals: There is Dexter on roller skates with rockets on his arms, changing colors rapidly, which he continues to do for the rest of the bumper. He roller skates across a blue floor as Dee Dee, also changing colors but less often, roller skates past him, a checkered vortex appearing behind them. Dee Dee falls over, to her initial sadness. Instead of getting up, she decides to lay on the floor with a big smile, placing her between Dexter's legs as he roller skates past. The skull forms superimposed over the scene, with the crossbones then appearing behind it as it blinks.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: "Don't Pass" by Gerhard Narholz.

6th ID (August 28, 2023-)

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Visuals: A house tumbles about in an empty white space. We enter it through the chimney, which has a checker patterned interior. Inside, Dee Dee is sitting on a green couch watching TV as she holds the remote. Panning further into the house, Billy is sitting on the toilet picking his nose. He flicks it at Grim waiting just outside the bathroom with his toothbrush, to his disgust. A pink ball bounces down the stairs as Ed snoozes on them with a spilled glass of water. It bounces past Dexter, who is fixing the heater, and out the door. In the yard, Edd and Eddy are hiding behind a fence. They throw jawbreakers at the screen, which splat against it. When the splat washes off the screen, the skull is formed.

Technique: Sketchy 2D animation.

Audio: A percussion-heavy beat.

7th ID (August 29, 2023-)

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Visuals: Mandark sleeps peacefully in his green bed. The screen transitions to what he is dreaming about: himself with huge muscles posing on a stage with a red curtain as Dee Dee to his side holds his trophy. Mandark poses as people throw roses to him. There is his back as he flexes his muscles into the shape of the skull.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Peaceful music, which transitions with a harp glissando to the dream, where we hear a triumphant fanfare and the crowd clapping and cheering. When Mandark flexes his muscles into the skull, there is him grunting and the muscles cracking into place.

8th ID (August 29, 2023-)

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Visuals: At the roots of a tree, Grim peacefully reads a book with a skull (not the skull) on the cover, his scythe also resting against the tree. Something yellow drips onto his head to his annoyance. He looks up, and we see that the source is Billy's dripping ice cream cone. Billy has a mild "oops, sorry" expression on his face, but quickly goes back to excitedly licking it. We go to a branch farther up the tree, where a raccoon, seemingly possessed in some way as its eyes pulse from green to magenta, eats a slice of pizza. At the highest branch sits Mandy's dog Saliva, panting. The logo zooms to Grim's shocked expression as he views the whole tree, which has plenty other random objects in it: among other things, a milk truck, trash can, blue watering can, washing machine, sink, hose, pumpkin, green cat in a bathtub, pink cat on one of the branches, refrigerator, toxic waste, bucket, pink bicycle, and a black bird with a yellow beak and feet, maybe a starling or Brewer's blackbird. Crows are startled out of the tree and fly away. As Billy's ice cream continues to drip, there is a view of the tree's trunk and many things that were etched into its bark: Billy's name and a drawing of his face, a heart with "I + M" inside it (Irwin is probably at fault for that etching), "MANDY RUlES" (a lowercase "L", not an "i"), a scythe, and the skull.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A playfully spooky theme with heavy percussion. There are some sound effects, like Billy's ice cream cone dripping, Saliva panting, and crows cawing.

9th ID (August 29, 2023-)

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Visuals: Muriel and Eustace wait in the lobby of a veterinary office with Courage, who has the "cone of shame", a broken leg with a cast, and a crutch. Courage looks around nervously, hearing many spooky sounds. He see something (maybe a dust ball) move through the vents and a fly getting zapped to death against a light bulb, getting him more scared. The sound of a drill especially frightens him. There is an outside view of the clinic, which reads "ANIMAL CLINIC" and has a green paw print on the door. Offscreen, a receptionist cheerfully says "Courage, we're ready for you!" Courage screams and bursts through the glass of the door, running away with his crutch. We then see a view of an x-ray, turned on by a hand in a blue glove. It is the skull, with its bottom left bone broken.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Mostly spooky sounds like dogs within the office howling, the fly buzzing and getting zapped, and the sound of a drill. After the dialogue, Courage screams (recycled from the 1st ID), the glass breaks, and some spooky guitar notes are played.

10th ID (August 30, 2023-)

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Visuals: There is a shot of the moon on a partly cloudly night. Indoors, Courage is sleeping on a small dog bed. We then see a TV inside the house (the same one as in the Courage The Cowardly Dog intro) showing static. A closer view of the static shows the skull barely visible within.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A spooky theme, Courage breathing, and a scare cord when the static skull appears.