I just still don't understand why despite all of the evidence of how television works today, and all of the information and resource available from insiders from the industry (not to mention just plain ol' observation from TV viewers themselves), I'm somehow still the bad guy simply for trying to point all of that out. I still don't understand why this forum has a hard time differentiating realism and pessimism. How do those two always get blurred and mixed up? I couldn't partake in #RenewTheMuppets because I've done that before in the past, and they never worked. If didn't work before, how was it supposed to work this time around? That's not being pessimistic, that's being realistic. I never said I wanted the Muppets to fade away and disappear, that's the last thing I want to happen . . . but these are different times now. Jim got lucky with the people he crossed paths with, like Lord Grade, who was willing to take a chance with him when no one else would. That's not to say Jim didn't face struggles, because he did, and he had uphill battles, but he eventually managed to turn some of his dreams into realities . . . but that was back in the days when creativity was admired and respected a lot more than it is now: everything is met with a corporate approach now, and creativity suffers as a result, because everything has to meet the corporate agenda; creators have no control over their own shows or characters anymore, because networks insist on calling all the shots for everything (and owning it as well). How many years now have people been complaining about how FOX is driving FAMILY GUY into the ground? Even Seth MacFarlane has been wanting to end the show for years, but since it's bringing in the big money for FOX, they won't let him. Jim wouldn't stand a chance trying to get any projects off the ground for mainstream today - his only chances of achieving any kind of recognition would be if he took the route of people like Doug Walker, and made content exclusively for the internet. Would he achieve a level of creative and artistis success? Yes. Would he reach out to the masses? Probably not, because it's still a small percentage. It may be growing, yes, but it's still small.
Again, those are just the realities of the entertainment industry. As the saying goes, "that's show biz." And I still don't understand why any time I try to enlighten people with all of this, it's always dismisses as pessimism and negativity.