The Biggest Mistakes of the TV Series

[pokeplayer984]

Okay, I've put this off long enough.  We all know this was a big failure.  Now, let us put down what exactly led to said failure and compile a list of what we, as fans, believe to be the BIGGEST mistakes the TV Series made.

Note that this topic's main purpose is to help me study the series so I can discuss said mistakes in a future episode I have planned. (Though it probably won't be for some time.)

I'll start with an easy one.

The Time Slot for the US

Any kid out there knows one key thing about TV.  The only time you get to watch it is when you're not in school.  As such, kids are limited to shows after school, likely starting at 3:00 pm in most states during the weekdays.  In particular, it is essential for a kids show to get a good time slot, one which kids will likely watch TV at said time.

If you go for the weekend though, (likely Saturday) then you're pretty much free.  You can grab any time slot in the morning or afternoon and still get a good slot.  However, when it comes to Weekday, you really have to do your homework.

Also, you have to understand what age group you are appealing to with the time slot you end up going for.  Weekday Afternoon is the best bet for getting the widest range possible.  However, when you do it for when most kids are at school, that limits you greatly, thus only making it more of a chance that you fail.  Now with that in mind, here was the time slot.

7 AM P/10 AM E

Now, think about that for a second.  Most kids are in school by 8 to 9.  On the Pacific side of the US, they were probably okay because kids could at least watch just before they head to school, though most are probably getting ready at that time.  As such, this severely limited their audience to 3 or younger. (4 if the kid in question wasn't going to preschool or had a birthday on a certain day of the year.)

You can argue that it's ratings could likely go up in the summer when school is out, but you have to admit that the time slot really makes a difference, and the one they chose really crippled it's chances of succeeding.

Furthermore, newer episodes didn't come until after school started again.  This meant that more of their audience was lost since a number of them would be starting school, thus missing the show.

Oh, and that last paragraph will bring me to another point when I decide to post again.

As for now, help me out here guys!  What would you say were the biggest mistakes of the TV Series.

See ya later! -_-

[Malte279]

Are you talking of marketing and economy-strategy mistakes or about "mistakes" in the quality of the series content? In the later case I wouldn't judge the series too harshly. It certainly exceeded the expectations I had when I heard about the creation of the TV series for the first time back in 2005. As for the marketing and strategy in the US however I must admit that (I didn't believe I would ever need < that smilie babblemouth that I am ).

[pokeplayer984]

Are you talking of marketing and economy-strategy mistakes or about "mistakes" in the quality of the series content? In the later case I wouldn't judge the series too harshly. It certainly exceeded the expectations I had when I heard about the creation of the TV series for the first time back in 2005. As for the marketing and strategy in the US however I must admit that (I didn't believe I would ever need < that smilie babblemouth that I am ).

Just mistakes in general that you feel played a part in bringing it's downfall.  Just think generally and I'm sure there will be one mistake that was made that would rear it's ugly head.

[DarkHououmon]

I don't think the time slot is that big of a mistake as you're making it out to be. Going to school shouldn't be a reason to miss out on episodes if they air at 7 AM. I had watched shows when I had to go school that were even earlier than that (I had to be in school by around 7:30). So it's very possible for kids, even if they went to school at 8 AM, to catch an episode.

The other thing is you have to take into consideration the audience they had in mind for the show. From what I've seen, some stations tend to air shows they believe are for kids starting around an early time. If they felt LBT was suited for preschoolers, then that would explain the early time slot.

May have been more factors as well. I just don't think the biggest mistake with the show is the time slot. Time slots alone aren't what makes a show successful or unsuccessful. Other things must be taken into consideration.

In my opinion, the real mistake of the series, the one I feel is the true cause for it not to be as successful as it could have been, was waiting until 2007 to air it. Think about that for a minute. They released the TV series during a time that LBT's popularity had already dropped. This makes little sense. It was like they only made the TV show in hopes of revitalizing LBT, which, again, was losing popularity already.

What they should have done was create the TV series at a much earlier time. Around the mid-90s was when LBT's popularity was at its peak. They should have stopped making LBT sequels rather early (like around 4, 5 at the latest) and made the TV series then. It most likely would have gotten a better reception, maybe more episodes, better plots, etc.

But instead of airing the TV show back when the movie series was popular, they wait until the popularity had dropped, after so many sequels were released, to produce the show. This was a very unwise move on Universal's part.

[pokeplayer984]

^^If you think I made the time slot a big deal, then you have NO idea how much I'm going to rant on what was the biggest one.  I went after the time slot one because it's number 10 on my list and I wanted to get it out of the way.

Oh, and the timing one you mentioned is number 5 on my list.

Now, for my next one, which is nicely at number 9.

When they aired new episodes in the US

With many TV Series, you can go the route of airing a certain number of episodes for the weekdays and then airing new episodes on the weekend.  It's a nice strategy and it ensures that your audience doesn't wait too long for new episodes.  When you go for weekdays only though, you'd better have a good number of new episodes ready to please the fans and not lose them too soon.

Case in point, they aired the same 12 episodes every weekday for months (unsure how many it was at this point, but I know it was definitely too many.) before finally bringing out new ones.  Worst of all, there's no excuse for not doing so earlier, since more of the English episodes already aired in Canada and other English speaking countries.  In fact, Canada got all 26 before episode 13 finally came out in the US.

I'm not jealous, I just feel that it was a bad move on their part to be airing so few episodes for so long before finally bringing new ones to the masses.  To whomever at Cartoon Network had the scheduling papers, you seriously messed up, dude!

Oh, and there's one other thing he messed up on that seriously needs it's own slot.

[Cancerian Tiger]

To be honest, I really feel like Universal had it in for LBT.  They ended with a thirteenth (a number considered bad by many) sequel and made it kill the series, AND they really messed up with the TV series.  They:

*Messed up with the time slot (I agree with pokeplayer on this one).  They should've aired it more than once a day so older kids and adult fans could watch it.

*Screwed up the characters.  Seriously, they took our pals and gave us unconvincing clones :blink:.  I have never seen the Gang so out of character in the series.

*Had songs in the TV series.  Okay, the films have plenty of space for songs, but the TV episodes were too short for songs.

*Had seemingly increased animation errors.

Now, the TV series had a pro I must commend it for.  It shed light on different parts of characters' personalities.  Take Ducky's dark side, for example.  I was thrilled to see she has a dark side.  This to me makes her more easy to relate to as a character since it shows even she has flaws .

Sadly, though, this alone could not make up for the cons of the TV series.  I do feel this was done intentionally, and to the folks at Universal, please at least do all of us fans a favor and give LBT a decent ending!  There would still be plenty of room for fanfiction, but please give us closure for Pete's sake!

[DarkHououmon]

To be honest, I really feel like Universal had it in for LBT.  They ended with a thirteenth (a number considered bad by many) sequel and made it kill the series, AND they really messed up with the TV series.

Personally I don't feel they intentionally made LBT13 to "kill" LBT. Why would they do that? If they really wanted to stop making LBT, then they would have, not waste money to make a movie to ruin any possible chance of future movies. And making an animated movie or show takes a lot of time and patience. I don't think Universal would have went through the trouble of animating the 13th movie and series if they didn't think it wouldn't have made some kind of money. If they really wanted to stop making LBT, they would have just stopped making the movies altogether and not have a TV, not waste all that money, labor, and effort on producing something that they hope will fail. That doesn't make any sense to me.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, I have to point out a little something with the songs there, CT.

Now, having songs in a TV Series, I don't mind, but that's only if you do a good job on them.  Having songs with The Land Before Time was a staple since the sequels.  Songs being in the TV Series was inevitable, in my opinion.  It was going to happen, bottom line.

Sadly, the big problem is that most were bland.  Sure there were a few good ones like "Remembering", but with 53 songs total, (This is including the opening song.) it's like finding a needle in a haystack just to find the good ones in all that crap.  Not to mention they were just rehashes of ones from the movies.

You don't know how sick I was of all the "I Feel So Happy" rehashes.  I actually praise "Good to be Home" because it feels like they're parodying something I hate.

My biggest gripe though will always be the "Adventuring" rehashes.  I loved the original one in the 10th movie.  It's one of my top 15 LBT Songs! (Can't narrow it down to 10.  Sorry!) The rehashes suck and they should have left the song alone in the first place.

So yeah, I don't have a problem with there being songs.  I just have a problem with them being absolute crap!

And that's number 3 on my list.

[oogaboo]

You can always record your favorite shows as far as time slot goes. But I will say that they should've had a tv show right after the original film in that same year or a year later. I dislike most of the songs. Especially oops and eeps. I know the series is intended for preschoolers but do songs really have to be included? They are all forgettable and a waste of time. Their is a reason why the original film didn't need it.

If I was universal studios I wouldn't keep a small franchise that only sold very few units  from 13 films and other merchandise that couldn't sell worth crap compared to Spongebob, Scooby Doo or Harry Potter. Its best for LBT to retire and not continue to get milked. Just sayin'. -_-

By the way, does anybody know what the voice actors are doing nowadays?

[Nick22]

you've onkly listed 3 of your 10 reasons sio far poke. and the last one was your're 8th on the list but third..

[Akiko]

I know this is an older topic but I missed out on my input and just feel like poking in. To be perfectly honest, I have always had some nitpicks with (most of) the sequels and the tv series. I adore the original 1988 movie, a true classic of animation...but I have always felt as if they made the series geared too much towards younger kids. The characters seemed to act younger than they were, or should have been. I mean, they seemed somehow more mature, but still very child like, in the original movie. The story itself was more mature in comparison, but maybe that has a lot to do with the singing and obvious moral lessons of the sequels/tv show.

I do love some of the sequels, but they can't compare to the original movie in my opinion. It's not just LBT, no way. I have the same feelings about a lot of sequels/series based on classic movies (don't even get me started on "The Secret of Nimh 2" lol) Anyway, I think the TV series in particular was aimed at a younger fanbase of children and that's sad, since I think it had a lot of potential. If I remember correctly, they used to have it on during what was once a very "preschool" lineup of programs (including baby looney tunes, mr men, etc) so that may have been their target all along. I think some older kids would have enjoyed and appreciated it, though.

It's hard to remember how things have changed...kids today are in such a rush, they rarely get to sit and watch cartoons the way a lot of us did. They rarely get a chance to run around and just be kids...I find it said, honestly. Remember the days of "saturday morning cartoons"? I always used to watch cartoons before school. I just couldn't focus if I hadn't watched "The Legend of White Fang" in the morning! Kids are in such a hurry to grow up these days. Then when they do they'll miss it all too much (I know I do)  
and with that, I'm reminded of one of my fav songs from "The Jungle Cubs"..."take your sweet, sweet time!

[Allicloud]

Well, I have a few gripes with the series myself, so I may as well chip in. Though it's likely I'm repeating what others are saying:


1. The character designs. I'm not sure why they did it, but they changed pretty much every character's design a bit. Littlefoot is the most pronounced, however. You look at his face, for example, and you can see they have softened his outlines, lightened his colour scheme, rounded his face out a bit more, even chubbied up his cheeks to the point that he looks like he's perpetually smiling! And I wouldn't recognise Hyp if they didn't say that was his name, they changed him s much! Most of the other characters escaped with only minor mutilations, but still. They should have just left them as they were.

2. The songs. I have to admit, many of the songs, I enjoyed. Most of the "Big Water" rehashes and remakes, mainly because I love the original song. I think out of the ones I've heard, the only rehash of "Big Water" I don't like is the Longneck Test version, which just felt forced. A few of the other rehashed songs, and a few new songs turned out pretty good, but like the movie songs, for every good song there is at least 1 awful song.
Also, they should have just stuck to 1 song per episode. Sonic Underground did it, and they would have gotten away with it if their songs were any good. It just felt silly that they would break into song several times per episode. They can do that in feature films, but for 30-minute episodes, multiple songs just cuts out too much action.

3. Pointless fillers. There are several episodes that have absolutely nothing to teach, and contribute nothing. Why TV series have these fillers is a mystery to me.

4. Sometimes the characters were completely out of character. Sometimes this is a good thing (Like when we see Ducky's evil side), but in the cases of Doc, Ali, Mr Thicknose, and occasionally the Gang themselves, they are nothing like they used to be. Tha cheeses me off quite a bit.

Other than that, I'd say it was decent. The plots were usually relatively good, and the characters' voice actors did a decent job (Probably the better voice actor for Chomper, for example), and for the budget, many of the good songs sounded wel done (especially considering they were all done on synthesisers)

[LBTLover1]

I think of the target audience.  Most of the series had down felled because of what there general audience was watching. Unfortunately, they didn't think about the citizens above teen years or adult year to watch.  By 2008, the population of children under 8 had seriously declined and teens were at its peak.

Also, I think that the plotline and maintaining it has definitely been getting worse.  The jokes are useless, and the the songs of repetitive.  I love the LBT series, but I feel they could have done a better job.