Phineas and Ferb Hoo Hah

Over on Cartoon Brew, there is a pithy and loving comment from Swampy Marsh (via a tweet) about moi:

Well, Steve H is an idiot. But, we are taking our first hiatus since 2006 and making plans for what is to follow... Stay tuned!

This refers (I think) to the news/rumor/something that Phineas and Ferb might be ending. So allow the "idiot" to expand on this a little bit. ...

Swampy and his partner have had issues regarding me before.

Several months ago, I made passing reference to the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars shows in a blog post. Apparently, the crew had been sworn to secrecy over the development of the shows, but the crew members (away from the studio) who told me about the oncoming Star Wars specials didn't mention they were Top Secret.

Even so, before I posted anything, I went online and noted other references to P & F Star Wars episodes on the Google (turned out the references were on fan sites, which don't count.) So I went and put up my horrid sentence about the Star Wars thing, carefree as a thirteen-year-old.

A couple of days later, I got angry phone calls from Swampy and Mr. Povenmire about how the offending sentence was causing big problems inside Disney because the shows hadn't been officially announced, and I was an idiot (that word again) and worse. And that the sites I'd seen talking about Phineas and Ferb Star Wars were amateurish fan things and I should have known better. ("And you're an idiot!")

I apologized for my indiscretion in an e-mail, (also on the phone) and took down the Star Wars reference because I'm a cooperative guy and the last thing I want to do is damage the brand. (Full disclosure: I also spoke to a Disney lawyer -- who wasn't yelling -- and offered to take down the post. She thanked me, and that was that.)

Fade Out.

Fade In:

Over the past few months, the Phineas and Ferb crew has told me the show is wrapping up and they've gotten their end dates, that the series doesn't have a pickup or green light for more episodes. And every time I've been over to Disney Sonora, there are more and more of the P & F artists gone from their spaces. And the few left say to me (again) that the show is wrapping.

So earlier this week, I quoted one of them.

Kindly note: I didn't say the show was wrapping. Disney employees did. I really wouldn't know if the show has wrapped permanently, or will come back in some other form, or a spin-off will happen (I've heard about that possibility from employees as well, but I really don't have any great insights. I don't follow the doings at Disney TVA all that closely.)

But here's what I do know. The fact that Disney TVA has laid off artists from one of its shows is not proprietary information. The fact that I've been told by staff that the series is wrapping up is also not proprietary. In any event, Disney TVA can always green light additional episodes and/or launch a spin off and/or produce more Phineas and Ferb specials next month or next year, and what crew members told me last week becomes inoperative. But former P & F artists are at other studios working on other shows and none of them have said they know about additional episodes being green lit.

For the record, I want there to be more episodes. More shows means more work and employment, and I'm all about more employment. And I hope Dan and Swampy have years of future success.

Lastly. Swampy Marsh sent me an e-mail of complaint about the Disney TVA post. I replied that he should have a Disney lawyer call me. In a separate e-mail he thanked me. And I e-mailed back "You're welcome."

Sweetness and light.