Worrying about the dub......

[Nomekop Oen]

I cannot see why everyone is disappointed about this. It is actually just a dub and dubbing is an awful way to destroy anime, anyway. Haven't they changed the auditors before?

Swing and a miss...

And in response to Nomekop wondering if it would be safe: Remember, they picked up Power Rangers from Fox (which puzzles the crap out of me).

*shrug* Well yeah,I know ABC picked up Power Rangers.But,this is Pokemon we're talking about.Pikachu is the mouse of the east,Mickey is the mouse of the west.Something just doesn't feel right if it starts airing on ABC/Disney's network IMO.And by airing Pokemon on ABC,Disney is basically contributing to the continued success of the Pokemon franchise.(which will puzzle the crap out of me Oo; ) The two franchises aren't exactly rivals I imagine,but I doubt the two would be so eager to scratch each other's back.

 

[michan]

Tell that to the people who can't read subtitles because they're either too young, blind, or have a disability. =P You sure have an awfully bleak outlook. Does redubbing for other countries' cartoons ruin them too? If you found, say, Spongebob Squarepants or insert-American-cartoon-here, in French, Japanese, or Russian, would you cry out indignancy because they're 'ruining a cartoon with dubbing'?

No you wouldn't? Then you've got no argument. Move along please.

Yes, I would. Btw, my mother tounge is not american English and I don't live in the US.

 

[Andromache]

Gadfly, I don't have dial-up anymore so I wouldn't know how long episodes take to download, but it's torrent files, which tend to take a while even for broadband. For me, I'd say it's taken two or three hours per download session, so if I downloaded two or three eps at once, it'd probably take me a few hours to get the whole thing. That's actually really slow. I'd say for dial-up, downloading would just be painful and not worth it. As for quality, I think it's a bit rate of 128, and it's avi format, so sound is good enough. Can't say anything about picture quality, obviously.

 

[Unregistered]

Gadfly, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on the thought that Pokemon didn't know that WB was going to drop their show. I find this whole thing questionable. They wouldn't be dubbing the show if they didn't have a place to air it.

The gadfly has been looking forward to the day we disagreed.

Let's look at the facts.

We know PUSA is dubbing the next season. Logic says PUSA is well into dubbing the next season since they would have planned on the shows airing beginning sometime in September or October. The dubbing began in March or more likely, earlier.

When did MediaWeek announce that Pokemon was being dropped by the network? April 24th?

So, are you arguing that PUSA knew months ago that KidsWB or its successor would drop Pokemon? And that PUSA had already lined up an outlet before spending money to dub the shows?

Ever heard of Occam's Razor? It says the simplest explanation is most likely to be the truest one.

 

[BigCN401]

Don't assume that everybody have cable/satellite. Since we're in the "digital age" I get better "programs" via over the air digital tuning than cable... not to mention the price of free vs. $50 a month! I DO NOT want it to be air on CN exclusively. All this time when I heard UPN and UB merging I was so happy that I would get to watch Pokémon on TV AGAIN as my area doesn't have WB. If Kids WB isn't resuming the show then I hope other major networks will.

BTW I heard that NBC will ditch Discovery Kids this fall... *ponders*

 

[Andromache]

Yeah. I don't have cable, either, partly because it's an unnecessary added expense and partly because it's an unmanageable added expense. It has great channels, like Discovery, Animal Planet, and National Geographic, but seriously, $40 is way too much to justify just a few channels. Talk about price gouging, IMO. I've heard there's some $10 plan, but I don't know if that one even has Cartoon Network, and then paying installation. Bah, no thanks.

 

[AtoMan]

It won't be on Fox since that's just like WBs like saturday morning opponent now. I'd place a higher bet on Jetix but not likely. Probably it'll just go back to CN but then only stopped at the end of Johto so they may have to go all the way through AG

Jetix is actually the best choice for all the world - actually in almost every European country Jetix is airing Pokemon...

But prolly it'd be CN...

 

[Sharpshooter]

I'm not entirely fussy as long as we get it somehow. I have Sky+ digital in the UK and I'm hoping it will be recieved somewhere within the hundreds of channels it has. Can't see Sky One doing it though if ratings are falling in the US. Perhaps Toonami will keep it up.

 

[Discworld Vulpix]

Gadfly, I love the fact that we know we all can have a civil debate on this forum. Occam's Razor is a reach for the crowd I'm usually speaking with (in real life, not on these forums) and I'm afriad my usual similie is not in the best taste for this particular forum. Allow me to also say here and now, I'm almost always the first to acknowledge that, in fact, the simplist answer almost always really is the correct one.

I fully agree with the possibility that WB/CW may have all of a sudden dropped Pokemon. It's completely understandable with the station change that ideas and paperwork may have gone under the microscope and been adjusted accordingly.

However, it seems very odd to me that WB would change their minds so quickly about how they feel about Pokemon. At this very moment, they are pushing the Mirage special along with some sort of contest on their website. To back this brand with a contest takes money and resources on both sides. Agreements, communication. They seem to have some sort of working relationship that exists to date. If you jump on pokemon.com there's a press release about mirage stating how good the ratings are with *get this* a quote from the same woman at WB stating how great Pokemon is. But then why would WB be basically bad-mouthing a brand they're still trying to get ratings from on another release?

So that makes me question if it's actually the CW/UPN side that made the decision. It's possible, but, again, the negativity came from WB.

WB is bad-mouthing something they're still putting marketing dollars behind and gave a positive quote to in another piece. Seems odd. Seems more to me like sour grapes.

I think Pokemon started doing the dub, knew about the switch happening w/ WB/CW and saw the new contracts. Something didn't make them happy or they want to reach more people (depending on your opinion of cable vs. network) and it was their choice.

Pokemon hasn't stated where their new network is yet and I'm not surprised. This isn't a prime time to announce something like that. I wish we had someone here from the industry to help out with this, but isn't there a typical time of year that shows/networks announce info such as this? I mean, beginning of summer is re-run time. Big announcements come later. Maybe they're waiting to do a huge push behind it or something? I don't know.

LOL -- Summary -- I guess I'm saying that although the simplist answer may be the most obvious, both answers are simple. Pokemon doesn't have a network or they just weren't aware this release was going out/weren't ready to comment. </end long post>

 

[Rayne]

Jetix is actually the best choice for all the world - actually in almost every European country Jetix is airing Pokemon...

But prolly it'd be CN...

I don't see the Jetix thing happening because ABC Family is dropping their Jetix
block as well, leaving ABC and the Disney channel to pick up its cartoons.

As I've stated before, ABC Family announced that they will be dropping their
Jetix Block in fall of '06. It would be nice for Pokemon to be on there, but that
branch of the network seems to be closing the door on cartoons.

 

[Nekusagi]

I don't see why Disney would have a problem, Nomekop. After all, like I said, they're a business. ABC'd kill for those ratings, and honestly, is any of the coveted 6-11 male demographic really watching "Kim Possible" or "That's So Raven"? I doubt it.

Okay, time for a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, there was a cartoon called Family Guy. And this show aired on a network called Fox, and people watched it, and they liked it. Then, for no reason, Fox canceled the show and replaced it with bad sitcoms that only lasted 10 episodes, tops, leaving it to Cartoon Network to pick it up. After a while, Fox noticed that the show was getting excellent ratings on CN and the DVDs were selling like hotcakes. So Fox took the show back, and their ratings on Sunday nights went back up, and Cartoon Network continued to show reruns, and everyone lived happily ever after. The end.

Sound familiar? As much as I hate to say it, I have a feeling that Pokemon is going to turn out like Family Guy- WB/CW's ratings are going to take a hit, while CN gets excellent ones out of Pokemon (should it pick it up- if not, substitute network of choice), and WB is going to beg to get it back when they realize no one's watching their crap (I personally feel after Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain went, WB's Saturday block started down the slippery slope of mediocrity it rides now). That's just my opinion, though.

On the other hand, I may sound like a broken record here, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, everyone complains about the dropping, but no one ever tries to do anything about it. I think if WB thinks that no one's watching Pokemon, we can prove them wrong, with letters, petitions and the like (I'll need their address though). I know, I know, SOVA, but I don't think there's as much polarization of opinion here- we're all bummed/worried. Seriously, we can prove them wrong, and in the words of Pie, it may not help, but it can't hurt. Anyone with me?

And I lack cable too, simply because my parents can't afford it. Yeah, if it does move to cable, I'm already planning on paying the grandparents to tape it, but it's so much trouble for one grandkid...

 

[Unregistered]

Vulpix, based on your two earlier posts in this thread, the gadfly senses you haven't quite synthesized your position yet. Perhaps you haven't reconciled what you want to believe and what your eyes and experience tell you.

I fully agree with the possibility that WB/CW may have all of a sudden dropped Pokemon...However, it seems very odd to me that WB would change their minds so quickly about how they feel about Pokemon.

When the CW was announced, they made a point of saying the existing executives of KidsWB would remain in charge. They never said the Saturday morning line-up would remain unchanged. All of us overlooked that point during the happy marriage of the WB and UPN.

Once the rice settled on the ground, the new CW had to make the hard business decisions about what it wanted to be. For whatever reasons the CW had, it decided to drop Pokemon. That decision could only be made after the CW was formed. That decision had to have been made recently.

If the CW hadn't been formed, I believe, based on the show's ratings, Pokemon would be on KidsWB schedule next season.

At this very moment, they are pushing the Mirage special along with some sort of contest on their website...If you jump on pokemon.com there's a press release about mirage stating how good the ratings are with *get this* a quote from the same woman at WB stating how great Pokemon is. But then why would WB be basically bad-mouthing a brand they're still trying to get ratings from on another release?

I'm sorry I can't come up with a great example like I did with New Coke in the SOVA thread.

If I were running KidsWB, I'd try to milk Pokemon for all I could until I had to say goodbye to it. KidsWB isn't going to go away until this fall. Don't forget that! While it exists, it's going to do its damndest to rake in the big bucks. PUSA is going to help since they get a cut of the money too.

As for the two-prong approach praising Pokemon while disparaging it as well, that's the classic technique of targeting two different audiences. On one hand, you're pleasing the people watching the show, thereby keeping them watching until the end. On the other hand, you're telling the investors that losing Pokemon is no big deal. It works better than you'd think because of selective screening by the two audiences.

Pokemon hasn't stated where their new network is yet and I'm not surprised. This isn't a prime time to announce something like that.

Dogasu would have you believe the networks make their announcements in February. Maybe that was once true, but nowadays, series get canceled after a few episodes. So, announcements get made all the time.

In this case, you have two networks merging. They have to figure which shows from the two networks will continue in the CW. They have to figure out which new shows will debut. Throw in the administrative headaches of integrating staff from the two networks as well as working out new contracts with show producers. I'm sure there are tons of other details to work out.

All of us are going to have to wait for announcements.

 

[TSS_Killer]

Someone please delete the baka's posts and send the Baka Chimney Cleaning Service to that person's home.

 

[Nekusagi]

Gadfly isn't a baka, TSS Killer. He's one of the few sound voices of reason we have on these forums, and you ought to respect him for that.

 

[FabuVinny]

He was refering to the two (now deleted) posts after that. It basically said "gadfly...." and then repeated the word "spam" many, many, many times.

I hadn't thought to put the comparison with Family Guy but something similar could feasably happen here.

 

[Nekusagi]

He was refering to the two (now deleted) posts after that. It basically said "gadfly...." and then repeated the word "spam" many, many, many times.

I hadn't thought to put the comparison with Family Guy but something similar could feasably happen here.

Oh, okay. I didn't want to think that Gadfly was being called a baka.

And yeah, this whole thing is looking a lot like FG. Especially given that the average run of your crappy Kids WB cartoon is 10 episodes, anyway (How Mucha Lucha survived two seasons is a true mystery of our time).

But they'd better not cancel Johnny Test. I've gotten rather addicted to that little ball of stupidity.

 

[Habunake]

The gadfly creeps me out, he is so mysterious. Could he be of high importance?

Anyway, is Viewtiful Joe gone from the Saturday Line-Up too?

 

[Nekusagi]

Nah, just a poster who prefers to remain unnamed.

 

[Cybersai]

The gadfly creeps me out, he is so mysterious. Could he be of high importance?

Anyway, is Viewtiful Joe gone from the Saturday Line-Up too?

That's gone too. KidsWb dropped ALL their anime for home-grown cartoons.

 

[Dogasu]

(I personally feel after Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain went, WB's Saturday block started down the slippery slope of mediocrity it rides now).

Unfortunately, those two shows fell prey to the practice of separating ratings by demographics, so Kids' WB! isn't as likely to put any more shows on their block as "smart" as those were. Johnny Test is probably the closest we'll get to that, but I would say that show's closer to Dexter's Laboratory than Animaniacs.

I think Kids' WB! agrees with you, though, about the "going back to basics" thing. They want to go back to the days when the block was filled with nothing but home-grown projects, and I can kind of see why they'd feel that way.

Dogasu would have you believe the networks make their announcements in February. Maybe that was once true, but nowadays, series get canceled after a few episodes. So, announcements get made all the time.

It was true that Kids' WB! would announce the majority of their shows in February up until this year, and I blame the merger for that. It probably took the Kids' WB! folks a longer time to iron out a solid schedule, which is why we're only now getting scheduling information.

Regardless of when things are announced, one thing to remember is that everything isn't always announced at these upfront things. Cartoon Network didn't announce Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in their 2005 upfront, yet the network still aired it. The same thing could be happening with Pokemon; CN may end up airing it even though they didn't announce it during their 2006 upfront.