Thoughtnami™

 Now, I've never claimed to be a smart guy or anything like that, so I might get confused about some things in my old age., such as the case here. At least this is what I think happened, and correct me if I'm wrong. WarnerMedia, under the ownership of AT&T, launches HBO Max as a premium streaming platform using the popular cable brand as the core part of the service. WarnerMedia gets spun off from AT&T (and saddled with a LOT of DirecTV's debt in the process) and combines with Discovery to become Warner Bros Discovery. Under the myopic powers-that-be in the big offices of the merged company, WBD wanted to combine HBO Max with Discovery+ & drop the name HBO from the service because it's a negative draw to subscribers of Discovery+, who tended to be more conservative and rural compared to HBO viewers, and the executives who felt the HBO brand was a deterrent to parents of younger children who could watch preschool and children's programming on the platform

It's time to clarify a lot of things regarding MeTV Toons, which is launching in most markets over-the-air on June 25, 2024. Sadly, my market isn't one of them at launch, but for you folks who are getting it, I want you to enjoy it and tell your friends and families to watch and contact your local cable and satellite providers to put the channel on their lineups. There has been a lot of confusion about the network's targeted audience. There's also a lot of misinformation about the channel's ties to Boomerang and whether its existence will cause that channel to close down. Let's start about what MeTV Toons is and what it's not. MeTV Toons is a general audience broadcast network in the vein of similarly-themed classic television channels like Antenna TV, Retro Television Network, GET, Classy Comedy, and, of course, MeTV. The difference between those and MeTV Toons is that MeTV Toons airs a lineup that's 99.44% animation (the 0.56% is Gerry Anderson's

Around 2011, I started closing most of my posts with two words: Keep Creating. I've always been a fan of creative individuals. I continue to be inspired by folks who make great things. I study and learn from many. I fight myself about not being up to a certain standard, but then I heed what Salvadore Dali once said. "Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it." I've been looking back on some of my older writings on my old Tumblr site, and I came across this piece from 2011 when I initially started using that simple two-word closer. And even though it's a 13-year-old piece from a pre-streaming media world, it still resonates, especially in an era when algorithms dominate media decisions causing them to simply destroy things "they" don't like and we had several strikes because creators continue to be used by these companies, and I'd like to share it in its entirety: Create. And Keep Creating. You like things, I get that. You like to do t

I wrote the following back in 2009 when I had cousins graduating from school. Now, I have cousins whose kids are graduating this year. I don't know if they'll read it, but it's something I felt younger folks need to hear. Basically, it's some things that I wanted to hear from my graduations ages ago.  I tweaked it a bit, but it still resonates for anyone who wants to listen to a little life advice. Enjoy: I’ll never admit to being a sage or someone who actually has his act together, but I can offer some words of advice. Things folks told me on this long road called life and things I wished people told me. A wise person once said never be afraid to give others advice, even if they didn’t ask for it, so here’s me offering some words for those that want to read it. Find your place in the world and enjoy this life. It’s the only life you have (at least the one you can remember coherently). Never stop learning because new things happen every day, and you’re not as smart as y

Three channels That's all the Cartoon Network brand needs to expand into FAST media. Three channels. Why three? Because with nearly 30 years of original programming, you can't put it all in one place. That's why you don't see much of the library on television nowadays. Cartoon Network itself has a limited lineup, and they're hyper-focused on the younger demographics and push more modern shows. They tried to put some of the older CN library on Boomerang, but it was buried in late-night slots.  Plus, most major TV markets don't have Boomerang on their cable lineup. You'd think they'd try to get wider distribution deals, but I think Time Warner just gave up more than a decade ago. And yeah, I put the blame on Time Warner. Not AT&T and WarnerMedia. Not Warner Bros Discovery. Hell, not even AOL Time Warner. I'm putting much of Boomerang's lack of carriage on Time Warner. But I digress. With the Checkered Past block on Adult Swim, some of the older

As I was saying earlier, I feel that aside from the various streaming platforms they're currently on, the apps a bulk of the more recent library programming are on, and the digital storefronts you can actually buy entire seasons of episodes on (or, if you're crazy, you could buy a few of them on physical media), the best place for Cartoon Network originals is the channels of Cartoon Network.  That would be Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Boomerang, and... that can't be right... Discovery Family Channel. Yeah, DFC is part of Cartoon Network, Inc., the umbrella unit that houses the Cartoon Network channels and streaming platforms domestically and globally.  Radical concept, I know. I know some folks want to see them on the upcoming OTA broadcast classic animation channel MeTV Toons, and I explained in the previous post why that's a bad idea and completely not the best use of the library. Then, I suggested that Cartoon Network should launch CN-branded FAST channels. While the

I've been talking about MeTV Toons for about a month now (and there's no guarantee it'll even come to my part of the world) that I kind of forgot about the dumpster fire that is Cartoon Network right now.  Okay, I haven't forgotten about the channel. There's not much to talk about, at least when it comes to the main brand. The  Total Drama Island  revival premiered on the channel nearly a year after it premiered in basically every major international market. Craig of the Creek is premiering its final cycle of episodes.  And, well, that's pretty much it in regard to the main Cartoon Network brand. Adult Swim has been a lot livelier thanks to a cycle of Ninja Kamui and various acquisitions on Toonami and season premieres of Smiling Friends and My Adventures of Superman , my favorite show on the block right now. Oh, and Toonami expanded to Friday afternoons by adding the Viz-dubbed Sailor Moon and encores of Dragon Ball Z Kai and Naruto. Even Boomerang has been

  MeTV TOONS  has officially revealed its launch schedule, which starts on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. You can see it in full right here .  As it is, it's a pretty solid lineup of classic cartoons from the golden age of theatrical shorts to the birth of television animation to the Saturday morning era of cartoons up to the turn of the century.  Looking at the full launch lineup, the most recent series present is 2003's Duck Dodgers, which is great for folks who appreciate older, classic cartoons without having to sit through a lot of modern shows to get to the good stuff, which has been disappearing from the airwaves and still largely absent from streaming platforms.  This lineup has variety. Like, a crazy amount of variety that isn't found on linear cable networks these days. You have Looney Tunes in the form of Bugs Bunny and Friends for an hour every weekday and for two full hours weeknights and Saturdays in primetime. You have Rocky and Bullwinkle every night at 11 PM E/P

We're a little under a month away from the launch of Weigel's all-classic-animation over-the-air broadcast channel MeTV TOONS in the United States. The network, aimed towards older audiences rather than kids, is a joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery and will present classic cartoon titles from many studios and distributors, including NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, WildBrain, SHOUT! Studios, Fleischer Studios, Jay Ward Productions, Gerry Anderson Productions, and others. Even companies like Amazon MGM and Paramount Global are rumored to bring some of their classic animation libraries to the channel. Nearly every major animation studio who made an impact in the golden age of theatrical shorts and television animation will be represented on MeTV TOONS.  Except one.  The Walt Disney Company will likely have no presence on MeTV TOONS of any kind. It's not that unsurprising that they wouldn't want to be a part of the channel's roster of studio libraries. If

 I was not prepared for the announcement of Adult Swim returning Toonami to daylight hours. No, the Saturday night (technically Sunday morning) Toonami block isn't going anywhere. It remains intact every Saturday starting at Midnight E/P. Adult Swim officially announced they're putting a weekly block of retro Toonami shows on Friday afternoons from 5 PM to 7 PM E/P starting on May 31, 2024. They're calling it Toonami Rewind . In the tradition of the Checkered Past block of Cartoon Network originals, Toonami Rewind will have selected shows from Toonami's past incarnations on Cartoon Network. The inaugural lineup will consist of Sailor Moon (the recent Viz redub which is making its linear television debut on the block), Dragon Ball Z Kai (a more accurate reedit of Dragon Ball Z , Akira Toriyama's legendary continuation of his Dragon Ball series), and Naruto (which hasn't aired on television in a decade).  It's a fine weekly block, definitely filled with show

  Previously , I broke down a bit of my thoughts about the upcoming launch of MeTV TOONS, an over-the-air broadcast network dedicated to classic animation launching on June 25, 2024 , in the United States (and fringe markets near the US border). Needless to say, I'm a fan.  And like so many classic animation fans, I I know what I want to see and what I don't want MeTV TOONS to air. Everybody has their thoughts on what should and shouldn't be there, and apparently, I'm no different, so, let me bore you to tears with what I want to see from a classic animation broadcast network in 2024: WHAT I WANT TO SEE on MeTV TOONS: Retro anime titles from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s: When MeTV TOONS was officially announced, the network revealed a pair of classic anime titles, Speed Racer and Marine Bo y, will be part of the network's launch. Anime from the 1960s and 1970s have rarely been seen on mainstream television. The fact that Marine Boy, which hasn't been on televisio

  On June 25, 2024, Weigel Broadcasting and Warner Bros Discovery are launching MeTV TOONS, an over-the-air broadcast network devoted to classic animation featuring the best of the best.  You'll have the usual suspects from the Warrner Bros library including Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Top Cat, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Jonny Quest, and Wacky Races .  You'll also find some shows that rarely get the airplay or shine from the studio like Silverhawks, Police Academy, Challenge of the Go-Bots, The Mask, and Beetlejuice and surprising shows like Freakazoid. In addition, you'll have some popular shows from other studios like Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Underdog, Speed Racer, Thunderbirds, and The Real Ghostbusters. With a lot of support from historians like Jerry Beck and talent like Bob Bergen, MeTV TOONS is a dream come true for older classic animation fans who felt abandoned by kid-sk