Youri, the Spaceman
Youri, the Spaceman (also known as Youri) is a 2002 French CGI animated series created by Sparkling*, the (now-defunct) subsidiary production company of France-based Sparx Animation Studios. The series, produced for Cartoon Network, La Machine, Method Films and FTD, consists of 26 three minute episodes, each featuring short glimpses into the life of Youri, an astronaut that has become stranded on the moon. The series premiered on Cartoon Network in Europe in 2002. Out of all the European shows produced with Cartoon Network, Youri, the Spaceman was the first Cartoon Network original series produced in Europe, and the only European original series on the network until 2011, when The Amazing World of Gumball premiered. Even though The Moxy Show, Cartoon Network's first original series, was the only American Cartoon Network original series done with computer animation, Youri was the second Cartoon Network original series done in CGI.
Not a lot of information on the series is available (despite that fact that it was seemingly popular enough to warrant the release of merchandise such as figurines) and it's unclear as to exactly which countries it aired in besides France and Australia, (if any), with the latter of the two broadcasting it in its English dub in the mid 2000s as a part of the then-weekly “Happy Tree Friends and Friends” adult animation block on SBS, which had a sporadic runtime of anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the week.
The series never received a home media release of any kind, eventually falling into obscurity; oddly, it is not even given a single mention on Sparx* Animation Studios' current website. Even more oddly, Walmart inexplicably lists the series on their video on demand service, despite not having any of the episodes actually available for purchase.
Notably, in 2011, the show was reworked into a comedy series titled Space Cadets, for the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy), by brothers Scott Alexander and Craig Trevor Young. Space Cadets consists of footage and music/soundtrack elements created for Youri, the Spaceman, (with altered storylines) and has a much more dialogue-heavy dub than the original 2002 series.
Even though Youri, the Spaceman was a Cartoon Network original series, it was not allowed to air on Cartoon Network outside of Europe, especially in the United States. In the United States, the show premiered as part of G4's Late Night Peepshow, making it the only Cartoon Network original series that never aired on Cartoon Network in America, and instead aired only on G4.
Of the 26 produced original episodes, only two of them have surfaced online, one of which was sourced from a 2004 “Happy Tree Friends and Friends” VHS recording by article author and Lost Media Wiki founder, dycaite. Besides these two found episodes, the only additional footage of the show available appears in a demo reel uploaded by post-production manager, Laurent Langlais.