Hey everybody. What you are about to read was a post I had intended to put in TigerInTheShadow's chat thread, but I figured it was more fitting for its own thread. It's a bunch of rants I've intended to make regarding some of the things Warner Bros. has been doing recently. And given that this is a forum for my favorite of their shows, this seemed like a good place to post those rants.
The new KidsWB.com
As you know, the Kids' WB! programming block aired its final broadcast last month, but Warner Bros. decided to keep the name alive in the form of the website, now rebranded as an online network. Sadly, this new version of Kids' WB! just isn't a good enough replacement for the long-running cartoon block it's named after. The cartoons featured on the site consist of "Looney Tunes", "Duck Dodgers", "ˇMucha Lucha!", several of the DC Comics shows, and for whatever reason, a bunch of the Hanna-Barbera library (most of which never had anything to do with the original Kids' WB!). What's missing from there? If you guessed "Animaniacs", "Tiny Toons", "Histeria!", "Pinky and the Brain", "Freakazoid!", "The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries", "Road Rovers", and "Taz-Mania", you'd be right. Heck, "Animaniacs" is the very reason Kids' WB! even came into existence in the first place, so how can they leave that show out of the new Kids' WB!, but they can include a bunch of acquired shows that are already on another Internet network (In2TV) themselves? (And speaking of which, why are they using an off-model version of Ranger Smith from "Yogi Bear" for that character's graphics?) Granted, the word "Beta" is included in the site logo, so maybe they plan to put those shows on there sometime later in the year. Personally, though, I would've preferred they just turn Kids' WB! into its own cable channel, seeing how that's what they did with FOX Kids on the other side of the world (granted, it ended up becoming Jetix, but still...), and have it show every Warner Bros. cartoon show made, like how Toon Disney was in its early years.
Boomerang's programming
Another reason Warner Bros. Animation needs their own Old Toon Disney-like channel lies in what they're putting on Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang. Boomerang's meant to show older programming that the regular Cartoon Network no longer has time for. Recently, though, they seem to be ditching that, because I've noticed that they've been airing "Duck Dodgers", "Justice League Unlimited", "The Batman", and "Krypto the Superdog" on there, even though none of them are more than five years old. Why are they showing these, but they can't run "Freakazoid!" or "Histeria!"? Don't give me that "those cartoons feature classic characters, so they count" crap; if that were true, they'd be showing "Taz-Mania", which is definitely older than "Duck Dodgers".
The "Scooby-Doo" D2Vs
Like the odd assortment of shows on KidsWB.com, this one is also the result of Warner Bros. owning Hanna-Barbera. Since 1998, they've been putting out direct-to-video movies starring the "Scooby-Doo" characters, which in turn led to them making two live-action movies and two new shows with the characters. In fact, Warner Bros. Animation has made more direct-to-video movies of "Scooby-Doo" than any of the other cartoons they own. I'm serious; by comparison, they've only made two direct-to-video "Looney Tunes" movies (not counting the theatrical ones; adding to that, the former of the two is more of a follow-up to "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries", and the latter is more the length of a TV special), one "Tiny Toons" movie, one "Animaniacs" movie, and one "ˇMucha Lucha!" movie. The fact that the bulk of WB Animation's direct-to-video output features "Scooby-Doo", a cartoon that used the same basic plot in EVERY FRIGGIN' EPISODE, is especially annoying when you take into account that they didn't create those characters. And the "Tom and Jerry" D2Vs they've been making in recent years, while not as plentiful, are even worse; they're just really long chase sequences, which is nothing new for the cat-and-mouse team. By comparison, I actually think the theatrical "Tom and Jerry" movie that was released in 1993, the one everybody claims to hate, is actually better than these simply because it has a plot. It just doesn't make any sense to me as to why Warner Bros. Animation would make movies out of cartoons they acquired rather than making movies based off of the shows they made. I mean, would it honestly kill Warner Bros. if they made a movie starring, say, the "Histeria!" characters or Freakazoid? Oh, and for the record, I don't have as much of a problem with the DC Comics-based D2Vs, since those were mostly follow-ups to the shows they made with the DC Comics characters.
"Tom & Jerry Tales"
And on the subject of "Tom & Jerry", I gotta mention the new show the characters have been starring in on Kids' WB!, and which surprisingly stayed around on The CW4Kids. I haven't watched it much, but I've read that it does a good job recapturing the flavor of the original cartoon shorts. Which brings me to my point - if Warner Bros. can make new "Tom & Jerry" just like the kind that Hanna & Barbera used to make, why can't they do the same with their own characters?! I mean, they bastardized "Looney Tunes" in the form of that "Loonatics Unleashed" series, and for what? Just because barely anybody went to see "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"? Is this the same reason why they can't make new cartoons with the "Animaniacs" and "Histeria!" characters?
"Tiny Titans" and "Super Friends"
"Teen Titans" and "Justice League Unlimited" were canceled back in 2006, but DC Comics managed to keep the comic books based on those shows in publication... until recently. I mean, it was inevitable that they'd have to cancel those comics, but do you know what they're replacing them with? Well, to put it frankly, the answer ain't pretty. "Teen Titan Go!"'s replacement is titled "Tiny Titans", and the easiest way to describe it is that it's a cross between "Teen Titans" and "Muppet Babies", which if you ask me is an even worse use of the "cartoon characters as babies" idea than "Baby Looney Tunes". I mean, seriously, it's got the Titans as elementary school students, and Slade as their teacher; that's just stupid. And then there's the comic that meant to replace "Justice League Unlimited" - "Super Friends". Despite the title, it's not based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoons where the Justice League was called that, but rather this kid-friendly toy line that Mattel is making of the characters. Looking at the drawing style, this one doesn't seem as babyish as "Tiny Titans", but I still think it's a poor excuse to can the comic formerly known as "Justice League Adventures", which, unlike "Teen Titans Go!", didn't even make it to 50 issues. Given that these are kiddie versions of comics based on action-oriented cartoons, the kind meant for big kids, I wouldn't be surprised if "Tiny Titans" and "Super Friends" end up being canceled before this decade is out.
The "Loonatics Unleashed" DVD sets
When TVShowsOnDVD.com let it be known that Warner Bros. had announced a DVD set for the first season of "Loonatics Unleashed", I couldn't believe it. I mean, did anyone actually like this show? I'm pretty sure they didn't. I can understand releasing DVD sets for "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends", since those shows actually have the popularity to justify their releases (most of it probably being from kids who have the same IQ as Fred Fredburger and Cheese), but the only people who'd buy "Loonatics Unleashed" DVDs would be the idiots who actually petitioned that it not be canceled (which it thankfully was). So why does this show gets its entire run on DVD, but "Histeria!" doesn't?! Surely "Histeria!" is more popular than "Loonatics Unleashed".
Too many cartoons to put out
If there's any good reason "Histeria!" hasn't yet been released on DVD, I blame it on the fact that Warner Home Video owns the DVD rights to too many cartoons. I've taken a count, and out of all the cartoon shows Warner Home Video put out in DVD sets, about two dozen of them are Hanna-Barbera shows, and in addition to their own DC Comics-based cartoons, they've been releasing DVDs of all the older DC Comics shows (except the 1960s Batman series, as 20th Century FOX owns the rights to that) as well. Plus, they apparently also managed to get the DVD rights to the Adult Swim shows (except of course for those that come from FOX), all of the "Popeye" cartoons, and most recently, the "Peanuts" specials. Meanwhile, in all this, there's been five four-disc sets for the "Looney Tunes" shorts, and they still have yet to finish releasing "Animaniacs". And they're only now getting around to releasing "Tiny Toons" and "Freakazoid!" next month, and "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries" in September. How much does anyone wanna bet that these shows and the other Kids' WB! classics would be out much sooner if Time-Warner wasn't acquiring so many other cartoons?
"Freakazoid!"'s DVD set
And speaking of the "Tiny Toons" and "Freakazoid!" DVDs, I have to make note about the fact that the "Tiny Toons" set, labeled as "Season 1, Volume 1" is going to contain the first 35 episodes of the show. By comparison, the "Animaniacs" volumed sets had 25 episodes each, which would mean the show's 99 episodes would've been covered in four volumes. Even though it's too early to tell, fans figure that the "Tiny Toons" set having more episodes is so that Warner Bros. can release the entirety of "Tiny Toons"' 98-episode run in three sets as opposed to four. (Keep in mind that there's a chance seasons 2 and 3 will be released individually.) But then, why have they decided to split "Freakazoid!", which had only 24 episodes, over two seasonal sets when they could easily release it in one Complete Series set? Well, I'm told that it's to generate a lower price tag and make it easier to sell, but I have doubts about that. For one thing, the SRP for "Freakazoid!"'s set is $27, but the DVD set they're releasing of "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries", which contains the same number of episodes - 13. Adding insult to injury, the "Freakazoid!" set contains one of show's re-arranged filler episodes that serves no point to being on the set other than to waste disc space. If that episode is there so that they could put both parts of "The Chip" (episodes 6 and 7) on disc 2, I don't buy that excuse, because looking at the "Tiny Toons" having eight episodes per disc, they could just as easily have put that two-parter at the end of disc 1, and as a result could've saved disc 2 from having to be a flipper disc. But no. Getting back to "Freakazoid!" being released as two seasonal sets, a similar problem appears to be going on with the 52-episode run of "The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries", which will apparently be released as four two-disc sets instead of two four-disc sets. It's for that reason I worry that this will also be the kind of DVD treatment "Histeria!" will end up getting when they release it...
Well, that's about all I can say for now. There might've been more to rant about, but I have to get to bed now...
I have a few rants myself...it be about...fandom! Because I'm just your fandom and grammar expert over here.
Histeria! fandom:
Why is there so little of it? JusSonic, robert, and those of us who can actually think of a good, original, and intelligable plot (although I was hurt with all the grammar mistakes, but those were GREAT plots, which outweighs those mistakes) do all the work! Start talkin'! Why are you peoples not writing (not you gahs here at ze forum, other peoples)? Maybe because the WB has brainwashed you with junk like " Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue" and "Loonatics Unleashed." -screams and writhes in agony- No offense to you guys who liked it, but why are you writing for shows that no one really liked anyway? Those shows didn't have as long a run as Histeria! anyway (the whole "Loonatics Unleashed" run was on 2 DVD sets with thirteen episodes each. As long as I've been able to remember, 13 plus 13 equals 26. Histeria! got 52 episodes). So spill!
Warriors fandom:
This is going to be long, because there's really a lot to rant about.
Part I: Prophecies
Oh...my...holy...fish nuggets. You people are just getting more and more annoying with your prophecies. The Erins are, too, so it's not just you. Here's an example:
Out of the mist and storm,
Two nekos will rise,
Born of strength and courage,
Both cats of green eyes.
Please, don't tear apart the fandom with fics that include a prophecy--especially one that doesn't even make sense.
Out of the mist and storm,
Okay, I know exactly where this is going. You, Mist Lionshade, and your bestestestestestestest buddy Storm Midnight are bestestestestest friends, so you decided to put yourselves in the story. Don't do that. Self-insert is okay only for those who know who to use it properly. You do not.
Two nekos will rise,
Nekos? First of all, these are WILD cats, not anthropomorphic ones. They haven't a clue what a Neko is. Second of all, even if they did, Nekos are Japanese cats, whereas Warriors is set in Europe. How do I know this? Because the towns that are shown in the handy-dandy human map of the territories doesn't have towns labeled with names like "Hiroshima" or "Nagasaki." They have names like "Hadlow" and "Whitchurch." So therefore, you cannot use nekos in a story unless you're talking about a different set of Clans in Japan.
Born of strength and courage,
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Every prophecy talks about a big, bold, brave cat who comes to save them from every impending trouble. What about a shy, drawn-back cat that no one wouldexpect would save them? A cat who believes that the Clans should fend for themselves? These are the cats you should put in a prophecy, if you're going to kill your story with one.
Both cats of green eyes.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. That's how they'll recognize the cats, right? Why don't you people make it obscure? Because the story said that the only cat in the Clan with green eyes was an elder. Why not make it a cat with generally common features, so it will be harder to recognize that cat? These are some ideas the Erins might should take as well.
Part II: Create-a-Cat
Okay, here's an idea: Why don't you people let others think of their own cat names? That way they can think of names using their own creativity rather than you doing all the work for them, nt to mention the fact that it saves the canon and your profile from Frankenfics like those.
Part III: Every lead cat becomes leader and saves the forest
This is another important issue needed to be cleared up, because maybe not every cat is destined to become an oh-so-FANTABULOUS leader. Brambleclaw was a lead cat. He did not become leader, and he doesn't look as if he's in a hurry to do so, either. That's what makes him awesome.
Part IV: Stories themselves
Every day I see stories that go a little like this, complete with incredibly atrocious grammar that I can't even read:
once opon uh tim der wus a kat namd starpaw. she wuz lyk zomsc supa amizin an she becam a war10r in lyk 1 ntir day an gt hr war10r name starfur. den she lyk fited 3 lyuns an 3 tygrs an 3 leperds an wun! den she becam dputy an she wuz lyk da most bootifulest she-cat in da forest an al da toms fll 4 hr. den her leder dyd trajickally an she becam da thundrcln leder. horay! she wuz da bestestestestestestestestestestest leder eva!
da end.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! DIS IS LYK MA 7TH STRY! I WILL MAYK TYGRSTR EAT ANY OF U M3333333333333N FLAMURZ!
I'm completely serious. I've actually seen people like that.
I have more rants...well, maybe not. But if I did, I'd post them later, anyway.
Because I was WAY to lazy to post them with the original.
Part V: About eighty gazorninplat freakin' OC's:
You guys here at the forum may not know this, considering I have yet to recognize anyone for noticing the Warriors fandom at FFN, but there are about 50,000 Warriors OC's out there, maybe more, and counting! And they all pretty much have one central topic: To be the heroic leader, most likely for ThunderClan, and save the forest from deadly evil and earn every cat's respect. I've got news: It's getting really, really, OLD. The fact that you people apparently can't try to make up a story about the series from another cat's point of view or make up a poem about the series well enough to save your lives is really, really sad. Maybe you should let the Erins take over on that field, although if certain writers were writing now instead of them, there would be several noticable changes for the good (like maybe NOT making ShadowClan the enemy of the forest? I was so relieved when I read Outcast and Lionpaw noticed that the ShadowClan camp wasn't that much different than in any other Clan).
Part VI: Impossible names
You know, if you fanfic authors could actually do some research on how the world of the Warriors really and truly works, there wouldn't be that much of a problem on this particular subject, now, would there?
And some of you complain how people use names like "Dragonfur," "Starheart," or "Vanillawhisker" in their stories, and then you turn right around and use names like "Oceaneye" or "Raccoonheart" or "Germanwing." If you don't like it, why turn around and do the same thing yourself? I really don't care how cool Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosispaw is, her name is too freakin' long!
Part VII: Impossible Clan names
Ah, here's another one that might require some research. In fact, why use different Clans (other than, say, TigerClan, LionClan, and LeopardClan) at all? I have yet to figure out what you fic writers think is so horrible about ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. There's names like "OceanClan," "ShipClan," "SugarClan," "GrapeClan," "FrenchbraidClan," and other stupid names for Clans! I couldn't care less how totally awesome those Clans are, they need to split up and get their own lives.
Part VIII (or it could be IX, I really don't care by now): Every lead cat in a story is headstrong, stubborn, and makes it a hobby on thechecklist of theirs to break the warrior code
Every story about ThunderClan has one. Just because the same was true about Firestar and Squirrelflight does not mean the same should be true for every lead cat in a dang story! People wonder why I love ShadowClan so dearly; well, now you have a reason.
Part IX: SHADOWCLAN! DEY BE EBUL! RUN 4 UR LIVES!
What is the problem with ShadowClan, other than the fact that they're a little too aggressive about following the warrior code? They follow the code, they do everything they're supposed to do...what's the big deal? Sure, they've got enough territory. We all know. Who cares? ThunderClan needs a little beating now and then. They're a bunch of pansies!
Part X: Reviews
Now, I have no problam with positive feedback--or negative feedback, if it's done in the right way. But what I do have a problen with authors who beg in a very atrocious, all capitalized way for people to review, and when they get positive feedback, they cheer for joy, but when they get one negative review, they go, "U FLAM#D MAH LYK 7TH SRY U M33N FLAMR! UR S0 M33333N!" Not everyone's going to like your stories. Suck it up.
I can honestly say that I hate reviews that go, "ur so aw3s0m3 ur lyk my m0st favr01t3 auth0r 3vr! update update update!" Even on my own stories. If I ever write a story and you think it's good, check to see any bad things about it. If there aren't any, think carefully on the story. What was it likee? Did you notice anything strange or a cliffhanger or something that needed to be fixed? If not, just tell me what you thought. If you see anything negative in the story (and not just one or two misspelled words or grammar mistakes, I'm talking about mistakes about as bad as a big old honkin' zit on your nose the night before picture day. Let me know. I much prefer criticizing feedback, but if you really liked the fic and want to let me know, tell me. I won't berate you for it. And just a few words of wisdon: Just because a bunch of n00bs tell you how "ttlly pwnsm ur fic iz an u shuld rite more an bcom a prfeshnl athr" does not make it so. If the opinion is shared by many who truly can tell you this without just making it sound like they're being nice to you (not like it's bad, just saying), then it's most likely true.
And try not to beg for a review or three. People will review in their own good time.
And, finally, the part that you all knew was coming...
Part XI: Grammar and spelling
I addressed this in my earlier post a bit. I'm sorry to all of you who don't think that grammar online is really that big a deal, but I do. I just HATE stories that are full of grammar and spelling mistakes, poor sentence structure, and lines that couldn't make sense to a sedated clam. And that's what authors do.