MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

User:Galvanize

2016-09-18T21:55:41Z

Galvanize: Created page with "Just your average editor"

Just your average editor

Cartoon Network

2016-09-18T21:54:45Z

Galvanize:

[[Image:CNlogo2.svg|right|300px|thumb|Still waiting on that ''SWAT Kats'' revival, guys.]]
A product of Ted Turner's vast empire (since merged into Time Warner), '''Cartoon Network''' was a showcase channel for Hanna-Barbera's extensive archive of classic animation. It became an instant powerhouse for cable in the 1990s, airing both older and new cartoons. The newer projects led to pioneering shows in their own right, amongst them ''[[Matt Hill|Ed,]] [[Sam Vincent|Edd 'n]] [[Tony Sampson|Eddy]]'', ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''[[Charlie Adler|Cow and Chicken]]'', ''[[Jeff Glen Bennett|Johnny Bravo]]'', ''[[Tara Strong|The Powerpuff Girls]]'' and ''[[Phil LaMarr|Samurai Jack]]'', the latter leading to two original ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]: Clone Wars'' mini-series.

Cartoon Network eventually expanded itself with greater amounts of original content, soon shuffling its "vintage" animation to a new channel, "Boomerang". New programming blocks such as ''[[Toonami]]'', "Miguzi" and "Adult Swim" aimed more towards early-teen and adult animation fans, and helped to bring in a new lease on life for the anime movement.

In 1998, the Toonami block broadcast the final five episodes of season two of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', a welcome development since otherwise American fans would not have seen them for many months and would have been vulnerable to spoilers from dirty [[Canada|Canadians]]. In 2002, Cartoon Network revived ''He-Man'' for all of ten minutes, and also turned their heads towards ''Transformers'', airing all three "seasons" of the [[Unicron Trilogy]]. Near the end of the 2000s, they served as producers and distributors of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'', which featured many of the talents who brought Cartoon Network some of their bigger action-cartoons like ''Teen Titans'' and ''Ben 10''.

Unfortunately, Cartoon Network has a nasty habit of moving ''Transformers'' shows to early morning "death slots," before most of the target audience (yannow, kids) were awake and/or getting ready for school. While this didn't have much of an impact on the Unicron Trilogy because the shows had 52 pre-planned episodes from the get-go, ''Transformers Animated'' suffered from almost-nonexistent advertising and the dreaded early morning "death slot." While this was only one of the many factors that led to ''Transformers Animated's'' untimely ending, Cartoon Network certainly contributed to the show's cancellation.

[[Cartoon Network TOO]], Cartoon Network Europe and Cartoon Network Brazil have the broadcast rights to ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]].''

Cartoon Network is the home of the new ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' cartoon since the [[Hub Network]] has been reworked into [[Discovery Family]]. Let's hope they treat it better than they treated ''Transformers Animated''... although the decision to put the series in the prestigious Saturday morning 6:30 AM timeslot ''probably'' doesn't bode well. International Cartoon Networks in Australia and the UK and Ireland also air the program.

Cartoon Network Japan has rerun a number of ''Transformers'' series over the years, including ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]],'' ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Wars Returns]].'' They also were the first station in Japan to air all three episodes of "[[The Rebirth]]," which before then had only ever been seen as laserdisc and DVD bonus content.

==External links==
*[http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/index.html cartoonnetwork.com]
*[[wikipedia:Cartoon Network|Cartoon Network at Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Networks]]

Aligned continuity family

2016-07-28T23:24:02Z

Galvanize:

{{cleanup|December 2014|Several parts of the "continuities" section waaay out of date.}}
[[File:Hasbrobible-OPrimedescription.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb|Optimus Prime's depiction in Hasbro's brand bible at the center of the aligned continuity family.]]
The '''Aligned continuity family''' was launched in 2010 with the intention of being the foundation of most ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' projects for the decade to come.<ref name="decade">[[Hasbro Q&A/January 2011: Answers|TFWiki.net Hasbro Q&A, Jan. 2011]]</ref> Its core is the "[[Binder of Revelation]]",<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/botcon-2011-coverage-hasbro-intellectual-property-panel/21870/ Seibertron.com Botcon 2011 Coverage: Hasbro Intellectual Property Panel]</ref> a 354-page<ref>[http://www.figures.com/forums/news/13305-botcon-2011-hasbro-panel-report.html Figures.com recap of Hasbro BotCon 2011 panel]</ref> [[production bible|brand bible]] co-written by [[Aaron Archer]], [[Rik Alvarez]] and other Transformer experts from [[Hasbro]] and the [[fandom]], charting billions of years worth of history for the Transformers.<ref>''[[Transformers Vault]]''.</ref> The [[Continuity family|family]] currently comprises the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)|War for Cybertron]]'', ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]'', ''[[Transformers: Prime (franchise)|Prime]]'', ''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (franchise)|Rescue Bots]]'', and [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 franchise)|2015 ''Robots in Disguise'']] franchises,<ref name="aligned">[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/8189/20/ Hasbro continuity declaration]</ref> and it has some influence on [[Transformers Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] character portrayal.<ref name="newaligned">[http://www.tfviews.com/news/main/hasbro-q-and-a/1024 TFviews.com Hasbro Q&A, July 2010]</ref>

Hasbro has not given this family an official title. We have derived the name "Aligned" from Hasbro statements referring to this as a new "aligned continuity".<ref name="aligned" /><ref name="newaligned" /> Hasbro considered the whole continuity "a bit of an animal to define."<ref name="allspark2011botcon"/>

==Creative vision==
The Aligned venture appears to be Hasbro's attempt at synthesizing a grand unified [[continuity]] out of all of the previous lore. An expression of this can be seen in the Hall of Fame profiles, one of which was officially confirmed as being "based off of" Aligned continuity.<ref name="newaligned" /> That one and several others present each character as an amalgam of traits from disparate continuities, ranging from ''[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' to the [[Unicron Trilogy]] to the [[live-action film series]] and more (see [[#Hall of Fame profiles|below]]).

This is a significant departure from Hasbro's [[Transformers: Universe (2003 franchise)|previous]] [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|forays]] into meta-continuity, which preserved the integrity of old timelines as separate, coexistent universes within a single [[multiverse]]. In that schema, the Aligned family would be simply one more [[universal stream]] added to the mix, beholden to preestablished concepts like [[Multiversal singularity|multiversal singularities]]. But when asked about how [[The Fallen|a certain singularity]] would relate to the new fiction, Hasbro replied, "Anything you know from past generations of the brand may or may not be factual in the new continuity."<ref name="fallen">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=74182&view=findpost&p=1675011 Allspark.com Hasbro Q&A, Nov. 2010]</ref> At [[BotCon 2011]], the multiverse was referred to as a "separate universe."<ref name="allspark2011botcon">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79726 AllSpark.com live transcript of Archer and Alvarez's 2011 BotCon panel]</ref>

Where, exactly, this left the Aligned fiction in relation to the rest of the multiverse was unclear. [[Movie continuity|Other]] [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|contemporary]] [[Transformers Timelines (fiction)|fiction]] continued to tell stories set in older universes, so it seemed at least that Aligned material was never meant to supersede the continuities from which it drew upon. The Aligned universe had also been involved in [[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|crossovers]] with [[The War to End All Wars, Part 5|older universes]], meaning that it was not entirely separate from the rest of Transformers fiction.

In 2015, ''[[The Complete AllSpark Almanac]]'' and the Facebook blogs [[Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter]] and [[Ask Vector Prime]] gave the Aligned continuity family the in-story designation of "[[Uniend]]" and an in-fiction explanation as to why this particular universal cluster had been separate from the rest of the multiverse. This explanation essentially [[retcon]]ned out most of the earlier statements made about the Aligned continuity; for all intents and purposes Aligned fiction is now just a "normal" universal cluster.

==Continuities==
{{See also|Aligned timeline}}

Hasbro consistently refers to all Aligned fiction as one "continuity," and while different storylines may appear to contradict each other, "reasons for the confusion will be revealed."<ref name="decade" /> However, that ideal is hampered by the fact that various elements of the fiction have separate creative teams with distinct visions that sometimes conflict. For that reason, this wiki takes the more cautious route of calling it a "continuity family." The brand bible's description in ''Transformers Vault'' states it paints the Transformers history in broad strokes, so as to give creators the necessary flexibility when crafting their stories, a belief echoed by statements made at [[BotCon 2011]]: Archer spoke of a "squint test" where everything can be seen as one family of stories, where only fans would see differences.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2011-hasbro-story-building-panel-172316/ TFW coverage of Botcon 2011 Hasbro Story Building Panel]</ref> Branches of fiction include:

===Hall of Fame profiles===
In May 2010, before any Aligned franchises had launched, Hasbro announced a "Transformers Hall of Fame" honoring characters and people associated with the ''Transformers'' brand. The spot for one inductee was put to a fan-vote: [[Transformers Hall of Fame#Nominees|Five character profiles]] were published on Hasbro.com, and users could cast a vote for one of them. Most of them were described with a combination of traits from various continuities; for example, [[Jazz (disambiguation)|Jazz]] is pictured in [[Jazz (G1)|his ''Generation 1'' form]] but described as a "[[Cyber-Ninja Corps|Cyber-Ninja]]" like [[Jazz (Animated)|his ''Animated'' incarnation]].<ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/news/TRANSFORMERS-HALL-OF-FAME-Nominee-3.cfm Jazz's Hall of Fame profile]</ref> [[Soundwave (disambiguation)|Soundwave]], also looking like [[Soundwave (G1)|his ''Generation 1'' self]], is said to have a mysterious origin like [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|his ''Cybertron'' counterpart]], his partners are called "[[Mini-Con]]s" instead of "[[Mini-Cassette]]s," and he has [[Soundwave (ROTF)|his live-action movie incarnation]]'s vulnerability to simultaneous sonic booms.<ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/news/TRANSFORMERS-HALL-OF-FAME-Nominee-1.cfm Soundwave's Hall of Fame profile]</ref> Later, a [[Hasbro Q&A]] answer stated that Jazz's entry is based on Aligned continuity.<ref name="newaligned" /> [[Jazz (WFC)|The character does appear in ''War for Cybertron'' fiction]], but with no particularly Cyber-Ninja-like attributes.

===''War for Cybertron'', ''Rise of the Dark Spark'', and ''Fall of Cybertron'' video games===
Created by [[High Moon Studios]] under Game Director [[Matt Tieger]] with tie-in games by [[Next Level Games]] and [[Vicarious Visions]], [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|''War for Cybertron'']]'s aesthetics and characterizations are heavily based on [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]]; for example, [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] and [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] speak words, despite both being quasi-mute in the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|''Prime'' cartoon]]. Set in the ancient days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]ian war, the games' plot focuses on [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]]'s quest to harness [[Dark Energon]], which ends up corrupting the planet itself and leaving it uninhabitable for millions of years. Those events overlap a large portion of the simultaneously-released ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' novel, but they [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)#Synopsis|differ in many details]]. Two years later, ''War for Cybertron'' was followed by its sequel, ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]''. Two years later still saw the release of the ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Rise of the Dark Spark]]'' [[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)|games]], which cross over with the ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' cast.

===Novels===
Written by [[Alex Irvine]], ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' describes the beginning of the war and then, as mentioned above, covers the same ground as the ''War for Cybertron'' games with many differing details. (Hasbro did take a small stab at reconciliation by declaring [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]]'s predecessor in the games, "Zeta Prime," and the one in the novel, "Sentinel Prime," to be the same individual, "[[Sentinel Zeta Prime]].")<ref>[http://www.ripten.com/2010/06/26/creators-talk-transformers-war-for-cybertron-at-botcon-2010-panel-lbd416/ Ripten.com's coverage of the BotCon 2010 Activision panel]</ref> Irvine also wrote the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)|''War for Cybertron'' comic]] and the apocryphal short story [[Bumblebee at Tyger Pax]], both set in the novel's pre-game period. The comic contains no major discrepancies, other than maintaining the "Sentinel Prime" name, but the short story features [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] losing his ability to speak words before the game events. ''[[Transformers: Exiles]]'' continues the saga immediately post-Cybertron, as ''Exodus'' ends shortly after the events of ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]'', while ''[[Transformers: Retribution]]'' continues to explore the gap between the ''Cybertron'' games and ''Prime'' series. Meanwhile, the [[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus]] book presents much of the ancient history of Cybertron in the Aligned continuity, including the history of the Aligned [[Thirteen]].

===''Generations'' toy bios===
[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)#Toys|A handful of toys]] were created directly from ''War for Cybertron'' designs and sold as part of the [[Transformers: Generations|''Generations'' toyline]]. While lacking the phrase "War for Cybertron" on their packaging, the release of the first wave was timed within days of the games and novel,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69812 Allspark.com toy-sighting forum reports]</ref> and their on-package [[bio]]s are basically in sync with that fiction as well. Megatron's, for example, focuses on his penchant for upgrading his body with "bleeding-edge" technology,<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/files/127/cybertronian-megatron-011.jpg Cybertronian Megatron's on-package bio]</ref> which may be an allusion to his lustful utilization of Dark Energon. Bumblebee's says he was once a "chatterbox" but is now a "silent warrior",<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/files/127/wfc-bumblebee-009.jpg Cybertronian Bumblebee's on-package bio]</ref> which appears to be a bridge between his ''War for Cybertron'' and then-upcoming ''Prime'' portrayals; however, it's not strictly accurate because in ''Prime'' he can still vocalize, just [[R2-D2|not in words]]. Later Generations toys made from ''Fall of Cybertron'' designs WOULD feature the phrase "Fall of Cybertron."

===''Prime'' cartoon===
Overseen by the team of [[Jeff Kline]], [[Duane Capizzi]], [[Roberto Orci]], and [[Alex Kurtzman]], [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|this show]] is set on modern-day [[Earth]] with a unique aesthetic somewhere between the [[live-action film series]] and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]''. Released five months after ''War for Cybertron'', it also features Dark Energon as a primary plot element, but it seems to be a more mysterious substance with the added quality of being able to [[Terrorcon (Prime)|reanimate corpses]].<ref>[[Darkness Rising, Part 2|''Prime'' episode "Darkness Rising, Part 2"]]</ref> Also, strangely, Megatron is able to create an army of such creatures by crashing Dark Energon into the dead world of Cybertron,<ref>[[Darkness Rising, Part 2|''Prime'' episode "Darkness Rising, Part 5"]]</ref> despite the reason for the planet's demise in ''War for Cybertron'' being its complete infection with the stuff. It was stated at [[BotCon 2011]] that Dark Energon's nature differed because of the modern era of the show, as opposed to the ancient setting of the novel and games. The producers also iterated that while they strive to maintain continuity, ultimately leeway was allowed if it served the story.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2011-transformers-prime-panel-172315/ TFW coverage of Hasbro Studios panel at BotCon 2011]</ref>

A [[Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)|prequel comic]] written by [[Mike Johnson]] shows events on Cybertron immediately before the cartoon, incorporating the ''Exodus'' notion of [[space bridge]]s being a lost art and Megatron's backstory as a [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]ian miner. [[Titan Books|Titan Comics]] also published a [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|magazine]] tied in to the cartoon.

===''Online'' and ''Universe'' online games===
Developed by [[NetDragon]] and [[Jagex]] for their respective Eastern and Western markets, the ''[[Transformers Online]]'' and ''[[Transformers Universe]]'' online games were to tie into ''Prime'' aesthetically and broaden the universe. However, both games were discontinued shortly after their initial release, leaving them largely unconnected to the rest of the Aligned continuity family outside of a few passing references.

===''Prime'' game===
''[[Transformers: Prime - The Game]]'' was published by [[Activision Blizzard|Activision]] for Nintendo gaming systems. It was released on [[October 30]], [[2012]].

===''Rescue Bots'' cartoon===
''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (cartoon)|Rescue Bots]]'' features a group of Autobots not ready to face the Decepticons. Instead, they are assigned to help a team of human search & rescue workers on an island in Maine.

===2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' is a direct sequel to the ''Prime'' cartoon. It follows Bumblebee leading a new team of Autobots back to Earth to re-capture Decepticon criminals.

{{stub}}

==Clashing visions==

At a 2015 convention in Charlotte, Rik Alvarez claimed that the Aligned plan had been compromised from the start: while [[High Moon Studios]] were on board, the ''Prime'' creators didn't want to be tied to previous material (and have themselves said they wanted to get away from the "[[Binder of Revelation]]" and do their own thing<ref>[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/10/25/transformers-prime-producer-talks-beasts-mythology-michael-bay/ ‘Transformers: Prime’ producer talks Beasts, mythology, Michael Bay]: "We got that 300- or 400-page document and a good chunk of our time was spent trying to figure out what we wanted to use and how we wanted to use it. At some point we wanted to be done with that and go on our own path. We couldn’t have predicted where we started to do that"</ref> and the studio, not fully controlled by Hasbro, was unfamiliar with most of the lore); IDW Publishing couldn't shift to a mostly-Aligned schedule for logistical reasons. The original idea for the MMOG fell apart due to constant team changes; ''Universe'' made it into beta testing three years late and never got off the ground; the ''Universe'' team later declared that their game was not part of the Aligned continuity at all. He made a further claim that ''Prime'' was going overbudget and that ''Rescue Bots'' was plonked into Aligned continuity by the studio against the "[[Binder of Revelation]]".<ref name="See fan photos">Rik Alvarez panel, slide show on [[Beast Hunters]] - [http://sunnybutte.tumblr.com/post/131368170623/and-if-you-were-wondering-why-beast-hunters-was See fan photos]</ref>

''Prime''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> staff had plotted out three years of material and done them all ''before'' the end of season 2 ("Which is pretty typical") so they had to reconfigure. The ''Beast Hunters'' revamp was given to them late in the day <ref>[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/10/25/transformers-prime-producer-talks-beasts-mythology-michael-bay/ ‘Transformers: Prime’ producer talks Beasts, mythology, Michael Bay]</ref> and they weren't too happy about it. A perfect storm of this bad blood, major changes to what the third season was originally planned to do,<ref>[http://sunnybutte.tumblr.com/post/131384199723/hey-all-getting-a-lot-of-questions-about-those Fan report of panel]: "Actual Maximals and Predacons were set to appear on a revitalized Cybertron in season 3 (he described it as a ‘taming the wild west’ setting)."</ref> [[Aaron Archer]] moving up and being replaced by a new guy with new ideas, miscommunication and bad blood between toy designers and ''Prime'' team, and ballooning ''Prime'' budget led to an early demise for the show. Alvarez claims it also killed the "Binder" and future show plans.<ref name="See fan photos"/> [[Andrew Hall]] weighed in to confirm this lined up with what he'd heard from other people and that much of this is part of the big ball o' fun that comes from working for large corporations.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/121416-everything-that-went-wrong-with-the-transformers-prime-show-panel-at-tfcon-charlotte/?p=3060551 AllSpark forum:] "No, the aspects of it that people are seeing as complaining was pretty much stuff I heard after he had left.

The information lines up with what he'd told me at the time.

So I just wanted to say that it's definitely not fabricated. ... I'm just sympathetic because I've seen very clearly that working in a large corporation can be like being wrapped up in a massive war, where you're only in control of your own little unit (if that), and not the entire battlefield. I know plenty of really talented people who had their careers swept away with the tide, due to no fault of their own. I'm not even being slightly dramatic here."</ref>

Hopefully it's all fine now with ''Robots in Disguise'', eh guys?

==Notes==
* Instead of giving this continuity family an official name, Hasbro has instead referred to it with brief descriptors such as "new aligned,"<ref name="newaligned" /> "aligned,"<ref name="aligned" /> "modern,"<ref name="decade" /><ref name="fallen" /> and "War for Cybertron/Exodus."<ref name="newaligned" /> VP of Intellectual Property Development [[Aaron Archer]] said at a [[BotCon 2010]] panel that he had considered naming it "Epochs" but then decided not to.
* The [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|subtitle-less ''Transformers'' toyline launched in 2010]] and its companion line, ''Generations'', share some of the Aligned spirit, since they likewise contain characters and concepts from previous franchises with little separation. But the only real connection between those toylines and Aligned material is the small number of [[#Generations toy bios|previously-mentioned]] ''War for Cybertron''-inspired toys. Hasbro has referred to the [[Power Core Combiners]] subline as "exist[ing] in the modern world continuity,"<ref>[[Hasbro Q&A/November 2010: Answers|TFWiki.net Hasbro Q&A, Nov. 2010]]</ref> but the context of that statement doesn't suggest a specific reference to Aligned.
* The ''Hubworld Transformers: Prime'' TV special featured footage of BotCon attendees taking a ''Transformers'' quiz, with the questions being what Optimus Prime's original name was, what his job had been, and which soap opera was the Autobots' favorite. The soap opera (''[[As the Kitchen Sinks]]'') is from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]], but the "correct" answers to the first two questions were said to be "Orion Pax" and "data clerk." Aligned continuity is the only source where both of those ideas are true. This seems to reflect Hasbro's current policy of treating Aligned material as the default ''Transformers'' "truth." Something similar occurred during the [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] era, where [[DK Publishing|DK]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' treated that continuity as the default "truth," so this is not a completely new phenomenon.
* By surface appearances, the Aligned continuity appears to have influenced the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]], with [[James Roberts]] introducing elements into his work such as the Optimus-Megatron backstory, with Optimus as a civil servant swayed by Megatron's rhetoric, a [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] starting to feel his advanced age, and the idea of [[alternate mode]] determining social and racial position. Amazingly, however, this is all ''complete coincidence''; Roberts is not overly familiar with what's going on in the Aligned universe, and originated these ideas on his own.
**On the other hand, the use of ''War for Cybertron'' character designs in the ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' and ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' series ''is'' intentional, and given how closely editor [[John Barber]] and Hasbro work together, some cross-pollination of ideas would be unsurprising.<ref>[http://www.newsarama.com/21865-big-boys-come-to-play-in-transformers-combiner-wars-crossover.html Newsarama: Big Boys Come To Play in TRANSFORMERS’ COMBINER WARS Crossover]</ref>

==See also==

* [[Aligned timeline]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Aligned| ]]
[[Category:Continuity families]]
[[Category:Prime]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron]]

Cartoon Network

2016-04-15T00:57:18Z

Galvanize:

[[Image:CNlogo2.svg|right|300px|thumb|Still waiting on that ''SWAT Kats'' revival, guys.]]
A product of Ted Turner's vast empire (since merged into TimeWarner), '''Cartoon Network''' was a showcase channel for Hanna-Barbera's extensive archive of classic animation. It became an instant powerhouse for cable in the 1990s, airing both older and new cartoons. The newer projects led to pioneering shows in their own right, amongst them ''[[Matt Hill|Ed,]] [[Sam Vincent|Edd 'n]] [[Tony Sampson|Eddy]]'', ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''[[Charlie Adler|Cow and Chicken]]'', ''[[Jeff Glen Bennett|Johnny Bravo]]'', ''[[Tara Strong|The Powerpuff Girls]]'' and ''[[Phil LaMarr|Samurai Jack]]'', the latter leading to two original ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]: Clone Wars'' mini-series.

Cartoon Network eventually expanded itself with greater amounts of original content, soon shuffling its "vintage" animation to a new channel, "Boomerang". New programming blocks such as ''[[Toonami]]'', "Miguzi" and "Adult Swim" aimed more towards early-teen and adult animation fans, and helped to bring in a new lease on life for the anime movement.

In 1998, the Toonami block broadcast the final five episodes of season two of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', a welcome development since otherwise American fans would not have seen them for many months and would have been vulnerable to spoilers from dirty [[Canada|Canadians]]. In 2002, Cartoon Network revived ''He-Man'' for all of ten minutes, and also turned their heads towards ''Transformers'', airing all three "seasons" of the [[Unicron Trilogy]]. Near the end of the 2000s, they served as producers and distributors of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'', which featured many of the talents who brought Cartoon Network some of their bigger action-cartoons like ''Teen Titans'' and ''Ben 10''.

Unfortunately, Cartoon Network has a nasty habit of moving ''Transformers'' shows to early morning "death slots," before most of the target audience (yannow, kids) were awake and/or getting ready for school. While this didn't have much of an impact on the Unicron Trilogy because the shows had 52 pre-planned episodes from the get-go, ''Transformers Animated'' suffered from almost-nonexistent advertising and the dreaded early morning "death slot." While this was only one of the many factors that led to ''Transformers Animated's'' untimely ending, Cartoon Network certainly contributed to the show's cancellation.

[[Cartoon Network TOO]], Cartoon Network Europe and Cartoon Network Brazil have the broadcast rights to ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]''.

Cartoon Network is the home of the new ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' cartoon since the [[Hub Network]] has been reworked into [[Discovery Family]]. Let's hope they treat it better than they treated ''Transformers Animated''... although the decision to put the series in the prestigious Saturday morning 6:30 AM timeslot ''probably'' doesn't bode well. International Cartoon Networks in Australia and the UK and Ireland also air the program.

Cartoon Network Japan has rerun a number of ''Transformers'' series over the years, including ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]'', ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Wars Returns]]''. They also were the first station in Japan to air all three episodes of "[[The Rebirth]]", which before then had only ever been seen as laserdisc and DVD bonus content.

==External links==
*[http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/index.html cartoonnetwork.com]
*[[wikipedia:Cartoon Network|Cartoon Network at Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Networks]]