Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #74

Originally Posted on 07/10/2003 by Jeff Harris

Five Years Ago Today . . .

. . . did you think that anime would be seen in prime-time on cable? Or even subtitled on a network in America that wasn't public television?

. . . did you think that Toonami would still be around?

. . . did you think that Tenchi Muyo, Rurouni Kenshin, Neon Genesis Evangelion, or Gundam would find a home on a network that is typically considered "a kids' network?"

. . . did you think that Cartoon Network would invest a lot of funds in productions of original action series as well as ordering seasons of older shows?

. . . Dragon Ball Z wasn't even as popular as it is (was) today. It was still in perpetual rerun mode, and no company wanted to dub the remaining 200+ episodes, something die-hard fans were hoping would stay that way forever so they could enjoy their fansubs in private.

. . . Pokemon didn't ruin Kids' WB's lineup. Kids' WB didn't bring the series to their network until AFTER it became popular in syndication. And nobody even heard of Yu-Gi-Oh. Or Cowboy Bebop for that matter.

. . . adult swim was just a name of a period where kids couldn't come into the pool.

. . . Toonami was just limited to the United States.

. . . there was only one all-animation network in the United States, and Fox Kids was still on weekday afternoons.

A lot has changed these last five years, and yet some things remained the same. Cartoon Network is still churning out a two-hour afternoon block known as Toonami. Cartoon Network still treats the block with limited respect, though to be fair, the network treats it a LOT better than five years ago (they actually mention the block by name on the official website as well as promote the block in prime-time now). And the one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that I still don't know what the heck I'm doing here at CN2.

Um, CNX.

I mean N49.

I mean CNX.

I mean The Bridge!

Five years ago, I began the site at GeoCities. It was my very first webpage, but guided by the Toonami Inner Circle (there was three of us, SkullMnky [who ran the campaign area], myself [who brought a face and name to the campaign], and a guy who kind of disappeared named Frankie Rodriguez), I didn't completely fall on my face. I found friends like CybertOOn, Blkcloak, Emperor Fred, Castle Control, Iscandar, and SC the first year and made new friends like Toonami TOM, Skitz Zero, Tyler L., Zogg, Rembrandt, Meteo, Discloner, and Knux Five (among the countless of chatters and boardies that I have also encountered) in the years that followed.

From the CybertOOn and Inside the Web boards to the Moltar's Hub chatboard to the Revolution Board to the current Toon Zone forum, I realized that it's the people that come to the site that makes the site worth working on, and the fact that you all have stayed around this long means that you kind of like me too.

And I thank you and appreciate it.

This last year has been kind of rough for me, from the UK situation (which was blown up way too much on my part) to the very low moments for me, and I thank you for continuing to have confidence in what I'm doing, even when at times, I don't. It's been a long trip working on The Bridge, and I hope you guys stick for another five years (or as long as I can have a little fun on the site).

To my friends and supporters, thanks again. To my TICA brothers and sisters, to arms. Prepare for the second coming of the Revolution this Monday. And to the casual readers, especially that guy Fnchnst who constantly e-mails me to correct and critique me every moment he gets, stick around. It's about to get really good around these parts!

One more thing . . . happy birthday TOM. You've changed a lot since last year at this time, and since the network won't give ya a holler, I think I will. They still have chlorine water in their ears swimming all night long and . . .

The Revolution Will Be Televised! (wait, no, that's not how I close the posts)

Later. (wait, that's really old-school . . . need to sound a little more professional)

Until we are one, later. (too cryptic and spiritual. I like it, but I like this closing a little better)

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris
The Bridge Creator/Webmaster
July 10, 2003

Five Years and counting!