Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #146

Originally Posted on 09/22/2006 by Jeff Harris

Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.

It's the television equivalent of Coke and Pepsi. McDonald's and Burger King. Glue and paste.

They are forever intertwined in a battle for the collective minds and pockets of our great nation's youth. However, whenever one does something wrong, the other does something right. Nickelodeon's ill-fated action block Slam was a tremendous disaster, one of the biggest blunders in the history of the network. By focusing more on the packaging than the actual shows on the block, Nickelodeon ironically proved that image is nothing. Afterall, why make an actual action block when the marquee shows were Butt Ugly Martians, Robot Wars, and Super Duper Sumos while Speed Racer X and Men in Black were just background noise? And I'm not saying that because I'm Toonamitaku number #3 (behind Sean and Jason, of course).

But one thing that Nickelodeon is doing right is actually giving a spotlight to perhaps their most ambitious original series since 1991 (the year of the first cycle of Nicktoons and the "tween" experiment that brought Welcome Freshmen, Clarissa Explains It All, and Fifteen to the network) and most ambitious animated series since 1999 (the year of Spongebob Squarepants), Avatar: The Last Airbender. I like Avatar. This might by a sacriligious statement to make, but it's a cross between Miyazaki's visuals and Toriyama's storytelling, not to mention the fact that it's one of the best cartoons on the air today. Avatar is giving Nickelodeon a lot of older viewers, which they used to ignore back in the day, and making them a LOT of money, which is probably the reason they don't mind the older viewers in the first place. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nickelodeon is airing the series on weekdays starting this Monday. What is surprising is that Cartoon Network, who also has a popular action property that also attracts older viewers called Naruto, isn't treating that show with such high prestige.

Naruto is one of Cartoon Network's highest-rated series. It's the most-watched series on the Toonami block and, like Avatar, has become a marketing machine. Heck, both Naruto and Avatar action figures are made in the US by Mattel (smart move on their part). However, Cartoon Network has a problem in airing the property on a daily basis. Why? The answer is twofold.

Naruto is treated like a series teen-oriented property on Toonami, as it should be. However, on weeknights, it seemed like it was just thrown up there to make the surrounding comedic shows look good. Sure, it works for Avatar, but Avatar actually has popular shows surrounding it. Avatar surrounds itself with Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, and Jimmy Neutron, all pretty good and very popular shows on Nick whereas on weeknights, Naruto surrounds itself with Camp Lazlo, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, and Billy and Mandy. On Saturdays, it surrounds itself with the likes of Teen Titans, Zatch Bell, One Piece, and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.

Big difference.

Cartoon Network wants to have it both ways with Naruto. They build it up to be a major action franchise on the major anime block on the network Toonami, and yet, they want to piggyback on the show's success by placing it either smack-dab or at the end of a very mediocre lineup. When it fails, then Naruto is banished from the primetime lineup. That's the Daniel Snyder method.

And now I've lost a good portion of the readership. Daniel Snyder, multimillionaire investor and owner of the most expensive NFL franchise, the Landover, um, Washington Redskins, has this method behind his operations of the team. Like Cartoon Network, he puts in a major name in the middle of team that has been an utter failure, either a coach like Steve Spurrier or Joe Gibbs or a veteran player like Bruce Smith or Deion Sanders. In this cause, Naruto would be the Spurrier. So, the name is in place, and the team, like the Cartoon Network lineup, remains relatively unchanged and still fails. So, the name is removed and replaced with another to make the mediocre team great.

Is it fair? No. A popular show will not make a mediocre lineup, and Cartoon Network has a mediocre lineup. But like Daniel Snyder, those in charge of Cartoon Network fail to realize that. Meanwhile, Avatar, buoyed by its own success and the success of the shows around it, has earned a prime slot on the daily lineup, and it's well deserved. Fans of Naruto who want to see the show more than once a week (and don't have access to Jetstream nor funds to buy the new DVDs, availiable at an electronics and video store near you or online retailer courtesy of VIZ Media) are out of luck and feel that Cartoon Network is being unfair when it comes to the show. Perhaps they'll realize that in order to make things work out, they have to go deeper than just playing the major league hit with the JV-squad backing it up.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
The X Bridge Creator/Webmaster
September 22, 2006