What Happened to Cartoon Network?
Would you believe a solitary real world incident would significantly change the programming of an entire network? This morning on “X” a.k.a. Twitter, I noticed this post, recalling the misfiring of a publicity stunt on February 1, 2007:
TRAFON(s Backup Account)
@RiseFallNickBck
3:30 PM • Jan 31, 2024
•
191.6K Views
The Adult Swim “Boston Incident”, when Aqua Teen Hunger Force lite-brites were put up all over Boston overnight were mistaken for a Bomb Threat, happened 17 years ago today This event would essentially change Cartoon Network and the entire channel for a very long time.
This opened up the following thread:
Zack Friedman
@Xtitan92
We got CN Real because of this incident.
TRAFON(s Backup Account)
@RiseFallNickBck
Sadly we did… and cancelled series like Underfist
jirmy
@jeremystewart9
I really don’t think Underfist would have lasted that long anyway
TRAFON(s Backup Account)
@RiseFallNickBck
You may have a point but it was still cancelled due to this so it’s something you can say!
Taffy
@CandyOSC
I don’t understand how anyone would see this as a bomb threat
TRAFON(s Backup Account)
@RiseFallNickBck
It was unknown devices put up all over the city overnight that caused panic. I guess they should have also thought the PR stunt through a bit more
S0mecallme
@FEObsessive
Also it was the 2000s and bomb fears were still EXTREMELY prevalent. I remember in school every month we’d have a bomb drill
Taffy
@CandyOSC
I don’t understand how anyone would see this as a bomb threat
TRAFON(s Backup Account)
@RiseFallNickBck
It was unknown devices put up all over the city overnight that caused panic. I guess they should have also thought the PR stunt through a bit more
S0mecallme
@FEObsessive
Also it was the 2000s and bomb fears were still EXTREMELY prevalent. I remember in school every month we’d have a bomb drill
Kenny Mulvena
@kennethmulvena
The lost episode posted online (while was shelved unfinished) is legit one of the funniest episodes I ever saw.
LTisFine
@TodayImCalm
I can’t wait for the 6 part Hulu documentary on CN and this incident
Av
@MarioEmmet
We lost Fridays, Miguzi & Toonami because of that.
MegamanNG
@MegamanRA
And not for the better because the moment when Stu Snyder took over, everything went to hell. To be honest, CN should have at least gotten in touch with the government of Boston to at least ask for permission in doing this campaign and letting the public know.
Masterge77
@Masterge77
Cartoon Network would go downhill after this incident, and never really recovered. The fact the 2008 Writer’s Strike happened shortly afterwards didn’t help matters.
Hertion333
@DevinCr87019475
Sad this caused the downfall of Cartoon Network over the years, makes you wonder if they didn’t do this and what CN would become
SoggaWater2
@SoggaWaterCup2
My favorite part about this is how even after the police were told directly by the people responsible for the entire stunt that they weren’t bombs is that they then went on national TV and doubled down on how they were bombs and claimed that they were bombs for years
mr.banana
@piemantis
Sad
Zak Wolf (a.k.a. Sam Valentino)
@wiley207
I feel Jim Samples had already done quite a bit of damage to Cartoon Network with the “City” era. But then Stuart Snyder made things much worse.
SparktDog #FUGASWEEP
@SparktDog
We never recovered from this Thanks boston
Ryan (CEO of Perseverance)
@LilKingofHado
Yep, they overestimated ATHF’s recognizability and reach. No one was going to recognize a Mooninite if they hadn’t watched the show.
Bex Niccals
@BexNiccals
The Older Boston Folks At The Time Should Have Been Aware What Was Going On At That Time And Been More Aware Of The Marketing Behind The Signs. Other Cities Had Those Lights And There Wasn’t And Panic And Fear Happening In Those Places
[See Daily Press, February 2, 2007, “Where Boston Panicked, New York Merely Shrugged,” page A10.]
Brian Miller, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank from 2000 until 2021, gave this response to the posting of TRAFON(s Backup Account):
Brian A. Miller
@bfredmuggs
9:32 pm. January 31, 2024
True!
A Conversation with Marcia Lucas
On November 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. in the Carol L. Ellis Auditorium at Santa Rosa Junior College, Petaluma, California Campus, AV Film sponsored “A Conversation with Marcia Lucas,” the film editor who contributed significantly to American Graffiti, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Taxi Driver and Raiders of the Lost Ark. She is interviewed by AVFilm Executive Director Kathryn Hecht and Sundance Director Emeritus John Cooper. The presentation is now available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2CPTf5J_5g&t=73s
Special thanks to Dania Warburton, AVFilm Communications and Development Manager.
The Joker Meets Harley Quinn … in live action!
January 7, 2024.
At the 81st Annual Golden Global Awards, Barbie wins for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. The voice of the Joker, Mark Hamill, presents the award to the live-action Harley Quinn and Barbie, Margot Robbie.
Backstage, Robbie posed with Hamill. Source: The “It’s Mark Hamill” fan page, Facebook, posted January 8, 2024.
Also during the event, Hamill met Natalie Portman for the first time–the actress who played the mother of Luke Skywalker, Queen Amadala!
Hamill on Twitter (X), January 8:
Now I have finally met my “mother”, thanks to the @goldenglobes.
Life is full of surprises!
Batman: The Animated Interviews–Progress Report 12-16-2023
From Los Angeles Comic Con, December 2, 2023, Los Angeles Convention Center, Heroic Fine Art Gallery, booths 1865/1867. Left to right: Kevin Altieri, Dan Riba, Brad Rader, Alan Burnett. Photo © W. R. Miller.
I interviewed all of the above gentlemen for this project.
Finally, the text for the Unofficial Batman: The Animated Interviews, all five volumes, is complete. I submitted Volume Five today to the publisher, BearManor Media. So now, here is the update.
Volume One. Batman: The Animated Series, first season. Foreword by Batman scholar Robert Greenberger. Done.
Volume Two. Batman: The Animated Series, second season, Mask of the Phantasm, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero. Foreword by Robert Greenberger. Done.
Volume Three. The New Batman Adventures. Batman’s appearances in Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock. Mystery of the Batwoman. Gotham Girls. Foreword by Andrea Romano. Index in preparation.
Volume Four. Batman Beyond. Terry McGinnis’s appearances in the DCAU. Foreword by Joe R. Lansdale. Done.
Volume Five. Batman’s appearances in the Justice League. The Zeta Project. The legacy of Batman: The Animated Series and the DCAU. Foreword by Jerry Beck. Being typeset. Index in preparation.
More updates forthcoming!
Further details here.
David Michelinie and Bob Layton kill Janson!
December 1, 2023
This morning comics scribe Bob Layton tweeted he killed Wedge’s co-pilot, Janson! From Star Wars #78, published 30 years ago this month:
#FlashbackFriday: Published this month in 1983, @starwars #78 created a huge controversy decades later. According to critics, David & I screwed-up the entire canon by killing off Wedge’s co-piliot Janson. Need I remind them, Lucasfilm officially approved our story? @Marvel pic.twitter.com/EEIi65DNG8
— Bob Layton (@Bob_Layton) December 1, 2023
Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789
President George Washington.
The Thanksgiving Proclamation
City of New York, October 3, 1789.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
DC Heroes of the CW at the WB Store
November 13, 2023
This afternoon a friend and I visited the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank, where they were hosting their Annual Art Expo, mostly cels from Hanna-Barbera, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and other images.
The exhibit lasts/lasted from November 6 to November 19. If you timed your visit perfectly, you could get your purchase signed by animation notables such as Tom Ruegger, Darrell Van Citters, and Kevin Altieri.
Hours: 8:30am – 7:00pm daily. They say the exhibit is free, but what they don’t tell you is they charge $15.00 for parking. But there is free street parking, if you can find a spot.
Adjacent to the exhibition was their store, which was already decorated for Christmas throughout. I took some pix from their DC/CW Network heroes on display–Green Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl. Enjoy.
Harrison Ford, 1983
From May 19, 1983 on NBC’s Today Show, Jim Brown talks to Harrison Ford about his career.
Harrison Ford interviewed around the time of RETURN OF THE JEDI. he's in top form. pic.twitter.com/GbzGNk26EJ
— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) October 29, 2023
Dragons of the Day: September 14, 2023
The seventh season of Dragons: The Nine Realms premiered on Hulu and Peacock on September 14, 2023, with yet another opportunity to see hand-drawn characters at the end credits, except–they were the same ones shown at the end credits last season. At least there are parts where the text doesn’t obscure the art as much, and so, I present them below. Notice how fresh and vibrant the characters appear when hand-drawn?
STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES — 50 Years Later!
Can it be it’s been 50 years since the animated Star Trek premiered on television? Yes, it’s true. To commemorate the anniversary, Michael Coate of The Digital Bits assembled a team of Trek experts to talk about it on his website, here. The speakers are myself, plus animation historian Jerry Beck, Michael and Denise Okuda, Jeff Bond, Scott Mantz, David Gerrold, Mark A. Altman, and Daren Dochterman. We were each questioned separately, and now that our opinions have been collected, it’s nice to see that we’re pretty much in agreement.
Here’s a taste.
How, or why should the show be remembered? My response was this:
(1) As a noble effort to keep the Star Trek franchise alive until a better incarnation came along.
(2) For expanding the potential of Star Trek in the medium of animation, allowing for extensive use of nonhumans, exotic worlds and wondrous starships (e.g. “Beyond the Farthest Star”).
(3) For its cheap production values.
In 2022 Gazelle Automations replicated the Filmation style for Star Trek: The Next Generation,
and Star Trek: Voyager.
(4) For introducing new concepts into Star Trek canon—such as the holodeck (called a “rec deck” here), visualizing Spock’s pet sehlat, Robert April as the first captain of the Enterprise, and David Gerrold identifying the “T” in James T. Kirk: “Tiberius.”
(5) For continuing the Enterprise’s five-year mission. (Though, does Captain Pike’s tenure count or was that a separate five-year mission?)
(6) For daring to tell mature stories on Saturday morning. (Well, some more than others.) Some characters actually died.
(7) For keeping American animation artists employed. This was a time when American studios—other than Filmation—started sending animation work overseas. Star Trek: The Animated Series was an early credit for Glen Keane, who served as a layout artist. He later joined Disney and became one of their top animators.
(8) Showcasing James Doohan’s talent as a voiceover actor, performing multiple roles including Lt. Arex. He had done voiceovers as well in the original series. He would later play Commander Canarvin in the first season of Filmation’s Jason of Star Command.
(9) For continuing Gene Roddenberry’s philosophies torn from the pages of The National Enquirer: that Outer Space Aliens visited Earth, masqueraded as deities and gave us culture, and that mankind will one day evolve into Giant Space Slugs.
(10) As the only Star Trek series to win an Emmy Award in a non-technical category.
Go to Digital Bits for the rest of our comments.
