Cartoon Network is as bad for cartoons as The Sci-Fi Channel is for science fiction

[Orrex]

Really, these two channels should be razed and the ground salted. Let others rise to take their places, so long as these others have a clear sense of what the channels are nominally supposed to be about.

There was a time, perhaps a dozen years ago, when both channels were pretty cool. That time has passed. And the herald of its depature is the rise of shitty, low-budget original productions by the respective networks.

Yes, yes. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is sublime genius. Sure, whatever. And BSG is the best thing to happen to science fiction since Mary Shelley. I got it, I got it. But the hugely overwhelming majority of what's shown on those channels is close to the worst shit ever transmitted via cable.

Your comments are welcome, though mostly I'm just ranting.

[Richardo]

1. I disagree only in that I think ATHF is pretty lame too.

[Orrex]

2. Oh, I can't stand it either, but it's often held up as the redeeming crown jewel of the network

IMO, it's just as stinky as every other turd in that pile.

[Archae]

3. Agreed, on both counts.

the Sci-Fi channel used to have some great movies and programs, like "Sci-Fi Buzz."
Harlan Ellison had the classic comment, from "Sci-Fi Buzz."

"Rush Limbaugh's brain has turned into bat guano." :D

Nowadays, the Sci-Fi channel shows nothing but shit movies like "Rock Monster."

The Cartoon Network used to have great stuff too, like "Dexter's Lab," "Johnny Bravo" and "Samurai Jack."

Nowadays they mostly have shit like "Flapjack."

[ghostsofgiants]

4. Most of the Adult Swim shows are great.

Aqua Teen, Harvey Birdman, Metalocalypes (!!!!!!!!!), The Brak Show, Sealab 2010...some funny shit on there.

[Orrex]

15. What have you done for me lately?

The Brak Show, though damn funny, is no longer produced, right? Ditto for Sealab 2010 and Harvey Birdman, I thought.

Also, even as funny as these shows were, they're basically retreads of the same broad concept, which gets old after a dozen episodes or so.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. I don't actually have Cartoon Network, so I'm just going on the shows I know of.

No idea what's still in production. I just know they've made some funny shit.

[deucemagnet]

23. The Venture Bros.

The best animated show on television. Probably the best comedy on TV, as well.

[Orrex]

24. See above about the 7/168 ratio

The signal:noise ratio on CN is about the same as "funny copycat threads":"all copycat threads."

[TZ]

25. Uh oh

Signal;noise ratio? That sounds suspiciously like the term Signal:Background ratio that I use everyday for the new technology I am dealing with at work..When did you start shilling for my Big Yak company?! Weird! Its a conspiracy I tell ya!
:rofl: :tinfoilhat:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

5. I don't watch anything on CN's principal lineup

for the first time since it was added to my cable package nine years ago. ATHF, the sublime Metalocalypse and Family Guy (not a CN produced show) are my only regular CN viewing.

I used to enjoy Cow and Chicken, I.M. Weasel, PPG, Titans, Billy and Mandy, Johnny Bravo and even KND once in a while. Their current programming is utterly unwatchable, and I am pretty forgiving about animation.

[TZ]

6. I actually give the nod to Cartoon Network

over Sci-Fi network in terms of original programming. I don't know if they show them anymore but both "Power Puff Girls" and "Fosters home for imaginary friends" are very clever and VERY watchable for both children and adults. But perhaps they no longer show them...

[Taverner]

7. Boomerang is good for golden era Hanna Barbara toons

[Orrex]

19. They also run classic Tom & Jerry during the day

However, the problem is that it makes all of the original stuff on CN look even shittier.

And when was the last time a vintage Warner Brothers cartoon saw air play on the alleged Cartoon Network?

[YankeyMCC]

30. I was going to give a nod to Boomerang too

I only recently got this channel and I've enjoyed watching a few minutes of old Popeye's, Pink Panthers, and MGM cartoons when I need to take a break.

[bbernardini]

8. Oh, I don't know...I enjoy Metalocalypse, The Boondocks, ATHF, Robot Chicken...

I'm up in the air about "Tim & Eric". Sometimes, it's absolutely brilliant, and other times, it just completely loses me.

[Orrex]

14. Okay, I can maybe concede Robot Chicken

It's funny probably 52% of the time.

The rest don't really do anything for me.

[Deja Q]

9. So you don't care much for Sci-fi's reimaging of "Flash Gordon"? Drat...

:yoiks:

[leeroysphitz]

11. Ooh. Wasn't that show HORRIBLE? Unwatchable IMO.

I still laugh at what passes for Sci-Fi "original" movies too. Mansquito? Aztec Rex? But then again I guess Lou Diamond Phillips has to work somewhere. :)

[Zavulon]

10. I'm sorry, but BSG sucks.

It was good the first couple of seasons, but the fourth sucked - and I was completely in the loop on the fourth without having seen a single episode of the third season, so I doubt the third was anything special.

I don't know anything about the cartoon network, but overall I'm pretty happy with the Sci-Fi channel. It could be better, but if I ran the network and put on stuff that only I liked I'm pretty sure nobody would watch.

Personally, I like the weekday marathons. It gives me a chance to watch shows I like that I can't seem to find on DVD, such as any Outer Limits episode older than the second season, Jake 2.0, and so on. Besides, any network that airs Odyssey 5 can't be all bad.

:)

[Orrex]

17. Come on--It's every bit as good as General Hospital or One Life to Live

The weekday marathons on Sci-Fi aren't a bad idea, but would it kill them to run a good, vintage science fiction film at midday, or so? Do we really need nine hours in a row of Threshold? Hey, I like Brent Spiner, but that show was cancelled for a reason!

[Twillig]

12. They had a decent show in Dresden Files.

Pick it up for another year?

"Sorry, no. That would be a reversal of a Custer Decision... **CANCELLED**"

[Lionel Mandrake]

13. Or the History Channel for history

I remember Roger Mudd asking, with a straight face, "What was the most historically accurate moment in that movie?"

To which the erudite professor should have replied "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

[KamaAina]

34. Or Fox News for news

pretty much goes without saying.

[Mojambo]

16. These networks run on relatively ridiculously low budgets

There's gonna be cheap filler, and a lot of it.

Just be glad for the occasional good stuff that most like would never be aired anywhere else.

[Orrex]

18. That's fine, except...

There's plenty of vintage stuff out there that they could run for next to nothing. I have a collecton of about 100 public domain sf/horror films on DVD, and these would all be free to run AFAIK. Some are real stinkers (I'm looking at you, Bela Legosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla) but the point is that they don't need to confine their schedule to half-assed tv shows that no one watched in the first place. For instance, out of any random 100 people, I defy you to find me twelve who watched more than three episodes of Kindred: The Embrace.

[MrSlayer]

20. Nonsense. Metalocalypse and Robot Chicken are hilarious.

There's a lot of good stuff on Adult Swim.

[Orrex]

22. Okay, okay. So about 7/168 of their programming is tolerable

That's one hell of a ratio! Jeez--I could achieve that level with what I have on my desktop right now.

[mduffy31]

26. Two words

Frisky Dingo...

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[REP]

28. Venture Brothers, Metalocalyse, Frisky Dingo, Squidbillies....

reruns of Home Movies and non-original cartoons, like Shin Chan which is so wrong I adore it ...

It has more watchable content than any other channel I'm aware of. I am largely unaware, however.

[NJmaverick]

32. Venture Brothers is very good cartoon

really does a number on all the cartoons I grew up with.

[Heddi]

29. Isn't that true for most stations?

When was the last time that MTV or VH1 actually played, you know, music?

History Channel---running joke in our household is the H is for Hitler. I would love to see some documentary on, say, the Vietnam War, or WWI, or Korea...something. besides. Germany. In. W.W.I.I.

TLC used to have interesting health-based documentaries and shows. Now, all fucking babies all fucking day. Oh, and shitty brides and other worthless 'reality' or "unscripted dramas". And if'n it's not brides and babies, it's shows about what a fucking dump your closet is and how could you ever even think of walking out of the house looking like the schlep you are. You should kill yourself for even *owning* a pair of jeans. Seriously.

Discovery is good, but again, I can do without show after show reminding me what great and awesome and TV-programalicious Blue Collar Workers are. Hey, I'm a blue collar worker---where the fuck is my TV show? And I think I have a problem with these shows because gee, who's the hothead on the show about the trucks, and how is he different from the hothead on the show about the boats, or the show about climbing Everest, or the show about the oil rig workers.....? They do shows I like---Man Vs Wild, Mythbusters (even though that is getting a tad bit....blah), etc.

Bravo used to be about arts. Now it's reality competition with hair dressers, cooks, and people who make clothes. Seriously. BORING.

A&E--all cops, all the time. More "unscripted reality" shows. Bleh. I like First 48, but that is wearing out its welcome. I like Intervention because I feel big when others feel small :)

I have dreaded Digital Cable. Not only do I have ONE discovery channel, I have 45 of them, and another 45 in HD. I have 17 showtimes, and 38271^19 History Channels in all of its various, yet strikingly similar incarnations.

I love DVR because I can filter out the shit, which is 99.999999% of what is shown, and just get down to the nitty gritty of what I want to watch: Judge Judy, Local on the 8s on the Weather Channel, and...um....did I mention the Weather Channel?

AND SPEAKING OF THE WEATHER CHANNEL---besides the Local on the 8s, when does the weather channel SHOW weather? When did the weather channel start having TV shows and talk shows? ITS THE WEATHER CHANNEL. SHOW. THE. WEATHER.

sorry.

[mainegreen]

31. Most stations suck from midnight to 9pm.

Only the 9-12 at night slots tend to even have a slight chance at being decent.
Even if you had 500 channels, if it was 1 pm in the afternoon on, it would be a wasteland of suckage.

Of course, who would watch tv at 1pm in the afternoon. Go the fuck outside, dammit!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Are you talking about the kids programming, or Adult Swim?

Kids new programming has got Chowder and The Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack. Both are pretty good shows. You've got the standard action cartoons, which I don't care for, but then again I'm not an eleven year old boy.

Adult Swim's as good as it's ever been, at least the comedy. Fat Guy had a rough start but it's really grown. Last week's Labyrinth parody was pure joy. Venture Bros. are at the top of their game. Tim and Eric's much better too.

Now I will agree that some of their programming choices are as bad as what happened to Sci Fi network. The decision to run live action B movies was a mistake.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

35. Well, Cartoon Network was heavily Hanna-Barbera biased in their original content.

Their nighttime programming has redeemed them somewhat, but any network who favors HB over classic Warner Brothers cartoons simply has no taste.

[Iggo]

36. For turning me on to Metalocalypse...

...Cartoon Network gets a pass.

SciFi is shyte, though.