Cartoons ruined by executive meddling.

[Vausch]

It is true. I'm paraphrasing, but yes. Turner thought that the show was too violent and it would lead to kids blowing each other up in planes. All while ignoring the fact that his lovechild Captain Planet had Hitler, dismemberment, AIDS, gang violence with REAL weapons. Hypocrite.

Captain Planet btw was the first cartoon that ever featured drug addiction. Looking back it is a bit I dunno sketchy? The person who became a drug addict was Linka (the blond Eastern European chick who keeps getting hit on by NYer Weeler) and her cousin both of home sound really Russian.

I'm guessing also the first to use the phrase "Unprotected sex" when talking about AIDS in a cartoon that wasn't intended to do that. Also Linka is Russian, they originally said she was "From the Soviet Union" but changed it to "Eastern Europe" (how specific) after the Soviet Union fell.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

-snip-

I read everything up to Spectacular Spider-Man and then...Well I just woke up on the floor and have a curious, metallic taste in my mouth...I seem to have painted too but I don't see any cans of red paint...

In all seriousness, I loved Spectacular Spider-Man. Green Goblin was a little different but that alone wasn't enough to turn me away from that show. I've heard others call SS-M the Spider-Man equivalent to Batman: The Animated Series and I would agree to that completely. The worst part is how the show was cancelled right as Peter and Gwen hooked up and the build-up to that relationship was extremely well done.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is a show I couldn't watch until I found it on Netflix. I'm blaming scheduling on that one since it never airs on Disney channel proper and the times it's aired on Disney XD seem sporadic and odd.

Odd scheduling is a big factor for a lot of other cartoons too...like how Nick Toons will show Danny Phantom every so often but generally in either early-morning or, late night when I'm either at work or, at work or, asleep.

...

Wasn't Danny Phantom supposed to be much bigger than it ended up being by the way?

 

[Seneschal]

Starship Troopers: Roughneck Chronicles. The executives didn't know if they wanted to market the show to kids or to fans of the R-rated movie it was based on. (It shares more with the movie than the book before anyone tries to correct me)

What resulted was a show that was of two minds. One episode would have threats of mind wiping and indoctrination propaganda, and another episode would have guys saying lines like "really deep doo-doo."

It's a great show, but it never finished, ending the series on a cliffhanger before a finale that never saw the light of day.

Aww, I remember that. It always struck me as a bit weird that someone thought a cartoon that siphons popularity off an insanely graphic R-rated movie would be marketable to kids. And, although the product was good, I can see why execs didn't know what to do with it; a doomed idea from the start, much like Invader Zim.

I was hoping someone would make a Starship Troopers TV series in the wake of Battlestar Galactica and avoid such executive meddling, but alas, no such thing materialized.

 

[Cheesus Crust]

Yeah I really liked Young Justice, a bit overly dramatic at times, thought that's in tune with Titans I suppose, still awesome overall. What's Bruce Timm doing nowadays anyway? Weisman would probably put together a nice show but not sure about that, the Joker voice actor in Young Justice was also completely terrible, it was Bren Spiner I think, he's awesome but not the Joker.

No idea what he's up to just hoping it'll be awesome.

Wait, Brent Spiner was the Joker? Mr. Data himself? hahhahaha interesting fact right there.

 

[Cheesus Crust]

I'm guessing also the first to use the phrase "Unprotected sex" when talking about AIDS in a cartoon that wasn't intended to do that. Also Linka is Russian, they originally said she was "From the Soviet Union" but changed it to "Eastern Europe" (how specific) after the Soviet Union fell.

Either my memory is not as stellar as I thought it is or this was never aired in my country. Care to add a little bit more detail on that ep. or at least provide a little bit more context on how it was used?

 

[Cheesus Crust]

I see your point and yes they had to keep getting ther arse handed to them, I see why it had to happen for the plot but I think it was done badly. Korra is ment to already be a master of 3 elements, Tensin is an airbending master and beifong is a master metalbender and likly a master earthbender. When the other characters were considered to reach master level they never lost that many fights and when they did their opponents were also master benders. The show told us that they were at the same level as the old characters but then had them fail. I could not help but think when watching the fights that Aang could have handeled it or Toph or Zuko or any of the other charcters from TLA.

I will try the next series but only to see what Aang's other kid is like. I know it was shorter and rushed but the fact is I just do not like the new characters as much. Mostly Mako. Hate that guy.

Well from my view point what I found interesting about Korra's character is that she already learned from the "masters" of bending. However, when she came to the bending tournament she was astounded with the "modern styles of fighting". In my opinion one of the reasons she kept losing earlier was that her moves and techniques were predictable. I'm just making assumptions here but afford me this largess since it'd make sense in context. Tai Lee was a marvelous chi blocker who fought in a more reactive capacity, evade and strike. If we accept that the four nations are now embracing one another it'd make more sense that the chi blockers could kick korra's butt early on considering her techniques are very traditional things most chi blockers would be aware of.

You are right though that sometimes the characters feel somewhat too I dunno, overpowered by their enemies or incompetent. I really feel this way for tenzin since he's so awesome but has only really won a fight or two. I could accept the robot thing since its a brand new kind of enemy that they had never encountered before. But I dunno, sneaking up on the daughter of Toph who mastered earth bending the same way her mother did (Toph could recognize the foot steps of ants for god's sake) and she nevertheless got ambushed by some thug with a glove and a hoodie. Just seems a bit out of character or very unlikely.

 

[Cheesus Crust]

I can't really say if toys are the ACTUAL reason, but (at least when it comes to the shows listed in this thread) "ratings" is never the true reason behind cancellation. For whatever reason/ulterior motive they have, network execs start suddenly moving show timeslots without warning, skipping weeks, and showing episodes out of order to confuse viewers and manipulate the viewership figures down to make it SEEM like the ratings are terrible.

Akira Toriyama has gone on record saying he HATED doing the DragonBall manga in the later parts. He's said that there was lots of meddling by editors to make him change things and keep the series going despite his declining interest.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly where things started going south but, from what I see, it seems like it all started somewhere along the lines of the Frieza or Cell arcs. Frieza arc because halfway through Toriyama's background and character designs suddenly plummet to really simplistic, and Cell because you can tell he REALLY wanted the story to end there with Gohan taking over after Goku's death.

Agree with the Dragonball thing a 100 percent. It really felt like the creator wanted to pass the torch, so to speak, to Gohan.

I really hate it when execs put shows on really long hiatuses for no good effin reason especially if its good like YJ. For all they know that practice does more harm than good. I mean so what if the early eps are low? Maybe the next ones didn't have good interest cause people lost it in the span between the last and latest episodes? Of course I'm saying this from a view point of a non-exec so I could be missing something here, but still they just really strike me as being monumentally stupid.

 

[Cheesus Crust]

This makes absolutely no sense.

Pedo's will find ANYTHING to use as bait for children.

Hell, they can turn on SpongeBob or an other cartoon on television right now to attract children. The maturity level of a cartoon has very little (if anything) to do with whether pedophiles will watch the cartoon.

It is easier to make toys and syndicate a 22-minte cartoon with a juvenile plot and no ongoing arc.

I see in your record that you have a single post so first of all Welcome!

Yeah it really makes no sense. Talking about cartoons and how their used as pedo bait is taking it a bit far IMO.

 

[Cheesus Crust]

Batman Beyond. Season 2 was ruined because the executives wanted every episode to be set in the school. Their thinking being - everyone likes school right? Everyone can relate to school and school never gets boring. It became ridiculous, the Gotham police should have just closed the bloody place down and it would have cut the crime rate in half.

Maybe they were taking a page or two from the books of anime, you know bout "normal regular" highschool teenagers who lead spectacular lives? But judging from your reaction they didn't handle it very well.

 

[Vausch]

I'm guessing also the first to use the phrase "Unprotected sex" when talking about AIDS in a cartoon that wasn't intended to do that. Also Linka is Russian, they originally said she was "From the Soviet Union" but changed it to "Eastern Europe" (how specific) after the Soviet Union fell.

Either my memory is not as stellar as I thought it is or this was never aired in my country. Care to add a little bit more detail on that ep. or at least provide a little bit more context on how it was used?

Skip to about 3:20 in to find where it comes in. Context wise, kid somehow gets HIV and is talking to his doctor who's explaining to him how you can get it. "Using drugs with needles, unprotected sex, or he may have gotten it from that blood transfusion he had last year".

And Todd has the most appropriate, emotion filled response reaction ever: "It stinks!".

Yes it does Todd. Yes it does.

 

[DarklordKyo]

The Thief and the Cobbler, meant to be the creator's magnum opus (dude spent over 3 decades making it perfect), became said creator's old shame because it was taken from him at the last minute & ruined. Watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of it to see. Granted, I've never watched it, but anyone can agree that was a MASSIVE dick move.

 

[Terminate421]

I'm guessing also the first to use the phrase "Unprotected sex" when talking about AIDS in a cartoon that wasn't intended to do that. Also Linka is Russian, they originally said she was "From the Soviet Union" but changed it to "Eastern Europe" (how specific) after the Soviet Union fell.

Either my memory is not as stellar as I thought it is or this was never aired in my country. Care to add a little bit more detail on that ep. or at least provide a little bit more context on how it was used?

Skip to about 3:20 in to find where it comes in. Context wise, kid somehow gets HIV and is talking to his doctor who's explaining to him how you can get it. "Using drugs with needles, unprotected sex, or he may have gotten it from that blood transfusion he had last year".

And Todd has the most appropriate, emotion filled response reaction ever: "It stinks!".

Yes it does Todd. Yes it does.

Please tell me you watched this:

 

[Vausch]

I'm guessing also the first to use the phrase "Unprotected sex" when talking about AIDS in a cartoon that wasn't intended to do that. Also Linka is Russian, they originally said she was "From the Soviet Union" but changed it to "Eastern Europe" (how specific) after the Soviet Union fell.

Either my memory is not as stellar as I thought it is or this was never aired in my country. Care to add a little bit more detail on that ep. or at least provide a little bit more context on how it was used?

Skip to about 3:20 in to find where it comes in. Context wise, kid somehow gets HIV and is talking to his doctor who's explaining to him how you can get it. "Using drugs with needles, unprotected sex, or he may have gotten it from that blood transfusion he had last year".

And Todd has the most appropriate, emotion filled response reaction ever: "It stinks!".

Yes it does Todd. Yes it does.

Please tell me you watched this:

Of course, I love NC.

 

[Vausch]

The Thief and the Cobbler, meant to be the creator's magnum opus (dude spent over 3 decades making it perfect), became said creator's old shame because it was taken from him at the last minute & ruined. Watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of it to see. Granted, I've never watched it, but anyone can agree that was a MASSIVE dick move.

Track down "The Recobbled Cut". It's much better and got about as close to what Richard Williams wanted as you can get. It's actually quite good.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I dont know any cartoons ruined by upper management (well, maybe captain planet but that was flawed from the start. and fuck you ted turner, nuclear power is amazing and should be embraced. The US is not the USSR and the only thing close to cherynoble was 3 mile and that turned out fine), but i would guess batman is in everything because of the popularity of his last three movies and other merchandise, where other DC heroes and heroines are having trouble getting off the ground.

 

[Xelien]

Both Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series cancellations bummed me out >.< Also Danny Phantom on it's last season went a bit to crap because it was trying to tie up loose ends with the main writer fired, and episodes were out of order, uhg.

 

[Lizardon]

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is a show I couldn't watch until I found it on Netflix. I'm blaming scheduling on that one since it never airs on Disney channel proper and the times it's aired on Disney XD seem sporadic and odd.

Odd scheduling is a big factor for a lot of other cartoons too...like how Nick Toons will show Danny Phantom every so often but generally in either early-morning or, late night when I'm either at work or, at work or, asleep.

The scheduling for Avengers was terrible in America as Disney kept messing around with it, airing it one week and not the next. And then it went on hiatus halfway through season 2 for no apparent reason.

Luckily for me here in Australia, it aired on our ABC channel which ran season 2 Mon-Fri over a few weeks. So we got to see it all long before the US, as well as an episode that never ending up being aired on Disney so it could be a DVD exclusive.

Young Justice has had similar hardship with it's scheduling. It finally returned after a 6 month hiatus, which happened right after a big reveal, 2 episodes aired before going on hiatus again at the last minute for 4 months. Even the creators weren't aware that it had been pulled again until something different showed up in its timeslot. No wonder it's not getting decent ratings if you make it nearly impossible for people to watch it.

You know I haven't thought about Danny Phantom in years, I should try and track down some episodes of that. I heard that the reason it got cancelled was the it was overspending it's budget on expensive voice actors and animation. The only reason we got 3 season was they signed a contract for 3 seasons worth of episodes during season 1, before it started costing them more than it was making.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

A while ago it struck me that despite there being a lot of shows (well, cartoons for the sake of this thread) there is one show that was not only allowed to run its course but it also spawned two TV movies and lasted several seasons. This show was a spin-off of another popular cartoon series and if you wanted another hint, this cartoon is arguably the most intelligent thing ever aired by MTV. I'm talking about Daria which somehow managed to defy the odds and not only complete the series in a satisfying way but it's still being aired on MTV2 at very odd hours and various other channels like Oxygen and I think WE at not-quite-as-odd hours.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The higher ups (Mainly Jeph Loeb) changed the second half of season 2 from what was planned by the creators. It was felt that the show was becoming to serialised so people couldn't drop in and out, and that the focus had drifted to far from the "Main Three" (Thor, Cap and Iron Man). They even brought in new, and in my opinion worse writers. So an overarching plot point about the demon Surtur was dropped and interesting ideas like Yellowjacket's instability were abandoned in favour of episodes about the main characters where the status quo was always re-established.

One of the most infuriating changes made was that Spider-Man appeared in one episode, and they had gotten the voice actor from Spectacular Spider-Man to reprise the role. After he had gone in and recorded everything and the episode had been mostly animated, the show was put on hiatus for the second season so they could premier it along side the movie and their new Ultimate Spider-Man show. I don't know the exact behind the scenes details, but the VA from Ultimate Spider-Man was brought in and dubbed over all of the lines. No one, not even the original actor or some of the people who worked on the episode knew that this had been done until it aired.

And after all that, they cancelled it anyway in favour of a new show more in line with the movies.

Oh I'm going to miss Young Justice. I really hope that the creators knew or suspected that this was the last season so we get a conclusion and not a cliff hanger ending.

god dammit! they cancelled that?!?!? everything about that show i loved, especially the theme song, i loved the fact that it was more "series" based (which it wasn't even that bad really, i skipped around a few episodes just when i saw it randomly on, and i was perfectly fine)


also, RIP young justice, loved it, and i never thought of it before but loved nolan north's voice as superboy, perfect about of brashness and kindness when it was needed.

 

[The Funslinger]

I see your point and yes they had to keep getting ther arse handed to them, I see why it had to happen for the plot but I think it was done badly. Korra is ment to already be a master of 3 elements, Tensin is an airbending master and beifong is a master metalbender and likly a master earthbender. When the other characters were considered to reach master level they never lost that many fights and when they did their opponents were also master benders. The show told us that they were at the same level as the old characters but then had them fail. I could not help but think when watching the fights that Aang could have handeled it or Toph or Zuko or any of the other charcters from TLA.

I figured they weren't as good a combatants due to the times. I mean, Bending had been more ingrained into society, and people practiced it for other reasons. With the change in the world, I think people were less likely to really train at it unless they were the Avatar, and Airbender monk from Tenzin's family, or in a military. I mean, look at Pro Bending, the thing that two of the main characters mainly used their bending for. They were restricted to small, simplistic attacks, meaning they didn't really have a reason or opportunity to evolve their skills.

And I really don't get why everyone hates Korra's characterization. She was just a bit of a tomboy, and I don't see anything wrong with that. I'll admit the love triangle thing was slightly annoying, though.

I think it was because A) People wanted Aang again and B) It seems like people judge female character development harsher than they do male character development. In my experience, anyway.

The only really annoying thing about her actual character, to me, was that she could use the three elements to some degree as a toddler. Just kind of pissed on Aang's journey for the sake of a joke. But how she acted throughout the show didn't bug me at all.

Edit: Oh yes, and the characters in TLA only ever had to put up with one Chi Blocker, and she alone was a massive nuisance. So it isn't really surprising the new guys had it rough.

Amusingly enough, if that girl had not taught the Kyoshi Warriors how to do it, it's plausible it wouldn't be so bad come Legend of Korra. xD