Should old school toons be shown on other Networks?

S

shoedragon

New member
Should they show our favorite cartoons on other networks, and by which, I mean like NBC, and the like? I can't help but notice how years after Seinfeld ended, it's still shown, and yet I haven't seen Ahh! Real Monsters in forever. Channels like Boomerang aren't the same. It's (no offense) a toon graveyard, and I don't get that channel anyways. Anybody else think the same?
 
If you're asking why canceled cartoons such as AAAH! Real Monsters, Megas XLR and the like don't air in syndication, it's for a number of reasons.

1. Many of the shows on basic cable channels are exclusive property of said channels, and they wouldn't want to have them airing on a competing network affiliate. And these networks would sooner let their shows continue to collect dust in the vaults than sell them to another network that could potentially get rich from showing the reruns. That wouldn't be good business.

2. Some of these shows didn't make enough episodes to run in syndication before they were canceled. generally, a series has to have been on for at least 3 years in order to be syndicated, so that the local affiliate can air a different episode every day for a year without repeating themselves. So Meags XLR, which only has 26 episodes, or Clerks:TAS, which only has 6 completed episodes, can not be syndicated. Also, some shows can't be syndicated due to legal restrictions. For example, MTV's Beavis & Butthead contained about 1/3 of of the show was B&B watching music videos on MTV, so it could never be syndicated.
 
The difference is Seinfeld still brings in ratings, while ARM wouldn't.

And I say no. No show over a certain amount of years old (5-10 years) should be repeated outside of a network dedicated to old shows. It'd be boring to watch the same shows over and over for 10+ years. Got to make way for new shows, after all.
 
Agreed, but I still stand by my belief that a 1 or 2 hour block could work as long as you don't stick to one particular and simply rotate shows regularly.

See, I think the idea that old shows turn a viewer off is a misconception. It's that some reruns aired too much more than others. Take the original line up fior Nicktoons. Even with acquisitions and a portion of their current toons, they didn't even have 55 shows for their schedule. Add that to the fact that a majority of Nicktoons only made it up to 52-65 episodes and there wasn't much for diversity. No rotation for that matter.

Rotation could be a great way to incoporate old shows into the schedule as Nick, CN and even The Disney Channel don't completely leave out reruns. Plus in time other cartoons will come to an end, thus providing more rerun fodder.

Cartoon Network for instance would contain these shows at
7:00 AM: The Flintstones/The Jetsons/Johnny Quest (All of them being HB shows with human characters)

Air every episode of The Flintstones (166) and maybe the assorted spinoffs. Then when all episodes have aired, then air every episodes of the Jetsons (75). Once all of The Jetsons episodes air, then move over to Johnny Quest. Only in JQ's case I'd air all three incarnations of the series (91 episodes right there, and then I would go back to The Flintstones. Between all three franchises, that's 332 episodes.

Now Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe cartoons would lend themselves to such a rotation as they each are in the same continuity. So airing them prior to Adult Swim (Since the DCAU aren't as kid friendly as a majority of CN's shows, but not as content filled as AS). So at
11:00 PM- Batman The Animated Series/Superman/Batman Beyond/Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

Air all episodes of Batman The Animated Series. Once all episodes have aired, then switch over to Superman. Once all Superman episodes have aired, then switch over to Batman Beyond. Once all episodes of Batman Beyond have aired, then switch over to Justice League. Once all episodes of Justice League have aired, then switch over to Justice League Unlimited. Then after JLU, then it's back to BTAS. Between all of them, 306 episodes.
 
Right, right. But still, live action long running sitcoms are still shown on other networks, so it's interesting how cartoons are handled differently.



ARM was just an example. Any cartoon that brings in ratings in place of it then.



Understandable, but once again, Seinfeld reruns for 10+ years, and they're are older demographic cartoons they could show.



You're right, but I'm asking your opinion. Would you like to see old cartoons on other networks?
 
If we're talking about the broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.) then no. I don't think they'd handle them properly or treat them with the respect they'd deserve. There would be editing, censoring and material cut to make room for more ads. Plus, with no new episodes coming down the pike, viewers would quickly tire of them, then ratings would dip and the networks would ax them faster than you can say "Midseason replacement".

I think that the so-called 'classic' cartoons are best left to niche cable networks like Boomerang or TV Land, which thrive on reruns.
 
Not saying I would hate it, but I wouldn't really like to see old cartoons on ABC, NBC, and CBS. I think they do best on a cable network or on DVD.
 
There's a theory that today's generation has different tastes than yesterday's generation. It's why Looney Tunes can't be found anymore, except on the adults only Golden Collection set. In order to attract children AND nostalgic adults, old cartoons are being updated. Like Loonatics! And the new Alvin and The Chipmunks movie!

THIS IS STUPID! I've never even seen the original Alvin and The Chipmunks, and I know this movie is a modernization! I loved the band, though. THE MODERNIZED MUSIC SUCKS! Anyway, the reason that old school cartoons aren't being shown on television channels that are easy to pay for is because executives believe that these shows wont be enjoyed by the modern generation. And no, I'm not just believing this theory because John Kricfalusi does, as my signature may imply. It's because the evidence supports it.

Most children haven't seen any old shows.
 
On actualy prime time? No.

But I would love to see the before/after school syndication blocks re-emerge. Back in the 80's, you had at least two different channels (FOX and pre-UPN/CW) showing syndicated blocks.

But with the uprising of the cable channels like CN, Nick, Disney, etc., those blocks were slowly killed off because the cable channels offered round the clock programming to syndication's 6-9/2-5 blocks.

But it would be interesting if WB and Disney tried to get their shows back into mainstream syndication. I wonder how shows with just long enough runs (Powerpuff Girls, Lilo & Stitch, Foster's, Kim Possible, Ed Edd and Eddy, etc) would fare if released into weekday syndication.
 
Frankly, execs rarely delve into reasons for failing. They look for a scapegoat so they don't have to dwell on the failings of a show.



I personally think lack of diversity also played a big part. Not excessive reairings mind you but storywise.

In Fox Kids 90s line up, you had a crime noir styled comic book show (Batman), a socially conscious comic book super hero team (X-Men), comedy/slice of life shows not based on a source material (Bobby's World and Eek The Cat), comedy show based off Looney Tunes (Taz Mania and Tiny Toons, plus Animaniacs which emulated Looney Tunes). I could go on, but the point is that it was after Fox focus more on monster and/or competiton shows to beat out Pokemon that their ratings declined.

Heck, it seems to me that KidsWB did better in the days when they too had a sample of something for everyone. The addition of Pokemon and anime were even nice inclusions when they didn't rely on them to take care of attracting viewers.


And then there's the idea that video games and the internet are the sole reasons for lack of interests in cartoons. There's a truth to that, but only half the truth. While I don't see animation ever dominating other forms of entertainment, I could easily see the medium becoming more respected by casual viewers if there were more options/titles. Cause frankly with very few basic cable/basic cable extended networks airing animation (plus airing certain cartoons in excessive repeats), there just aren't enough choices for people to sample animation.
 
To be fair, they weren't the original Loonies (and Lola). They were their great-great-great-great grandchildren...with superpowers...:sweat:
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Considering that Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry fared well, theory it is.

I'd say that the theory is another misconception. It's not that they necessarily bomb, but that shows have to be at the top of the charts. Mild successes with stable ratings don't cut it nowadays.


To go back to the thread topic, if down the line every network or just a majority of them were to just incorporate animation in general, I could see at least an hour or two of classics. But to go for the theme channel/network examples:

- G4: Acquiring any video game cartoon would do.
- Lifetime: Josie And The Pussycats, Jem, She Ra, Sailor Moon.
- TV Land: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Star Trek The Animated Series (Though I'd probably see it airing among the regular Star Trek)
 
At one point in the late 90's, TV Land had tried to do a 'Retro Saturday' block, with Star Trek TAS, as well as the Brady Kids, HR PufnStuf, The Jackson 5, Mighty Mouse/Heckyl & Jeckyl and a few other shows from the 70's. The block bombed horribly and was gone after a few months.
 
As much as I'd love to see Beetlejuice, Doug, etc. on TV again, I know the odds are good it just isn't going to happen, especially in the case of taking shows owned by, say, Nickelodeon, and putting them on, I don't know, FOX or TLC. And even when the company who owns the show starts a seperate channel to push their older stuff (Toon Disney, Nicktoons Network), even then the shows don't stay for long after making room for reruns of their newest stuff or imports.
 
They should have a classic cartoon network that shows classic made-for-TV movies and classic television shows, as well as classic full length animated features (in difference to the made-for-TV movies). I think the cost to do it might be very high, but it will have a very big audience. I think people will it whenever they can. I know I will.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons
 
The trick is to first get the general public interested in animation of all kind first. Besides, The Flintstones was a great deal more successful than those show in particular, and besides, I'd simply air Star Trek The Animated Series in rotation with the Classic Series rather than as a separate show.



Well like I said before, it's not necessarily a fact that viewers in general dislike reruns, but that:

A. Prior to say the launch of Cartoon Network and Toon Disney, classic programs were still shown on other channels, thus having a network showing them constantly was overkill at that point. Now as we all know, Toon Disney will be converting to Disney XD next year. But assumming that Disney was to try for a 24 hour cartoon channel again down the line, I think it could work.

Mainly because they have ownership of the Saban cartoons (for the time being the Marvel toons), their Jetix Original cartoons and their Disney Channel produced cartoons for this decade. Thus a Toon Disney revival would have more shows at it's disposal compared to Toon Disney's 1998 schedule.

B. Certain shows are reran too much. Nicktoons was a big offender for instance by running a 26 episode show such as My Dad The Rock Star not only every day, but multiple times in the day.

To support my theory that excessive airings are the problem and not the rerun, just look at Cartoon Network and Toon Disney. Sure they've acquired more new programs over time, but they were able to keep the older programs on their schedule longer than Nicktoons was. Simply because the formers had more shows at their disposal. Even with acquisitions and recent material like Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents, they had less than 50 shows.

I repeat, rotation would be a great way to keep the reruns from getting stale as:

A. One show would get a break while the other gets a chance to air.
B. The combined episode numbers will lower the redundancy which causes the viewers to tire of said reruns. By rotating say Doug, Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life and Aaahh!! Real Monsters in the 7:00 AM slot, you have a combination of 208 episodes.

The beauty of rotation is that sooner or later another show will end and be able to join in the rotational block.
 
That's been tried (Cartoon Network, Nicktoons TV), but the problem is that nostalgia gets tiresome after a while. Due to ownership rights and legal red tape, it would be impossible for a single network to show every old cartoon, so each station has to keep showing the shows that they own ad nausea, and people can only watch the same reruns so many times before they start reaching for the remote because they've seen these cartoons and movies 30 or 40 times already. Channels that show nothing but old stuff 24/7 get old after a year or 2 and the ratings begin to fall off, so the networks have to add original programming to keep the audiences from switching channels.
 
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