Gephyrophillia #209

Originally Posted on 10/26/2009 by Jeff Harris

Puritanical correctness run amok. That's the only way I can describe what happened this week on qubo. In case you haven't heard, the grand older-kids experiment at the digital subchannel that brought the much-anticipated Class of the Titans, the Canadian fan-favorite Being Ian, and a newer series Spliced to our side of the border has ended. And they're completely gone, replaced with repeats of shows like 321 Penguins and a double helping of Rescue Heroes.

And with that cancellation, the powers that be proved that qubo will never truly be considered a legitimate contender to the Big Three. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

For those just joining the conversation, qubo is a 24-hour network largely managed by ION Media Networks, which in a previous life was known as Paxson Communications, the folks that brought you PAX TV back in 1998. They're largely a company that has a heavy background in the "family values" industry, and they tend to cater their programming to the "family values" audience. Qubo, ION's kids block and network, also adheres to the same values instilled on them by their majority owner, ION. Yes, NBC Universal, Classic Media, Scholastic, and Nelvana all own a piece of the network, but because the biggest owner of qubo remains ION (it is on their channel-space after all), then ION rules what does and doesn't air on qubo.

And apparently Class of the Titans, Being Ian, and Spliced doesn't adhere to qubo's parent's core mission, which is a shame because those three shows brought a breath of fresh air to the very stagnant lineup on the network. Seriously, I've had a digital converter since March 2008, and the qubo lineup has largely remained the same with the same shows circulating throughout the network. Every season or so, they add two or three new series that remarkably similar to the shows already airing on the block. Most of them are based on a children's book.

This season was surprising because they did pick up three series that were not only not based on books, but also aimed towards older kids, a demographic qubo never really targeted its programming to. So, with one fell swoop, those shows are gone and will likely never come back to qubo. A shame really, not just because they were pretty decent shows.

It also killed any chance that qubo will ever grow up and be better than it's supposed to be. As I've written before, qubo had a chance to become a great children's network offering everything for everybody. Unfortunately, the quick cancellation of those three shows pretty much cements what qubo is all about, which is catering only to the puritanical correctness viewers who only see the network as a glorified babysitter rather than a quality children's network that could aspire to become greater than it is.

So, to those viewers happy with the way qubo is, I hope you enjoy the 3-2-1 Penguins repeats. I just won't be watching anymore. I doubt I'm the only one.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Creator/Webmaster, The X Bridge.