Out of curiosity, update

[danreyes1]

About six months ago, I asked this question. How is Cartoon Network right now? At the time the majority was fairly unhappy. But a lot can happen in six months, so I'm asking the same question again. How do you feel Cartoon Network is doing as of today, April 9th, 2008?

As for this humble viewer, I still think the network is in poor shape. However, I feel it is better than it was then, if only slightly. The dead horse, live-action, is still around, which is baffling in some cases (seriously, why do we still have Goosebumps on Saturdays?), but it's not as horribly prevalent as it was. They hype their new L-A movies, but that's about it. They've come out with a ton of new cartoons, which is a blessing these days. However, none of them are any good in my opinion (and I have given them all a chance). They are showing a select few classic cartoons again, thankfully. And I like more things from this year's upfront than last year's.

In all, I feel that it's better now than it was last year. 2007 was possibly the network's worst year in history for various reasons. Now, I feel it's at the point it was back in 2005, tedious and repetitive with little worth watching, but not utterly horrible. I still turn to it every time I turn on the TV, and I still change the channel a lot more than I would like. Just not as much as last year. I guess that's as positive as I'm going to get for a while.

[lemonhead75]

It's fine and everything. But not perfect or close to it. They seem to have decided to try something different, since 2007 was a flop. They have fallen way back in the ratings, but they have great shows now. Expect them to pick-up in the ratings.

[Blackstar]

It's gotten a little better. However, there's still room for improvement. The mediocre series still outnumber the good ones. Toonami is practically non-existent, and CN still insists on showing live action movies for some reason. What's the point of CN showing movies that have already aired on TNT and TBS? There are so many live action movie channels out there already that there's zero reason for CARTOON Network to try and become one.

Cartoon Network is still going through an identity crisis; not quite sure who they are. The folks in charge of CN need to figure out, once and for all, just what they want their channel to be. CN wants to eat it's cake and have it too, but it can't be every type of channel for every type of viewer. You're either niche or you're mainstream. You can't be both.

[Lazerboy5000]

Well, it has been a little better than it was a few months ago. I think it is because that CN now has a more stable lineup. With the changes in Muguzi, Master Control, and Fried Dynamite, CN seemed to be in complete chaos. But now things have calmed down a bit and things have gotten a little better.

[Silverstar]

Things have stabilized a little, and some aspects of the channel have improved somewhat, but CN as a whole is still mutating and trying to find its' identity. It's kind of good in some areas and kind of hurting in others.

On the one hand, more cartoons are on the horizon, so CN hasn't completely turned its' back on animation like so many of us were worried about. On the other hand, they're still trying to appeal to the Disney/Nick crowd, so there's still live-action and teen/tween stuff cluttering the landscape, and the current Toonami is the equivalent of a bug splattered across a windshield.

CN is in it's gawky, awkward adolescent stage right now: its' body is changing, its' thoughts are all over the road, its' hormones are surging, it's desperately trying to be "cool" to impress its' peers and it's rebelling against something, but it's not sure what. We'll just have to wait and see what CN becomes after its' zits clear up.

[Dr.Pepper]

I think that it has gotten a little bit better, but still I have seen way better in the past.

[lossermkg]

''HI'' ,im the new guy i wanted to join this thead for a long time.It great to be on this forum thankyou for all the info . oh and i think cartoonetwork doing better then last year.;)

[macattack]

The network as a whole is looking a lot better than it did at any point during 2007, and recent initatives made at the Upfront gives me hope (especially the Cartoonstitute). The big drawback, of course, is the marginalization of Toonami, which remains in effect. If they brought Toonami back to four hours and filled them with decent (at least) programming, then I think I'd be somewhat happy with the network.

[kaleb]

They have lessened the marathons and repeats of programs over this last year, so that was a relief for me. I like variety and don't enjoy watching hours and hours of any one show no matter how good it is.

[Master Toon]

I think it's doing fine in terms of programming but it's lacking in everything else. I feel like I'm watching a copycat version of Nickelodeon. The bumpers, the promos, and the live action just screams Nick. If Turner would just send out a press release saying that live action is a failure, admit they were wrong and apologize, I'd feel better about the network. In fact, they don't even have to admit anything or apologize, just let live action fade away slowly.

[Toonfan2000]

It's certainly better than it was in 2006 (which I think is the darkest year in CN history, as the network was at its most juvenile during this time period and early 2007).

CN is slowly finding its way again, but to me, it's just another one of the 50,000 cable networks now.

[D Dubbs]

They have lessened the marathons and repeats of programs over this last year, so that was a relief for me. I like variety and don't enjoy watching hours and hours of any one show no matter how good it is.

Well, I don't expect marathons to disappear from the network. They always schedule them when kids have school off (like in the summer, or over spring break). We've just been seeing less of them since school has been in session for the past six months or so.

Anyway, I'm glad to see that the poll is generally more positive this time around. I agree that Cartoon Network is looking better now, but there's always room for improvement.

[Kevin]

It's gotten better, but it's no where what it used to be back in the days. At least they lessen the marathons and repeats, which is a plus.

[Lavenderpaw]

The new Ben Ten series looks promising if anything.

[Draft]

I'm in the middle, mainly cause i'm no longer in CN's demo and I overall don't watch TV anymore (see Tunes, i)

[Racattack!Force]

The channel is going pretty okay right now. Get back to ya in Fall, when a lot of the new things they announced start coming up. :shrug:

[adoptedBatpuppy]

In all of CN new 2009 line up I didn't see or hear anything about Anime? :confused:
Usually, they air at least some older audiences oriented cartoons, but know I think CN is focusing on kids more, not that this is a bad thing. It's Cartoon Network, we know that mostly cartoons are for kids, but it would be nice for CN to cater to older audiences too ! :yawn:

P.S. Is Toonami going to go with all the new blocks they are bringing?

[Mickialla]

Hello there everyone! My name is Mickialla! well, that's not my real name, otherwise I'd probably have commit suicide by now, but anywho, I'm extremely new to the Toon Zone forums. I just wanted to get the hang of this thing and get the Toon juices flowing within me, so I decided to post this thread :D


K, so I am no different than any of the people who yearn for the old days of Cartoon Network. To me, the best years of Cartoon Network from 1996-2003; I believe that was known as the Powerhouse era, correct me if I'm wrong. When the Powerhouse era officially ended in 2004 with the revamp and the CGI look, I first thought it was pretty cool. For you see, my cable was, well "out" for several months in 2003 and 2004, pretty much the very end of the Powerhouse era and the very beginning of the CGI era. So I had pretty much forgotten what Cartoon Network was like during those months. So when I turned the TV on to CN for the first time in months, I first noticed the new logo, which I hated from the start. Otherwise, I was completely hip to the new CN, at least I thought so at the time, for I had totally no clue that all the classics had been taken off, the Cartoon Cartoon moniker had been destroyed, and my CCF was gone.
So nowadays, I utterly hate CN's decisions after 2004. After the CGI era ended in mid 2006- a new era began the "YES" era, as I like to call it, due to Fred Fred Burger leading the new campaign. The Yes Era ended mid 2007 and the foul "Fall is just something..." era began in Fall 2007. Personally, I think that 2007 was Cartoon Network's worst year ever.
2007 was when I truly begun complaining to Cartoon Network about stuff like CCF, Classic shows, Cartoon Cartoons, bringing the Powerhouse bumps back, the whole shabang. And, I think it may have given them an impression. Cuz now I think that Cartoon Network has begun taking a step in the very right direction. Take a look at the list below:
- The stable and daily airing of both Scooby Doo, Where Are You! and A Pup Named Scooby Doo, has brought a pinch of the Classsics back to the network. It's a small pinch, but a pinch nonetheless. Also, I don't know if any of you have seen that "Elijah" bump, with the kid that's rapping about Cartoons popping out of his TV; well if you have, didn't you guys here him say "Oh snap, it's Yogi the Bear" with Yogi running by swiftly in the background? Cuz I most certainly saw it, a sign??? hmmm....
- More numerous and variant airings of the Cartoon Cartoon block. Ok, I'm not the biggest fan of this block, but it's the only place I can find Cartoon Cartoons on the network anymore. So I think the Cartoon Cartoon block airs at least once EVERYDAY of the week, which is amazing. Also, the block didn't air shows like PPG and Evil Con Carne until just very recently. So now we can see Dexter, C&C, Johnny Bravo, PPG, Courage, Con Carne, etc. on the block. Also I don't know if you've noticed this, but on Saturday mornings at the end of the Dynamite Action Squad, when they're showing a "Next" bump, they show the ACTUAL Cartoon Cartoons logo when introducing the Cartoon Cartoon show. It looks like a monster truck jumping over a ramp and landing on another ramp or something like that with the logo in between. I just find that kind of cool :D
- Samurai Jack airs now, no further questions.
- Even though they haven't brought back Cartoon Cartoons, I think the show's original programming is beginning to get better. Chowder is amazing, it doesn't look like any of the CC's like Dexter or Bravo (maybe a little like Cow and Chicken, the art style I mean), and yet I still rank it among them. I've seen the preview for Flapjack and it is also amazing; not as good as Chowder but close. Foster's continues to be a best, better than both Chowder and Flapjack. But the greatest thing that I think the network has done is the Cartoonstitute, which screams What A Cartoon! to me, which would be a major step in the right direction.

So with all of these new "goods" coming in to Cartoon Network, one would think that they outweigh the “Bad”. Not necessarily. Bad things on Cartoon Network as of April 11, 2008 are:

- Fried Dynamite, worst movement in a while

- The Fall is just something bumpers; What were they thinking!??

- The decline of attention towards Toonami. I reminisce the days of Gundam, DBZ, Tenchi, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, the stuff that dreams are made of. I don’t really watch Naruto, but it’s good and it’s the only thing keeping this artifact of ancient Cartoon Network alive.

- I think Adult Swim is too long; don’t they like air every show twice or something?

- Too many movies; I have to admit. I liked it better when their would only be one hyped up NON-LIVE ACTION movie per week. Movies take up time that could be used for other shows in my opinion.

- Too many marathons. If they cut down with the marathons they could fit more shows into their schedules.

- LIVE ACTION LIVE ACTION LIVE ACTIOOOON.

But the way Cartoon Network is going currently, I think some of this might change in the future. Cartoon Network is getting better very quickly. But what will be their next step?? That’s my question to you guys. I wrote a bit too much, but I do have a point XD. What do YOU guys think will be Cartoon Network’s next step to becoming “what it used to be”. Will it add more classics, will Fried Dynamite die, Will the Fall is just something era end? That’s what I think will happen, the Fall is just something era will end and, hopefully, be replaced by a better theme that can live up to the Powerhouse name of 96-03. Oh and, for the record, Fall ended arooound…. 5 months ago… idiots. So, go ahead, converse or forumize, or whatever it is you guys do here. I’m thinking I will enjoy chatting with u guys about Cartoon Network and am looking forward to it in the future.

[Mugen]

Thanks for joining Toon Zone, Mickialla! I hope you enjoy your stay here.:) I'm going to merge your topic with another post that is similar.

[Mickialla]

Thanks for joining Toon Zone, Mickialla! I hope you enjoy your stay here.:) I'm going to merge your topic with another post that is similar.

Oh haha, for a second there, I thought someone just got rid of my post. I got really sad :sweat: especially since it was my first post. Nah I'm just jokin'. Well, since I've been merged let me just say that I currently think Cartoon Network is just another network. Out of Nick, Disney and CN, I'd rank CN second, mostly because I expect tons more from it.

[Racattack!Force]

But the way Cartoon Network is going currently, I think some of this might change in the future. Cartoon Network is getting better very quickly. But what will be their next step?? That’s my question to you guys. I wrote a bit too much, but I do have a point XD. What do YOU guys think will be Cartoon Network’s next step to becoming “what it used to be”. Will it add more classics, will Fried Dynamite die, Will the Fall is just something era end? That’s what I think will happen, the Fall is just something era will end and, hopefully, be replaced by a better theme that can live up to the Powerhouse name of 96-03. Oh and, for the record, Fall ended arooound…. 5 months ago… idiots. So, go ahead, converse or forumize, or whatever it is you guys do here. I’m thinking I will enjoy chatting with u guys about Cartoon Network and am looking forward to it in the future.
The "Fall is Just Something..." era has ended, as they stopped with those bumped. They are also doing this program similar to "What A Cartoon!". Fried Dynamite is pretty much dead, but DAS will still be staying. Toonami...um, let's not think about him for a moment. Too sad. :sad:

[Deadman]

it can still be much better.

[Mickialla]

The "Fall is Just Something..." era has ended, as they stopped with those bumped. They are also doing this program similar to "What A Cartoon!". Fried Dynamite is pretty much dead, but DAS will still be staying. Toonami...um, let's not think about him for a moment. Too sad. :sad:

Well, to me the Fall is just something era refers to the whole theme with the weirdo doodles flying around and the kids jumping around. And technically the music from the Hives song is still in the background. So to me that era is still around. Hopefully it won't last long, out of all of cartoon network's themes, this is by far the worst. And I know about the Cartoonstitute, it's similar to the WAC! and I'm really hoping we'll be able to see it this year, not like last year's upfront where most of the stuff didn't make it to 2007... or to 2008 for that matter. On the case of Fried Dynamite, right now it's really so chaotic and hectic I'm guessing it is crumbling. But, knowing CN, they're probably not going to get rid of it yet. Most fridays blocks last a good 5 years. What I think will happen is that Fried Dynamite will slowly evolve into DAS, and then DAS will end up airing on both Friday nights and Saturday mornings with different programs airing on the two days. The upfront said that Fridays would be for fantasy and action, and it is called the Dynamite ACTION squad so im just putting one and two together but..

[lossermkg]

I know it confuseing ,but think of it as a action cartoonetwork weekend. think about all the action we get,Frist we got the Friday night action block then dynamite action squade after that we got toonami.now that a weekend but i hope they fix toonami up ,:sad: but cartoonetwork is doing alot better.:sweat:

[Racattack!Force]

But they announced a new friday night action block, that may or may not be Toonami. :shrug:

[Master Toon]

But they announced a new friday night action block, that may or may not be Toonami. :shrug:

I doubt it will be Toonami, they would have already made bumps saying they're moving to Fridays.

[Blackstar]

the way Cartoon Network is going currently, I think some of this might change in the future. Cartoon Network is getting better very quickly. But what will be their next step?? That’s my question to you guys. I wrote a bit too much, but I do have a point XD. What do YOU guys think will be Cartoon Network’s next step to becoming “what it used to be”. Will it add more classics, will Fried Dynamite die, Will the Fall is just something era end?

First, let me say Welcome to ToonZone. Hope that you enjoy your stay.

Now to address some of the finer points of you post: What's Cartoon Network's next step to becoming what it used to be?: That's an easy one, it's never going to be the way it used to be due to the fact that time moves forward. CN can (and likely will) improve, but CN will never revert to the way it was 10 or even 5 years ago.

I don't see the classics returning to CN, but really, it depends on your definition of "classics". Perhaps some canceled Cartoon-Cartoon shows my resurface on CN; we may see Powerpuff Girls return in some capacity, and we got Samurai Jack again (albeit briefly), but as far as Looney Tunes, 60s-80s Hanna-Barbera and classic non Tom & Jerry MGM shorts, I don't see them returning to CN anytime soon, as CN likely considers them to be part of Boomerang's schedule. And sorry, folks, but CN won't be going back to it's old Cartoon Network logo either.

Regarding live action: CN will continue showing live action movies as long as kids keep watching them. There may be a few live action projects coming down the pike, but I don't think CN will go all live action. True, we got a 2nd season of Out of Jimmy's Head, but that series won't go on for years. The way I see it, there might, repeat MIGHT be 3rd season of OOJH, or perhaps just another TV movie, but not much else. Eventually, more sooner than later, the kids playing Jimmy, Robin and Craig will get too old for their roles, and that will mean no more show. I don't see CN studios continuing the series with a 20 year old Jimmy or doing OOJH, the New Class or anything like that.

And yes, "Fall is something that grown-ups invented" will eventually go away and be replaced by something else. What? I don't know. Whatever CN's next campaign will be.

[Mickialla]

First, let me say Welcome to ToonZone. Hope that you enjoy your stay.

Now to address some of the finer points of you post: What's Cartoon Network's next step to becoming what it used to be?: That's an easy one, it's never going to be the way it used to be due to the fact that time moves forward. CN can (and likely will) improve, but CN will never revert to the way it was 10 or even 5 years ago.

I don't see the classics returning to CN, but really, it depends on your definition of "classics". Perhaps some canceled Cartoon-Cartoon shows my resurface on CN; we may see Powerpuff Girls return in some capacity, and we got Samurai Jack again (albeit briefly), but as far as Looney Tunes, 60s-80s Hanna-Barbera and classic non Tom & Jerry MGM shorts, I don't see them returning to CN anytime soon, as CN likely considers them to be part of Boomerang's schedule. And sorry, folks, but CN won't be going back to it's old Cartoon Network logo either.

Regarding live action: CN will continue showing live action movies as long as kids keep watching them. There may be a few live action projects coming down the pike, but I don't think CN will go all live action. True, we got a 2nd season of Out of Jimmy's Head, but that series won't go on for years. The way I see it, there might, repeat MIGHT be 3rd season of OOJH, or perhaps just another TV movie, but not much else. Eventually, more sooner than later, the kids playing Jimmy, Robin and Craig will get too old for their roles, and that will mean no more show. I don't see CN studios continuing the series with a 20 year old Jimmy or doing OOJH, the New Class or anything like that.

And yes, "Fall is something that grown-ups invented" will eventually go away and be replaced by something else. What? I don't know. Whatever CN's next campaign will be.

Well, I personally don't consider the Cartoon Cartoons as classics, though the return of the Cartoon Cartoon moniker was a part of what I was talking about. What I mean by that is that future Cartoons will be called Cartoon Cartoons. I think that PPG will return this year for a TV movie, Tara Strong said so. But I do think there could be a possibility of classics returning to the network eventually. If Scooby Doo can return why not a more well known H-B franchise like the Flintstones. With the demand for stuff like this rising and Boomerang's schedule becoming filled up with more modern stuff, shows like the Tex Avery Show and the Chuck Jones show are completely gone from Boomerang, so could a return to CN not be possible?

[Blackstar]

My personal belief is that excluding some special occasion/situation, The Flintstones is pretty much a staple of Boomerang now. I wouldn't say that the chances of that happening are impossible, just highly improbable.

[Antiyonder]

but as far as Looney Tunes, 60s-80s Hanna-Barbera and classic non Tom & Jerry MGM shorts, I don't see them returning to CN anytime soon, as CN likely considers them to be part of Boomerang's schedule.

Should the Looney Tune Movies continue to perform well, I don't see why they don't at least consider readding Taz-Mania and Sylvestor & Tweety's Mysteries. Yeah I'd prefer the classic LT's, but if those two aren't part of Boomerang's schedule then I don't see why CN couldn't give them another shot. Not counting the Spielberg toons, are there anymore modern LT series out there (Not counting Duck Dodgers as it has been on Boomerang).

[Mugen]

Should the Looney Tune Movies continue to perform well, I don't see why they don't at least consider readding Taz-Mania and Sylvestor & Tweety's Mysteries. Yeah I'd prefer the classic LT's, but if those two aren't part of Boomerang's schedule then I don't see why CN couldn't give them another shot. Not counting the Spielberg toons, are there anymore modern LT series out there (Not counting Duck Dodgers as it has been on Boomerang).

There's Loonatics but, most people prefer not to see that.