Rescheulin' the Schedule: Disney Channel

Before I start, I would like to apologize for being out of my blog for about 8 months. I was very busy during these past few months and now that I have some time for myself, I'm back. This time, I will do more posts than I've mentioned in the first post. Now onto the fun!

Today, I've made a new segment on The Cartoon Central titled Reschedulin' the Schedule, where I post how a network can improve its schedule, as well as make fantasy schedules. Today, I am going to make this segment on Disney Channel, the channel that lost its Mickey Mouse charm.

Now there's a lot to work with Disney Channel. Recently, I took a look a its schedule and I gotta say, this is a mess. When watching this channel, every day you'll see 10 airings Jessie, 10 airings of Dog With a Blog, 10 airings of Good Luck Charlie and about one or two airings of Phineas & Ferb. Interestly, the only reruns of P&F you'll see right now are in the graveyard zone (though, Disney XD overplays P&F through the day sometimes). I find it funny that this is currently Disney Channel's (not Disney XD's) most popular hit and this get pushed to early morning hours (well, you can still see reruns airing in the day of the light, but that's happens occasionally) for less popular sitcoms like Dog With a Blog and A.N.T. Farm.

 Let's cut to the chase here: Good Luck Charlie, Jessie and Austin & Ally are now the network's top hits, however since they're live action, they (along with the others) get most airtime on the schedule. Come on, DC, give the cartoons some airtime as well! P&F is still popular, it should be getting more reruns. Gravity Falls is now on hiatus and it wouldn't hurt to give this show at least a weekday run. It has enough episodes and it would keep the fans some company until season two arrives. And why is the animated tweencom Fish Hooks being shoved at 5AM? So far the only cartoon you're giving some reruns is Wander Over Yonder, but why give the other three more expose. They're your shows.

Now I have nothing against these post-Hannah Montana sitcoms, but I personally think they're stupid, unfunny and dull, especially the recent ones. The characters make lame jokes as if they're being forced to. The only sitcom I find semi-decent is Good Luck Charlie. It has its moments and has gotten past the radar. But let's save that for another post later, the point is Disney Channel should limit the number of reruns for its sitcoms and give more expose for its animation in its schedule. Shows that have less than 20 episodes should be exclusive to weekends, but can have an encore on one or two selected days during the week. Shows that have 20-40 episodes should also be exclusive to weekends, but can get 1-2 reruns a day on the weekdays. Shows with 40-65 episodes can have 2-4 airings a day. And shows with 65+ episodes may have 4-7 airings a day. If DC has extra space, it could try to air shows from Disney XD or air some of its older programming during the graveyard hours.

Another thing I would like to point out: the Walt Disney animated shorts. It's a shame that the Mouse House won't let their shorts air on Disney Channel anymore. The shorts did help Disney Channel become successful. Maybe if they keep the new Mickey Mouse shorts air during the day and air the theatrical classic shorts during the graveyard hours (around 11PM or so), it would be a treat.

And now here's how I would schedule Disney Channel if this was today:

Weekdays:
6:00AM Phineas & Ferb
6:30AM Fish Hooks
7:00AM Jessie
7:30AM Dog with a Blog
8:00AM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
8:30AM Jake and the Neverland Pirates
9:00AM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
9:30AM Sofia the First
10:00AM Doc McStuffins
10:30AM Henry Hugglemonster
11:00AM Jake and the Neverland Pirates
11:30AM Octonauts
12:00PM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
12:30PM Doc McStuffins
1:00PM Movie / Rotating Series
3:00PM Kickin' It (The show airing on DC could boost the show's ratings on XD)
3:30PM Lab Rats (Same reason)
4:00PM Good Luck Charlie
4:30PM A.N.T. Farm
5:00PM Gravity Falls
5:30PM Phineas & Ferb
6:00PM Good Luck Charlie
6:30PM Jessie
7:00PM Austin & Ally
7:30PM Dog with a Blog
8:00PM Movie / Rotating Series
10:00PM Phineas & Ferb
10:30PM Good Luck Charlie
11:00PM Jessie
11:30PM A.N.T. Farm
12:00AM Good Luck Charlie
12:30AM Good Luck Charlie
1:00AM Shake It Up!
1:30AM A.N.T. Farm
2:00AM The Suite Life of Deck
2:30AM The Suite Life of Deck
3:00AM Wizards of Waverly Place
3:30AM Wizards of Waverly Place
4:00AM That's So Raven
4:30AM Kim Possible
5:00AM Lizzie McGuire
5:30AM Even Stevens

Fridays:
8:00PM A.N.T. Farm
8:30PM Jessie / Dog with a Blog
9:00PM Wander Over Yonder
9:15PM Fish Hooks / Phineas & Ferb
9:30PM Fish Hooks / Liv & Maddie
10:00PM Dog with a Blog
10:30PM Good Luck Charlie
11:00PM Gravity Falls
11:30PM Wander Over Yonder
12:00AM Phineas & Ferb
12:30AM Jessie
1:00AM Dog with a Blog
1:30AM A.N.T. Farm
2:00AM Jessie

Saturdays:
6:00AM Octonauts
6:30AM Henry Hugglemonster
7:00AM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
7:30AM Doc McStuffins
8:00AM Jake and the Neverland Pirates
8:30AM Sofia the First
9:00AM Phineas & Ferb
9:30AM Fish Hooks
10:00AM Wander Over Yonder
10:30AM Jessie
11:00AM Dog with a Blog
11:30AM Liv & Maddie
12:00PM Rotating Series
1:30PM Rotating Series
3:00PM Jessie
3:30PM Jessie
4:00PM Phineas & Ferb
4:30PM Phineas & Ferb
5:00PM Good Luck Charlie
5:30PM Good Luck Charlie
6:00PM Austin & Ally
6:30PM Austin & Ally
7:00PM Dog with a Blog
7:30PM Dog with a Blog
8:00PM Movie / Rotating Series
10:00PM Mighty Med
10:30PM Lab Rats
11:00PM A.N.T. Farm
11:30PM Shake It Up!
12:00AM Good Luck Charlie
12:30AM Gravity Falls
1:00AM Austin & Ally
1:30AM Jessie
2:00AM Phineas & Ferb
2:30AM Movie
4:00AM The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
4:30AM Hannah Montana
5:00AM Phil of the Future
5:30AM The Proud Family

Sundays:
6:00AM Octonauts
6:30AM Henry Hugglemonster
7:00AM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
7:30AM Doc McStuffins
8:00AM Jake and the Neverland Pirates
8:30AM Sofia the First
9:00AM Phineas & Ferb
9:30AM Gravity Falls
10:00AM Jessie
10:30AM Good Luck Charlie
11:00AM Austin & Ally
11:30AM Shake It Up!
12:00PM Rotating Series
1:30PM Rotating Series
3:00PM Dog with a Blog
3:30PM Dog with a Blog
4:00PM A.N.T. Farm
4:30AM A.N.T. Farm
5:00PM Good Luck Charlie
5:30PM Good Luck Charlie
6:00PM Jessie
6:30PM Jessie
7:00PM Austin & Ally
7:30PM Good Luck Charlie
8:00PM Liv & Maddie
8:30PM Austin & Ally
9:00PM Wander Over Yonder
9:30PM Liv & Maddie
10:00PM Phineas & Ferb
10:30PM Phineas & Ferb
11:00AM Dog with a Blog
11:30PM Jessie
12:00AM Good Luck Charlie
12:30AM Good Luck Charlie
1:00AM Shake It Up!
1:30AM A.N.T. Farm
2:00AM The Suite Life of Deck
2:30AM Movie
4:00AM The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
4:30AM Hannah Montana
5:00AM Phil of the Future
5:30AM The Proud Family

Now that's a good schedule.

Another Pony Show? This Time the Ponies are transformed into Humans!? Yuck.

On Toon Zone's The Hub forum, there has been news that a spin-off to the 2010 favorite My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will debut in Spring 2014, titled Equestira Girls. The storyline will feature the pony characters disgusted as humans, and with Spike becoming a dog...

Here's my reaction:

One word: Eww!

Sure, we have fan art, but based on the designs I've seen, this is really disgusting. What's even worse is that the ponies' skin color from My Little Pony will exist in their human forms. AND what's even more worse is that Spike will be a dog in the series. I think I need a shower now...

I mean, no, I don't think we should have a series about human-yet-disgusted ponies going to school with their pet Spike. I'm sorry, but judging by its image, I won't tune into this. I think having a spin-off will only make it worse...UNLESS the designs are intintal and will be changed again in the near future and Spike's personality as a dog will be similar like Brain's from Family Guy. Then maybe, I repeat, maybe, I'll check Equestira Girls out. But, personaility, I think having one Pony show at a time makes more sense.


But those designs...it's making my eyes bleed!!!

How is Cartoon Network's Saturday morning lineup boring?

Sorry for not posting here for awhile, as to being busy with school, but there's something I would like to post today. A poster on Toon Zone posted about how lame Cartoon Network's Saturday morning schedule is. Here's what he posted:

I apologize for doing a thread like this, but I must say, I think the worst programming block on Cartoon Network is on Saturday mornings, 7 AM to 12 PM. It's now all anime and action cartoons, many of them based on toy lines, including "Ben 10 Omniverse," "Young Justice," "Beyblade: Metal Fury," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Green Lantern," and "NINJAGO."
I actually saw some of "Ben 10" morning because nothing else was on TV, and I was bored out of my mind (just to see how bad they were!) Nothing really happened, it was just constant talking and some of the usual action sequences!
Sorry, but I have to agree with other people online on how Saturday morning cartoons have drastically changed. I still remember 10 years ago, Cartoon Network would have a two or three-hour Looney Tunes block on Saturday mornings, but not anymore. I feel sorry for kids that, instead of growing up eating sugary cereals watching funny, semi-educational or even remotely entertaining cartoons, children will just be having bacon and sausage and fatty pork products for breakfast while nothing plays on TV but droning talking and stereotypical action sequences on animation that is secretly plugging the toy lines they are based off of, as well as forced edutainment and news in terms of live-action.

 Here's what I say to that:


You're not being forced to watch Cartoon Network's action shows. You're not a kid. Those shows were designed for kids and teens. CN doesn't care about you if you're not a child. However, I will say this: Ben 10, Pokemon, Beyblade, NinjaGo, Bakugan and DC Nation does well among kids, so they're not going anywhere on Saturday mornings. The network tried airing action shows on a Friday night, but that plan failed; SatAM is the only place you can watch action shows on CN. Which brings me to the next question: What else is CN suppose to air on Saturday mornings?

Well, the network could try airing its Monday night comedies such as Adventure Time, Regular Show and MAD, as well as Johnny Test, The Looney Tunes Show and The Amazing World of Gumball, but the audience will eventually get worn out from the shows and move on, as the shows can be seen on the network daily (two of them are currently overplayed). CN can't play a 2- to 3-hour block of Looney Tunes on SatAM. One hour (which CN actually does air for it an hour on the weekends at 6 AM) works fine and will bring up decent ratings, but 3 hours is alot. A SpongeBob Squarepants or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles repeat will do so much better than a 60-year-old repeat of Looney Tunes and CN knows this. A Saturday morning lineup should have a lineup full of fresh and new content on kids networks. I mean, nostalgia is fine, but it won't last very long and people eventually move on.

Is Cartoon Network's Saturday morning lineup boring? Yes, a little. To help the lineup boost up ratings a bit, I recommend putting early morning repeats of older yet still quite popular Cartoon-Cartoons like Dexter's Laboratory and Chowder before the likes of Pokemon and Beyblade begins. Or air encores of one of the network's top hits like Adventure Time and Regular Show, say at around 7 AM (CN airs Johnny Test during that time, so why can't it do the same for those two?).

Like I said, you don't have to watch CN's offer of SatAM action/toy-based-themed shows. If you want to see Looney Tunes on Saturdays, then buy yourself a collection of its shorts from DVDs/Blu-rays. Or watch another channel. Or just sleep in.

What to do with Nickelodeon?

Nickelodeon has been struggling with the ratings since late 2010/early 2011. Let's face it, the network needs more diversity in its weekday lineup instead of 10 showings of SpongeBob a day. Not only that, but it needs to stop making last-minute schedule updates. Just last week, it pulled love-themed episodes of T.U.F.F. Puppy and The Penguins of Madagascar for (guess what?) more SpongeBob. Also, its nighttime block, nick@nite needs some retooling. I think Nick should consider making more programming block to organize its schedule. Here's my plans/ideas for the network.

*Girl-centric block: Yeah. I think an idea like that would work. A girl-centric block would air at an earlier time (say about 11:00 or 12:00) on Sunday mornings. The programming in this block would consist of Winx Club (already airs on Sundays, but not doing so well lately airing at 1:00) and a Barbie or Monster High movie. The block will last for about 2 hours, depending on how long the movie is.

*Friday night cartoon block: Now with TMNT doing decent on Fridays, it's time to expand the lineup. Not sure about scheduling the lineup yet, but I know there will be new episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants, The Fairly OddParents, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, T.U.F.F. Puppy, Robot and Monster and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with new series such as Sanjay and Craig, Raving Rabbits and Monsters vs. Aliens. This could be a revival to the defunct cartoon block Friday Night Nicktoons.

*Movie night block: A movie block could air on Monday nights at 8. Films such as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, CatDog: The Great Parent Mystery, The Rugrats Movie, Fred: The Movie (ugh!) and the like are welcomed. Oh, and just next week, Nick is airing Over the Hedge for the first time. Maybe Nick should acquire some movies from Dreamworks.

*Live-afternoon weekday block: Already announced, though it's not offical yet. I would love to see that. It'll be a great way to package other shows besides the ol' mighty sponge. A revival to U-Pick Live would be awesome. Just like the old days of Nick. IMO, I think it would air better around 4 or 5 every weekday afternoon, when kids come home.

*Sunday marathon block: I think it'll be a good idea for fans if they want to catch up on their favorite shows. Nick should get this idea.

We'll those are my hopes for Nick this year. From what I've seen recently, it's doing a great job with the advertising and the promoting.

Powerpuff Girls are back...as a CGI special

This had made my day.

As CN reveal its 2013-14 lineup at the upfront, it mentioned a revival special to The Powerpuff Girls (smiley face).

However, instead of the ol' tradition animation art, Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan) had said that the revival will be in CG animation (frowny face).

Now it's not what you think. I think I don't mind seeing the PPGs in CG. As long as the quality is good and is inspired by the original series, I have no problem seeing the special not animated in hand-drawn.

I'm sure most of you know why CGI is everywhere. Well, 1) It brings in money and puts bottoms into seats. 2) It's a money-saver, which isn't expensive as hand-drawn/traditional animation. And 3) People just wants to try new things. CGI can be as good as hand-drawn animation: Just watch this to prove I'm right:

 

 Beware the Batman (2013)

 

 

Fanboy & Chum Chum (2009)

See? That wasn't bad as I though. I told you I was right. Any kind of animation: Flash, CG, Hand-drawn, Tradition are always welcomed to the public, as long as it's good. And to those who won't prove that I'm right...then stop complaining and just don't watch any CG-animated shows.

With that said, I'm looking forward to the new PPG special as the original cast will be back to play their roles. Everything else on CN's upfront looks great...well, except for the live-action.

Something Funny's Going On Around Here...

That's right, folks, prepare to laugh.

 A poster (eh, what the heck, we'll call him Retro-Nerd) on the Cartoon Network forum on Toon Zone yesterday posted some ridiculous statements on how to improve Cartoon Network by the end of this year. I laughed. I know most of those statements will never happen in reality. Never. Retro-Nerd most likely had  noggin on his head at that time of his posting. So for fun, I had to point out my 2 cents with this guy, along with some fun elements. Just remember, My text is in green, while Retro-Nerd's text is in white:

-Add an airing of the classic Looney Tunes in the evening like between 6 and 8pm.

I agree with you on that. It would be great if CN added an extra airing of Looney Tunes before Adult Swim starts. I'll give you points on that one.

  - Bring the classic Warner Bros. cartoons back to the schedule such as Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, and Tom and Jerry Kids.

CN isn't going back to the late 90's to early 00's era. The network would have to pay a fine to air those shows you mentioned and the viewers would eventually get bored of these shows. The Hub getting the Silver Age shows is more likely (considering that Animaniacs is already airing on the network). Boomerang, less likely, but more likely than Cartoon Network.

- Like another poster said, make Cartoon Network for all ages and not just a selected few. They can do that by adding some of the following: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Popeye, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, 2 Stupid Dogs, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and even the original Scooby-Doo series to the schedule. However, the primary focus should remain on kids and tweens.

Some of the shows you mentioned will probably never show up on CN again. Shows like Dexter's Lab, The Powerpuff Girls and Johnny Bravo will occasionally appear on CN's schedule during the non-peaking hours. The rest seems Boomerang material.

  - Cancel Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Ben 10.

Sorry, Professor Birdbrain, but Adventure Time, Ben 10 and The Amazing World of Gumball aren't going anywhere as long as they earn ratings and put butts into seats. Seems to me you want these shows to go away then them leaving the network for a better improvement. If you don't like them, don't watch them. Problem solved.

 Here's the problem: I don't get why so many people hate the new and modern shows rather than the "classic" ones. Personally, I hated some shows not only from the 10's and the 00's, but from the 90's and beyond as well. No era of cartoons is perfect. You ever figure that, Sharky?

- Air a family-friendly movie (animated and live-action), at least, twice a week. The movies can range from The Goonies to Space Jam to The Mighty Ducks to Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Finding Nemo to The Nutty Professor to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ect.

Animated movies are always welcomed by the network, even ones that are live-action in a cartoony way, but movies like The Goonies and The Nutty Professor are out as they have nothing to do with cartoons, nor they are animated. And Finding Nemo, seriously? The Mouse House is never going to loan its hit movies to a rival. Putting films owned by Disney/Pixar on a non-Disney channel is like having dogs fly in space. Not gonna happen. Period.

- Develop game shows and live-action scripted series for the network. All must be family-oriented.

We don't want to have non-animated live-action projects on CARTOON Network. Hence the word 'cartoon', sonny. People watch Cartoon Network for a reason: cartoons. It's like people watching The FOOD Network for recipes, cooking tips, etc. or watching Fox Reality for reality shows. Level Up and Hall of Game Awards has no reason to show up on CARTOON Network. They're not cartoons!

And you didn't get me at "family-oriented", which could possibly mean a bad move for the network

- Have Cartoon Network run from 5am to 8pm and Adult Swim from 8pm to 5am. Fill the 5am hour with either more Looney Tunes or the classic Hanna-Barbara cartoons or the classic Warner Bros. Cartoons.

Um, no. We're trying to cut time from Adult Swim, not extend more. CN won't be using the 8pm hour for AS. CN is using it for the hit shows (Regular Show, Adventure Time). CN losing that hour to AS would bring down ratings. And Looney Tunes already airs early in the morning at 6:00 daily. No need to get the 5AM hour for more LT.

  - Drop the name "Cartoon Network" to reflect a change in direction and the inclusion of more variety in programming.

*gasp*

You're kidding, right? There is NO flippin' way in a billion years that Turner would drop the "Cartoon Network" name for improvement's sake. That would be like turning PBS into a music video network a la MTV. And so, you are trying to be the smartest person in the world, yet you fail every time. How does that feel?

- Devote, at least, two hours to educational programming each week. Programs such as Mr. Wizard, Bill Nye the Science Guy, The Magic School Bus, Beakman's World, ect. would fit the bill for this type of programming.

 Disagree. CN isn't going to turn into an education network a la PBS and History. CN did try that experience with preschool shows to compete with Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney back in 2005, but that bombed. Turner is not going to do that with Cartoon Network, as well as Boomerang. Besides that, Bill Nye the Science Guy is owned by Disney, which, like I said, will never trade its property with a non-Disney channel. Same deal with Mr. Wizard's World (which happens to be owned by Viacom).

 - Run fifteen to thirty-second ads/messages that promote diversity, anti-bullying, healthy living (such as daily exercise), abstinence/safe sex, anti-drugs, anti-violence, time with family, and education.

Dude, CN does some anti-bullying advertising from time to time. But then again, you're pushing it by turning Cartoon Network into PBS. Also not gonna happen.

It seems like you're trying to turn Cartoon Network into a family-oriented network. While that's not gonna happen before we a McDonald's restaurant in the moon, CN is doing fine right now. Just some improvements the network needs to do like extending Adult Swim less time and/or giving up on live-action. Your statements on how to improve CN won't happen in the future, yet you come to the forum to start up some nonsense. I might suggest you to go back to cartoon school to learn more about CN and what things it has to improve. But did you get your degrees from Bugs Bunny yet? I guess not...

The Looney Tunes Show: Very Looney Indeed!

As I told you earlier, I'm doing reviews on today's cartoons, so here's the first.  

The Looney Tunes Show is a cartoon produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on May 3, 2011 with the episode "Best Friends". It centers on roommates Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck living in a house on a suburban. Each episode sees Bugs, Daffy, Porky and company facing 'real-life' situations rather than the concept seen on the Looney Tunes shorts.

Personally, The Looney Tunes Show was OK during its first season, but became better during its second. The best of the series was "Costume Service", where Cecil Turtle appeared. Not only that, but the original formula seen on Looney Tunes (where goofy Bugs fools around with an antagonist) was used for this episode.

My favorite character of TLTS is Lola. Over Space Jam's Lola or The Looney Tunes Show's Lola, I'll choose TLTS's. Her personally is so wacky and ditsy. I like wacky and ditsy. 

Some haters of the show call it 'fake rip-offs from the original' or 'the worst show ever'.

Really? The worst show ever? Have you ever seen this?...

Loonatics Unleashed was a fraud. It wasn't very 'looney' compared to TLTS. It stunk so bad, I can't even remember the last time I watched it. Let's face it, Loonatics was just a big bowl of trash (to me at least).

Back to TLTS, it had some improvements during its 2nd season. Daffy became less of a jerk, Sam used guns and Bugs tricked Cecil Turtle. But here comes tragedy...

The Looney Tunes Show just needs one thing: more Looney Tunes characters. Where's Elmer Frud? Petunia Pig? Road Runner (in 2-D)? Dinno.

Overall, The Looney Tunes Show deserves an A-. Not perfect, but it could be a lot worse...

 

Yeah, that right. I'm looking at you.

Welcome to the Cartoon Central

Hi,

My name is CartoonLover (or Brandon in reality). I am a Toon Zone poster who started on December 11, 2011. I'm a thirteen-year-old boy who enjoys cartoon, as well as live-action sitcoms (well, some of them). I'm also involved in playing soccer, cooking, helping others and video gaming.  As you can see, I created a blog today titled The Cartoon Central. TCC is a blog where I can post about today's cartoons. In fact, I'm planning to do one today, so stay tuned.

I promise TCC will be fun and exciting. There will be laughs. And there will be comedy. I will also do some sort of a 'trivia/facts' game(s) in the future.

Also notice that I won't be posting TCC daily, most likely twice a month. Comments will be open, of course. I will also continue to post on Toon Zone.

Well, guys, see ya later.