Saturday Morning memories thread

[Drtooth]

People are also worried with 4Kids running two SM networks, that they might flood Saturday Morning with lots of anime. I guess we'll have to wait and find out this Fall.

HAHAHAH! You're serious? With what 4Kids did, systematically alienating every studio in Japan, there's no way they'll ever get another anime they didn't already make successful. I mean, if they don't come out with Dinosaur King Merchandise, any chance of Sega and 4Kids retaining a partnership would go POOF! I mean, the Kirby episode totally angered Nintendo. No wonder they had someone else dub Pokemon. Let's just say, they were planning a huge launch of Kirby products, but when the ratings came in second after Kid's WB (which you can smell the irony) they pulled everything but a couple Keychains, a couple DVD's, and a couple Kid's meal promotions.

I know they're still going with that new Yugioh (not a fan) and Dinosaur King (also not a fan), but anything else they get would be a total shock. They didn't totally scare off Tatsunoko, though... Maybe the 2008 Yattaman would be heavily edited and Americanized to fit the 6-9 year old set, alienating older fans. I doubt it. But there really isn't any current kiddy shifting anime that isn't already over here. They could work backwards and do Mushiking- but then again, Bug collecting is a more Eastern idea.

But They're only running 2 networks until the Fox agreement runs out. And unless Fox gets a new animation provider, that's it for them. Just filling the time with another "News" show, or the copout of lousy, cheaply produced nature shows from the 90's.


And may I ask, is there anyone who actually watches Qubo? Comes in DEAD LAST in the ratings. I mean, I can't really complain about VeggyTales or (the far superior) 321 Penguins, but Nelvana isn't bringing it's A Game. What kid do you know is going to watch a show called "My Friend Rabbit"?

Unless that Rabbit's first name is Roger, there's nothing interresting about that.

 

[lowercasegods]

Yes, it does seem like Saturday Morning's not the same anymore with cartoons airing at different times on cable, educational rules, and political correctness in food commercials. Which is why I spend my days collecting old Saturday Morning stuff on DVDs so I can relive my wonderful SM days whenever I want.

By the way, here's another blast from Saturday Morning Past. You remember Schoolhouse Rock and Time For Timer? Well, there was another series of educational shorts that aired on a show called Kids Are People Too and also appeared during the commercials. A musical advice series called, Dear Alex and Annie. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm_xK3kioyE

And let us not forget "One To Grow On" where 80's NBC stars like Dwight Schulz, Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon taught us the in's and outs of good manners, playing fair and outing potential child abusers!

 

[wwfpooh]

HAHAHAH! You're serious? With what 4Kids did, systematically alienating every studio in Japan, there's no way they'll ever get another anime they didn't already make successful.

Yep. 4Kids shot itself in the foot when it alienated fans. I think the horrendous dub of Sonic X was the last straw, because Sega's gone record in saying that Sonic's going to be taken in by a new company that will rightly put the blue blur back where he was in the 90's...on top as a hit character.

No wonder they had someone else dub Pokemon.

Which itself alienated fans to start with, considering it got rid of true Americana hits like Animaniacs! & what not when it hit the air.

but then again, Bug collecting is a more Eastern idea

Does that--the fact that the West and East are different--stop people from airing something on the opposite shore? No. The fact that Archie Comics is trying to merge the Eastern perception of Sonic with the clearly Western SatAM canon that inspired the Sonic comics to start with proves that combining East and West doesn't often work, considering that the Sonic fanbase is now divided more than ever before!

Unless that Rabbit's first name is Roger, there's nothing interresting about that.

But Roger is owned officially by the Mouse House. Yes, Disney & Warner collaborated on the film, but once the film was done, they went back to being competitiors again and the chances of them getting back together for anything regarding Roger is like the chances of DC and Marvel teaming up again...No Chance.

 

[Drtooth]

Yep. 4Kids shot itself in the foot when it alienated fans. I think the horrendous dub of Sonic X was the last straw, because Sega's gone record in saying that Sonic's going to be taken in by a new company that will rightly put the blue blur back where he was in the 90's...on top as a hit character.

Actually, it wasn't so much that one. Sega and 4Kids still have a good relationship with each other. In fact, one could argue that Sonic X was one of its better Dubs. Frankly, Sonic's cartoons have been hit or Miss anyway. SATAM was great, the Adventures was okay for what it was, it doesn't exactly age well (and the whole style of animation was done better years later with Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat), and Sonic Underground was outright hideous. Good idea, but it just didn't work on so many levels.

In fact, the business done with the Sonic dub was so good, they commissioned a full season that Japan wound up getting later, after the US.

It's basically the stunts they pulled with One Piece and Magic Girl Do Re Mi that really sunk their chances of a good relationship with Toei. And they are a major producer of animes that are slanted towards younger audiences. Their One Piece dub was so bad that it infuriated the real fans, while younger kids just didn't seem to care. Thankfully Funimation did it much, much better.

Which itself alienated fans to start with, considering it got rid of true Americana hits like Animaniacs! & what not when it hit the air.

Unfortunately, most of those shows were wrapped by that time. I still hate the fact they smooshed them, and their condensed edited Looney Tunes cartoons together to get that depressing compilation show. Never really cared for that show, anyway.

Does that--the fact that the West and East are different--stop people from airing something on the opposite shore? No.

Actually, it does... if a show is just too hard to Americanize in a dub, take forinstance- Something that won't play outside of Japan it won't air. It comes down to what can easily be generified and can sell toys. We sometimes get a few grand gems, but often times, they are Watered down and completely kiddyfied to satiate various parental groups. Mushiking, the original version of What Dinosaur King was- (think the same exact premise- only with beetles instead of dinos) could probably work, but bug collecting (from what I gather watching Japanese TV) is a Japanese childhood activity. I knew American kids who captured bugs... but they were mainly to gross out their sisters, not to appreciate them.

But Roger is owned officially by the Mouse House.

That was a joke. I actually seen part of a "My Friend Rabbit" and it was the most generic looking thing I've ever seen. I'm a big Nelvana fan... after all, they originated Eek the Cat, Beetlejuice the animated series, and Dog City (among others). But lately, they're just giving us Qubo fodder like Jaccob Two Two (which, in all honesty is really Canadian- talk about things not playing well in the US) and Dragon. I guess they're imports from a Canadian Kiddy channel, and the shows (except Rabbit) are from a few years back. But there's nothing entertaining or appealing to them. At least when NBC was Discovery Kids, Tuttenstine was interresting.

Shame, I really was getting to like that one.

But what I REALLY hate is ABC's line up. The only cartoons they have are Emperor's New School and Replacements. not that these are bad shows (I really enjoy Emperor, actually) but they don't seem to care if they hit ratings or not, and constantly rerun the same first season stuff over and over. The rest is all their junky live action programming reruns... and they, sadly, are killing in the ratings.

I gotta post the ratings for these networks one time. ABC always comes in close second, only due to Hanna Montanna reruns.

 

[wwfpooh]

And that's due to the influx of children obsessed with characters like Hannah, whose actress is now becoming the age when Lindsay and Britney started glamoritizing themselves, only to end up pretty washed up, despite being on every dang magazines out there due to the mistakes they've made in life.

 

[Drtooth]

And that's due to the influx of children obsessed with characters like Hannah, whose actress is now becoming the age when Lindsay and Britney started glamoritizing themselves, only to end up pretty washed up, despite being on every dang magazines out there due to the mistakes they've made in life.

Only good thing about her was she wasn't teaching little girls to be little hussies, like the Bratz- another Saturday morning show I'm GLAD is gone, BTW. But this whole attitude of kids growing up too fast worries and depresses me. They want to abandon cartoons for equally cartoonish live action sitcom garbage? I guess this stuff seems fresh and new to someone who hasn't seen it all before on Punky brewster, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters, but to me, it's just a fancy package on old manure.

I had high hopes for most of the Superhero shows, but Warners TV animation wants to shut down and just make fan service DC comics DTV movies. The Batman ended (5 years is a good run, though) dispite the fact it could have had one more good year, since Batman: The Dark Night comes out in 2 months. And Legion of Super Heroes is gone too. Shame, since they fixed all the problems with season 1 just before they ended it. As long as Spider-Man (I can't stress how Spectacular the Spectacular Spider-Man is) and TMNT, there really isn't too much of a future for that stuff.

 

[Xerus]

Only good thing about her was she wasn't teaching little girls to be little hussies, like the Bratz- another Saturday morning show I'm GLAD is gone, BTW. But this whole attitude of kids growing up too fast worries and depresses me. They want to abandon cartoons for equally cartoonish live action sitcom garbage? I guess this stuff seems fresh and new to someone who hasn't seen it all before on Punky brewster, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters, but to me, it's just a fancy package on old manure.

I had high hopes for most of the Superhero shows, but Warners TV animation wants to shut down and just make fan service DC comics DTV movies. The Batman ended (5 years is a good run, though) dispite the fact it could have had one more good year, since Batman: The Dark Night comes out in 2 months. And Legion of Super Heroes is gone too. Shame, since they fixed all the problems with season 1 just before they ended it. As long as Spider-Man (I can't stress how Spectacular the Spectacular Spider-Man is) and TMNT, there really isn't too much of a future for that stuff.

Let's just hope that one day, some people will believe in the spirit of classic Saturday Mornings and try to make something new that will recreate that pleasure.

There are a couple of new cartoons coming in June that might have possibilities. I saw the sneak previews of them a few days ago.

One is called Flapjack on Cartoon Network that looks like it might have a Beany and Cecil type theme with a boy, a sea captain, and a whale having adventures on the sea.

And another coming on the Nicktoons Network called Three Delivery. About 3 teens working at a Chinese restaurant and cast crazy spells with magic fortune cookies. The animation looks pretty cool.

They might not be Saturday Morning cartoons, but at least they're cartoons and I'm hoping they won't be disappointments, but I guess we'll have to wait till June to find out. It's like when I watch those classic Saturday Morning preview shows and get excited about a certain show hoping it'll be good.

 

[wwfpooh]

One sad problem is that people want originally, and such a thing is hard to come by anymore.

 

[Xerus]

I remember in the early 90's when NBC decided to cancel Saturday Morning cartoons and created Teen-NBC where they showed live action teen shows like Saved by the Bell and California Dreams. Then they decided to go back to cartoons. Mainly with Discovery Kids cartoon reruns and now Qubo cartoons.

As for Qubo, I prefer to watch the VeggieTales on DVD. But it's great to see some brand new 3-2-1 Penguins. Jacob Two-Two is a pretty neat show from Canada and I'm hoping they'll start airing the rest of the episodes soon instead of last year's repeats.

 

[wwfpooh]

Maybe, with TV going digital and many of the channels that air classic shows already in digital form, we'd have channels like the proposed Jim Henson channel that'll air everything Henson's produced that Team Henson could get license to, most namely anything regarding The Muppets--due to the partnership with Disney--and Fraggle Rock.