Thoughtnami™

Christmas has come and gone for most of us (traditional Christmas is a little over a week away), but I did get a surprise from one of my relatives. I received a newish computer. Not totally new, but new enough for me. It runs on Windows 98 with a 25 GB hard drive and a 1.7 GHz processor with space to expand and a 56K modem. A little prehistoric to some, but considering the fact that my last computer ran on Windows 95 with a 1 GB hard drive, a 120 MHz processor and a 28K modem, it's tantamount to me upgrading from a Model T to a '65 Mustang. The only problem I have is, well, all my old stuff is on the old gal, mostly my TXB stuff, a lot of great fonts, and a few major files. I had a problem with my floppy drive, and it corrupted every disc I had, which is why I rarely used it in the first place. So, I'm in an endless search for a way to bring to old familiar things in life to my newish funtastic machine. As a result, TXB won't be completely updated for another two or thr...

There are a lot of people who are foolishly under the impression that Seth MacFarlane's immensely popular series Family Guy is a carbon copy of The Simpsons. I'm not talking about the people who just hate Family Guy like John Krisfalusi, many former Spumco employees like animation journalist Amid Amidi, or the South Park creators. The folks behind The Simpsons have countlessly thrashed Family Guy on numerous occasions, even going as far as calling Peter Griffin a Homer Simpson clone in a segment of the once-funny Treehouse of Terror specials. A recent issue of the once-funny Mad Magazine called Family Guy "the most original show on television" while portraying the core cast dressed as The Simpsons. Heck, this past weekend, they even called American Dad a copy of the copy of the Simpsons. But that's not really fair of The Simpsons nor people who believe that Family Guy is a copy of The Simpsons. I mean, I could easily go as far as to say The Simpsons isn't all ...

, , , but if a show's the most watched show on a network, winning in nearly every timeslot it's in , and one of the most popular shows on cable television , you wouldn't cancel it, would you? You don't know Cartoon Network very well, do you? Obviously neither you nor I don't, and I don't really understand why they cancelled Teen Titans. Seriously, why in the HELL did Cartoon Network cancel their highest-rated, most commercial-ready, all-ages-reaching series. Oh . . . right, the whole all-ages reaching thing. I forget that if you have breasts or a dropped testicle or two, Cartoon Network doesn't want you watching them. *sigh*

You know how you always say you can make a better network? Well, if you have the right tools, maybe you can thanks to Broadband. After yesterday's announcement that Time Warner is planning a free Broadband-exclusive network In2TV next year in addition to the Adult Swim block introduced a little over a month ago as well as Viacom's recent forays into Broadband entertainment courtesy of Comedy Central and MTV, it's not a question of how can one create their own network, it's a question of when. I believe that the current broadcast television model is outmoded and ineffectual. There are only five major conglomerates with their hands in the cookie jar of entertainment in the US (Time Warner owns The WB, HBO, and the Turner networks, Disney owns ABC, ESPN, and ABC Cable, Viacom owns MTV Networks while their CBS Entertainment owns Showtime, CBS, and UPN, News Corp owns Fox, Fox Cable Networks, and a bulk of the UPN affiliates, and NBC Universal owns USA Networks, Bravo, Telem...

Science fiction programming doesn't last on the traditional networks and rarely stays on the non-traditional broadcast outlets. So, when I heard about the resurrection of Kolchak: The Night Stalker airing on Thursday nights on ABC for the 2005-06 season, the following thought entered my brain: "This show won't see 2006." Not that it wasn't good but because in this day and age where scripted programming is being shown the door in favor of "reality" shows, competition shows that aren't game shows, and makeover shows, shows like Night Stalker really won't last. And I have history to prove it. Firefly. John Doe. Dark Angel. The Watcher. Twilight Zone (the recent version). Enterprise. Space: Above and Beyond. Any time there's a hint of science-fiction element on a series (including horror, superheroics, paranoia, and supernaturalism), there's already an imprinted code to cancel the series, and Night Stalker had all these elements. Carl Kolcha...

Cartoon Network is planning an MTV-level disaster at their network starting a week from Sunday by airing a series of live-action films, including Small Soldiers, The Goonies, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and a bigtime movie coming to Toonami very soon. But wait, there's more. Cartoon Network, in a move that should surprise everyone, is planning on creating new live-action series plots like sitcoms and action projects networkwide, not just the Krofft Brothers homage being worked on at Adult Swim. They're doing this because they claim that kids aren't interested in cartoons anymore and drawn towards Disney Channel and Nickelodeon live-action fare. According to some higher ups at the network, the word "cartoon" is not limited to cel, stop-motion, or computer-animated productions, but is rather a state of mind. Now, my question is not aimed towards the executive minds of Cartoon Network but rather the animation media writers who cover the industry from all angles and ...

To every cable and satelite operator in the United States with the exception of Comcast who owns G4: Hello. My name is, well, not important for the duration of this article. The reason why I'm writing this is because the cable industry has been duped and scammed. The network you originally signed to air on your cable lineups many years ago is no longer on the air. Neither TechTV, a technology-driven network with people who were experienced with the world of computers, technology, and all things tech-oriented, nor G4, a lesser-known but popular outlet that celebrated the gamer lifestyle, are on the air. After the supposed merger that developed after Comcast's G4 Media purchased TechTV for its extensive cable and satelite slots systemwide as well as for TechTV's popular X-Play series, something emerged, but not what was promised. Instead of a technology/video game/geek culture-themed network, the industry got something different. Even the video game network rebranding of G4 i...

I've been wrong many times in the past, and I'll be wrong many more times in the present. I have to apologize to readers of TXB for doing something I knew in hindsight that I shouldn't have done, but did anyway. I'm sorry for speaking positively about Loonatics. A couple of weeks ago, instead of looking at the awesome as hell Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles revamp on Fox, I looked at Loonatics: Unleashed. I had defended it earlier on my site because, well, there were so many people thrashing it even before it came on. They basically said that Loonatics were actually the classic Looney Tunes which have been treated rather shabbily by Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network, who put the classics on the little-received Boomerang (fun fact cats and kittens: Boomerang is seen in a little over 8 million households while Nicktoons Network, Nickelodeon's animation outlet which hasn't been around as long as Boomerang, is seen in 32 million households; maybe Nick does know how to t...

Good question. Very good question. What TXB is supposed to be and what TXB is are two different things. I wanted to create a site that represented the people. I wanted to create a site that I could express my opinions in an unbiased atmosphere. Truth be told, I don't think I've accomplished any of those. For most of my site's seven years online, it's been pretty much slanted towards one direction. I've showed much love for a network that, truth be told, hasn't really shown me nor its viewers much love. I've only seen one side of the argument and fiercely defended it. But I want to give people a site that's more than that. I want to create a site that is pretty much a voice for the voiceless. I want to create a site that celebrates ALL of animation, not just action-animation. I want to create an access point that bridges all worlds of animation without prejudice or disdain, where one form of animation isn't better than another. I want to create a site...

The last place I'd expect the chief architect of the reinvention of Nickelodeon (which occurred 20 years ago this month) and the creator of Cartoon Network to be is the women's network Lifetime, but that's exactly where Betty Cohen is resting her head. She became the new head of the network a couple of months ago, and she's bringing in Suzette Daniels, the woman who helped organize the Kids' WB block and brought in numerous shows that became synonymous with The WB like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, and Smallville, is joining Ms. Cohen, who was sanctimoniously fired from the network she created to the current regime which has seen primetime viewership plunge over a period of four years straight (wonder if that has to do with Saturday morning reruns like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, One Piece, Mucha Lucha, and others stagnating the nights). Considering that Oxygen (a network co-owned by the former Nickelodeon exec that matters Geraldine Laybourne, Oprah Winfrey, and,...

Sadness. Anger. For a little over a week, these are the feelings I have experienced watching news about the events of August 29. Hurricane Katrina has left an indelicable mark on the United States showing the best and the worst in humanity. I'm sad because there are so many people who already didn't have much and considered "the working poor" now struggling to stay alive. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless and jobless, and tens of thousands have died. The city of New Orleans is mostly underwater and in utter ruins. And people are angry. There was so much that could have been done prior to and after the hurricane but wasn't (and I hope to God somebody finds out why). And a lot of this anger is very well justified. I'm just sick of opportunists taking advantage of the events of 8/29. I'm not just talking about the looters who are stealing things other than food and water. I'm talking about these gas companies who are gouging prices on gas (including ...

You've read that article I posted at Toon Zone? You know, the evil, sardonic one informing networks how to ruin your cartoon lineups in seven easy steps? Well, that was the cut-down, edited, sanitized version. It's cool, it's essentially the same article but a little more sarcastic and snide. It's good, and it's created conversation all over the place. Here's the thing . . . I tend to talk. A lot. I tend to get a little too wordy and too verbose. As a result, I tend to ramble on. What you're about to see is the article in its original, unsanitized form. Enjoy it, or not: Bugs Is Dead: The Seven Beliefs of the Modern Television Animation Industry Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, a pair of classic animation stars that entertained generations of film and television fans and sharing screentime in the milestone film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," are dead. Okay, that's not true because they're just fictional characters that never lived. But in the hea...

popnost - (derived from the phrase " pop -culture nost algia") n. A type of retrospective programming that humorously and nostalgically talk about things from pop-culture past and present. Also adj. (~ program) A couple of articles down, I talked about how networks tend to have lost their primary focus as they continued to evolve. VH1, which began life as a music video network, has more or less become a pop culture network, rarely airing music videos. Some shows I don't really care for. Kept? The Surreal Life? Celebrity Fit Club? The Fabulous Life of . . . ? Feh. Give me more popnost anytime. Pop culture nostalgia has become a part of our pop culture. It's nothing new, people always had fond memories for cultural events of the past. However, I blame the British for this modern era of popnost, of course. BBC introduced the "I Love The . . . " format to the world in 2000. VH1 introduced it a year or so later with their version of "I Love the 80s" fo...

Every now and then, I hear this question: Why don't my cable operator pick up Boomerang? The network's been around for five years, and yet, it's mostly on satellite and a few cable operators (nearly all Time Warner Cable). I just happen to live in a Cox Cable service area set up in Pat Robertson's backyard, so we're more likely to pick up the NFL Network or iLifeTV than Boomerang (by the way, these are some of the most recent additions to our lineup). So, why won't my cable operator pick up Boomerang? The short answer: Cartoon Network has done a piss-poor job of managing the network and marketing "retro" and cable operators aren't convinced there's an audience for "classic cartoons." The long answer: When Cartoon Network announced the creation of Boomerang, a retro animation network aimed towards baby-boomers and family audiences, in 1999, fans of these classic cartoons were thrilled. However, on April 1, 2000, when viewers (and cable...

Mr. Hudlin, This has been a very good year for you, Mr. Hudlin. You have an animated series greenlighted for Cartoon Network this fall, a pair of very well-written comics courtesy of Marvel Comics, and now, you're the president of entertainment of BET. Now, bring some entertainment to the network. Okay, okay, that was a little harsh of me. But, you see, I've been watching BET off and on for a good portion of the 25 years the network has been on the air (little known fact: 25 years ago, both USA and BET shared channel space before becoming their own individual networks, not unlike Nickelodeon and the Arts Channel [now A&E Network]). Over the past decade, BET has gotten a bad rap (no pun intended) of being nothing more than an outlet that showcases the negative, materialistic side of "urban" culture, and they wouldn't be wrong. BET has minimized its news/forum programming and still remains hip-hop music central. I don't hate hip-hop, but I can guess that Bla...

Once again, those on the northern border of the States are celebrating Canada Day, a day of celebrating all that is Canadian. I have nothing but kind words for the country that has given us Redwall (a fine book series and animated trilogy of shows), Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, You Can't Do That On Television, Degrassi, ReBoot, Red Green, Eek! The Cat, Deep Water Black, Ocean Studios, the "Jack" radio format (although some New Yorkers will disagree), singers with the names Alanis and Avril, Stu Hart's Dungeon and its graduates, and other contributions (today, only today, will I forgive Canada for Celine Dion). Happy Canada Day!

The 4400, the best science-fiction series since Firefly, is not on Sci-Fi. When USA Networks announced plans to create the original miniseries about these 4,400 individuals who were abducted for decades returning to a modern-day post-9/11 untrusting world (for those that have never seen this great show, shame on you! I won't tell you who really abducted The 4400, because it's not what you initially think), it seemed like a show that was destined to be on a network dedicated to science-fiction like, um, Sci-Fi. However, the original miniseries and regular series is a part of USA's highly-acclaimed lineup, giving that network its highest ratings ever and a growing fanbase. Though it would have been nice if it was a part of Sci-Fi's weekly lineup. Instead, Saturday nights are cluttered with cheesy horror flicks, and the rest of the prime time lineup aside from Friday nights (which actually looks like it has some thought to its creation) isn't much better. Sci-Fi, for l...

This is hopefully the first of many articles I want to publish here at Thoughtnami. It's just sporadic thoughts about things people rarely know about. Or at least things people don't really want to admit. It's basically a fun discussion, at least for me. I'm not an old man, but I have realized many things in this thing called reality. So, at least for the next couple of minutes, delve into a little bit of madness I'm calling Things THEY Don't Want You To Know . I'm not a sports fan. Maybe that's because I live in the nation's largest metropolitan area without a major league franchise. Maybe it's because the players on the minor league teams in the area really don't want to be here, and it is kind of hard to root for a group of players that would rather be in Chicago or New York. Or maybe it's because a lot of people fully embrace the fandom of a team memorizing every little insignificant thing about every player, every game, and every oth...

In my neck of the woods around the Norfolk, VA area, we have a radio station that plays nearly everything. WPYA-FM is known around these parts as BOB-FM, one of the first "BOB" stations in the country, named after Bob Sinclair, owner of a chain of radio stations around these parts. The BOB phenomenon has spread throughout the country with two different names. Some call their station BOB. Others call their station JACK. New Yorkers are pretty ticked that WCBS-FM has changed its format from an "oldies" format to a JACK format. There's another BOB I'm interested in, and it's this new network currently in the planning stages. It's name is BOB. BOB stands for Brief Original Broadcasts. Apparently taking a cue from Cartoon Network's Adult Swim franchise, BOB will populate its network with short-subject programming. BOB will air comedy, drama, action, animation, and everything inbetween. Nothing's longer than eight minutes, and the lineup isn't ...

Starting at 6 AM EST on Saturday, TV Land is presenting a 50-hour marathon celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Warner Bros. Television. Shows from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and even today are going to air throughout this weekend's marathon. Some you might expect to see such as dramas like The Waltons, Dallas, Life Goes On, Eight Is Enough, and Jack and Bobby, crime-dramas like The FBI, 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside Six, and Spencer For Hire, westerns like Maverick, action and adventure shows like Wonder Woman and La Femme Nikita, and comedies like Alice, Welcome Back Kotter, Chico and the Man, Murphy Brown, The Hogan Family, and Full House. Aside from the fact that it was distributed in syndication by Warner Bros., I'm not sure why The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a series produced by Quincy Jones Entertainment and NBC Studios, is on the marathon. Now, in the official press release, Warner Bros. was pleased to present this marathon on TV Land. However, couldn't they have done th...

I've been watching the riveting coverage of E3 on G4, G4TV, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves this week, and I've seen the awesomeness of the PlayStation Three. After the non-event of the Nintendo Revolution and all the thunder taken away from the XBox 360 unveiling courtesy of MTV's infomercial last week, Sony's newest 800 lb. gorilla really impressed me. The demostrations of what the new processors could do as well as the demos of actual gameplay impressed me. The fact that it's backwards compatible with the PlayStation and PS2 disc I already have as well as keeping my DVD collection relevant made me a happy fella. Of course, there are doubters about whether or not the demos shown, particularly Killzone 2, were actually in-game demos or prerendered visuals. Could it be that people think that Sony's lying about what their PS3 can do? Or are they just doubting Thomases, refusing to believe what's there. And if what was shown really was prer...

After looking at last week's Oscar (TM) ceremonies, I had a revelation. There ought to be Best Voice Actor and Actress awards handed out. Seriously, animation directors and writers do get their moment in the spotlight in those overblown egotrips (I happened to like this year's ceremony, contrary to what the snooty critics may have thought of it). The thing is that in every single animated film, as much work as the animators, designers, scriptwriters, and artists do, the film really comes to life courtesy of the voice artists behind the mikes. About a couple of years before his untimely death, Phil Hartman (a great voice artist in his own right whose final performance was in Kiki's Delivery Service) hosted a behind-the-scenes segment of How The Grinch Stole Christmas celebrating what Boris Karloff's voice did for the character. Mr. Hartman impersonated several famous celebrity voices reading the script in the role of The Grinch. He proved that the voice does matter. Imag...