LogFAQs > #974546046

#94: Disney's Brand Spanking New Doug

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/1/8/AAAG8cAAEniW.jpg
I can see that it's brand new, but I don't see any spanking going on!

In 1996, Disney picked up the rights to air Doug, one of the original three Nicktoons alongside Rugrats and Ren And Stimpy. The show had done well in its three year run on Nickelodeon, but had been somewhat overshadowed by the other two, and Disney acquired the rights to Doug hoping to turn things around by making it an anchor of its new One Saturday Morning block. The show would pick up where the original left off, with Doug and friends now in middle school, with a few changes along the way: Roger, who was once a poor kid living in a trailer park, was now rich. Connie had lost weight, the Honker Burger was now a fancy restaurant... initially, despite the changes to the show, creator Jim Jinkins was happy to be working again, and had fun working on early episodes despite the changes. However, as time went on, Disney's Doug seemed to lack much of the quirky charm of the original. Characters' personalities bled into one another, and the show took on elements of a generic teen comedy rather than the unique coming of age story it had been on Nickelodeon. Billy West, who had done an excellent job as Doug and Roger in the Nickelodeon show, was let go for budgetary concerns, and the other voice actors no longer recorded together, eliminating the chemistry they had originally. Even Jim Jinkins began to burn out, clashing with other executives on creative matters. Despite all these changes, Disney's Doug was enough of a success to get four seasons and a movie, though that can also possibly be attributed to being part of the successful One Saturday Morning block, taking advantage of its fellow shows' ratings. It's easy to wonder why Disney even acquired Doug if they were planning on eliminating much of the things that made the show so beloved on Nickelodeon. Perhaps in their effort to make the show truly seem "brand spanking new", they wanted to differentiate their Doug from the old Doug. Still, it's not like Disney didn't air quirky teen cartoons at the time: Pepper Ann was far more interesting and unique, and its legacy endured much longer than that of Disney's Doug, a show many people forget existed at all. Few shows have been treated so well (seven seasons and a movie) and yet still seem like they got screwed: Doug had to endure being overshadowed by Ren and Stimpy, then by Rugrats after Ren and Stimpy flamed out. It got a chance on ABC, but despite being a staple of its premiere Saturday morning block, never really got to be the show it had once been on Nickelodeon. Disney's Brand Spanking New Doug is a frustrating exercise in "why?": Why would a network pay millions to acquire a show, then suck the life out of what had made it so great in the first place? It's not as if they were trying to keep it out of the competition's hands, since it hadn't done much for Nickelodeon either. Despite all the attention and money lavished on it, it ended up being one big spankin' waste of time.