The Slaughter, Part 1

When the 4Kids-driven Fox line-up premieres this fall (on Saturday mornings), it will be met with intense hostile reaction by its competition, similar to the free-for-all that many of us have just seen in the past year.

“Many of us”, being the viewers who have been tracking the evolution of animated programming. As of September 2002, no new episodes have been ordered for the following: Anne Of Green Gables (PBS), Cubix (WB), Daria (MTV), Family Guy (FOX), Heavy Gear (SYN), Johnny Bravo (Cartoon Network), Invader Zim (NICK), and many, many more. And during Sweeps, the period of programming that has come to be known by certain groups of cartoon enthusiasts as The Slaughter, the shows that currently inhabit the Fox Kids block will be undoubtedly disposed of.

Like, most of these following shows:

Power Rangers: Wild Force -- The umpteenth installment in the Power Rangers lexicon. Needs no explanation. Cartoon Network’s line-up should destroy this immediately.

Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension -- Unfortunately, this series about a character called Nick Bluetooth, who was unwillingly thrust into a fight against the forces of evil, yada, yada, yada, was halfway good. Halfway. These days, mediocre is just not good enough as the unfortunate cancellation of this series will prove.

Medabots -- All who assume that any cheap Japanese import will come over and conquer had better think differently when this show is either kicked over to ABC Family or kicked off the air. Studios and companies who pony up the cash to make their shows halfway decent will stay in the game, and this is the message that FOX needs to get.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise -- Crappy voice acting, the stilted movements of the characters, and all the stock footage that’s crammed into the episodes to cheaply pad it out makes this one an instant sinker. When you’ve got shows like Cowboy Bebop and He-Man as competition, where even the rebroadcasts will suck away audiences like a Hoover with a Cyclonic Filter, you can’t afford to put a show (even if it’s an installment of one of the most popular animated properties ever created) that has nary an imaginative element in its plotlines on your line-up. Once again, the message will be that you cannot entertain your young audiences with cheap imports and think that you will be able to get away with it. You will lose your audience.

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