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FOX cartoons |
|---|
| Successes |
| The Simpsons · 1989-+; 441+ |
| King of the Hill · 1997-+; 253+ |
| Family Guy · 1999-2002, 2005-+; 126+ |
| Futurama · 1999-2003,2008-+; 84+ |
| American Dad! · 2005-+; 78+ |
| Minor Successes |
| Batman: The Animated Series 1992-1993; 14 |
| Eek! The Cat · 1992-1994; 29 |
| The Critic 1995; 10 |
| The PJs 1999-2000; 31 |
| Sit Down, Shut Up · 2009; 4 |
| Upcoming |
| The Cleveland Show 2009-+ |
| See Also |
| FOX |
FOX Cartoons refers to animated television series presented by the American TV network Fox Broadcasting Company. During the more than twenty-year existence of the Network, there have been many successful prime time animated series and Fox cartoons. The first and most famous of these, The Simpsons, was the first such series since the end of The Flintstones in the 1960s. With the 5 successful shows, 984 episodes of the shows have aired. With the failing shows, only 59 aired.
Contents |
History
When the upstart young Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) network was formed in 1986 by Rupert Murdoch, early shows tended to attract low viewership, with the exception of some early ratings successes such as Married… with Children and 21 Jump Street. The animation industry had experienced a decline in the 1980s.
In 1987, The Tracey Ullman Show premiered with mild success. During this time, a series of short cartoons originally intended to be bumpers gained a following with young and old audiences, and FOX ordered thirteen episodes of a new animated television series based on these, titled The Simpsons.
When The Simpsons premiered in December 1989, the series was instantly popular. Merchandise featuring the show’s breakout character Bart Simpson has accumulated over 1 billion dollars in sales. The Simpsons was the first successful primetime animated series since The Flintstones, paving the way for other animated series on major broadcast networks. As of 2009, The Simpsons is still in production, with over 430 episodes, and the twenty-first season premiering in the fall of 2009.
In September 1992, Batman: The Animated Series made its debut, and from December 1992 to March 1993, it aired in primetime before continuing its run on Fox Kids for several more years.
A boom in new adult-oriented animated programming began thereafter, with Nickelodeon’s Ren and Stimpy in 1991, MTV’s Beavis and Butt-head beginning in 1992, and Simpsons producers Al Jean's and Mike Reiss’ own series, The Critic, in 1994. The Critic ran for one season (13 episodes) on its original network, ABC (in 1994); from there, it moved to FOX, where it ran for another season of 10 episodes (1995). The Critic can be described as a minor success, with DVD sales and late-night showings on cable networks (such as Comedy Central) making it a cult hit. It received critical acclaim, being the only television series to ever be reviewed on Siskel and Ebert, in which it received "Two Thumbs Up".
Mike Judge left Beavis and Butt-head in the mid-1990s to begin a new project with Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. King of the Hill premiered in January 1997, and was a huge success for the network. In August 1997, South Park debuted on the cable network Comedy Central, and with its subversive humor and numerous obscenities, it became controversial in a way similar to The Simpsons seven years earlier.
Created by comedian Eddie Murphy, the series The PJs debuted in January 1999. The show was a minor success similar to The Critic, but the show’s high budget forced it to be moved to The WB in 2001, where lasted one season.
Seth MacFarlane's animated series Family Guy premiered after the 1999 Super Bowl. The show was cancelled in 2000, but fan petitions convinced FOX to renew it for a third season. After its third season ended in 2002, the network cancelled the series for good and reruns soon began airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
Ratings for the series increased soon thereafter, and DVD sales skyrocketed. Family Guy was revived and began airing again on Fox in May 2005. Family Guy has remained a large success for the network. MacFarlane's follow-up series, American Dad!, began in February 2005, and despite low ratings, the series has been renewed for multiple seasons on the network.
Futurama, the follow-up series from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, began in March 1999, and was later cancelled (with its last episode aired on 10 August 2003) thanks to scheduling changes (the same fate met previously by Family Guy during its original run). In a similar move to Family Guy, high DVD sales and ratings led to four separate DVD movies released from 2007 to 2009, all later broadcast on Comedy Central.
FOX canceled King of the Hill in late 2008, but talks soon began with ABC about picking up the series. Meanwhile, The Cleveland Show, another endeavor from Seth MacFarlane, is set to premiere on the network in fall 2009. It stars Family Guy character Cleveland Brown.
Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and former Simpsons executive producer Josh Weinstein developed an Amerian version of Sit Down, Shut Up, which premiered in April 2009.
Controversy
FOX cartoon series have been the subject of controversy; most notably, The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy, for their approach to comedy and for the coarse language and jokes that some have said are too raunchy for network TV. These shows have been some of the most risqué material aired on FOX. FOX has also been accused by some groups of corrupting children with cartoons ostensibly for teens and adults. In Venezuela, The Simpsons has been taken off the air due to its content. In Russia, Family Guy, American Dad, and The Simpsons were subject to lawsuits regarding their content.
Network scheduling practices
FOX has in the past been known to "sacrifice" a show less favored by certain network executives by placing it in the 7:00pm (Eastern/Pacific) time slot on Sundays which is often overrun by NFL games or postgame shows. The frequent preemptions and variable scheduling usually lead to low ratings which gives network executives a pretext for cancellation. This happened to Family Guy (although it was revived in 2005 after DVD sales proved successful) and Futurama among other shows. This expensive practice may have now ended as during the 2006 NFL season FOX scheduled the 7:00pm hour for football overrun and the post-game show. However, the overrun on time is very common when NASCAR season begins, and is once again made higher priority then said show in the 7:00pm timeslot.
List of Cartoon series
- The Simpsons
- Batman: The Animated Series [1][2]
- Eek! The Cat
- The Critic
- King of the Hill
- Family Guy
- The PJs
- Futurama
- American Dad!
- Sit Down, Shut Up
Upcoming Shows
- The Cleveland Show (2009)
Movies
Many of the FOX cartoons have had movies made of the TV series.
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (direct-to-video)
- Inside the CIA
- Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (direct-to-video; later split up into three episodes for syndication)
- The Simpsons Movie
- Futurama: Bender's Big Score (direct-to-video; later split up into four episodes for syndication)
- Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (direct-to-video; later split up into four episodes for syndication)
- Futurama: Bender's Game (direct-to-video; later split up into four episodes for syndication)
- Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (direct-to-video)
Shorts
- Inside the CIA, an American Dad short film to promote the show, seen in Fever Pitch.
Release and air dates
1993
- 25 December: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (in Theaters)
1998
- 17 March: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (on VHS)
2005
- 8 April: Inside the CIA (in Theaters)
- 27 September: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (on DVD)
2006
- January: Inside the CIA (on DVD)
- 21 May: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (on TV)
2007
- 27 July: The Simpsons Movie (in Theaters)
- 27 November: Futurama: Bender's Big Score (on DVD)
- 18 December: The Simpsons Movie (on DVD)
2008
- 23 March: Futurama: Bender's Big Score (on TV)
- 24 June: Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs (on DVD)
- 4 November: Futurama: Bender's Game (on DVD)
2009
- 24 February: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (On DVD)
- 26 April: Futurama: Bender's Game (on TV)
Crossovers
In many episodes of the shows, the shows have mentioned each other.
Full-fledged crossovers
- "A Star is Burns" - (The Simpsons and The Critic) In this crossover, the Simpson family enters a movie festival judged by Jay Sherman. This episode caused a controversy for fans of both shows. Another major critic of this episode is the actual creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening. He took his name out of the credits in reaction.
- "Lois Kills Stewie" - (Family Guy and American Dad!) In this episode, Stan Smith and Bullock get in a Mexican standoff with Stewie and Brian only to fail to complete the mission. This episode is the conclusion to the 100th episode, "Stewie Kills Lois".
Mentions
- King of the Hill has been referenced in The Simpsons ("Bart Star") and Family Guy ("Petergeist".)
- The Simpsons has been referenced in Family Guy ("PTV", "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", "Peterotica", "The Juice Is Loose", and "FOX-y Lady"). Family Guy has been referenced in The Simpsons ("Missionary: Impossible", "Treehouse of Horror XIII", "The Wandering Juvie" and "The Italian Bob".)
- American Dad! has been referenced in The Simpsons ("The Italian Bob") and Family Guy ("Meet the Quagmires" and "Blue Harvest".)
- Thurgood from The PJs has been seen on Futurama (on a sewer plate, referencing the show's opening titles), The Simpsons ("Missionary Impossible") and Family Guy (a cameo in "Blue Harvest".)
- Futurama has been in The Simpsons ("Missionary Impossible", "Future-Drama") and Family Guy ("Blue Harvest"). The Simpsons has been referenced in Futurama in "A Big Piece of Garbage". Family Guy has been referenced in Futurama in "Bender´s Big Score".
References
- ^ "Fox putting 'Batman' in Sunday slot". http://www.variety.com/article/VR101583.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Article mentioning that Batman airs in primetime". http://www.variety.com/article/VR103011.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
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