Most want to attribute it to lack of toy sales. Mattel thought the toys weren’t selling, so they told CN to pull the plug. The reality is that the toys really sold well…at first. But Mattel made a series of blunders like poor distribution and case ratios, clogging up pegs with He-Man and Skeletor variants rather than other figures people wanted like Two-Bad and Cyclone. So they really shot themselves in the foot with that one.
Personally, I’m not going to say any more or argue about whether the show is cancelled or not. I’ll take it at face value that it’s on hiatus until someone definitely in the know says otherwise, and until then hope for the best. I don’t really feel like arguing about it, especially since after last week I had arguments on my FB page with a friend who believed in a 9/11 conspiracy, and an argument with a conservative friend over foreign policy. So I don’t really have the energy or the inclination to discuss this particular topic until something substantial comes up.
You can’t really complain about that when they were probably planning to do that in the second season. Complaining that the show didn’t feel complete is more dumb than anything (not calling you dumb, but there are a lot of people that complain about this).
after reading through most of the posts on the cartoon network fan talk about favorite thundercats character, lion isn’t favored by most of the kids there which i think is terrible. if kids can’t relate to the main hero, it doesn’t bode well for any series in the long run.
It just seemed like something to throw in to be like “Hey, kids need morals!” I think multiple things in the OS should be viewed more as gimmicks than additions to the show.
I really want to say something, but all I’m going to say is that really isn’t correct. I just think in general you shouldn’t expect more of the same for a new series that models an old cartoon. I don’t really want to use the example, but My Little Pony is the same. A new show that actually develops characters and isn’t formulaic like the franchise it is based off of. There are also people, like ThunderCats, who think the older series are far superior. The difference between the two? MLP:FIM is marketed much better, not only in aspects of commercials in general, but the fact that it appeals to its target audience; everyone. The show was made for everyone to enjoy, not just little girls. The same goes with the old ThunderCats. It was made to entertain younger boys. Not only does the new series do that, but it’s a great show for older fans because it has a great story, intelligent dialogue, and many other awesome things. It was, however, marketed to younger boys, like the OS, and that was its downfall. I doubt there were a ton of kids that were like, “OMG, ThunderCats? I’ll go buy the toys because I totally remember this from the 80s.” It needed to be advertised to a more mature crowd because it was a more mature show and would draw more from people 18 and older. I also say the same for Young Justice, considering the last good DC show (Teen Titans) ended in 2006.
On kids’ favorite characters; While Tygra and Cheetara get mentioned a lot in that thread on CN’s forums, when I went to my local Wal-Mart I noticed that there were a lot more unsold Tygra figures than Lion-O figures, so make what you will of that.
Keep in mind that the people who frequent the CN forums may or may not be older than the target demographic who are expected to buy the toys. Let’s be honest, Tygra is a rather polarizing character for some people. And a lot of the CN forum goers mention Cheetara as a favorite, even though she gets a lot of criticism for being a flat character. Same goes for Pumyra. She does have a lot of fans, and remember there was a lot of love for her when her first three episodes aired.
Fact is, Lion-O, Pumyra, Tygra, and Cheetara are polarizing characters. The writers took a lot of risks when writing them, as opposed to Panthro and the Twins, whom the writers seemed to be playing it rather safe with. One more thing I’d like to mention is that in the second half of the season, Lion-O does do better in fights, and Tygra gets beat up a lot more during fights, so there’s something of a switch around in that aspect.
you are right about liono outshining tygra in the second half of the season, but i’m guessing most viewers, kids in general have tuned out way before the role reversal.
Well Hammy0924, The OS cartoon and toyline were a great success worldwide, unlike the NS, so I think you will find I am correct in my opinion.
Like MLP:FIM and MOTU 200X, had Thundercats stuck to the same back story and closer to the original designs it might have done better, then the only thing going against it would have been a crap toyline.
If you meant commercially superior, then you’re right. Otherwise, the backstory in the OS was total crap and had so many holes in it. And I think saying absolutes like the OS “is superior in every way” only makes your argument seem more flawed, because the only thing you can truly say is superior is the fact that it sold more toys and got higher ratings. You can’t say the story was better because it barely even had one. The character development in the OS was nothing near the NS, even with Cheetara. And of course the animation and voice acting is better, but that just comes with better technology. To say that the OS is better with no questions asked is not a valid statement at all because there are several things the NS has done that the OS couldn’t do. I don’t think the OS could have been better if it did have a story and character development and it certainly worked for the time period. I honestly think if the OS came on today, kids wouldn’t enjoy it as much as the NS.
From a writing perspective the NS is drastically flawed when the heros that are supposed to appeal to children dont like them. Character development is great in a series when done correctly but in the case of the NS it wasn’t.
The OS had a good back story for what it was, the NS may have had a more explained back story but it didn’t appeal as much to young or old fans, I personally didn’t like it that much. If it had been started with Leo and them having tchnology it would have been better. The episodes with Leo appealed more t m as it reminded me of the OS.
NS could have been great but from bad writers, poor character design, terrible advertising and a dreadful toyline it was a failure.
Hammy, you’re being hard-headed again. I do disagree with MarkM on some designs (which I loved the updated versions except for Cheetara’s; I think they had more of a time with her and shoulda gone with superhero, sweet 16 Cheetara,) I felt Cheetara was better developed than cardboard NS Cheetara. As a role model, she had a balance to her that intrigued me as a kid in the OS. Sorry, but I think you never truly watched the old series enough and are being hard-headed.
P.S. The reason why I liked the updated version, Lion-o looks like a Final Fantasy character (OMG I’M FANGIRLING! HE LOOKS LIKE CLOUD!) Tygra is not in a leotard, thankyou! Panthro reminds me of Hellboy.
It’s very surprising to me that kids on CN Forums don’t find Lion-O to be appealing. In my opinion both Tygra and Lion-O are well handled as characters, though I must agree Tygra seems to flip flop a lot. Lion-O is a growing boy in the NS, so the way he is (full of flaws) seems perfect. He can make mistakes, and he is not overshadowing other characters like he did in OS (at least for me). I like it when every character gets their fare share of spotlight. Cheetara, seems like she fills in for Jaga time to time, giving advice and what not when she is not busy being an eye candy. I wouldn’t say this Cheetara is any less independent than her OS counterpart.
I was of the opinion that the new show sometimes moved too fast, guess I was wrong. But yes in terms of telling an overall arc, it did drag. The power stone quest should’ve ended little earlier and moved onto to another objective. I wouldn’t want the NS to be solely based around the Cats finding these stones and thus ending Mumm-Ra’s reign of terror. There should be more to it. I hope the show continues. The NS is just fine regardless of flaws, things would get polished out if given enough time.
Besides finding the last stone, I’ve been hearing rumors that if the show gets renewed, then i8t will focus on Lion-O growing to become the hero we know and love and how they’ll get Jaga out of the book of Omens. As a Lion-O fan, I’m hoping that Lion-O will, finally, beat his brother at something because Tygra can’t be perfect all the time. I like Tygra but his pessimism and arrogance tends to get on some people’s nerves.
I like the show because the Wilys are cute, It’s got a good storyline, Lion-O’s a character who, like the OS, learns to become a true king, and Panthro looks tougher than his OS incarnation.
I loved Snarf, The Wilys, and all the mutants! The 2011 series show should finish up on Toonami 12 am run b/c it fits that audience more than younger kids…but I could understand if they want a kid friendly ThunderCats show!
I’m not all that surprised kids seem to gravitate to Tygra.
Tygra’s character never really had to deal with that many consequences to his actions so kids will naturally be drawn to the character that can get away with the most while having the least ramifications.
Tygra never had to face any consequences for trying to kill Lion-O multiple times. He never had to face any consequences for his racism and bigotry. He never had to face any consequences for his constant treasons and insubordinations against the King of Cats. He never had to face any consequences for his constant attempts to jeopardize the main mission such as his betting the Stones against Vultaire.
As a matter of fact, Tygra’s character was rewarded more often than not for his bad behavior and actions. He even got the girl by being a xenophobic headcase with homicidal tendancies and an inferiority complex.
Now look at Lion-O. From the get-go to the finale, he had to shoulder nothing but pain, heartache, and the burdens of responsability. He constantly felt the consequences of actions and choices and never really saw any rewards for his sufferings.
He was constantly outdone and outclassed by a secondary character who the production crew obviously favored.
Every time it looked like he would finally earn a reward for his sufferings, the rug was pulled out from under him in some sudden and frankly, poorly plotted scheme.
The Crew did a pretty good job drawing distinctions between the two.
Tygra was the “bad-boy” who never had to worry about consequences and repercussions of his bad actions because he was being constantly rewarded for his bad actions.
Lion-O was the head-strong but caring “nice guy” who constantly dealt with the consequences and repercussions of not only his actions but the actions of others as well.
Looking at things from the perspective of a kid, who would you favor; Tygra the “bad-boy” who got all the reward and none of the consequence or Lion-O the “nice guy” who got none of the reward and all the consequence?
That is, of course, a extremely skewed and biased opinion on how things happened.
Saying Lion-O was never good and never got rewarded is just plain wrong. Lion-O is the king and the one the sword chose. Lion-O was the one who was given a second chance at life. Lion-O is the one the animals they met rallied around to save. Lion-O is the one that makes the final decisions whether Tygra agrees with them or not. And more times than not Lion-O is the one that saved the day at the end of the episodes.
Saying Tygra was rewarded for bad actions is wrong as well. He might’ve gotten a girlfriend (oh the horror) but that was hardly a result of bad things he had done. That was the result of a good thing he had done when he was younger. And Tygra wasn’t rewarded for gambling the stones either because after he won the race he STILL didn’t get the tech stone. where exactly was the reward there? just that he won? winning that race meant nothing if he couldn’t get what they were trying to get from it.
I’ve been lurking for a while and among other things I have been doing, I watched the first season of Legend of Korra. Opinions differ on this as they do on all things here, but I thought it was brilliant from start to finish, a true exemplar of just how fine an animated series can be. Did not understand the hype until I saw it for myself. (don’t understand the criticism either - sorry Hammy).
Watching that series threw many of the mistakes of the NS into stark relief by comparison. After watching LOK, the inconsistency of the writing and character development in the NS is very apparent. Part of it probably comes from having a half-dozen different writers work on one unified storyline. I also suspect that as EyesWideOpen has said above, some of the production crew were strongly biased in favor of their “favorite” characters, which led to some plot decisions that were unpopular and counter-intuitive.
This is not to say that the NS was a failure - I thought it was the answer to everything I disliked about the OS as a child. There was no corny, platitude-ridden spiel delivered at the end of every episode; the heroes did not always smugly win (with one exception); the villains were not always bumbling rejects; and the overall storyline was far more sophisticated and profound than the kitschy '80s program. It was the first series that got me up early on a Saturday morning since my childhood. I really enjoyed it and felt that for the most part, it was well done.
But after seeing Korra, it’s obvious to me why that series has the green light and the NS is on hiatus. I hope that changes, but I’m not optimistic. I have felt for a while that the schism in handling some of the plot choices runs deep not only in the fan base, but in the creators and writers of the NS itself, and it’s not reconcilable at this point. I think that more than anything - poor toy sales, bad TV slot, whatever - is the reason the NS is moribund.
If things do change, I’ll be back around. Farewell for now. It was nice being here with you all.
Yes, Lion-O is a King…without a Kingdom…and whose subjects preferred another as King instead of him. Not exactly banner worthy.
The Sword choosing Lion-O can be viewed as well, a double edged sword. Yeah, it’s great to be chosen for the honor but what does that choice really mean? He gets a life of combat and challenges. Unless you watched different episodes than anyone else, Lion-O wasn’t given a second chance at life, he earned that. The animals rallied around ALL the Cats, not just Lion-O. Yup, Lion-O makes the final decesions…after all the moaning and complaining is done. Wher do I say Lion-O doesn’t save the day? I simply point out that he is long on consequence burdens and short on rewards.
Tygra getting a girlfriend is hardly the result of any good things he’s done either. To say it’s the result of a singular kind act during the time he booted Lion-O into a cliff trying to kill him doesn’t really do much for the scales of just karma. That and it cheapens Cheetara because it makes her stuck in the past and not seeing the present. As to the bet, Tygra’s reward for was him walking away without suffering any negative consequences for making the bet in the first place. He makes an outrageous wager out of pride, gets a “you better win” and a kiss for good luck and that’s it. Fact is, he deserved a broken jaw and much more from either Lion-O, Panthro, or both as well as a cold slap across the face from his bobble-head, I mean Cheetara.
So again, Lion-O gets the consequence, Tygra gets the rewards, the scales remain out of whack.
Sorry if my opinion upset you but again, it’s just an opinion. Try not to take them to heart so much otherwise you’ll spend a lifetime chugging Pepto. Remember, dversity is a blessing of humanity.
