Although Disney Channel has existed since 1983, its slate of original programming only dates back as far as the late '90s, when the concept of Disney Channel Originals started to rise -- gradually overtaking the syndicated shows that originally took up most of the programming grid. In other words, the story of Disney Channel in the 2000s is the very story of how Disney's official TV hub came into its own as a brand.

If you look at the network's original shows from this period, there's a fascinating trajectory from tentative experiments at the turn of the century to more famous, more consolidated hits in the late 2000s, with both the Disney Channel sitcom and the Disney Channel original cartoon taking shape in real time as the institutions they now are. Though it's sometimes held in lower critical esteem than rivals like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, Disney Channel put out...