Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #9

Originally Posted on 09/24/2002 by Jeff Harris

Imagine a 24-hour network dedicated to action-animation, heavy on anime, definitely aimed towards the Toonami audience. Shows like Dragonball Z, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and Gundam sharing channel space with shows like Slayers, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Space Ghost Coast To Coast on a daily basis with nary a comedy series interrupting the flow of action. It's a dream I've had since I started the Toonami Inner Circle in the spring of 1998 and the site in July 1998. The dream that is Cartoon Network eXtreme, CNX, will kinda become a reality on Monday, October 14 2002 at 6 AM GMT in the United Kingdom. They air live-action, but that's not just the only problem.

The new channel is called CNX.

I won't bore you with the history of the site, so I'll tell you what I knew. Over the weekend, I started getting mail from a lot of site visitors from the United Kingdom asking pretty much the same question.

"When is CNX going to launch?"

I get this question a lot, and since the site launched in 1998, the answer was always the same. "CNX is the name of the site, and only the site. There isn't an action channel named CNX." Of course, that proved to be wrong when a LONGTIME reader of the site, Matthew "Hulkie D" Williams pointed out an interesting article. It basically was an announcement about the creation of an action/adventure/anime network called CNX. It's not even a 24-hour all-animation channel (just 65-75% of the programming is action animation). When I learned that Cartoon Network UK is responsible for it, I became surprised. I mean, I can't do anything, so why bother? I don't really OWN the site's letters but I kind of feel that the site's a part of who I am. I have absolutely nothing to do with the development of the CNX network.

I don't know what to do anymore. I can't (and won't) sue because I have nothing to do with anything involving the network, so that's not even an option. Should I concede defeat and change my site's name? Should I just ignore it, be thankful that I might (repeat, MIGHT) have been a source of inspiration, and drop from the face of the net? Of course not, don't be ridiculous. Regardless, I have a lot of thinking to do about this whole situation. Afterall, CNX is finally a reality somewhere on the globe. What will my future hold? What will I do? And what's next for the future of THIS CNX? And for that matter, does anybody care? Who knows, but it'll be an interesting ride these next couple of months.

Until we are one, later.
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
September 24, 2002