“Checkered Past” News & Discussion

[Bluebaron]

Depends on shows, some are TV-Y, TV-Y7 and TV-PG.

They aren't static like WBD did with Checkered Past.

I remember Hey Arnold got rated as TV-Y when aired on Splat.

Why are the old shows being rerated?

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

Most episodes of Cow and Chicken aired with TV-Y7 on Checkered Past. Also Samurai Jack aired with TV-Y7-FV. So the blanket TV-PG rating is mainly the case for the first four shows. One of the holiday specials of Ed Edd n Eddy was also rated TV-Y7.

I am not sure if the demands on here for more shows are echoed by the general audience. They have tried bringing in four new shows throughout this year. All of them came and went. I predicted Samurai Jack would have a short run, and it only lasted a month. Obviously Johnny Bravo would be a good addition to the block, but they seem afraid to air it. What else can they do?

Shows like Robot Jones or Mike Lu and Og likely would be a failure compared to what they air now. Recognition is likely more significant to ratings on a nostalgia block than whether a show has aired before on the block. It doesn’t make much sense to air shows no one outside of forums like this remembers. With a show like Robot Jones where the animation is intentionally dated to look like it was drawn in the 60s, I imagine it would bomb as badly now as it did in the 2000s.

People can bring up bizarre suggestions like Moxy, but airing some 30 year old CGI segments with Bobcat Goldthwait and Penn Jillette thirsting over Melody from Josie and the Pussycats is not going to do much for most viewers. That character was used very early in CN’s life cycle and most people have no idea what it is. It is unlikely if they even still have the old segments.

I know there are complaints about overairing shows with one hour timeslots on AS, but look at the amount of shows aired per week on CN/AS (41 combined) against other cable networks. It is much more variety than competitors. MeTV Toons is scheduled to have 45 shows a week, which is barely more than CN.

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[Checkerboard]

Centurions were Y7FV when they aired similarly to Swat Kats. Those shows would be probably rated R today lol.

But Swat Kats... don't expect them on tv. Iirc the rights fully reverted back to the Tremblay Bros. working on the revival Revolution.

 

[Checkerboard]

Last time Swat Kats aired on Cartoon Network it was randomly in afternoon of mid February 2006 for a few days. As for Boomerang, I think it appeared there a few years later in the night hours. It was there definitely still around 2003-2005 on rotation. Honestly, I think Swat Kats is the perfect show for today's Toonami. But if the show was written off ie. they lost the rights then apart from the DVDs they can't do anything with it.

 

[JMTV]

I am not sure if the demands on here for more shows are echoed by the general audience. They have tried bringing in four new shows throughout this year. All of them came and went. I predicted Samurai Jack would have a short run, and it only lasted a month. Obviously Johnny Bravo would be a good addition to the block, but they seem afraid to air it. What else can they do?

I mean, they should’ve kept Checkered Past as a block for Cartoon Network instead of Adult Swim. If not, then put them back on Max or something.

I know there are complaints about overairing shows with one hour timeslots on AS, but look at the amount of shows aired per week on CN/AS (41 combined) against other cable networks. It is much more variety than competitors. MeTV Toons is scheduled to have 45 shows a week, which is barely more than CN.

You’re not wrong. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t acknowledge that Nick and Disney have way worse variety than CN, but I just want CN Classics library to have a good home because for some reason WBD see them as expandable.

 

[harry580]

why can't they give checkered past to Cartoon Network (made sense since those shows were on cartoon network), but then again, as moe always says: no one knows about what happened to those contents

 

[Checkerboard]

What I also miss about today's CN is that apart from the next bumpers and ecps and show promos they barely do anything extra like in the old days where they would get creative. There aren't even any blocks left. This was a chance for that. But they messed up... again. Remember trivia bumpers, groovies, other random music video, crosspromotional spots, etc.? Yeah. It feels very barebones ever since Boomerang rebranded. Which has been a while. And even that doesn't bother to have proper bumpers for all shows anymore. In this regard Checkered Past and Toonami Rewind feels like a great effort. Just on the wrong "channel".

 

[PicardMan]

I was thinking for shows like Dexter's Lab and Cow and Chicken maybe they can put them on Hulu and Netflix. If Max hates paying creators residuals, why not sell it to other streamers who will have to pay the residuals.

 

[JMTV]

I was thinking for shows like Dexter's Lab and Cow and Chicken maybe they can put them on Hulu and Netflix. If Max hates paying creators residuals, why not sell it to other streamers who will have to pay the residuals.

Yeah, putting CN Classics on Hulu might actually help, though I don’t get why WBD put all of CN Classics on Hulu instead of having most of them. That could actually help the service, but nope.

 

[ToonDude03]

I was thinking for shows like Dexter's Lab and Cow and Chicken maybe they can put them on Hulu and Netflix. If Max hates paying creators residuals, why not sell it to other streamers who will have to pay the residuals.

CN actually DID have Dexter and Cow and Chicken on Netflix back in 2013, but they were removed in 2015 due to CN not renewing their deal with Netflix. Dexter eventually ended up on Hulu, while Cow and Chicken hasn’t been available to stream anywhere since.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

What I also miss about today's CN is that apart from the next bumpers and ecps and show promos they barely do anything extra like in the old days where they would get creative. There aren't even any blocks left. This was a chance for that. But they messed up... again. Remember trivia bumpers, groovies, other random music video, crosspromotional spots, etc.? Yeah. It feels very barebones ever since Boomerang rebranded. Which has been a while. And even that doesn't bother to have proper bumpers for all shows anymore. In this regard Checkered Past and Toonami Rewind feels like a great effort. Just on the wrong "channel".

This is one of the reasons I don’t mind Checkered Past on adult swim. For me the bumpers with CN characters chilling in random IRL settings or appearing in little animations like the house bumper have more classic CN feeling than the Pastel theme CN has. I have rewatched all the current lineup’s shows at this point and mostly just scan through the episodes to watch bumpers. If nothing else, they have some creative artists working on those. Hopefully we get more batches of them soon.

I imagine it’s just budget, and the end of companies like Primal Screen, but the lifelessness of the current CN theme does not exactly make me want to watch anything on there. I definitely think the days of unique themes like the Powerhouse and City eras are behind us. Even the simple red backgrounds and characters saying their favorite foods from the Yes era seems more creative than the current look…

 

[PicardMan]

TeenNick's nostalgia block lasted an entire decade (it was kind weird to put it there as teens would have been old enough to remember the 90s when it was launched as The 90s are All That). I think it spent quite a few years on autopilot so maybe Checkered Past will coast for a few more years. The packaging is pretty cool (don't know the meaning behind the skull and crossbones logo, for Cartoon Network/Adult Swim historians, fill me in).

 

[19MagiswordLane]

(don't know the meaning behind the skull and crossbones logo, for Cartoon Network/Adult Swim historians, fill me in).

The skull and crossbones appeared at the end of many adult swim shows in the 2000s. It was basically CN's logo for Williams Street's shows.

 

[JMTV]

This is one of the reasons I don’t mind Checkered Past on adult swim. For me the bumpers with CN characters chilling in random IRL settings or appearing in little animations like the house bumper have more classic CN feeling than the Pastel theme CN has. I have rewatched all the current lineup’s shows at this point and mostly just scan through the episodes to watch bumpers. If nothing else, they have some creative artists working on those. Hopefully we get more batches of them soon.

Yeah, like I said before, the Checkered Past bumpers was the main highlight for me since they recreated the vibes of the CN City. It’s pretty neat.

I imagine it’s just budget, and the end of companies like Primal Screen, but the lifelessness of the current CN theme does not exactly make me want to watch anything on there.

Yeah, me too. I don’t care what anyone says, but the current Pastel feels so boring and uninviting.

I definitely think the days of unique themes like the Powerhouse and City eras are behind us. Even the simple red backgrounds and characters saying their favorite foods from the Yes era seems more creative than the current look…

Yeah, that’s the sad truth of it all..

Hell, even the freaking Noods era is more creative than the Pastel era…

don't know the meaning behind the skull and crossbones logo, for Cartoon Network/Adult Swim historians, fill me in

The skull and crossbones appeared at the end of many adult swim shows in the 2000s. It was basically CN's logo for Williams Street's shows.

Not to mention, the skull logo was done by Mike Lazzo back in 2000. Now that’s a deep cut.

 

[Silverstar]

or have BET air CP instead! they're a kids/cartoon channel like CN but created by walt disney!

And this isn't the first time you've made this erroneous statement, despite being told otherwise several times now. What's up with that?

This is one of the reasons I don’t mind Checkered Past on adult swim. For me the bumpers with CN characters chilling in random IRL settings or appearing in little animations like the house bumper have more classic CN feeling than the Pastel theme CN has. I have rewatched all the current lineup’s shows at this point and mostly just scan through the episodes to watch bumpers. If nothing else, they have some creative artists working on those. Hopefully we get more batches of them soon.

I imagine it’s just budget, and the end of companies like Primal Screen, but the lifelessness of the current CN theme does not exactly make me want to watch anything on there. I definitely think the days of unique themes like the Powerhouse and City eras are behind us. Even the simple red backgrounds and characters saying their favorite foods from the Yes era seems more creative than the current look…

Yeah, me too. I don’t care what anyone says, but the current Pastel feels so boring and uninviting.

I have to third this. The Pastel branding is so weak, generic and uninspired that it makes Yes and Fall Is... look like masterpieces in comparison. You know CN is in a bad place when I find myself nostalgic for those.

WBD essentially trying to bury the Cartoon Cartoons era wouldn't hurt so much if we were getting new Cartoon Cartoons for WBD to start their own legacy. New CC's are supposedly on the way, but who knows where or when they're going to happen? It's the sheer indifference and neglect that turly irks me.

Getting back to Checkered Past, @Checkerboard already pointed this out, but we're probably not going to see SWAT Kats on CKP, MeTV Toons or anywhere else since the Tremblays have seemingly secured the rights from CN and are trying to get their own series launched without WBD's involvement. 2 Stupid Dogs could work, though it's not a Cartoon Cartoon, it is kind of CC-adjacent, also 2SD is set to run on MeTV Toons.

 

[Goldstar!]

There are shows that could be added to Checkered Past that could help reduce the motonony, if AS was willing to think outside the box. 2 Stupid Dogs, SWAT Kats, Pirates of Dark Water and Cartoon Planet come readily to mind.

They're not Cartoon Cartoons, but they're heavily associated with CN and would fit in.

2 Stupid Dogs, sure. SWAT Kats and Pirates of Dark Water, no. Action shows don't belong on Checkered Past. WB could launch a separate block for action cartoons. I keep thinking about the second incarnation of Cartoon Planet (which I call "Best of CN" to avoid confusion with the OG Cartoon Planet). Best of CN started out as a nostalgia fueled block of shows from CN's earlier years, but then it gradually devolved into a generic weekday afternoon block with shows like The Amazing World of Gumball, Johnny Test and MAD that you could see any other time on the channel (at the time). If you're not going to commit to your own gimmick, then why have it?

or have BET air CP instead! they're a kids/cartoon channel like CN but created by walt disney!

Wrong on both counts. Once again, BET is not now, nor has it ever been a kid's channel, and it's never been owned by Disney either (Paramount owns BET). And BET sure wasn't "created by Walt Disney". BET was launched in 1980s. Walt Disney died in 1966! Where are you getting this information from? I'm beginning to wonder if you're doing this on purpose as some kind of joke.

 

[harry580]

It looks like no one look at my post above and I already told him that BET is no kid channel, and yeah, he said again and again.

I included a website as tried to help with prove.

I overlooked with Walt Disney because I didn’t understand his phrase, and Disney didn’t create BET at all, so that’s fact.

well, the closest thing to disney & bet relationship was the bet soundstage from pleasure island which since been demolished

 

[Checkerboard]

Basically what happened is the rights reverted fully to the brothers after waiting it out. Now they are pitching the revival after a Kickstarter. Supposedly they secured it with an Indian company and are working on it. They can do anything with the IP. They offered the revival to CN/Boomerang like two years ago but they declined.

 

[Leviathan]

2 Stupid Dogs, sure. SWAT Kats and Pirates of Dark Water, no. Action shows don't belong on Checkered Past. WB could launch a separate block for action cartoons. I keep thinking about the second incarnation of Cartoon Planet (which I call "Best of CN" to avoid confusion with the OG Cartoon Planet). Best of CN started out as a nostalgia fueled block of shows from CN's earlier years, but then it gradually devolved into a generic weekday afternoon block with shows like The Amazing World of Gumball, Johnny Test and MAD that you could see any other time on the channel (at the time). If you're not going to commit to your own gimmick, then why have it?

Samurai Jack is airing as part of Checkered Past, so your standards are stricter than theirs are.

 

[Goldstar!]

Samurai Jack is airing as part of Checkered Past, so your standards are stricter than theirs are.

Samurai Jack could be considered a comedy/ action hybrid. It's similar to The Powerpuff Girls, where some fans consider it to be an action show because it aired on Toonami for a time.

If action cartoons are permitted to air on Checkered Past, than comedy cartoons should be allowed on Toonami. If we're just going to ignore the rules, why have them at all?