Editor's Note: Yeah, this is one of the earliest articles I have ever written for The X Bridge. It even predates the CNX name way back when the site was called CN2 Toonami Inner Circle. Yeah, that old! A few things to make note of as you're reading this:

This article was written as a response on Toonami: The Unofficial's message board. T: TU was one of the first major Toonami fansites online, coming around the same time I was just getting started, not to mention one of founding fathers of the TICA. Back in 1999, I was really, really wide-eyed and optimistic. In a way, I still am, but I have gotten a little cynical over the years. This was written in an era without Adult Swim, Encore Action's Animidnight lineup, and Anime Unleashed, and Toonami was the only game in town. The Bohbot Kids Network came and went in the fall of 1999 not really making an impact. Irwin Toys was just coming out with DBZ-related toys (now they're made by Jakks Pacific) as well as a pair of toy lines based on ReBoot and Sailor Moon. Saban (now subdivided into two different companies (Sensational Animation and BVS Entertainment NV]) no long have any ownership to Fox Kids nor Fox Famly Channel (now ABC Family). Let's just say the world of 1999 isn't like the world of 2004. Enjoy this little piece of nostalgia from the days of old!

- jh, April, 2004

A few months ago, someone over at Blkcloak's site asked a very interesting question. He wrote:

"I look at that cartoon network 2 schedule and it looks awesome!! But really... could they and would they really make a TV station like this?? It would kill any line up CN1 would have and would in my opinion be the best Network ever. Is there even a slight possibility CN will make another station??"

As a representative of the Toonami Inner Circle (thanks for the compliments on the schedule, BTW), I can positively say, yes they can, and probably will one day.

Think about it.

First of all, there is a demand for it. Forget about the unfortunate events that occurred earlier in the year (a reference to the cancellation of the Saturday evening Toonami - jh). Smarter, action cartoons are the big thing in television today. I'm not just talking about the fans of Toonami, but the television industry as a whole. Broadcast networks are arranging their schedules to fit in more action shows, and Bohbot Kids Network is subdividing its daily syndication blocks into two separate blocks, one of which showcases an all-action block of shows like Mighty Max, Extreme Ghostbusters, and the new shows Starship Troopers, Rambo: The Animated Series, and Roswell Conspiracies. Fox Kids, which had a resurgance in viewership with the addition of Godzilla to the network, has revealed that they're returning to their action animation roots with shows such as Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot, Xyber 9, Spider-Man Unlimited, Beast Wars and its new spin-off Beast Machines, NASCAR Racers, and The Avengers, and returning shows like Godzilla and The Magician to the lineup. Kids' WB's ratings have really improved with the addition of Batman Beyond and the comedic action show Pokemon, both of which will also be seen on weekdays in the fall. CBS' sole action animation series, Mystic Guardians, is one of the only two shows returning in the fall. Almost all the networks except three (ABC is ought to change its name to Disney Two, NBC which dropped animation in favor of shi-er, sitcoms, and UPN [the only network which is doomed to go off the air soon], which recently cancelled its Sunday block of action in favor of the Sunday edition of Disney's One Saturday Morning this fall) have turned their attention to action animation.

The only exception is Nickelodeon, which believes that animation should always be funny for kid consumption (even though they're planning two comic-themed movies {the comedic Bone and the action-packed Blast} and a revival of Mighty Mouse). Even Toon Disney airs Gargoyles, the number two action animated series in this decade in my opinion, in the prime-time hours.

The prime demographics for a Toonami-themed network, which is 18-35, are the target advertising audience networks scramble for. 18-35? That's most of us, y'all!

Not only that, but Toonami is actually getting some notice by the network bigwigs. That's why you're seeing more advertisements for the block both in prime time and on the other Turner networks. Cartoon Network has created a brand name with Toonami, and they're to the point of finally realizing it.

For four months, Cartoon Network Presents, a recently cancelled monthly comic from DC Comics, dedicated the book to Toonami featuring backup stories with Moltar and Clyde 49, which set the backstory of Toonami plus a full-length story with one of the Cartoon Roulette characters (Sailor Moon, DBZ, and, of course, Batman and Superman already have a comic book; Jonny Quest's book crashed and burned just as the show stopped production; and ReBoot, which would probably make a kick ass comic, hasn't been made into a comic). Irwin Toys is creating a Toonami-themed toyline including Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and ReBoot. Toonami-themed apparel, such as the t-shirts, jackets, and hats the network gave away during its first year, is rumored to come to Warner Bros. Studio Stores. The next logical step is to create a network spotlighting the type of programming currently shown in the block. The recent introduction to the new Toonami format alludes to an even bigger event.

There are also so many action shows that have been in mothballs for decades for unknown reasons. GI Joe, Transformers, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tranzor Z, Silverhawks, and many others would fit in nicely with the format of a Toonami-themed network. DiC, which owns many action cartoons like M.A.S.K., Jayce, and others, is owned by Disney. Disney doesn't have space on its own animation station to air shows like that. And Saban, which has one of the largest libraries of action animation series, can't show something like X-Men on Fox Family because the network's arrangement with the partial owner, a religious zealot that remains nameless here. Plus with Manga Entertainment, US Manga Corps, Pioneer, and ADV looking for other outlets for its anime movies and Studio USA's unwillingness to show animation on its two networks, these properties also need a place to show their stuff.

That why a Toonami-themed network should be, and likely will become a reality