[QUOTE=Marley23]
Not that it changes your larger point, but Futurama will be back on the air later this year.
[/QUOTE]
In a way, yeah… But, AFAIK, Futurama is going to have a couple of DVDs that will also air on Adult Swim (not network TV).
Of course, I’m thrilled about this (any Futurama is better than no Futurama), but it’s not exactly coming back as a regular network TV series unless I missed a memo.
[QUOTE=neutron star]
In a way, yeah… But, AFAIK, Futurama is going to have a couple of DVDs that will also air on Adult Swim (not network TV).
[/QUOTE]
The way I understand it, they’ve made four DVDs that will air in parts, as episodes. And I think it will be on Comedy Central, since they bought the rights.
I can’t see South Park being filmed with real-live elementary school kids. It would be very entertaining but some people might not approve. It would be killer to see a kid dressed up as a young Hitler or gaining 50 pounds in one episode however.
[QUOTE=Marley23]
The way I understand it, they’ve made four DVDs that will air in parts, as episodes. And I think it will be on Comedy Central, since they bought the rights.
[/QUOTE]
Still not broadcast TV, but thanks for the info. I hadn’t heard about CC buying the rights to Futurama.
I really do wish Fox would pick it back up, though. Between the brilliant comedy, fantastic story arc, and the sense of continuity rivaled only by King of the Hill, it was truly one of my favorite shows.
[QUOTE=Marley23]
The way I understand it, they’ve made four DVDs that will air in parts, as episodes. And I think it will be on Comedy Central, since they bought the rights.
[/QUOTE]
That’s right. Futurama moves to Comedy Central in 2008. The new episodes will be cut-downs of the made-for-DVD movies, the first of which is coming in November 2007.
[QUOTE=neutron star]
I really do wish Fox would pick it back up, though. Between the brilliant comedy, fantastic story arc, and the sense of continuity rivaled only by King of the Hill, it was truly one of my favorite shows.
[/QUOTE]
Mine too. But I’m not sorry it’s off Fox: on Comedy Central, you won’t lose the first 15 minutes to a football game that runs long.
[QUOTE=Otto]
The 70s birthed the eminently forgettable “Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home” which was sort of like an animated “All in the Family” with less social relevance.
The Simpsons debuted on The Tracy Ullman Show in 1987 and on its own in 1989.
[/QUOTE]
ARHHH!
EARWIG!!
Wait 'til your father gets, until your father gets,
Wait 'til your father gets home!
[QUOTE=Marley23]
Mine too. But I’m not sorry it’s off Fox: on Comedy Central, you won’t lose the first 15 minutes to a football game that runs long.
[/QUOTE]
Whatever channel it’s on, I just wish that it could be a continuing series again. Whenever the games ran long on Fox, I’d just obtain the episodes through… uh, ways that can’t be discussed on this board, so it didn’t bother me all that much. 
[QUOTE=twickster]
… What can cartoons do that live action can’t?
[/QUOTE]
trademarked goods. perhaps it is easier to sell cartoon toys and assorted paraphernalia than action figures, although real life appearances can be a pain.
[QUOTE=cochrane]
Same reason that King of the Hill is animated. Events can take place in Dallas or Houston and you don’t have to build sets or shoot location scenes. People like Tom Petty, the Tuetels, or ZZ Top can guest star and record their lines close to home instead of traveling to Hollywood. Bobby never ages. Even though KOTH strives for realism instead of over-the-top storylines, it’s still cheaper to produce than a live-action series.
[/QUOTE]
Nitpick: Bobby has aged- he’s at least gone from sixth grade to seventh, if not more, and Joseph’s gone through puberty and grown an ugly 'stache.
[QUOTE=Shagnasty]
I can’t see South Park being filmed with real-live elementary school kids. It would be very entertaining but some people might not approve. It would be killer to see a kid dressed up as a young Hitler or gaining 50 pounds in one episode however.
[/QUOTE]
If movies of the last few years are anything to go by (Scooby Doo, Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Cat in the Hat, Fat Albert, et al), a live-action South Park movie will be coming to theaters in about 30 years.
[QUOTE=Leiko]
Nitpick: Bobby has aged- he’s at least gone from sixth grade to seventh, if not more, and Joseph’s gone through puberty and grown an ugly 'stache.
[/QUOTE]
Holy crap; it’s For Better Or For Worse in Texas!
[QUOTE=Leiko]
Nitpick: Bobby has aged- he’s at least gone from sixth grade to seventh, if not more, and Joseph’s gone through puberty and grown an ugly 'stache.
[/QUOTE]
Well, for that matter, Bart’s finished 4th grad at least twice, and there’s been a couple of summer vacations in there too.
[QUOTE=Bosstone]
I started to enumerate the various things animation can do better than live-action, and realized that it came down to one primary aspect: special effects are no more expensive than normal effects in animation.
[/QUOTE]
To be fair, there’s a rather huge range of animation quality, with a corresponding variability in cost. Futurama incorporated a few 3D shots here and there, typically during ship battles, and I bet that got pricey. Contrast this to typical Japanese animation (or at least the stuff that gets picked up for television broadcasts) which is pretty much static, with talking simulated by a mouth-dot that alternates between tiny and slightly less tiny, and running simulated by two frames rapidly alternated.
As far as I can tell, the only positive element of the imports is the occasional female character with a compellingly short skirt that makes me just want to bend her over a table and sailor her moon, if you know what I mean.
[QUOTE=Leiko]
Nitpick: Bobby has aged- he’s at least gone from sixth grade to seventh, if not more, and Joseph’s gone through puberty and grown an ugly 'stache.
[/QUOTE]
I forgot about Joseph. And LuAnne turned 21 a few seasons ago. The point is, characters can age slowly in animation. It doesn’t matter if the voice actors age, since most child characters are voiced by adults and they can keep a consistent voice for their character.
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
To be fair, there’s a rather huge range of animation quality, with a corresponding variability in cost. Futurama incorporated a few 3D shots here and there, typically during ship battles, and I bet that got pricey.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but try doing that live action. The R&D costs just to develop the ships would be astronomical. 
Re: animated vs. live action: Some Japanese studio is doing a live-action remake of Sailor Moon, with teenage actresses in wigs and sailor suits. What I’ve seen of it looks kind of weird, at least to me.
[QUOTE=Lucky 13]
Re: animated vs. live action: Some Japanese studio is doing a live-action remake of Sailor Moon, with teenage actresses in wigs and sailor suits. What I’ve seen of it looks kind of weird, at least to me.
[/QUOTE]
There have been various versions of these things getting made for years…Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, for one, not to mention random videos of cosplays passed around on the internet. You’re right, they’re pretty weird, and a lot of fun to watch with friends when you’re hammered (this and the one anime con I attended being the only reasons I know these things 
).
What I find interesting is that the viewing public seems to accept unconventional comedies from animation in a way that they don’t tolerate for live action shows.
Most of the modern animated shows are quirky and unconventional - south park and family guy, certainly, are nothing like most network sitcoms. King of the hill seems like an exception, but I haven’t seen much of it.
When it comes to a new live action comedy, it has to painfully generic, safe, and comfortable, the same thing as dozens of other shows before it, to have a chance at success. But it seems like animated shows get a license to be creative and break the mold and not be rejected by the audiences. I wonder if that’s also some sort of comfort/familiarty thing - they expect conventional, generic stuff from live action, but quirky stuff from animation because that’s what they’ve experienced in the past, and that’s all they’ll accept in the future.
[QUOTE=Lucky 13]
Re: animated vs. live action: Some Japanese studio is doing a live-action remake of Sailor Moon, with teenage actresses in wigs and sailor suits. What I’ve seen of it looks kind of weird, at least to me.
[/QUOTE]
If you think that’s weird, try the (live action) musicals.