Network reluctance to strong story continuity/ongoing arcs.

J

Jericho the Fallen Diablo

New member
I've heard it said by some people in the American animation industry that there is reluctance on the part of certain networks to allow their cartoons to have strong story continuity. Nick supposedly has handed down this kind of mandate at some points (which makes the wonderful Avatar even more of an anomaly), and I imagine that Disney Channel might as well (with some exceptions.) I interned briefly at a large animation studio once and this came up as a question among the interns during one of the meetings. One of my theories was that we seem to have a sort of ten year cycle where every decade or so we Americans seem to make a really strongly original (read non-comic based) continuity driven cartoon that kind of stands out. I suggested that Gargoyles was that show for the 90's (though there were other less known ones like Exosquad and Xyber 9) and that Avatar is that show for the 00's.
It's interesting, why is it that most of the big live action executives have been willing to embrace the idea of season long storylines (in genre Sci-fi shows of course, but also in dramas like Grey's Anatomy) but there still seems to be so much resistance among animation executives?

I know that many people say that kids do not have the patience to endure long story arcs, and character development but I don’t see it. The success of the Harry Potter series (though admittedly a book not a show) is evidence to me that young kids are perfectly capable of following a storyline if in fact they are interested. The ratings success of imported shows like DBZ earlier in the 00’s also seems to point to this. Yet we still here stories of writers and artist in the American animation industry having to fight to get story arcs included into their shows. Is it just an accepted mindset among the higher ups? Is it a concern that it makes it harder to rerun the episodes (which I don’t understand to me it seems like it would make it easier), what is it?

So I'm putting the question out there for anyone who has an interesting spin on why this might be.
 
They do it so newcomers to the show can get right into it and not get lost.

You worked at a major studio, and no one thought of that reason?
 
Because most cartoons are comedy and don't need story arcs if they succeed in making people laugh? Most action cartoons, on the other hand, do have story arcs and continuity (Ben 10, Avatar, Spectacular Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H., Jackie Chan Adventures, Xiaolin Showdown, Ninja Turtles, Justice League, Danny Phantom. Just to name a few recent examples)

If you're looking for story arcs in Camp Lazlo or Spongebob, then you're looking in the wrong shows.
 
I believe that has been the stated position for numerous companies. Apparently, they fear that their schedule will be somewhat forced if people expect them to air the episodes in a particular order; for example, shows like SpongeBob SquarePants can be replayed ad nauseam without much effort on the part of the network, while shows with continuative plots and stories typically require a bit more preparation. I mean, they don?t even pay attention to the production order for most shows, so when an animated program requires them to air episodes in a specific order, it likely makes it somewhat ?inconvenient? for them. Fortunately, there have been several animated programs as of late that have been mixing stand-alone plots with continuative stories. ?Kim Possible?, ?Yin Yang Yo!?, ?Danny Phantom? and others come to mind. They all had their fair share of stand-alone episodes, but they all had continuity and there were several story arcs that existed within them. This permits networks to have a lot of leeway when it comes to scheduling, while still satisfying the demands for depth in animated programs. I believe it?s a decent compromise and I hope that more networks order shows that follow in this format.
 
I understand your point, but comedies can benefit from such things as well. Sure, they don’t need full story arcs, but continuity can be a great tool when it is used appropriately. “Rocko’s Modern Life” had used continuity to some extent, such as Filbert and Dr. Hutchinson’s relationship, and I believe that it helped make the series better. Unfortunately, most comedy programs in recent years have been devoid of continuity. As much as I love “Chowder”, it’s almost like the world is completely reset at the end of every episode; heck, Panini even dumped Chowder at the end of her debut episode, but everything went back to as it was in her subsequent episodes.

Continuity is a glorious thing. It allows true character development to take place; I understand that character development occurs even without continuity, as the creators of a show better know and understand the characters, but continuity allows these changes to manifest on screen. I have always favored continuity, but I digress.
 
I think a good mix of standalone and continuity is what makes a show great. Too much of one of those 2 things is sometimes bad. A good example of a show that did a good job of this was Cowboy Bebop, there were plenty of standalone eppys but they mixed in character development along with it, which is why its still considered one of the top anime series ever made.
 
The anti-continuity attitude is more of an excuse to make things easier for the employees that don't share the same passion for their work as other animators do. Plus it makes it easier for the scheduling people so they can just breeze through their job without having to do some hard work (ie. airing said shows in order).
 
Huh?

I don't think there's an "anti-continuity attitude" as much as it's the fact that a lot of shows simply don't need continuity to work. Some shows need continuity, and some shows don't. It's really as simple as that.
 
Besides the emphasis on comedy (which has usually precluded strong continuity needs---see: Looney Tunes, SpongeBob, etc.), I'd imagine the "it's only a cartoon" attitude is another factor (judging from stuff like that Simpsons episode where they get a racehorse and the Comic Book Guy's ridiculed for, erm, remembering a previous episode with a horse)---"why should I care about things like continuity or such? It's just a cartoon---get a life!" Animation being viewed by most of the US as disposable even by entertainment standards, and all...

Throw in as well that, like live-action, animation's in the hands of, well, the entertainment industry---where TV seems to be the one medium that views having an attention span (let alone paying attention to things like continuity, characterization, plot, etc. like one would in a movie, book, etc.) as "bad"/"only for nerds"... (shrug)

-B.
 
That was like.. only 4 episodes, or something.

There's lots of comedy cartoons with continuity, but they don't need them, otherwises Bugs Bunny wouldn't be so popular around the world. I don't think Spongebob or Looney Tunes would benefit from story-arcs, it'd probably make the shows less appealing.

But action cartoons do need it, I 'd say. Otherwise we go back to the 80s mentality of "same villain every week with no progress"
 
And let's not forget. If you attempt a giant story arc, and get cancelled 2 episodes into it, well.. that's just something you don't want to see happen. Da Boom Crew for example. Only time people attempt story arcs now is if they're guarenteed a full season. Or they do 2-3-4 part arcs that get cleared up in a couple episodes.

Some shows need continuity, some don't. Spongebob is a good example of that. I mean, there's something like keeping consistancy about other jokes, making sure that things stay in the same universe (something the Simpsons screwed up, as there are apparently 3 different versions of how Homer and Marge married). And then there's having a long drawn out story line, which works better with action shows anyway.
 
Lack of renewals don't have to be a problem. The course of action is to resolve certain plot points to achieve closure, but leave some open to play with for future seasons.



I agree, but I'm sure that easier scheduling is just as much a factor.
 
I personally like my comedy shows to have loose continuity, with throwbacks to past episodes. This makes it easier for a show to get into. And action show, I would like stand alone episodes and tied episodes that add to continuity (i.e. Yin Yang Yo!). For the same reasons.
 
How so? Isn't it easier to get into something if you don't have to already know a whole bunch of stuff going in. Look how popular Spongebob Squarepants is. That show really doesn't do callbacks at all. I mean, jeez, the show never referred to anything that went down in the movie, including Mindy, the alternate king Neptune and the fact that logically Plankton should now know the Krabby Patty formula. Spongebob just returns to the status quo at the beginning of every show. It's a program you can just shut your brain off and enjoy.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
 
Technically the movie is the ending to the series, so it takes place after all episodes of the TV series.. whenever it decides to end.

Spongebob does have callbacks in the sense that we've introduced characters and brought them back, like Sandy, Squilliam, Plankton, etc... though granted, not as much as Fairly Odd Parents does.
 
I see what you mean.They acknowledge past characters in new eps but they don't hardly (if ever) bring up past subjects.Although Mermaidman's sidekick did bring up the fact that they had at least seen SB before.Actually, in one episode they acknowledged that SB had gotten them out of retirement.

That's another reason why American Dragon became my favorite show,I had faith the show would soon blossom into a great (even epic) storyline with the nefarious Huntsclan and the modern day,starcrossed lovers Jake and Rose.;)

I want to see more shows that not only give us something to laugh about,I want to see animation with something to say.As long as it doesn't force feed us retreaded morals every episode,I'm good.
 
And you'd mention it in every single post you ever made.:p

But, really, I agree with you, AD:JL is another great example of a show that has a great continuity with a great story arc made for it.
 
Another thing about a lack of continuity that you all forgot is that it makes it a LOT easier to sell the show abroad in pieces. If a foreign network can only afford/only wants half of the episode you made, if you got continuity it might not work, but if you don't they won't care.

The internationnal market is something execs DO worry about, but you fans always seem to forget about it.

I like it when comedy shows have some loose continuity. Johnny Test got that, there's call backs and they keep villains around and stuff, but its not too heavy.
 
By that excuse, why bother making shows with continuity at all? How many young'uns turn on a show in the middle of its run and decide not to watch it because they got "lost"? Where is the survey to prove this?
 
Back
Top