Back in the years spanning 1986 to 1991, Ted Turner and his Broadcasting System bought some stuff.

MGM, United Artists, Hanna-Barbera, and their film and television libraries were his, and he was going to use them. They launched what’s now commonly known as TNT (they tend to be very adamant about their knowledge of drama nowadays) in 1988 and picked up a pretty sizable audience, and later, since the library had such a substantial amount of animation in it, Ted launched another network dedicated specifically showing off the mass of cartoons he purchased. The date was October 1st, 1992. It aired in New York City, Washington DC, Detroit, and Philadelphia. It showed some of the Hanna-Barbera, MGM, Popeye, and classic Looney Tunes and Warner Bros cartoons. And it was christened with a basic name that has stuck for twenty years today: Cartoon Network.

It’s 2012 now and Cartoon Network is more than just another network Ted Turner launched in the early 90′s to house the animation he purchased. It’s a brand– a worldwide brand. 20 plus countries see Cartoon Network as an actual network or a programming block. Some are still getting it (it only launched in Canada on July 4th of this year, after years of CN programming living on networks like Teletoon). It’s a brand that dishes out some of the most recognizable, iconic animated television and cartoon characters on the planet– Dexter, the Kids Next Door, the Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo. It’s a brand that caters to people of all ages with family programming with a little of everything for everyone. It’s expanded to other networks. Cartoon Network is a monster.

It’s hard to find people who didn’t watch and love the network when they were younger. Even if someone claims they favored Nickelodeon, they still concede CN had some stuff they watched lovingly and loyally. A good amount of those people still watch: with shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show the network draws in some of that crowd who can be difficult to convince to turn down the nostalgia.

The network can be credited with doing a lot for the landscape of animation on television. Toonami getssome of credit for popularizing anime to an extent in the US. Shows like Dragon Ball Z, Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, and Yu Yu Hakusho did a lot for Japanese animation on American televison, and while it’s not the most popular thing on TV nowadays, and while it doesn’t really draw in ratings much, it’s still a pretty popular form of television around these parts. The block, some forget, also influenced people to listen to music they’d otherwise have ignored– a central point of Toonami’s aesthetic years ago was the music videos. A lot of people recall seeing bands like Gorillaz for the first time when TOM showed them Clint Eastwood or Tomorrow Comes Today in between DBZ fights.

Cartoon Network launched Adult Swim in 2001 and while maybe The Simpsons nabs most of the credit for creating an interest for adult animation on television, there has to be something said about Adult Swim’s influence. Without Adult Swim, we likely would’ve never seen Archer, or Bob’s Burgers, or any number of adult animation over the past few years ever make it past pilots or first seasons. Many shows owe a lot to Adult Swim’s cartoons and live action programming.

And of course, we would’ve never seen Adult Swim if not for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Cartoon Network’s first original series.

Cartoon Network is a massively influential television network. It has been for 20 years. It leaves a lasting impression on a person when they watch for a long time, when they grow up with it. Cartoon Planet was my favorite show when I was younger. Dexter’s Laboratory was one of ‘em too. I did whatever I could to get my hands on Cartoon Network-related things. I made my mom take me to Wendy’s constantly that one time they had Dexter toys. I got to visit Funny Garbage years and years ago and got to see every little CN thing they had going on– and they had a lot between games and designing and fixing the website and more. They gave me CN comics. I spent a weekend watching PPG and then shelled out $50 for my favorite DVD set I own, the complete series collection. But that was more recent.

Cartoon Network is a bit younger than I am. We’re both 20 right now, but I’ll be older come my December birthday. We’ve sort of grown up with one another. They didn’t know I was there, of course, they had other things to worry about, but I watched them the whole time. Growing from a network with a handful of Hanna-Barbera cartoons mixed in with a handful of originals, blue bumpers by Primal Screen where George Jetson gave me a first-person view of his terrible driving, Dexter fighting Dee-Dee and also a pink monster, and Batman warding off the Joker, to a network where the bumpers look more modern and pretty cool, and the only images in those bumpers of the characters I’m watching are still, and the lineup is almost all originals with a few exceptions. I’ve seen this network go from just another kids’ cable network to one hell of a production that people recognize easily by a checkerboard and two letters. From late night meaning classic cartoon shows like Toon Heads to late night meaning a whole lot more– Master Shake, the Warden, Blake Downs, Coach McGuirk, “Jon”, Early Cuyler.

Sure, maybe there were times I didn’t like what they were doing. I never was a fan of CN Real– I know most weren’t. I didn’t like some of the originals that came and went without a peep (and I did like others– RIP Robotomy). I don’t like Johnny Test. But when they threw on some reality shows, and they did weird stuff people looked at them funny for, that was alright. I didn’t get as mad and nostalgia-blind, I kept watching because it deserved it and we were both growing up at a pace where at that time, we both were doing weird stuff people looked at us funny for. I had long hair. It was weird.

They deserve to be stuck with. Because they’re Cartoon Network and they’re still doing amazing things with animation that no other network would ever give the light of day. Where else would you see Regular Show? Nobody else touched Adventure Time for years, to everyone else’s dismay. Can you see Dexter’s Lab ever making it anywhere else? Who else would have ever taken an old super hero from a cheesy, poorly animated action cartoon and give him new life as a talk show host? Nobody. Nobody would’ve touched that idea with a ten foot pole way back in 1994. Now? After it’s been tried, and it’s succeeded, and it’s created a legacy that surpassed anyone’s expectations? Yeah, probably.

You can disapprove of some of the decisions the network makes. Go for it. But keep watching. Because you never know what awesome thing they’ll do next, what show they’ll greenlight, what characters or franchises they’ll revive. And you’ll never see another network do things like they do it. Cartoon Network is one-of-a-kind.

So on this 20th birthday, a day Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed has declared Cartoon Network day, celebrate by watching some cartoons. They’re on all day. There are a lot to watch. There are a lot of good ones.

And Cartoon Network: keep doing what you’re doing. As long as I’m around, I hope you are too. You have been so far, giving me so much amazing television to watch– about 20 years worth. Never, ever stop.

Cartoon Network is spending today airing birthday-themed episodes of tons of their iconic shows, and it leads up to a special music video giving tribute to the shows of the past 20 years by ILOVEDUST and Mad Decent. Then, at 7:30, a new Adventure Time– the 100th episode!– and at 8, a new half-hour special Regular Show episode. DVR, watch, everything.

Happy Birthday, Cartoon Network, you beautiful thing. Have a good one.