Reviews Creator / Disney Channel

I'm assuming you believe it's gone downhill since you enjoyed it as a kid. Maybe you're just too old for the channel, and need to give it up. It's really that simple.

I really think people today need to let children's channels go. I did. I don't mean you have to stop enjoying family-oriented programming, but if you're watching a channel and you stop enjoying the majority of what's on it over time, you're not the target audience anymore. I didn't complain when I realised I wasn't enjoying Cartoon Network anymore, I just stopped watching and moved on. You claim that Phineas and Ferb is "horribly formulaic". Yeah, it probably is, because it's for kids, and kids don't mind formulaic entertainment. We watched tons of formulaic stuff as kids. We just didn't notice it, because we were kids. We didn't analyse it. One of my favourite shows as a kid was Cubix, and it was laughably formulaic. Kids have robots, bad guy shows up, robots attack, robots win.

I really think more people need to accept this. We're living in a generation where today's young adults expect to be constantly catered to by their childhood channels. When people say "Hey, you remember when Nickelodeon had GOOD shows?" what they should say is, "Hey, remember when I was at an age where the shows on Nickelodeon entertained me?" This is the truth. It's not the channel getting worse - you just grew out of it. Accept it. :)

>a cartoon that wouden't be too out of place on Adult Swim.

on the one hand, that maybe a point for Disney since it can get them a Periphery Demographic (and it's not unheard of for a show with that being able to sustain a network by itself).

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Gravity Falls is not as ... child-unfriendly as the likes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalpoplypse and especialy Famuly Guy.

I actually don't care for either version of Suite Life, but I like early Wizards of Waverly Place and Good Luck Charlie (and I Didn't Do It, but that's probably an unpopular opinion).

TT 454:

First off, a cartoon or a TV series should be timeless and should be able to appeal to people of all ages. I see the point of the argument you are trying to make, but that doesn't justify how Disney Channel has just lost its luster. (more significantly than Nick or Cartoon Network in my opinion)

If I were to agree with your argument, that would mean that I wouldn't get to experience good shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, The legend of Korra (seasons 3 and 4), Gravity Falls, TMNT (2003 and onward), and heck even Adventure Time since I grew up a bit by then. Those are all shows made in children's entertainment channels but unlike Disney, they were clearly made with care and respect for what it was trying to be, unlike how disney spews out the same sitcoms with the annoying laughtracks.

So no, I don't feel that just because I grew older the channel started being garbage. I actually feel that AS I grew older, the channel started to care less about the quality of their shows. Just because we aren't in the target audience, that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy some of the shows they put out. After all, the more the merrier right?

I also advise you to rewatch some older cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog, earlier seasons of Spongebob Squarepants, and heck even Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends to see how good cartoons should be made. They still make me laugh even NOW when I am in my teens.

"You claim that Phineas and Ferb is "horribly formulaic". Yeah, it probably is, because it's for kids, and kids don't mind formulaic entertainment."

- Sadly I agree. But that doesn't mean that formulaic stuff can't be done right and still be fun (Regular Show). That show on the other hand, is so horribly formulaic with the same tired jokes that I can't even watch it anymore. Kids will still like it but I don't really see what's keeping them from watching Regular Show instead.

Ryochi Miyeabara, I never said that people cannot continue to watch children's programming. That's fine, one can watch whatever they like. For example, I enjoy Angry Birds Toons as a guilty pleasure. What I DID say was that people need to stop being so attached to the ENTIRE channel. People shouldn't naturally expect a children's channel to cater to them. Sometimes, these channels do. Adventure Time and The Regular Show are examples. However, I have noticed that there are people who cling too much to their childhood channel and feel offended when its programming isn't adult-oriented. Personally, I'd feel uncomfortable watching Cartoon Network at age 21. I'm not a kid anymore, and I know that if I watched it, most of what's on it wouldn't entertain me. I don't have to rely on it anymore.

Also, I disagree with the "all cartoons and TV shows should be timeless and be able to appeal to all ages" argument. While I think that shows should be able to aim high and try to gain a big audience, it isn't an absolute necessity. Like I said before, I enjoyed Cubix as a child. Is it timeless? Oh, no. In fact, looking back on it, it sucked, but as a kid I loved it. Hell, many people consider Ren and Stimpy timeless. As a kid, I found it repulsive, and I still don't understand the appeal. But it entertained people. So I believe that if a show entertains somebody, it's acceptable. Not every show for kids has to be some masterful opus for the entire world to witness. A lot of people online really hate shows like "Johnny Test" and "Sanjay and Craig" - I've never watched them and certainly don't want to, but I find the hate for them ridiculous. Again, they're clearly throwaway shows aimed at kids and only kids, but all these older viewers take them so personally and rant about how bad they are, even though they're not the target audience. It's just as bad as people who rant about the Twilight books, taking their existence as some kind of personal attack.

Also, a kid, I never watched Courage The Cowardly Dog. In fact, I still haven't watched a single episode of it. I was very picky as a kid. I did, however, watch early SpongeBob (seasons 1-3) a lot and of course I absolutely adored it and still do. As for Foster's, yeah, I watched it. Did I like it? ...Eh. It really depended on the episode. Some episodes were funny and warm, while others I found to be despicably mean-spirited.

Last thing: I too despise laughter tracks. A character saying a mildly amusing line shouldn't result in a cacophony of guffawing.

Hey, hate to be the one to tell you this, but you obviously recently came into contact with a wormhole and was transported ten years into the future, because 2004 was about when things started to go "downhill", as opposed to the post-apocalyptic wasteland Disney Channel is now.