School's out for summer, and what better way to celebrate than with a look back at the shows that we spent most of our summers watching? When we weren't out trying to tip the can or playing knick knack on the friends and neighbours of course...

Back in the day kids TV was fairly decent, and sure weren't we only too happy to head out with the pals for the day, before arriving home to catch a few cartoons on TCC? If you didn't have the old Cablelink you could always wake up early of a Saturday morning and get your fix before heading out for a spot of skipping, or a few perilous rounds of Queenie Eye O.

Believe it or not, some of those long forgotten classics are back, and you can catch them in their entirety on Netflix. So, if you're struggling to work out what to do with the little terr.. darlings on a rainy day, why not give them an education in some rather decent kids telly? Here are our Top Ten.

1. Madeline
In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines, and sure wasn't the smallest of them a young wan by the name of Madeline? This charming little tale was based on the books by Ludwig Bemelmans, and has to be one of the sweetest cartoons ever.


2. Hey Arnold!
Oh football head. Between his grandpa, his best bud Gerald, and the love of his life (even if he didn't know it) Helga, he had plenty of people to keep an eye on. Arnold had quite the head on his shoulders, and certainly seemed to be miles ahead of Dr Phil when it came to problem solving. He was quite the role model, if we do say so ourselves.

3. X-Men
Long before Hugh Jackman basically took over the franchise, the X-Men were taking the world by storm (all puns intended) in cartoon form. Sure don't we all remember the days when Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix didn't go on a murderous rampage, and Gambit actually got a fair bit of screen time?


4. The Wild Thornberrys
Eliza Thornberry is one seriously smart young lady who reminds us that it's cool to be clever. And as if having a talking pet monkey called Darwin wasn't enough, her dad is voiced by Tim Curry. Amazing. We learned an awful lot from this family who were permanently on safari back in the day.

5. Rugrats
Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica and Susie (when she arrived a little later) played a rather intricate role in the lives of 90s children, and taught us a thing or two about the Jewish faith along the way. If they weren't off having wild adventures with Reptar, they were driving their mammies and daddies absolutely crazy, but sure didn't they get a film or two out of it in the end? The theme tune brings back some memories, eh?


6. Sonic The Hedgehog
Blue streak, speeds by, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega's speediest hedgehog captured the imagination and nabbed himself a TV series in the process. Scratch and Grounder were two of the funniest henchmen on d'telly, and sure wasn't Doctor Robotnick just a bit hilarious? Now, if only we could find that Megadrive...

7. The Incredible Hulk
Long before he was getting very angry with the Avengers, Hulk was a rather mean, green, animated fighting machine. It doesn't matter if you prefer 1980s or 1990s Hulk because they're both yours for the watching. Oh, and keep your ears peeled for Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker


8. Iron Man
We may know him best as Robert Downey Jr now, but Iron Man's been around for a long time now, and back in 1994 he was fighting the bad guys as part of Marvel's Action Hour. Watch as Mr Stark takes on a zombie army and The Mandarin, albeit a slightly different villain to the one we saw in Iron Man 3...

9. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
As one of those kids who played Power Rangers in school I'm rather delighted to see that the Mighty Morphin variety are still, well, morphin. They basically ruled the world in the early 90s, with live shows and action figures, so why not show the kids what REAL Power Rangers are like? Tommy and Kimberly 4eva.


10. Ren and Stimpy
When it came to cartoons, Ren and Stimpy pushed the PC boundaries, and is still credited with leading the way for shows like Beavis and Butthead and South Park. Don't worry though, it's more about inuendo that out and out sexual humor. This cat and chiuahua are definitely for the older kiddies though

You can catch all these shows on Netflix UK and Ireland. Just click 'em above to start watching now.