Cartoon Network's anticipated new hit, Sheep in the Big City. © Cartoon Network.

Feeling a Little Blue?
The newest kid on the block is The WB's Baby Blues, based on the comic strip from Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, and developed and executive produced by Jeff Martin (The Simpsons) and Pete Ocko (Weird Science, Dinosaurs). In September, The WB announced its pickup of a second season of Baby Blues. So far it has been one of the highest rated comedies in the history of The WB. Part of Baby Blues' success is attributable to The WB's acquisition of Sabrina: The Teenage Witch from ABC. Together, they are establishing The WB as a contender on Friday nights. Turrell explains that Baby Blues was actually picked up more than a year before it premiered, but "[The WB] didn't have a good time slot for it. We needed shows that were compatible, but we didn't have anything on the network that fitted. We have a night with lots of drama; then an Urban Comedy night; and then some more drama.... [Baby Blues] has done well warming up for the teenage-girl market which Sabrina has brought us. Maybe around midseason we'll move it after Sabrina."

For the time being, ABC, NBC and CBS are staying away from animation. It took ABC eight years from the failure of Capitol Critters to venture with Clerks, and prior to Sammy, primetime animation had not been made exclusively for NBC since 1964's Mr. Magoo. Fox will be airing Gary and Mike and The WB has picked up Film Roman's much anticipated, politically incorrect Oblongs. Cartoon Network is anticipating a hit from the forthcoming Sheep in the Big City by Mo Willems, and have picked up UPN's cancelled Home Movies, which will be resurrected in the spring of 2001. It would be nice if someone re-picked up Mission Hill. Despite winning many awards, including Italy's Cartoons on the Bay, the show has still fallen by the wayside.

Coming soon to the WB, Film Roman's animated comedy, The Oblongs. © 2000 The WB Television Network.

The WB's Turrell says, "We like the fact that the other networks shot their shows, so the landscape is not filled with a lot of primetime animation. The Simpsons and one or two [animated] shows on The WB can work [successfully]." However, the sum total of this equation is an abundance of primetime animation -- just in different locations and at a softer volume. As the smaller networks try to build a strong specific audience they are using animated shows in the mix to attract and grow their demographic. Luckily for the shows, these networks can also keep them around for more than a few episodes to try to build a loyal following. Has the year really been so much of a disaster? No, it's been more of a learning experience -- one that if it had been intelligently studied months ago would not have even been necessary. The fad of primetime animation is over. It has come back to an intelligent center, a much better place for animation to prove itself as a viable primetime form of entertainment.

Gerard Raiti, a resident of Baltimore, has reported on animation, Broadway musicals and comic books for various publications including AnotherUniverse.com and Newsweek.