Shows where the characters "made it home"

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dexatekrip

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The new announcement about TMNT got me to thinking.

Often times, when a series hits a slump or creative suit types decide that they want to meddle in things unnecesarily - a series concept gets changed - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse - in hopes of keeping the franchise alive.

In some cases - like Scooby doo - the introduction of a new character can both keep it alive or slowly kill it.

In some cases - like the Smurfs - the settings and periods can change, and the series won't survive.

or in some cases - like Pokemon or Power Rangers - the series CONSTANTLY reinvents itself to remain fresh and active.

TMNT 2K3 reinvented itself similar to how the Smurfs did - by introducing an overreaching arc of Time Travel. the cancellation of NBC's Saturday morning lineup and lagging ratings are what did in Smurfs, but as far as I can think of TMNT 2K3 is the only series that actually tried this concept of "time travelling" thier characters or shunting them off to a distant locale, only to have them actually "make it home."

I can't think of another cartoon series that's actually done that so quickly. Heck, it took Zombie Island and "forgetting about Scrappy" several decades later to even get Scooby Doo back to par. the Smurfs thing was only ever resolved in its original format - the comics.

So what cartoon series have retooled itself drastically - either through time travel or some other sort of hokey gimmick - and actually made it back to their main storyline or "thier main era" - relatively still going? Is TMNT the only one? There has to be something else that i'm just not thinking of.
 
TMNT's the only show I know of that's "Made it home":

Smurfs: Like you said, NBC cancelled it while the Smurfs were still time travelling.

The Wizard of Oz: ABC cancelled this show after one season, leaving Dorothy stuck in Oz, the Wizard lost, and the Wicked Witch still controlling a good portion of the place.

Fonz & The Happy Days Gang: Now, they *might* have made it home, considering Fonz turned up on the 'Laverne & Shirley in the Army' a season later.

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo: The 13th Ghost was never caught. We never saw how this adventure ended, or if the Chest of Demons was returned to it's crypt.
 
Dungeons & Dragons-while no final episode in which the kids returned home ever aired on TV, a series finale, titled "Requiem", was indeed made, although it was never storyboarded or animated. The script for "Requiem" was read as a radio play as one of the extras on the D&D complete series DVD set.
 
People seem to be missing the point of the topic. It's not about shows with no endings or shows with endings. It's about a series revamp (such as Fast Forward) that eventually goes away. They made FF in an attempt to boost ratings or toy sales, but when it didn't work, instead of just canceling the show, they went back to the old formula. Most of the time, the show gets canceled even after the revamp because revamps tend to not work.
 
From what I read, he meant both.


Even then, the series would have had them going further into the realm. Without their weapons no less. Though the episode, "The Girl Who Sees Tomorrow", confirms that they will go home eventually.
 
How do you know this? Do you have some inside information? If so, please share.

I own the DVD set and I 'saw' "Requiem" (as I said, it was done in the matter of a radio play, since the episode was never storyboarded). It didn't end with them going further into the realm without their weapons. (I could tell you how it does end, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone.)



It's "The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow" actually, and like I said, they do find their way back in "Requiem".
 
Still, "Requiem" itself - meant as a series finale that could lead to another season - pretty much has them going home.

I watched the series on DVD a while back, and apart from "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow," there are actually several episodes that make it clear (generally stated by Dungeon Master) that they will eventually reach home again.
 
Thank you. While "Requiem" was left open-ended in case anyone wanted to make more episodes, it's not etched in stone that the kids would've definitely chosen to stay in the realm and continue their adventures. (I highly doubt that Eric would've chosen to stay.) Ultimately, it was left up to the viewers to draw their own conclusions.
 
The first half of SD Gundam Force is firmly set on what is basically Earth (minus a 3 episode arc where they briefly visit and return from the alternate world of Lacroa). However, the second half has the characters heading out in a ship to the alternate universe that houses Lacroa/Ark. In the final episode, most of the cast return to Neotopia (the ones who were refugees from Lacroa/Ark returned to their newly freed homelands) and reflect on their travels.
 
Really? Do you remember which one it was?

Did it involve a magic spoon? I remember watching one like that and being convinced it was a finale.
 
The DCAU (from Batman Beyond to Justice League)

Mind you, Batman Beyond was one of the few concept shifts that worked - but in the grander scheme of things it was nice Timm was able to continue that universe with a show back in 'present' time that looked at DC's finest in their prime. And they were able to do it without any kid sidekicks as well (if the original concept with Robin and the female Cyborg had gone down, the DCAU might not have "made it home")
 
Unless they caught 2 ghosts in one episode, they never caught the last one. There were only 13 episodes, and the first one was them releasing said spirits into the world. There were only 12 episodes of them rounding up the spirits.
 
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