Bringing Back the Old School FoxKids

[Pikachu]

Remember back in the day when FoxKids used to be the best Saturday morning line-up on television? SpiderMan, X-Men, Godzilla, Power Rangers and I forget what else was on, but it used to be the schizznet.

Then they started putting on whack shows like digimon and I started watching Cartoon Network Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings much more often because FoxKids never got new episodes, but after that it turned into the FoxBox and got mediocre animation such as Kirby, Fighting Foodons, Ultraman, Ultimate Muscle, and later TMNT. (oh and don't forget "The Cramp Twins" *cringes*)

The only shows I've even liked out of "FoxBox" are Stargate Infinity (which got pulled after only one year). I tried to like some of those shows, especially Kirby and TMNT but they're just not... good

So what do you say about bringing back FoxKids programming such as SpiderMan? There's no way that 4kids gets good ratings is there? I've always thought they were in a bit of a ratings slump by the way they never rerun their shows.

 

[BCVM22]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "bringing back Fox Kids programming." If you mean reviving the involved shows, Power Rangers still continues someway somehow, and the rest, there's no chance. The various creative staffs have scattered to the winds. If you mean showing reruns, also no chance. Disney has control over the Saban library, meaning they have complete control over where and how Spider-Man, X-Men, the Power Rangers library and anything else with the Saban label on it are broadcast or released.

Fox Kids weekdays went belly up because affiliates wanted the afternoon hours back to program on their own. Saturday mornings did the same because the ratings were sinking. Chances of the Fox Kids name arising from the ashes are nonexistent. Your credibility suffers from use of the word "schizznet" in a non-ironic context.

 

[TheMecca]

That's what everybody says.
Not gonna happen. EVER. 4Kids now technically owns that airtime IIRC.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

whack shows like digimon

You fail automatically.

 

[CyborgRex]

I tried to like some of those shows, especially Kirby and TMNT but they're just not... good

Hey TMNT may not be as good as it used to be but it still was the best show that block ever had and probably ever will have.

 

[kempobot]

You fail automatically.

digimon was terrible. (please don't kill me!)

 

[spidey4545]

Though I agree that Fox Kids will probably never be resurrected, I believe that there is something about Fox Kids that should be utilized in current children's programming blocks: the level of commitment Fox Kids gave its viewers. All of the following information refers to Fox Kids before Haim Saban took 50% ownership of the block...because quite frankly, Fox Kids was never the same afterwards. Saban's network philosophy involved profits...he tried to save money by importing all of his new shows from other countries and dubbing them with an English voicetrack. I'm not saying that all of these shows were terrible (ie: Space Goofs); but he cut quality to cut costs, ultimately leading to the block's demise in 2002. If you think that the glory days of Fox Kids were after 2000 when Digimon ruled the network, then you are seriously mistaken and did not experience its 'true' glory days.

Despite starting out slowly in its first two years, Fox Kids rose exponentially to the top of the ratings in the early 90's. The block's ingenious creator, Margaret Loesch, should receive much of the credit for engineering a quality lineup run by people who genuinely cared about enhancing the viewing experience of children's television. For one thing, the Fox Executives always strove to choose shows that were innovative and outside the box (ie: Eek the Cat, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Zazoo U, Bobby's World, and even X-Men...you have to remember that X-Men premiered in a time when nobody thought such a show could survive in the ratings...obviously they were wrong as X-Men was Fox Kids' first number one show, and not MMPR as many people believe). Fox Kids was intimately involved in the production of most of its shows, which ensured that each show exhibited quality writing and animation. Additionally, Fox connected with viewers outside of the television through the Totally Kids Magazine and the Fox Kids Radio Countdown. Such forms of outside contact with viewers were unheard of in the early 90's. Kids could send in letters through both mediums and have their voice heard. Even more so, Fox Kids also broke the mold for noncable networks by expanding a Saturday morning lineup to include weekday mornings and afternoons. By having weekday programming, excellent advertising campaigns could be made to advertise the Saturday lineup during the week....something that other networks that only run on Saturdays such as ABC, CBS, and NBC could not do. As many will remember, Fox Kids' promotions department created some very high quality commercials and bumpers, many of which are still remembered today by fans line for line.

Nevertheless, today's networks need to develop programming blocks that expand the genre, and not just schedule shows to fill the time slot. It seems that networks solely care to get ratings and profits...but they don't realize that these will come if quality programming is present. They need to reach out to viewers and connect with them, in ways that have not been done before. They can't be reusing the same old tactics because they aren't going to work. Even if networks followed Fox Kids' original philosophy from 1990, they might not be successful; but nonetheless, they need to follow the Fox Executives' original mindset - being innovators in the industry, trying to expand the medium to bigger and better levels of success.

 

[bigddan11]

All foreign Fox Kids Networks are now known as Jetix, and the block that would air if their still were Fox Kids is what TD airs as Jetix. Honestly while I loved Fox Kids, I find TMNT to have been the best show they've ever aired, ad I'd take Shaman King over X-Men and Spider-Man, so no, I don't care for it to come back. I do watch Jetix and love Oban Star-Racers, W. I. T. C. H., SRMTHFG!, Dragon Booster, and Mystic Force though.

 

[Moto Pete]

Eek the Cat Bobbys World

 

[Mr. Manager]

They could eventually bring back the Fox Kids name but not the shows.

 

[Dudley]

I don't know how old-school we're talking about, but Fox Kids ain't coming back. As soon as Disney bought out Saban, practically every show that aired on Fox Kids became theirs, and they all moved to Disney owned newtworks. Heck even the Fox Kids Network in Europe changed its name to Jetix.
Fox started over by bringing in 4kids to make Fox Box, which then became 4Kids TV.
So Fox Kids is dead. The shows might still be airing somewhere on this planet, but they will never come back as a programming block.

 

[veemonjosh]

I tried to like some of those shows, especially Kirby and TMNT but they're just not... good

Then they started putting on whack shows like digimon

 

[Draft]

dissing shows isnt that nice pikachu(i try not to, or at least ry not to compeltely express my hatred)

it'll never happen, Fox Kids programing is now a part of Walt Disney, which would mean it would air on jetix, but the rumor is the rights expired in July 06 to the marvel stuff. Also, it was rumored beyblade was lost, but its still on the schedule..

 

[bigddan11]

dissing shows isnt that nice pikachu(i try not to, or at least ry not to compeltely express my hatred)

it'll never happen, Fox Kids programing is now a part of Walt Disney, which would mean it would air on jetix, but the rumor is the rights expired in July 06 to the marvel stuff. Also, it was rumored beyblade was lost, but its still on the schedule..

Beyblade never aired on Fox Kids. Medabots did.

 

[Pomegranate]

As I miss the old-school Marvel programming, I wish Fox would replace 4KidsTV with Marvel programming since Disney lost the rights to the Marvel shows months ago.

I was wondering, does Disney's license to the shows they've acquired by purchasing Fox Kids and Saban Entertainment last forever w/o expiration?

 

[Nightwing]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "bringing back Fox Kids programming." If you mean reviving the involved shows, Power Rangers still continues someway somehow, and the rest, there's no chance. The various creative staffs have scattered to the winds. If you mean showing reruns, also no chance. Disney has control over the Saban library, meaning they have complete control over where and how Spider-Man, X-Men, the Power Rangers library and anything else with the Saban label on it are broadcast or released.

Your credibility suffers from use of the word "schizznet" in a non-ironic
context.

Sure, if you like. But the credibility of the argument is unshakable, even though the fact that these old shows will never come back is equally unshakable.

The LEGAL reason why, though, really doesn't matter. The reason those shows from way back when aren't going to be used on younger viewers is because that's simply not done, for the most part. A programming block wants and needs to show something new, so it can be marketed as new.

And from a non business POV, which is where I come from, generations aren't born to go backwards. Everything needs to go forward, making shows that are a product of the time by that time period for the people of that time period. It's kind of a personal generation thing.

You can't expect viewers today to watch SpidermanTAS or X-MenTAS. For one thing, the episodes with bad animation would stick out like sore thumbs, whereas in shows these days it's slightly less noticable.

I got "The Batman" instead of reruning Batman The Animated Series because that's simply what's done. And of course, being grown up I can obviously find so many things wrong with The Batman, which BTAS could easily school you on.

Threads like this aren't made to completely and literally bring old line-up blocks back to life in all detail. They're for guys like this Spidey4545, who lists some points and examples every Executive should copy down into a TV Creation Bible.

 

[BCVM22]

Sure, if you like. But the credibility of the argument is unshakable, even though the fact that these old shows will never come back is equally unshakable.

The LEGAL reason why, though, really doesn't matter. The reason those shows from way back when aren't going to be used on younger viewers is because that's simply not done, for the most part. A programming block wants and needs to show something new, so it can be marketed as new.

And from a non business POV, which is where I come from, generations aren't born to go backwards. Everything needs to go forward, making shows that are a product of the time by that time period for the people of that time period. It's kind of a personal generation thing.

You can't expect viewers today to watch SpidermanTAS or X-MenTAS. For one thing, the episodes with bad animation would stick out like sore thumbs, whereas in shows these days it's slightly less noticable.

I got "The Batman" instead of reruning Batman The Animated Series because that's simply what's done. And of course, being grown up I can obviously find so many things wrong with The Batman, which BTAS could easily school you on.

Threads like this aren't made to completely and literally bring old line-up blocks back to life in all detail. They're for guys like this Spidey4545, who lists some points and examples every Executive should copy down into a TV Creation Bible.

So... you concur with my response, or not?

 

[Dark Fact]

The old school Fox Kids was some of the best lineup in animation I had ever seen on that network. Heck, I can still remember watching "The Tick" and "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" on that block. Fox had a lot of great variety going on then.

I think it also had to do with the fact that back in the early to mid 90's, there was a new renaissance to cartoons where creators got to pitch their own ideas to networks and as a result, we got some of the best original toons then. Nowadays, it's back to useless corporate drivel. I sure hope that we'll be going back to the renaissance of cartoons sometime soon. Today's toons just don't seem to cut it as much as the ones back then did.

Though I agree that Fox Kids will probably never be resurrected, I believe that there is something about Fox Kids that should be utilized in current children's programming blocks: the level of commitment Fox Kids gave its viewers. All of the following information refers to Fox Kids before Haim Saban took 50% ownership of the block...because quite frankly, Fox Kids was never the same afterwards. Saban's network philosophy involved profits...he tried to save money by importing all of his new shows from other countries and dubbing them with an English voicetrack. I'm not saying that all of these shows were terrible (ie: Space Goofs); but he cut quality to cut costs, ultimately leading to the block's demise in 2002. If you think that the glory days of Fox Kids were after 2000 when Digimon ruled the network, then you are seriously mistaken and did not experience its 'true' glory days.

Not only did Saban tend to cut quality with the shows he acquires, he went overboard in 2000 during the infamous "X-Speed" season of Fox Kids. Case in point: Vision of Escaflowne. Vision of Escaflowne had a big following with the anime scene and when the edited version aired on the block, fans were absolutely furious with the watered down version and lashed out at Fox Kids. Coupled with the network's realization of the show's target demographic and the show was cancelled after merely 10 episodes. Cybersix also aired in that block but it was pulled quickly (though the exact details are sketchy. Some say that the distributor pulled the rights too quickly while others say that the ratings were a flop) and with the way it was watered down, it was for the best anyway. With show ratings dropping like flies in addition to them being pulled, the "X-Speed" season was met with a quick demise and went back to just being Fox Kids. Although Fox Kids lasted for another season after that, the damage done to Escaflowne may had been a contributing factor to the demise of the block. Hell, Vision of Escaflowne itself may never fully recover from the scars of what happened to it on Fox. It was that big of a deal.

 

[Draft]

Beyblade never aired on Fox Kids. Medabots did.

i know, but it was on the topic of shows leaving jetix..

 

[trayguy]

I like the 4kids lineup. WINX CLUB,BRATZ AND TMNT. Also I wish they would bring back the complete series MAGICAL DO RE MI. I really liked the theme music to it too.