Recently, I saw an ad for a show on Cartoon Network - Hole in the Wall - which features real people (families), attempting to dive, contort, and otherwise squeeze themselves through differently shaped holes in a rapidly advancing wall or risk being knocked back into a small pool of water.
This show first made its debut in Japan some time back and was brought to the U.S. where it used to be run on some of the big broadcast networks like ABC.
Now... correct me if it's wrong or stupid to believe this, but, um... isn't the whole point of a "Cartoon" network to show CARTOONS and not real life game shows? Seriously, I don't get why they even bother to call it Cartoon Network anymore if they allow live action, real world game shows like this on said network. :S
I'd really like to know the real reasoning behind having a show like this on Cartoon Network... someone, please explain it to me... :death:
Profit, what else?
I sure can't explain WHY... but Cartoon Network at least hasn't lost it as much as Nickelodeon has. CN at least still has some credibility. And they also have Boomerang which basically shows all their old CARTOONS. Nick? Well, they got Nicktoons but they still don't show Rocko or anything awesome like that very often.
My only explanation- CN feels like they need to compete with Nick's re-entry into the live-action shit. Even though they don't.
Live action is off topic for Cartoon Network i guess, but Nick used to have some good live action shows back in the late 80's to the mid 90's. You Can't Do That On Television, Nickelodeon Guts, Nick Arcade, Salute Your Shorts, and a few others were pretty funny.
The best CN can do is Toonami and Adult Swim. They should just run that all day long. :death:
I'd say that Cartoon Network never needed to compete with the Nick network because they were supposed to provide animation 24/7 whereas Nick had both preschool shows (Nick Jr), Nickelodeon (kids and teens), and Nick at Nite (adult classic TV shows).
Whereas Cartoon Network was built off the premise of having animated shows all day and all night, from classic Hanna Barbara/Warner Brothers, etc to more modern cartoons such as the multitude of classics from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, to anime, animated featured not owned by Disney and such.
It just seems insanely stupid to me to have a "Cartoon Network" that has live action stuff... I dunno... I guess I'm just idiotic that way... *shrug*
EDIT: Oh and let me add this... It's "Cartoon" network, not "Kid-only" network - yet another reason it shouldn't have had to compete with Nickelodeon (a kids' only network sans Nick at Nite)
Nickelodeon started going down hill when most of thier flagship series ended . with Johnny bravo, Ed,Edd, and Eddy , the Powerpuff girls, dexter's lab, and so on all finished, they were running short of ideas. Toonami's viewership was waning as the dragonball z series eventually concluded, and all the other big animes such as tenchi muyo, cowboy bebop, and others were all done and completed. They tried remodeling Toonami, only to have it fail miserably and eventually breathe its last. with no new ideas left. Out of ideas: cartoon network is desperately trying to do anything to stay alive and relevant. they cant come up with original cartoons,and instead are taking the cheap way out with animations from other countries and studios, and live action shit.
I have no idea how well its working, but im putting bets on them and nickelodeon not doing so hot.
A "Cartoon Network" should be for Cartoons only. End of discussion.
TV is dying slowly and putting up anything it can to keep its profits. Television doesnt have the monopoly on visual media (not counting movie theaters) it once had and is now competing with the internet with youtube,hulu, crunchyroll,etc.
Once they make a tivo or dvr that lets you watch stuff off youtube and hulu on your tv, it will be the beginning of the end for cable and sattelite Television and the start of internet TV.