GL had toys beyond the Happy Meal ones? I was lucky enough to get a Razer--who hasn't appeared in any form beyond that. For my kids I had to scour ebay for JLU GL toys to get a Hal and company.
Young Justice, Green Lantern return January 5th
- Thread starter Enterprise is Great
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Maybe that's the point? Toy fail.
I don't think they even put them out to have a chance to fail. Thundercats, I can see why they canceled the show since those toys lingered on shelves for months and months. I never saw any GL product besides the happy meal toys and a kid book or two.
Granted, the well might've been poisoned by the live-action GL film toys also gathering dust on shelves.
If the product line couldn't even be launched they might have just decided the whole venture wasn't worth continuing regardless of the merits of the show itself.
Well, those were used in shows or comics that were sillier/cornier all around, so they didn't feel as jarring in that context. It's also just that Lagaan uses it so damn often, at the drop of a hat. Combined with the way Yuri Lowenthal delivers the line, it just makes me wince every time I hear it.
Great Scott, what is your problem???
(A line which doesn't have the same impact if you're addressing someone named Scott.
)
Seriously, I have to agree with the frequency of use. I don't have a problem with his delivery, though.
I also didn't realize that was Yuri for the longest time. He sounds totally different from Ben.
(A line which doesn't have the same impact if you're addressing someone named Scott.
)Seriously, I have to agree with the frequency of use. I don't have a problem with his delivery, though.
I also didn't realize that was Yuri for the longest time. He sounds totally different from Ben.
I didn't have my nerdrage glasses on. I see it now.
I have to admit, if there were any toys, I wasn't interested in buying them. I just don't really buy toys anymore. My son is far to young for that kind of toy. So, I guess that makes me a part of the problem!
I have a feeling, the audience skewed older... I have no facts to back that up... but, YJ, I wonder if a 10 year old would be hooked on the longer story lines like... well, this 38 year old?
Your instincts are correct. It scores poorly in the younger toy buying demographics.
Mind you, this is strictly anecdotal, but it seems to me that CN has a disconnect between their creative and management directives. I don't think Young Justice would likely appeal as much to that set as other properties could. It just seems too serious and solemn. The main characters are young men and women not so much teens.
It's hard to imagine shows like Sym-Bionic Titan were ever going to move much toys, maybe T-shirts?
Green Lantern seemed closer both in tone and design, the characters look like toys but that fell apart for some reason.
It just seems as if their programming is not in sync with the marketing and sales goals. When they had the unannounced hiatus some weeks back it seemed as if the showrunners were as surprised as the audience.
While I think this odd separation has allowed for some interesting shows to be developed that would probably not have happened otherwise there might have been more success if both sides were working towards a common goal (if I'm indeed correct at all about any of this...).
It's hard to imagine shows like Sym-Bionic Titan were ever going to move much toys, maybe T-shirts?
Green Lantern seemed closer both in tone and design, the characters look like toys but that fell apart for some reason.
It just seems as if their programming is not in sync with the marketing and sales goals. When they had the unannounced hiatus some weeks back it seemed as if the showrunners were as surprised as the audience.
While I think this odd separation has allowed for some interesting shows to be developed that would probably not have happened otherwise there might have been more success if both sides were working towards a common goal (if I'm indeed correct at all about any of this...).
How does one makes toys of this?
I mean I guess it's possible but it doesn't seem so straight-forward.
But yeah I'd even be tempted by a t-shirt. I don't remember if toys or just merch was mentioned for Titan's demise.
EDIT: Found these online for a laugh
http://jcproductions.deviantart.com/art/Save-Sym-bionic-Titan-203107944?moodonly=123
http://moopdrea.deviantart.com/art/OCTUS-PLUSHHHHHH-205105333
^Easy. Just use transparent plastic.
I would think if they were that reliant on Toy Sales they would have actually put toys in the stores. I've worked in the toys department at my local Wal-Mart since early last year, and the only DC toys I've seen are Batman and a handful of C-List hero DC Universe figures.
Are toy sales actually more important than ratings for these kinds of shows? I would think that would just be a plus, not the whole life source for the show.
Are toy sales actually more important than ratings for these kinds of shows? I would think that would just be a plus, not the whole life source for the show.
Well, even if, say, they accidentally made a show that targeted the wrong demographic for pushing toys on, or if production problems threw a wrench into the ad campaign machinery, or if there was too much behind-the-scenes friction, or whatever, I'm still glad YJ got made. It was a great show.
I agree, that's what amazes me so much when I hear the reasons given for axing these shows. I love that somehow CN keeps pumping out interesting shows. Beware the Batman seems to be going in that same direction. Will kids be playing with Professor Pyg figures at Xmas, time will tell.
Different values of "they." The network is not the toy company; rather, it depends on the toy companies' revenues from toy sales to help underwrite the production costs of the show. Ideally the funding for the show comes from a blend of the network, the advertisers who buy commercial time on the show, and the toy company that makes the tie-ins. If no toy company agrees to develop a toy line, or if said toy line performs poorly, then that requires the network to carry a larger share of the show's production cost, and that makes the network less likely to keep making the show.
Ah, I see now. I'd just never really heard of a show that was so reliant on merchandising. I was under the impression that that was usually just a little extra that didn't really impact the mothership element of the franchise one way or the other.
But I guess things might work differently for these kinds of cable kids shows than they do for adult network and cable shows.
Does Nikelodian rely on toys like this? Because I've never seen any Korra toys in the stores, and I want to make sure I shouldn't be worried about it's future.
But I guess things might work differently for these kinds of cable kids shows than they do for adult network and cable shows.
Does Nikelodian rely on toys like this? Because I've never seen any Korra toys in the stores, and I want to make sure I shouldn't be worried about it's future.
No, this has pretty much been the norm for animated shows for decades now. That's why so many cartoons in the '80s were basically half-hour toy commercials like He-Man and Transformers and Thundercats and MASK and Jem and My Little Pony and Pound Puppies and crazy-awful things like Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. All of those were built around pre-existing or simultaneously developed toy lines in order to promote them. And even those few shows that weren't based on toys to begin with were pressured to write in vehicles and equipment that could be marketed as toys -- which is why The Real Ghostbusters had a mini-copter in their early episodes, and why the Gargoyles acquired a helicopter in their first season even though they had wings of their own.
Heck, the long-running Power Rangers franchise, now nearing its 20th anniversary, is an adaptation of an even longer-running Japanese franchise that's co-produced by the toy company Bandai and basically exists to sell merchandise, which is why every season features new Rangers with new costumes, equipment, and giant robots.
I don't think Nickelodeon is as strict about it as Cartoon Network is. And the Avatar franchise is so prestigious and acclaimed that I doubt they'd ditch it.
There was an Avatar: The Last Airbender toy line, but it was an abomination because it completely excluded the female characters, even though they were consistently the most kickass and powerful fighters on the show. Given that kind of mentality, it's no wonder they haven't found a toy-company partner for Korra.
Good to know. I've always wondered why animated shows get pulled after 1 or 2 season, and maybe 3, while live action dramas last 10. They've created a culture that relies on toys. It's unfortunate when you consider that they can rely on ratings like other shows but don't.
On the other hand, a lot of those toy-driven shows in the '80s ran for quite a few seasons. I'm not sure why, for instance, Cartoon Network finds it necessary to end most of its shows at no more than 65 episodes. Heck, for your typical '80s cartoon in daily stripped syndication, that was a single season (5 days a week for 13 weeks).
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