TV recommendations for a child and a man-child...

8 is a good age to introduce a kid to ROBOTECH (and the story is interesting enough for an adult).

My 7 year old nephew likes to watch The IT Crowd with my sister.

Psych is popular with the youngins from what I understand. But I know pretty much nothing about children. 

Doctor Who, perhaps?   Some of those episodes can be kind of creepy, but overall it's pretty accessible for an eight year old.

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Originally Posted by Ratty 

Doctor Who, perhaps?   Some of those episodes can be kind of creepy, but overall it's pretty accessible for an eight year old.

And really, scaring eight-year olds is kind of what Doctor Who is all about.

Has he already seen Avatar?  I know plenty of adults who've gone absolutely nuts for it, seems like it would be crack for a kid his age.

And if you ask me, you're never too young to start in on old school Star Trek.

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Originally Posted by The Rain Dog 

What about stuff like Fringe or even Eureka? He's a few years off Firefly yet. Not many, but a few.

From what I've seen of it, Eureka is pretty innocuous.  Definitely not Fringe, though.  There have been a few scenes throughout the series that have managed to disturb my jaded, 31 year old self, so, not for 8 year olds.  Maybe in a few years.

The Mighty Boosh can be enjoyed by younger kids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Decade 

The Mighty Boosh can be enjoyed by younger kids.

I've heard that The Mighty Boosh has a large kid following, which kind of disturbs me. I mean, this is a show that had a tentacle creature fuck a severed head.

My littlest brother is only five, so when we watch TV it's a lot of cartoons. There are some good ones though that might appeal to an eight-year-old, like Phineas and Ferb and Danny Phantom. When my teenage brother was younger we'd watch a lot of 'LOST' together.

Once Upon A Time is indeed a good option. OG Star Trek is also good and a childhood favorite of mine. Doctor Who would be great, especially because at times it is scary. I loved scary stuff when I was a kid. And I feel that kids should be exposed to scary stuff. Someone mentioned Robotech earlier in the thread. To that I'd add the DC animated shows. He'll flip his shit for them.  

Particularly Justice League Unlimited. Excellent storytelling adults can easily get into. It's the most "mature" of the DC animated series canon.

Adventure Time, if you're looking for a cartoon.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! I know you took the little guy to the movie, and this current-gen cartoon is pretty damn solid. It's got a good eye for sifting through decades of villains and plotlines and using the coolest bits and rejecting the crap.

Of course, you're probably already watching it.

Edit: Is Gargoyles on Netflix? Check that shit out too.

The Tick

You'll both be laughing your tits off.

If The Tick works, and he's got enough superhero/sc-fi exposure to get the combination of genre parody and silliness, try The Middleman: 

The TRON LEGACY cartoon starts this week I think on Disney XD. Looks pretty damn good actually.

I second Earth's MIghtiest Heroes. It does an amazing job of juggling the characters and plots and it's often laugh out loud funny. You'll both enjoy it.

This show, to both myself and my 10 year old son, is hilarious: Marvel Super Hero Squad

http://marvelkids.marvel.com/shows/122/the_super_hero_squad_show

Mr Bean because It is based on fun and comedy and suitable for all.

Disney produces a cartoon called Gravity Falls that plays like a mix of X Files, Twin Peaks and The Simpsons. Maybe my favorite show of 2012.

And some love also goes to The Aquabats! Super Show! on The Hub, which just got picked up for a second season.

I'm sure you're going to anyways, but while you're throwing out the superheroes stuff, start with Teen Titans, since it skews a bit younger.