Clawing Back

... from horrid #3.

Nickelodeon hopes its new 'Breadwinners' will rebuild TV ratings

Nickelodeon's new cartoon was hatched not through traditional television channels but in a Studio City efficiency apartment nicknamed the “Doodle Chamber.” The 4 1⁄2-minute cartoon about two feisty, accident-prone ducks was intended to be a one-off. But in the hurly-burly world of children's television, network executives are desperate to find that next big hit. ...

In 2012, Nickelodeon's ratings plunged 30 percent, allowing archenemy Disney Channel to grab the ratings crown. It was a tectonic shift in the pecking order of children's TV: Disney Channel has been the go-to channel among older children, particularly tween girls, with its wholesome scripted shows such as “Jessie.” Time Warner's Cartoon Network — with its irreverent animation, such as “Adventure Time,” ... has been a boy magnet and a perennial third. ...

The irony here is that Adventure Time was developed at Nickelodeon by Fred Seibert. I was privileged to get invited to one of its early screenings, and it was obvious that the pilot was way different than the usual run of television animation.

Sadly, the (then) execs at the studio declined to green light AT to series, and Fred took the show elsewhere. At the time, Nick management was hitching its wagon to Computer Graphics Imaging, which (also sadly) didn't pan out as it hoped.

So here we are, with Nick back in the hand-drawn game, creating multiple episodes of a wacky new show. Something wacky like ... Adventure Time.