Harvey Beaks Series Talkback

[FlooterFlatter]

C.H. Greenblatt confirmed that Harvey Beaks got renewed for second season

 

[SaneMan]

glad to hear that

 

[kanc]

I'm surprised with this. The ratings hasn't been doing well when it aired as Sunday night block started late March to May

 

[Toon4Thought]

Wow, this year really has had a habit of handing out renewals like nobody's business. But hey, if it means Nickelodeon could potentially start to climb out of their deep, deep rut, I have no reason to complain.

 

[Zanneck]

While this is some awesome-sauce news here, I'll only be okay with this if Harvey Beaks actually gets more exposure than it does now, as it is the only show on this channel I truly can bring myself to care about, TBH.

... And Nick could stand to have more cartoons this nice, intelligent, and engaging going forward. By that, I mean they need to be treated better, as this is an example of the kind of hero Nick (and especially any and all of its fellow viewers, especially the target demographic - kids!) needs.

 

[ToonJay723]

Glad it got renewed. I think 1 million, is Nick's new normal now.

 

[FlooterFlatter]

Another thing is that there's an one-hour special in the works. That should be neat

 

[Toon4Thought]

"Dad Band" and "Foo's Panic Room" were both alright. Neither of these didn't really have anything truly bad in them, and both of them had very genuine morals, but I also really can't find myself considering either of these spectacular.

The latter segment was a bit stronger IMO because I did really enjoy the part where they fantasized this big adventure and then you see what it actually is, along with Princess's role in general. Though Dad Band did have a unique team up and some minor but nice character insights. The downside to both of these episodes is that there wasn't really enough going on for the majority of their runtimes to really draw me in, and they both felt like they may have ended a bit too quickly.

I don't know, as necessary as purely episodic cartoons are, I'll admit that they do have a bit of a disadvantage in that each episode really needs to have something notable happen for them to really be worth judging individually, and for me these were really just sort-of... there. Again, there's nothing bad in here, but I liked last week's episodes better.

 

[SaneMan]

A pretty good bunch of episodes

"Dad Band"
I'd never expected to see the excess and downwards spiral of self-destruction of a Birthday Party Band.
Not to mention the proof that no matter how low-key your band may be, you will always get a Yoko Ono

"Foo's Panic Room"
Was interesting. The plot definitely had many unexpected twists and turns, and it wasn't obvious what direction it was going. Also Kratz finally did something noticable. Fitting, how he pretty much stated that he wanted a bigger role (which works on a meta level, seeing how he was pretty much just a background character till now)

 

[chum_chum]

Some writers were answering fan questions, so wrote them this:
Hey, your work is so great, both on the show and of the podcast. I have few important questions as a huge fan of the show.
Do you know why Nick is treating Harvey's promotion so badly? They totally gave up? If they did, why order the second season? Seems illogical for me. Was it critical acclaim/online ratings/possibility of having cult fan-favourite? Nick has a bad reputation with hipster nostalgiafags (but they are not the demo audience, so they are irrelevant), does the staff feel the same?
Sorry, if I made you uncomfortable, you can ignore this post if you want.

One of them answered:
Thanks for the kind words! I will NOT ignore this post!
I honestly don't know why Nick isn't airing more promos for HB or why there are barely any reruns of episodes. Nick ordered a half-season pick up for season two (14 half-hours). They did this back in... February? Maybe March? Either way, the writers started writing season two before season one starting airing on TV. The studio does this because if they don't keep the crew employed, everyone will go off and find other jobs before they can air a show that could be a potential hit. And if it's a hit, they just lost their crew of hit-makers! Therefore, they keep everyone on and working towards more episodes, hoping it'll be the next SpongeBob when it airs.
But, if a show premieres and it's not immediately the next SpongeBob, it seems like Nickelodeon's current mindset is to deem it a failure and turn their attention to the next new, bright shiny show that could be their next SpongeBob. The barometer they weigh everything against is "how does the new show's ratings compare to SpongeBob rerun ratings?"
Of course, SpongeBob was never "SpongeBob" when it first aired. It took time and a few seasons to turn into the juggernaut it is. Hopefully Nickelodeon will give Harvey Beaks a chance to find its audience and replay the show every once in awhile.

Also other info from that interwiew:
- Personally, I always thought the Tail of Les Squirrels episode really subtly defined the show. It was the second episode ever done, so it's sort of like a second pilot. It does a great job of setting up all the side characters while also defining Fee as a character. It's also the only episode Carl and our supervising producers Derek and Diana have boarded together (I think) so that makes it especially cool to me anyway.
- Right now I'm very excited about the upcoming episode, "Recipe for Disaster".
- There is a 44-minute special that will be a part of season two, but it might work more like a bridge between the two seasons rather than kicking off s2. I'm not really sure. It depends on how programming wants to air it. Carl did announce that the special is a musical and Steampunk related, but the egg does not hatch during it.
- There's a great Randl episode coming up soon (maybe in a few weeks?) called "Randl's Scandl". Marc Maron is awesome and we definitely try to get him in as many episodes as we can.
- Claire, Kratz, and Technobear all have episodes in season one that feature them heavily.
- A little down the line we do learn more about some of the other kids' families (especially Rooter's).
- Carl has some cool ideas about Fee and Foo's history, but don't expect to hear about it any time soon.

 

[kanc]

Looks like new Harvey Beaks scheduled for this Saturday has been pulled, along with new Sanjay and Craig. A shame. Ratings fared 0.8 viewers for the past 2 weeks with no promotion.

 

[Rhaynebow]

Yeesh. I've only been able to watch one episode of this show online. I really did like it. Hearing how Nick already seems to be hurting this show feels like a massive gut punch. And coming from the words of a person working ON the show too? Dang...

 

[Lord Hater]

They totally gave up? If they did, why order the second season? Seems illogical for me. Was it critical acclaim/online ratings/possibility of having cult fan-favourite? Nick has a bad reputation with hipster nostalgiafags (but they are not the demo audience, so they are irrelevant), does the staff feel the same?

Nickelodeon shows now automatically get renewed even if they had low ratings like Max & Shred, Make It Pop, and Harvey Beaks. I wouldn't be surprised if Talia got renewed.

 

[SaneMan]

yeah, guess they can shove the rest to Nicktoons if it does not do well in their eyes

 

[Zanneck]

yeah, guess they can shove the rest to Nicktoons if it does not do well in their eyes

I would be OK with this - too bad unless you have other sources, only so many people are going to see it. Only because Nicktoons is not very widely available legitimately... I hate it when actually good shows get treated like this, because... Money. I know that's how it is, but it just shouldn't always be like that when it comes to keeping quality products in place - which is the right way to a profit. FACT.

 

[SaneMan]

Nickelodeon wants every single show to have as strong ratings as SpongeBob, not remembering that it took allot of time and exposure for SpongeBob to get the ratings it has now
as a result, Nick kills every show long before it can build itself a following, without them even trying to help it gain a following

 

[Toon4Thought]

Nickelodeon wants every single show to have as strong ratings as SpongeBob, not remembering that it took allot of time and exposure for SpongeBob to get the ratings it has now
as a result, Nick kills every show long before it can build itself a following, without them even trying to help it gain a following

How has the network not realized just how phenomenally flawed the logic in this is by this point?

 

[shoohorn]

What about TMNT? it had spongebob potential!

 

[SweetShop209]

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/c-h-g...h-nicks-treatment-of-harvey-beaks-116928.html

Harvey Beaks summer premieres pulled until further notice. I know it was mentioned, but I feel it's good to put up the article with CH Greenblatt's response.

 

[ToonJay723]

What about TMNT? it had spongebob potential!

I see TMNT merchandise everywhere along with SpongeBob.