Reckless Review - Sister Channels

Sup guys. A Bunch of free time gives me time to do a long ass journal!!!

Now everybody & their mommas know about Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, & Disney. Today, I will give my review [or retrospective] of their sister channels. Sister channels are alternative networks of their main channels.

1. Disney XD



First, I will give my take on Disney XD, the only Disney channel I take the time to watch. It basically Disney Channel for boys. It was first called Toon Disney back in 1997. I LOVED TOON DISNEY!!! The classic Disney shows & bumpers were AMAZING!! The Toon city bumpers were very innovated at the time.



In 2009, Toon Disney was rebranded as Disney XD, basically a fusion between Toon Disney & the action cartoon block, Jetix. They did away most of their classic Disney cartoons to put more shows for boys. It was not that bad, the bumpers & ident were also cool as hell. I liked the way the idents zoom away from the logo to make the channel bug. The new shows they had, like Phineas & Ferb, were cool, but I'm not a big fan of. Gravity Falls was also a great hit for XD, basically their trademark show for the network.

In 2012, when Disney bought Marvel & Star Wars, Disney XD brought more Marvel based cartoons to the network, like The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Avengers, & the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Last year, Disney XD premiered Star Wars Rebels, my new favorite show!!! SWR did wonders for XD & brought new eyes to the network. With the good comes the bad... I FUCKIN HATE KIRBY BUCKETS!!!

Disney XD has it's flaws, but can be easily forgetful with their shows & look. 

2. Nicktoons



Nicktoons launched back in 1997. It was basically competiton for Toon Disney, airing classic Nicktoons, like Rugrats, Doug, Hey Arnold, Angry Beavers, Ahhhh! Real Monsters, Catdog, Rocket Power, Invader Zim, & more. Just like Toon Disney, I fell in love with Nicktoons. They also played classic Warner Bros cartoons, like Tiny Toons Adventures, Pinky & The Brain, & Animanics. Finally, they aired shows exclusively for the network, like Kupet & Zosky & Kappa Mikey.



In 2005, Nicktoons rebranded themselves as the highly popular Nicktoons Network, The Animation Capital of the World! The idents & bumpers were OUTRAGEOUSLY AWESOME!!! This was the golden age of the network!!

 

In 2009, as part of Nickelodeon Networks rebrand, Nicktoons Network reverted back to Nicktoons. Out of ALL the Nick networks that got changed, Nicktoons was the only one that was AWESOME! During this era, Nicktoons dumped most of their classic Nicktoons and acquired more action cartoons, just like Disney XD. Although I do miss the Nicktoons, the shows they acquired made up for it. Yu-gi-oh: Zexal, TMNT, Digimon Fusion, The Power Rangers Series,& Dranballl Z: Kai, which was the reason why Toonami couldn't pick DBZ at the time. They also pick up new originals, like WWE Slam City, Wild Grinders, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters & Aliens, Robot & Monster, & LBX. As part of their 2014 rebrand, Nicktoons introduced the Nick Sports block.

Even though I enjoy Nicktoons now, the network suffered the MTV effect. It suffered an identity crisis, constantly changing the network left to right, but it's seems to be working. I just wish they brought back the classic Nicktoons...

3. Boomerang

 

Finally, I will end this by reviewing CN's Boomerang. The one that started it all. Launched back in 1992, Boomerang played a lot of classic Hanna-Barbara & Cartoon Network cartoons, like Scooby Doo, Dexter's Lab, PPG, Popeye, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, & much more. Basically, any show CN was done with went to Boomerang. The bumpers & idents were also cool. I loved how they use classic Hanna-Barbara & CN toys in the bumpers. They also had the classic BoomerAction block, their version of Toonami.



While the network was good, they keep the look & bumper style for WAY TOO LONG. It was a great branding, but it overstayed it's welcome. In early 2015, Boomerang finally rebrand themselves. The bumpers were more 2D & colorful & the new logo was based on CN's current logo. They still played classic shows and also more current shows, like Gumball, but the schedule constantly changes , so it hard too keep up with a show if it keeps changing timeslots.

All in All, I love these networks. Even though they kept changing over the years, it wasn't to the point of me tuning out. They did some things that keeps me glued to their networks today. Even coming to the point where they're better than their main channels. Cheers to them!!

If u have any stories or thoughts about these channels, please fill free to share em' down below.

As always, this journal ends where the last one left off. STAY RECKLESS. FTW.