The Decline of Children's Television

[____amanda]

I've pretty much given up on the cartoons that have been coming up on Nick, Disney, and Cartoon Network. They all seem to follow the exact same pattern without any real amusing moments. It could just be because I'm older now and cartoons don't appeal to me as much as they did when I was, say, three or five. I remember watching shows like Rocko's Modern Life and Ahhh! Real Monsters when I was younger, along with a few of the other oddball shows that came on in that time. But then it was if making a cartoon/show was a little more important than making nothing but money or a good way to sell more toys at the store. I don't remember seeing a whole shelf of toys that had to do with the cartoon I was watching - it was just entertainment.

The shows now are so over publicised that it's rather annoying. They shouldn't be loved that much when the plot is blah and the drawing/animation slowly decreases in artistic ability. Just give me an old Nick show any day and I'll be happy.

[SpiraLethe]

Oh man... Old cartoons. How I miss them:

David the Gnome, Noozles, Inspector Gadget, Tintin, Grimm's Fairytale Classics, Doug, etc.

Those were the days.

Oh Noozles!! I forgot about that one. Wasn't there another Koala one, the Little Koala or something?

You mean the Adventures of Little Koala? I totally watched that religously.

[Christopher]

Amazing how other people can insult /my/ tastes all they want and the second I say a word against their precious Anime I'm an idiot. I am so EFFING tired of being condescended like I don't know anything.

No one is insulting your tastes. We're simply being old people saying that the dislike is a time-relative thing. So are your opinions.

In addition the only post concerning anime after your post saying that you hate it was Kugetsu, who never used the word idiot and talked in a perfectly normal manner. You're own statements as I talk about below claim that you have never even watched anime (and I wouldn't call what they show on cartoon network anime...).

Somehow due to that huge outburst with lots of capitalisations that was entirely disproportionate to the one criticism, and that you refer to 'Their precious anime', you have done this before. You can't say really say something like that if only one person rebutted your hate.

I'm not saying all the animes in all of Japan are alike and I hate them, I'm saying that I do not like the ones I can freely see on Toonami or Adult Swim when I turn the clicky-click to Cartoon Network.

Actually, you did

"And just for the record, I hate anime."

No, I suck because I haven't seen the precious SUBBED versions, so I haven't seen real anime! You really expect me to pay 50 effing dollars to buy the OHMIGOSHSUBBED versions so that I can get the "full effect" of something I DON'T LIKE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

A, you could get them for free from library. B, you could rent them from video store. C? Eheheheh. *

Anyway, how can you not "LIKE SOMETHING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" if you have never even seen before? (I.e anime. In Japanese. Uncut. Or maybe something good?) You have freely admitted that you haven't (having only seen the rubbish on cartoon network that has been dubbed cut, brutalised and lots of other words that the mods don't like)? It's not like I care whether you watch anime or not, but the reason why the ONE person (i'm the second!) contradicted you about it is because you seem to be going off on this anime hating tangent without any support behind it. Not that you need any. Feel free to hate anime as much as you want. Just expect people who don't hate it like that and fans to have you up about it.

No, wait, you know what, you're right. Ignore my opinions. It's really a wonder I can wipe myself after going to the bathroom. I keep jabbing myself in the eye with my fork when I try and eat so sorry for insulting your lifejuice.[/i]

There there.

[Jasujo]

I agree that a lot of cartoons aren't as good as they used to be. I turned to buying my girls a lot of the good oldies on dvd, like He-Man, She-Ra, Thundercats, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Fraggle Rock, Muppet Show. (I know the last two aren't cartoons, but they are kids shows.) I love that the old shows are on dvd now. I'm sorry I missed buying Jem and that one's hard to find now.

Lately, some decent cartoons have come out, though. We are fans of Avatar, W.I.T.C.H., Danny Phantom, Jenny the Teenage Robot (which I don't think is on anymore), Fairly Odd Parents. Wynx wouldn't be half bad if parts of it weren't so stupid. >.< There is a new show coming to Nickelodeon that looks interesting, I can't remember the name of it, though.

I like anime because it has a lot of substance that many cartoons don't seem to have. I enjoy plotlines that carry throughout a season and episodes that fold out like a story instead of individual pieces. That's just my opinion, though. There is also good and bad anime, like anything else. However, I do think non-Japanese animators are looking at anime and learning from it and creating better cartoons from that, like Avatar.

It's still a shame that Looney Tunes are hardly on tv anymore. Those are classics that I guess are not PC enough for today's world. That's really too bad.

[Skynetmain]

It's still a shame that Looney Tunes are hardly on tv anymore. Those are classics that I guess are not PC enough for today's world. That's really too bad.

My dad bought me the Looney Tunes 'classics' DVDs as soon as they came out. The only problem with that is the only cartoon I ever want to watch is 'Rabbit of Sevile', mostly because I have it virtually memorized, but also since I think it is the greatest cartoon ever made. I also have 'Rabbit Seasoning' virtually memorized.

Bugs: Okay, doc. You got me would you like to shoot me now or wait until you get home?
Daffy: Shoot him now! Shoot him now!
Bugs: Be quiet. He doesn't have to shoot you now.
Daffy: Well, I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!
Elmer blasts Daffy.
Daffy: Let's run though that again.
Bugs: Dispassionately. You got me would you like to shoot me now or wait until you get home?
Daffy: Dispassionately. Shoot him now! Shoot him now!
Bugs: Dispassionately. Be quiet. He doesn't have to shoot you now.
Daffy: Aha! There's the culprit. Pronoun trouble. It isn't 'he doesn't have to shoot you now'. It is 'he doesn't have to shoot me now'. And I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!
Elmer blasts Daffy.

It is a classic joke like that which is lacking nowadays that very few shows can replicateb (thinks Futurama, but I am bias toward that show so others can think of one they prefer).

Two last thoughts:
1) The problem when we get older is that we have seen the same basic show so many times in other forms, we can then predict what happens when another show of the same model is shown. I have found that I can accurately predict the exact outcome of shows and episode I have never even seen nor heard of with relative ease. (Exception to that for a minor hint of validity: FLCL and Disney's Emperor's New Groove. I still find things I miss every time I rewatch those).

2) I actually try to catch old shows when they are re-aired. [AS] has been showing Pee Wee's Playhouse again recently. I've been watching out of curiousity, but I don't really care since that is no longer my kind of humor. Another time, I caught some old GI Joe episode on Cartoon Network a few years back. I was so addicted to that show as a kid so I stayed up almost everynight just to watch it. They still had that exact campiness I remembered and were enjoyed once more. I guess what I am trying to here is that there are some shows that could be brought back, but only if the audience accepts them. (Loony Tunes, Animaniacs as good examples of some that were good in there day and their fans would still like.)

[Christopher]

Ooh! GI Joe! Now that produced some excellent action figures.

[Asthaloth]

back in the day,

I hate that phrase.
The world changes, things become acceptable that were once Taboo, other things that were accpetable become Taboo.

Deal with it or be left behind.
Simple as.

[thelilbear]

back in the day,

I hate that phrase.
The world changes, things become acceptable that were once Taboo, other things that were accpetable become Taboo.

Deal with it or be left behind.
Simple as.

Yes, but the things we watched and things we had when we were little are what shaped our character today. To ignore the past could be ignoring who you are and where you came from.
What about that quote/idea? "Ignore the past and you are doomed to repeat it."

[Moonshadow]

Nono, she didn't use the word idiot, she used the word foolish, and that's all better, right? People have different tastes. Every forum I go to, I make an offhand comic like that and get my throat ripped out by Japanophiles over it. The part about me not having seen anime since I've only seen dubbed is sarcastic, and besides, none of the video stores or libraries around here have anime, and like I said before, if the story doesn't thrill me, /why would I want to see it/?

[/end]

Does anyone here remember the show Sheep in the Big City?

[Asthaloth]

back in the day,

I hate that phrase.
The world changes, things become acceptable that were once Taboo, other things that were accpetable become Taboo.

Deal with it or be left behind.
Simple as.

Yes, but the things we watched and things we had when we were little are what shaped our character today. To ignore the past could be ignoring who you are and where you came from.
What about that quote/idea? "Ignore the past and you are doomed to repeat it."

"Studying the past at the expense of the present. A career in ruins from the start"

I can qoute things til the cows come home, dont stop the fact that times have changed and the world is differant.
To think that two small years could leave such a gap between me and my peers?

[thelilbear]

back in the day,

I hate that phrase.
The world changes, things become acceptable that were once Taboo, other things that were accpetable become Taboo.

Deal with it or be left behind.
Simple as.

Yes, but the things we watched and things we had when we were little are what shaped our character today. To ignore the past could be ignoring who you are and where you came from.
What about that quote/idea? "Ignore the past and you are doomed to repeat it."

"Studying the past at the expense of the present. A career in ruins from the start"

I can qoute things til the cows come home, dont stop the fact that times have changed and the world is differant.
To think that two small years could leave such a gap between me and my peers?

I am not saying to ignore the present, I am saying there's no reason to totally ignore the past. There's is a big difference between living in the past and remembering your life fondly but not dwelling over it.
And I am not arguing that the world has changed, or that people shouldn't change, I am saying it's good to remember where you come from while you move on with the world.
And what do mean by two small years?

[Asthaloth]

Remember the past is fine, complaining that things have changed is not.

Ah, yes, well in my College courses I tend to be the eldest (Generally speaking by two years) as for various reasons I only did two GCSE's at school. (So I took some more in those two years)
Well anyway, it became clear to me over the last few weeks that those two weeks isn't so much a gap of years, as a Generational gap.
My parents were into their thirties when I was born so that may contribute too ofcourse.

[Jasujo]

Does anyone here remember the show Sheep in the Big City?

I remember that show. It wasn't one of my favorites, though.

I forgot to mention Teen Titans and Justice League. Although, I liked Justice League better before they added all the new "leagers" and when Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were together. He-Man was decent when they redid it, but I still like the old series better. Batman Beyond was a good show. I recently bought the whole Batman: The Animated Series for a friend of mine for her birthday. That show was excellent, along with the movies. Tim watched Static Shock, but I didn't like it as much. If you look around and search a bit, you can still find good cartoons. There's a lot of crap, but there are some decent ones, too.

[Skynetmain]

Ooh! GI Joe! Now that produced some excellent action figures.

I still have boxes of figures in case you're interested... Too bad they're not for sale.

... Batman Beyond was a good show. I recently bought the whole Batman: The Animated Series for a friend of mine for her birthday. That show was excellent, along with the movies. ...

I loved those Batman shows! Your friend is lucky to have a friend like you that gets them quality programming. *Goes back to remembering Marl Hamill as the Joker and the cool, dark stories of Batman: The Animated Series. Tries not to mention having watched a lot of Adam West as Batman...*

[Anoohilator]

My favourite childrens show, presently is Fairly Odd Parents - it's so odd that it's funny Everything else seems poorly thought out, but maybe that's just my hormones talking..