How the Tables Have Turned

L

le_a_perdu_ame

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You know I've been thinking. The tables have really turned recently for Cartoon Network.

I'm mainly talking about the action properties that they once had. Old or new. The tables have really turned for CN (action is what made them very popular, I believe), and now that's just all gone.

Let's look at the shows they used to have that have gone to other networks:


  • Batman: The Animated Series → Went to Jetix/DisneyXD
  • Superman: The Animated Series → Went to Jetix
  • Dragon Ball Franchise → Went to Nicktoons/Toonzai (while one can argue it's been on CW before, during Toonami on Kids' WB)
  • Storm Hawks → Went to DisneyXD
  • Transformers → Went to the Hub
  • G.I. Joe → Went to the Hub
  • Naruto → Went to DisneyXD
  • X-Men: Evolution → Went to Jetix/DisneyXD
  • Jackie Chan Adventures → Went to Jetix
  • The Batman → Gone from both CN and Boomerang.
  • Voltron → Went to Nicktoons
  • Code LYOKO → Disappeared
  • Gundam → Went to SyFy
I know there's more, but some of the properties I listed were BIG action properties for CN. While you can't really argue with Transformers and G.I. Joe, just think. Naruto was "the best action cartoon ever", and DBZ was once praised for it as well. Now all the other networks are getting the ratings for those shows, leaving CN in the dust.

Not to mention Samurai Jack is off of Boomerang starting Monday.

Only to leave the audience that made CN popular in the dust (not all of us at least).

What is your take on this?
 
On the bright side, animated comedies are dominating the schedule, I say the bright side because it is animated, wasn't too long ago CN was trying to have more live action shows. Obviously that has failed.
 
Personally, I don't see it so much as 'the tables having turned' so much as a reflection of how times and tastes on the network have changed.

Most of those shows listed in the OP were 3rd party acquisitions and/or have completed their collective runs, and as such there wasn't much incentive on CN's part to keep them around anymore. Budgets are tighter these days, and the current Cartoon Network is being run by different people who have different ideas of what they want the network to be, and CN for the most part isn't going out of their way to acquire outside shows like they once were. The hard truth is that the folks currently sitting in the big easy chairs at CN simply aren't interested in starting a new Toonami era on the network, and most of the people who made that era of CN popular are now out of the current CN's target age demographic. They still have their own action properties as well as the DC shows to showcase due to their relationship with Warner Bros.

Anyway, it's not like the Toon of old relied solely on action cartoons. Sure, they played a big part in making CN popular during the 90s and early 00s, but they weren't the only thing that put Cartoon Network on the map. The premier comedies like the Cartoon-Cartoons were just as important.

-Besides, it's not like Storm Hawks and The Batman were big time moneymakers for CN anyway, so no big losses there.
 
Ya don't really see it as a "tables have turned" kind of thing
Most of what you listed are shows that CN could not expect to make much more money from anyway. Most of them had finished their run and would just be running endless reruns... and one thing i've learned from how nicktoons uses Avatar, that can get REAL old. Seriously i am no longer sad to hear Samurai Jack being taken off boomerrang since i have seen ever episode so many times; seriously need to give that stuff a rest and lets us forget about it before giving it back. And as for Naruto... i say "who cares?"; CN had that show when it was GOOD... let Disney XD have whats left as that is a series that went FAR downhill.

Furtharmore, while CN has lost all of these old third party shows, it has since started creating new ORIGINAL action shows (and i say creating shows is a step up from just acquiring them). Ben 10, though it has dulled out over the years, has been a huge success for CN, and there's also generator Rex (also Symbiotic titan which only recently ended). And the big third party franchises have not been lost either as CN has Starwars the clone wars, batman brave and the bold, and Young Justice... And then you have to take into account the series it will get in the future; Green Lantern, and a new thundercats... hell you mention code lyoko, but CN is supposed to get code Lyoko evolution next year. Really you can't talk about the action shows that they have lost without talking about the action shows that have created and acquired in recent years.

This is not the tables turning but more like CN moving on and changing... frankly i think the only real lost would be that of toonami which meant no more plans on acquiring new action anime properties (though technically i would say they started doing that before toonami itself ended)...
 
The Batman and Samurai Jack will probably air on Boomerang again at some point. I'm a bit surprised Jack is leaving in favor of Sealab 2020 (not the AS show but the show the AS series was made from) of all things.

On the bright side, Cow and Chicken and Johnny Bravo will be on weeknights on Boomerang next to Dexter and PPG but Jack would have completed the package nicely IMO. Also why they have an hour of Ben 10 when they could be airing Teen Titans or The Batman in the afternoon is simply beyond me.

I think it's an all too common misconception that action cartoons were what made Cartoon Network popular back in the day. They did well but I believe it was always the case that CN's original comedies ruled the ratings. DBZ was perhaps the one exception to this for a while then Teen Titans and Naruto but CN's original comedies generally did better than their action acquisitions much less their few original action series at the time.

Tastes have changed a bit though and that's why action has been cut down so much on CN. Other networks have given it a shot but most don't keep things around long term or they move them to far less watchable slots in due time. Jetix was all about action cartoons and DXD seemed to follow suit and then live-action comedies and animated comedies whooped the action animation and as such they got secluded, pushed aside or removed entirely. Nicktoons does happen to play Avatar and DBZ Kai plenty but other than that action is kind of brushed under the rug on Nicktoons as well despite Nick having both Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles (which they don't even air yet despite having over 100 episodes from the 4Kids show).

The Hub is making a stand for action by at least offering a few action blocks including one in the afternoon along with late nights and early mornings. They cover their bases nicely and probably better than anyone else in the action animation game right now but almost all their love goes to TF Prime and G.I. Joe Renegades and the various acquisitions get the scraps.

I find it particularly troubling that DXD which is likely to be the only network airing new Marvel series in 2012 and beyond is so lousy at airing Marvel cartoons. Avengers gets premieres on Sunday mornings and the reruns and encores keep getting pre-empted for whatever reason.The only Marvel show airing on weekdays other than the odd rerun of Avengers is X-Men: Evolution on late nights. Both Spider-Man: TAS and X-Men: TAS have more than enough episodes to run a weekday strip constantly. They don't even play Spectacular Spider-Man anymore and I'm starting to wonder if they ever will again. With how they treat Avengers I'm very concerned about Ultimate Spider-Man getting the shaft early on. On paper DXD is the most fitting Disney network to support the Marvel franchises but the execution has been quite lousy and they need to up their game for Marvel's sake. Though I'd say much the same about CN and DC. Why there are no reruns of Brave and the Bold scheduled in June is again, simply beyond me. Young Justice is gonna get stale with how many reruns of the same episodes we see of it but they only air it once a week a most now. DC Nation is still a year away and they don't even bother with showing the DTV movies anymore.

It's not a great time to be an action animation fan at this very moment but I'm sure things will get better soon. July brings ThunderCats at least and that looks fantastic.
 
woah...woah. I'm aware of CL Evolution(source: CLU), but I haven't heared any word of CL returning to CN. If the info may nudge a few rules, feel free to pm me dude.
 
Honestly? No big deal. I don't think the loss of older properties is them "turning the tables" or such nonsense. Also, they kind of aired those shows.

What makes the fact that other channels are airing Cartoon Network's leftovers seem like the "tables are being turned."


  • Batman: The Animated Series - Cartoon Network aired the same episodes for years and years.
  • Superman: The Animated Series - Ditto. Static Shock and Batman Beyond too. They don't count because you don't like 'em?
  • Dragon Ball Franchise - They've done that, and Dragon Ball Kai is Dragon Ball Z, pared down and edited for world consumption.
  • Storm Hawks - Largely a failure, oh, and it's rarely on Disney XD these days.
  • Transformers → You're honestly surprised that a Hasbro-owned franchise is on a Hasbro-owned network?
  • G.I. Joe - Seriously, you're really shocked that another Hasbro-owned franchise is on a Hasbro-owned network?
  • Naruto - Okay, Cartoon Network did drop the ball on this one, but it wasn't JUST their fault. Viz is just as much to blame for that.
  • X-Men: Evolution - It's over, Marvel moved on, and created something new.
  • Jackie Chan Adventures - It's over, and quite frankly
  • The Batman - While Cartoon Network didn't air the entire series, it's also over, DC moved on, and created something new
  • Voltron - The classic series aired over and over again on both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; a new version's on Nicktoons.
  • Code LYOKO - When it ended, the series was over and nobody knew they were making more.
  • Gundam - You want to blame Cartoon Network for not picking up Gundam? Fine. But consider the fact Gundam hasn't really been commercially successful in the US, and television is a commercial-driven medium *gasp!*:eek:
I think the thing you've failed to realize that, as I've mentioned in the last passage, television is a commercially-driven industry, Cartoon Network is trying to make a buck, and usually shows that doesn't draw in finances. Eleven of those shows were already off-network repeats. Seven of those properties were revamped on Cartoon Network and elsewhere while one was just a reedited version of something that repeated over and over again. Only Naruto is in new episodes, albeit in the form of Shippuden.

But twenty-something year old repeats on a main channel isn't exactly the smartest of business, unless it's comedy (Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry still do well in encores, and it took Cartoon Network FOREVER to realize that) and they or a sibling company owns a piece of it.

Who's to say Cartoon Network won't bring back the DC shows when they launch DC Nation on-air and on-line next year?

Stranger things have happened, so don't put Cartoon Network down for not airing stuff they don't own.

Tables aren't turned. You're just not impressed with what's on the table.
 
Networks pick up shows that air all the time. They've been doing it forever.

I don't think the new homes these former Cartoon Network aired shows are having greater success elsewhere, ratings wise. If they did, then I'd consider the "tables were turned".

What does that even supposed to mean?
 
You forgot the latest incarnation of Fantastic Four wich is now on Nicktoons. And CN was showing Madagascar today which is COMPLETELY ironic seeing the Penguins of Madagascar airs on Nick.
 
And is also over, and didn't set the world on fire when it was on CN, so again no big loss there.



Irrelevant to the topic, as Penguins of Madagascar isn't an action cartoon and Toon airing a movie which was made years before it was spun off into a series isn't proof of anything (not to mention how Toon has already aired some of the Shrek movies, and will also be carrying the How to Train Your Dragon series, another Dreamworks property, so that's not really ironic, as it's clear that CN has inked some sort of deal with Dreamworks).
 
I don't think the tables have turned at all, yes other OLD action cartoons have been phased out and found homes at new networks, but CN still has plenty of action properties. Such as...


Ben 10
Batman: Brave & the Bold
Generator Rex
Green Lantern
Star Wars: Clone Wars.
Thundercats
Young Justice

Now not everyone may be fans of these shows (or in GL & TC's case looking foward to them) But CN does still have action cartoons. And so far in the 2010 decade they have been doing alot better with animation over all (IMPO) then they were doing from 2005-2009. Sure they still have some LA clutter. But not as much as Nick (the main nick anyway) and Disney with all their cheesy poorly written tweencoms.

But yeah, I like action cartoons. But CN showing more comedy then action is fine.
 
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