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The 65 Episode Rule
An editorial created by Tuc on 06/19/2005.
Now as to the Why this Policy is so wrong, well that's simple and it comes back to a bit of Studying I did on Telelvision shows and the rememberance of how a great series is.. Does anyone here know the Longest Running Series ever? (Here's a Hint.. It ran 20 years and ended in 1972.. and had over 600 episodes.. Gunsmoke... Batman from 1966 got 130, The Original Star Trek Series got 78 episodes and yet later spawned Star Trek the Next Generation which ran for 7 seasons and 175 episodes.
The Simpson are ending their run after 16 seasons and 350+ Episodes (The Final Count won't be determined..) and even a couple of Animated series ran just as long Real Ghostbusters by DIC animation ran 7 seasons and ended after 140 episodes. And the Flintstones ended after 160 episodes and a 5 season run on ABC..
in short the Average Lifespan of any given TV show is roughly 7 years/Seasons and about 140-152 episodes Mash for Example Ran 12 seasons and had 248 episodes including the final episode 'So Long, Goodbye, Farewell' which got some of the highest ratings in history.
yet here we have All these shows that are rememebred yet who remembers Gummi Bears? Very few people. Who Remembers Bonkers? Again very few fans. and who will in 20 years remember Kim Possible? Most of us will be only for her brief stay at Disney Channel Culminating with just 65 episodes and the final Movie counting at least for 3 shows..
Sure everyone will remember Home Improvement why? Because it had over 200 episodes.. but in terms of animation Disney has this short sighted policy of wanting to just produce 65 quality episodes then tossing the entire idea away (even if it is doing good like in the Case of Kim Possible or Lilo and Stitch..
so is the 65 Episode Limit really flawed? In a way yes it is.. and in another way no it is not.. It's not really flawed if the show that is being aired and produced is good and the company doesn't want to forgo the expenditures of Continuing a show
And in fact here is a real surprise. No Disney Show that has been Terminated (That is , it has met it's contractual agreement), ever has been restored, Updated or extended beyond those shows that I mentioned.. Not a single one. (Kim Possible won't get an Extension.. nor will lilo and Stitch and after they cease production the odds of these stories continuing are usually left half done.. or not done at all. Look at Kim Possible, She's a Junior, In High School, and we may never know if She and Ron Graduate, go off to College, make new friends , face new Villains, or even fall in love..(Sure they are dating but let's face it.. Dating is just the first step in a long line of Romance.)
Now as for Lilo and Stitch? Well there are 627 experiments at most we'll be luck to see maybe 70 or so .. what about the other 500+ experiments? What will happen to them?
believe me this is a serious problem Disney has been Facing as of Late, and their Answer to the Solution is to keep putting on More shows..(Jake Long will get 65 episodes Witch might get 78 but because it's with Toon Disney/Jetix well they might be a lucky one (but with Ratings so low, it's not funny. and Disney isn't even considering putting any of the afforementioned shows on DVD and letting them sell to the public (Except for maybe the Afforementioned Gargoyles.. ) Why? Because again Disney doesn't think Families or viewers will buy such products.. How wrong they are..
of course Kim Possible is one of the first shows to have merchandising but it's not the only one.. other characters push Merchandising too. Winnie the Pooh for example is one of Disney's biggest sellers right next to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.. and Pooh Sells everything from Pajamas to Diapers, and even cute children's outfits and soft plush. Lizzie McGuire Pushes Music, and make up.. KP Action Adventure toys.. and yet, Disney doesn't want to give these shows a fair shake.. and end each and everyone (including their biggest name (pooh) after just 65 episodes..
in short it's deplorable really..
so in conclusion Disney isn't only losing on the one level, but a lot of levels, they are in a "No Win Sitch" and in fact in this case they fail to realize that the fans want more today.. not less. this is an issue that has been around for at least 20 years.. it's gotten abusive in the last 7.. and just now is being realized by the fans around them.. in short, Disney is losing money trying to peddle to a Decreasing Demographic, (Tweens and Teens) while forgetting the rest of it's family.. it's like giving a full 3 course Dinner to a 9 year old, while letting the Adults starve.. after all what will happen when these children become adults don't they want to let their Children enjoy these shows? Well of course they do.. but in the end, Disney will continue this insanity until reason and the lack of an Audience takes over and forces them to realize. that Less doesn't always mean better, but turning out More and still keeping the quality in is the key. After all Disney has been in steady decline. it's time for them to stop and come back. After all if they can have a number of htis, well then just remember it can happen again. but if they keep producing less then quality work, does anyone really want to hang around? I think not..
So that's it in a nutshell. Increasing the show's Potential while keeping the quality in.. Disney can still have great shows and keep them creative, but in the end, it could turn out that Disney is Destroying itself from the inside out, and that it may take some creativity to re-establish the magic.
That's all I have to say. I don't dare say anymore.
Tucsoncoyote aka Tuc--
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