The Decline Of TELETOON

How Teletoon went from being a great network to being just downright aweful in 10 years.

I remember the day Teletoon launched its network on October 21, 1997 and as I remember fondly all of the shows that used to grace the Teletoon it's changed a lot since it launched.
Gone forever are the cartoons that I've come to know and love and here are the cartoons that just make it out and out terrible. I thought that I would get at least a Transformers TV show or two or maybe even the old G.I. Joe cartoons. Everything that I used to love as a kid just seems to have disappeared off of Teletoon and I don't just mean the small forgivable cartoons.

Duckman: Private Dick Family Man

For me Duckman was the start of Teletoon's greatness. The whole show revolves around the misadventures of a hopelessly inept duck detective, his pig partner, and his disfunctional family which includes his sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and 2.5 children, Ajax, Charles, and Mambo. Charles and Mambo share the same body while Ajax is socially awkward. Somehow this show found its way on to the CTVGlobe Media network Razer.

The Simpsons

The story of another disfunctional family that includes the funny, yet slow witted, Homer, his quick witted wife Marge and their 3 children. Bart, the devil's cabana boy, Lisa, the intellect, and Maggie who's the smartest of them all. This show was transferred on to the Comedy Network.

Flash Gordon

The concept of Flash Gordon is the same now as it was 10 years ago. There is a good guys vs bad guys plot in which Flash almost always outsmarts the evil doers and wins. What's not to like about it? However this show seems to have vanished into obscurity. For what reason? I don't know and I don't even want to know.

Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, and Quickdraw McGraw

What look at Teletoon nostalgia would be complete without looking at these antiquated Hanna Barbera, who were the creators of slapstick comedy, cartoons. Wow that takes me back to the late 80s and the times that all networks aired cartoons. Now the new Teletoon Retro, starting in October, will be airing these cartoons.

X-Men

X-Men had orginally aired on the now defunct Fox Kids Network in 1992 and since that time very little has changed. In order to celebrate the launch of the X-Men Movie in 2000 Teletoon aired the entire run of the X-Men cartoons which included the Phoenix Saga. Not much time to air all of those shows but it still brought me back to when I was 15. I still enjoy watching X-Men even though it was only for a short time.

The Avengers

The Avengers is another show that was borrowed from the now defunct Fox Kids Network. Even though it only lasted a year the storylines and plots were great. However there are some things that are best left in the ground.

The Silver Surfer

No look at Teletoon nostalgia would be complete without looking at the Silver Surfer another show from the now defunct Fox Kids Network. I had high hopes that Teletoon would air the second season of the show but you know what? I'm kind of glad that they didn't.

Santobugito

Santo Bugito is another Klasky-Csupo cartoon classic. Yes this is the same production studio that brought you Duckman, Rugrats, and All Grown Up. A very forgetable cartoon.

Scooby Doo Where Are You!

Yes my favourite H-B cartoon made its way on to Teletoon before that god aweful What's New Scooby Doo? Why WB had to go and change it I don't know but they should have left Scooby Doo the way it was. Now they're going to add Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get A Clue this year and I wonder just how much it's been changed.

Jonny Quest

Out of all the HB cartoons Jonny Quest was, and still is, one of my favourites. I suppose what I liked most about it is that there was almost always a mystery to solve. Whether it was a tomb in Egypt or exploring the Arctic circle. I think that this cartoon almost always had a plot to it that I really liked.

So what exactly happened to Teletoon? I think that with the budget that it first started out with they could get all of the cartoons that I remember as a kid. But as time went on and on I think they just started getting lazy and as time progressed they felt that they needed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, which is 0, in order to appeal to the populace of adults who still spend their time watching cartoons.
Not that I ever had anything against such shows as Robot Chicken, Family Guy, and Futurama but it might be nice for them to put some cartoons that grown girls might like. Let's hope that when Teletoon Retro launches in October they don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator and put on some classic cartoons that appeal to all ages.

Comments

I know that Teletoon is a Canadian cable TV channel that shows
mostly cartoons...but considering which cartoons it shows, it
appears Teletoon has been infected by the same bug which struck
Cartoon Network here in the States...unfortunately, there aren't
too many Canadian cartoons, bad or good, and those toons that ARE
produced in Canada are mostly for cheapskate American producers.

You may be interested to know that at one point, Teletoon decided to cut down on adult programming after accidentaly airing one of their adult programs during their preschool time slot.

Quit being an emo.

Another "Wah, wah, wah! (insert network here) sux now!" article. Yawn.

tiny toons was said to air on teletoons. why wasn't that included on your list?

Fox kids and such aired in canada.

If you're Canadian, then how do you remember US blocks and networks? I've seen you talk about Fox Kids before.

Most of those shows are on DVD!

I've never seen Teletoon, but why would they play "The Simpsons" on a station like that?

also, when was FLash Gordon, X-men, and silver surfer ever on Teletoon? i distinctly remember them airing on YTV.

teletoon is canadian only... its canadas answer to the cartoon network

thankfully Duckman's back on canada again on Razer.

Is Teletoon from another country? Because in the States, I never heard of it until now.

And another thing, This article is seriously mis-titled. You say it's about the fall of Teletoon, but you really only touch on "the fall" for a few sentences, the rest is a list of shows you like or didn't like. Com'on, write about what you say your going to write about. Save the scant detailed lists for a TV listings periodical.

Sigh. Why do so many article writers not bother to do their research? Here's the reason Teletoon took a dive:

When Teletoon first launched in 1997, it had several time blocks devoted to certain content and showed more mature fare as the day progressed, with a strong commitment to air diverse and international programming, as well as the ability to air a great majority of material uncut. A typical broadcast day would start with preschool content at 7:00 a.m. and end with adult content after midnight, airing more adult cartoons such as Æon Flux, Duckman and various Original Video Animation.

Unfortunately, Teletoon had an incident during their first year when they accidentally broadcast adult content, including cartoon nudity, during a time normally devoted to preschoolers (thus outside of Watershed). The backlash from the government and parental groups resulted in Teletoon cutting back on almost all programming aimed at teens and adults, alienating those viewers. Teletoon is trying to regain that demographic, starting with the creation of the time block The Detour on Teletoon. Its newest programming block, presenting shows for adults and teenagers. The Detour on Teletoon includes: 12 oz. Mouse, Angry Kid, Bromwell High, Squidbillies, Stroker and Hoop, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Tripping the Rift, Venture Bros, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Family Guy, and Futurama.