"Invader ZIM" Series Talkback

Here's something that will bring on a lot of debate...

Why did Invader Zim get canceled?

I heard there were numerous reasons why, one I heard is that Johenn Vasquez didn't enjoy his experience at the Nick studio.
 
Not much of a debate, we already know the reason why: it cost over a million dollars an episode and brought in too few viewers to justify its budget overruns.

That, and the low-level civil war that raged between Jhonen and series director Steve Ressell was tearing the show apart by the time the axe finally fell.
 
I think CGI was the big money hoover. The crew reportedly blew the entire second season's CGI budget on "The Frycook What Came From All That Space." There was also Jhonen's and Steve's competition to see who could make the biggest impact on the show. Steve was very big on elaborate and embellished animation, while Jhonen seemed bent on introducing as many elements as possible into a single episode to the detriment of common reason.

It was chaos. And chaos produces masterpieces. Unfortunately, chaos is also damned expensive on a tight television budget.
 
Also, there seems to be a lot of confusion about this: JHONEN DOES NOT AND NEVER HATED INVADER ZIM.

Seriously. He doesn't. He hated arguing with Nickelodeon about insignificant issues, but he doesn't hate the show. He's very proud of it. He continues to talk to fans about it. Also, if he hated it so much, he would have refused to do the DVD commentaries.

Jhonen Vasquez is actually not the cold-hearted hateful person that everyone seems to want to think he is. Yes, he makes disturbing comics, but he's actually a pretty nice guy. I've talked to him a few times, and despite me being an overly obsessed fanboy, he put up with me pretty well. And in interviews and con appearances, he's very nice when answering questions.

But yes, the main reason for the cancellation was the overblown CGI budget. Though they probably could resurrect the show now and it'd be such a huge hit that it wouldn't matter anymore. It was ahead of its time. However, they seem to want to bury the show yet still sell merchandise. They'll never admit that canceling it was a mistake.
 
FYI the show was a hit. It got really good ratings, just not for the right demographic. Zim was a hit with people outside of Nick's usual and wanted demographic at the time, ironically the created Teen Nick a few months after canceling Zim, the same demographic that Zim was bringing in. Zim was also an expensive show, so advertsiers couldn't justifying paying for a show that didn't even bring them the kids they wanted to market to. Sad, really.
 
"Invader ZIM" Series Talkback

Somehow, after I finally gave Zim a second chance, I didn't think of Jhonen as an antisocial creep. As for him criticizing the little details on the DVD commentary, it's like they say ? you are your own worst critic. He must like the show, if he's still willing to talk about it, to give DVD commentary on it, etc. etc. He still seems like he'd be an interesting character.

With that in mind though, what the heck kind of name is "Jhonen" anyway? Pseudonym? Wacky parents who couldn't spell?
 
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