The Disney Channels In Disarray

[Ignohippo]

So first Good Luck Charlie and now Phineas and Ferb have been cancelled by The Disney Channel.

While any network's lineup will always have some stinkers, The Disney Channel's current lineup (and that of DisneyXD and Disney JR.) is getting worse and worse. It seems over the past year there's been a huge turnover of programming and the new shows are failing to find an audience.

I'm glad that Disney Jr. has finally found solid footing again with shows like Jake, Sofia and Doc McStuffins but it went through a really rough patch (after mis-steps like Agent Oso, Octonauts, etc.) but the current lineup is skewing very girl-centric with the addition of Sherif Callie.

DisneyXD and The Disney Channel are a mess though with awful shows like Dog With A Blog, Mighty Med, Crash & Bernstein, Lab Rats and Austin & Ally. Even a show like ANT Farm, which was decent, has been re-developed to be absolutely horrible. I've never known the network to be completely absent of iconic shows like it currently is. This is the network that gave us Phineas and Ferb, Good Luck Charlie, Hannah Montana, Sonny With A Chance, Suite Life, Wizards Of Waverly Place, Lizzie McGuire, Kim Possible, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Pair Of Kings and many others after all. Even the recent movies have failed to find an audience.

I'm curious what others think but, unfortunately for our family, The Disney Channel has sadly become unwatchable.

 

[popcenturylover]

Totally, agree with you on all counts!!!

 

[TomHendricks]

Totally, agree with you on all counts!!!

Except about Octonauts, that's a great show.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The Disney Channel started getting bad for me ever since the era of That's So Raven, which premiered in 2003, I believe. That means I haven't been into the Disney Channel in over a decade. The last great shows, in my opinion, were Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens and Kim Possible. It's been a disgrace for a seriously long time for me. The shows nowadays beyond suck. It's like they think we're stupid, kids included. Seriously, get rid of the laugh track! No one's laughing and those awful, corny, dumb, terrible one-liners. The shows dumb down the audience.

What happened to variety, quality and actual Disney content? When I was growing up, Disney had a medical show, a sci-fi, game shows, a sports-themed show, an action/family show and even a reality show (Bug Juice doesn't come in a jar). The shows nowadays have talking dogs and people who can't sing, dance or act. It's pathetic.

Remember Disney Vault? The segment that played old, Walt-era Disney content? Who decided to get rid of that segment? It was pure gold. I'm in my twenties, but I grew up with the original Mickey Mouse Club, Zorro, Silly Symphonies and the original Disneyland show. The kids nowadays don't have any of that. It's very sad and disappointing.

Sorry for ranting. I used to be in love with the Disney Channel, but it's safe to say I hate it, now. The only time I turn it on is when Zenon or Halloweentown comes on. It's just one big pile of disappointment.

 

[wdisney9000]

We have sort of made it a tradition when we visit WDW to watch the Disney Channel at night while we wind down. Suite Life was our favorite for years. They havent aired it as often as they used to and our last few trips we were struggling to find something new we could enjoy. Most of the new shows just didnt appeal to us.

Our most recent visit was in January and we caught an episode of Jessie our first night and thought it was funny. We watched it a few nights and were excited to find a new show. On our 4th day we returned to our room for an afternoon break. I flipped to the Disney channel and Good Luck Charlie was on. We wound up watching the whole episode.

When our trip ended we took solace in knowing that we had found 2 new Disney shows to enjoy when we needed a Disney fix. Jessie is good but we really like GLC. After learning it was ending after season 4 we feel like we are back to nothing good (for us) on the Disney Channel. Why would they cancel a show that is getting excellent ratings? Seriously, does anybody know why? I feel they could have gotten a few more years out of it at least.

 

[Ignohippo]

The Disney Channel started getting bad for me ever since the era of That's So Raven, which premiered in 2003, I believe. That means I haven't been into the Disney Channel in over a decade. The last great shows, in my opinion, were Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens and Kim Possible. It's been a disgrace for a seriously long time for me. The shows nowadays beyond suck. It's like they think we're stupid, kids included. Seriously, get rid of the laugh track! No one's laughing and those awful, corny, dumb, terrible one-liners. The shows dumb down the audience.

What happened to variety, quality and actual Disney content? When I was growing up, Disney had a medical show, a sci-fi, game shows, a sports-themed show, an action/family show and even a reality show (Bug Juice doesn't come in a jar). The shows nowadays have talking dogs and people who can't sing, dance or act. It's pathetic.

Remember Disney Vault? The segment that played old, Walt-era Disney content? Who decided to get rid of that segment? It was pure gold. I'm in my twenties, but I grew up with the original Mickey Mouse Club, Zorro, Silly Symphonies and the original Disneyland show. The kids nowadays don't have any of that. It's very sad and disappointing.

Sorry for ranting. I used to be in love with the Disney Channel, but it's safe to say I hate it, now. The only time I turn it on is when Zenon or Halloweentown comes on. It's just one big pile of disappointment.

I can understand your feelings, but IMO, there were plenty of good shows that you missed out on. Just to name a couple, Good Luck Charlie was the best family comedy since the 90s and Phineas and Ferb were like watching the Simpsons in their heyday. While goofy as heck, we also enjoyed shows like Pair Of Kings and ANT Farm. Shake It Up isn't too bad either. Sometimes it's fun to just leave your brain at the door. Jessie, the networks only holdover, is passable but not nearly as good as those others.

I get the feeling the new President (since 2011) is hell-bent on getting rid of anything he didn't give the green light to. His ego is coming at the expense of the network.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I can understand your feelings, but IMO, there were plenty of good shows that you missed out on. Just to name a couple, Good Luck Charlie was the best family comedy since the 90s and Phineas and Ferb were like watching the Simpsons in their heyday. While goofy as heck, we also enjoyed shows like Pair Of Kings and ANT Farm. Shake It Up isn't too bad either. Sometimes it's fun to just leave your brain at the door. Jessie, the networks only holdover, is passable but not nearly as good as those others.

I get the feeling the new President (since 2011) is hell-bent on getting rid of anything he didn't give the green light to. His ego is coming at the expense of the network.

I did watch multiple episodes of those shows. Phineas and Ferb was good, but all the other shows were garbage. Just awful. I respect your opinion, though.

 

[Ignohippo]

We have sort of made it a tradition when we visit WDW to watch the Disney Channel at night while we wind down. Suite Life was our favorite for years. They havent aired it as often as they used to and our last few trips we were struggling to find something new we could enjoy. Most of the new shows just didnt appeal to us.

Our most recent visit was in January and we caught an episode of Jessie our first night and thought it was funny. We watched it a few nights and were excited to find a new show. On our 4th day we returned to our room for an afternoon break. I flipped to the Disney channel and Good Luck Charlie was on. We wound up watching the whole episode.

When our trip ended we took solace in knowing that we had found 2 new Disney shows to enjoy when we needed a Disney fix. Jessie is good but we really like GLC. After learning it was ending after season 4 we feel like we are back to nothing good (for us) on the Disney Channel. Why would they cancel a show that is getting excellent ratings? Seriously, does anybody know why? I feel they could have gotten a few more years out of it at least.

I completely agree. Like I said in my previous post, This must be a case of someone new coming in and giving the axe to anything he/she didn't green light.

There's been a very obvious difference in quality of the last two years in the shows that are being developed and the shows that were gaining popularity (Shake It Up, ANT Farm, Kickin' It, Good Luck Charlie) have all been given the axe to be replaced by garbage like Dog With A Blog, Mighty Meds, Austin and Allie and Lab Rats.

To take this one step further, when Shake It Up was cancelled last year, it was the number one rated show for kids 6-14. It was cancelled in the middle of just its third season (shortly after GLC was cancelled). The show had tons of potential for music downloads, merch sales and even crossover possibilities for the stars. It easily could have gone another 2-3 years and made TWDCo a ton of cash.

 

[Ignohippo]

I did watch multiple episodes of those shows. Phineas and Ferb was good, but all the other shows were garbage. Just awful. I respect your opinion, though.

Ha! If you thought those were garbage, try giving the channel a look now. Horrid, horrid stuff.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Ha! If you thought those were garbage, try giving the channel a look now. Horrid, horrid stuff.

No, thanks lol. I watched a few minutes of Dog with a Blog and felt my brain cells dying off, one by one. Give me back The Famous Jett Jackson, So Weird, The Jersey and Bug Juice, and I'll gladly tune back in to the Disney Channel. Until then, it can skip rocks.

 

[stevehousse]

Loved the shows in the late 90s early 2000s! The last few years the station had gone to hell and is in total disarray of any decent programming.

Dare I say that Disney Jr, a channel for preschoolers has better entertainment than both Disney channel and Disney xd combined!?! That's insane to say but it's true!

Not only does Jr have great programming, but they even have "wonderful world of Disney jr" that shows all the classic Disney feature animated movies we all grew up with and loved! That's the best thing ever fr a parent is that I get to share those movies with my kids!

PS: Jake rules!

 

[prberk]

The Disney Channel started getting bad for me ever since the era of That's So Raven, which premiered in 2003, I believe. That means I haven't been into the Disney Channel in over a decade. The last great shows, in my opinion, were Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens and Kim Possible. It's been a disgrace for a seriously long time for me. The shows nowadays beyond suck. It's like they think we're stupid, kids included. Seriously, get rid of the laugh track! No one's laughing and those awful, corny, dumb, terrible one-liners. The shows dumb down the audience.

What happened to variety, quality and actual Disney content? When I was growing up, Disney had a medical show, a sci-fi, game shows, a sports-themed show, an action/family show and even a reality show (Bug Juice doesn't come in a jar). The shows nowadays have talking dogs and people who can't sing, dance or act. It's pathetic.

Remember Disney Vault? The segment that played old, Walt-era Disney content? Who decided to get rid of that segment? It was pure gold. I'm in my twenties, but I grew up with the original Mickey Mouse Club, Zorro, Silly Symphonies and the original Disneyland show. The kids nowadays don't have any of that. It's very sad and disappointing.

Sorry for ranting. I used to be in love with the Disney Channel, but it's safe to say I hate it, now. The only time I turn it on is when Zenon or Halloweentown comes on. It's just one big pile of disappointment.

Some brilliant marketing executives decided that "research" showed that young people like you would not want those old, dated Walt Disney shows.

Someone forgot to tell them about you, or many other young people I knew in the '90s and early 2000s who enjoyed the classic Disney stuff (including live action movies) along with the new stuff. They also forgot to tell them about how the intros to Wonderful World and Disneyland show set up the parks. And they completely forgot how kids enjoyed "Walt Disney World Inside Out" and other shows that showed them the new and exciting things at the resort, and made them want to visit along the way.

Come to think of it, they could simply re-run those old episodes of "Inside Out": the claims that they make about the attractions they show being the newest attractions would still be true!

 

[nolatron]

I think the only thing we watch on the Disney Channel regularly these days is Disney Jr. shows. DW and I can't stand the other shows so we don't let our DD watch 'em.

I did wish they brought back stuff like the Silly Symphonies, Merry Melodies, or just you know.... Disney Cartoons. We have Silly Symphonies and Melodies on DVD along with that classic Goofy set and my DD loves those. Heck, I got 4 dvd set of Looney Tunes she'll fall over laughing at (and DW and I still do too!). It's that kind of stuff I'd like the kids to grow up on. Not what passes as "children's cartoons" these days. Even some of these new Mickey Shorts like the one in Italy where's he's trying to woo Minnie seems a little weird.

I remember Mouseterpiece Theater, Disney Nightime, All them old Disney movies (Kurt Russel era, etc..). Just grab a 1-2 hour time slot at night and make it a Classic Hour. They will have it big hit with current generation of parents who grew up on that stuff.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think the only thing we watch on the Disney Channel regularly these days is Disney Jr. shows. DW and I can't stand the other shows so we don't let our DD watch 'em.

I did wish they brought back stuff like the Silly Symphonies, Merry Melodies, or just you know.... Disney Cartoons. We have Silly Symphonies and Melodies on DVD along with that classic Goofy set and my DD loves those. Heck, I got 4 dvd set of Looney Tunes she'll fall over laughing at (and DW and I still do too!). It's that kind of stuff I'd like the kids to grow up on. Not what passes as "children's cartoons" these days. Even some of these new Mickey Shorts like the one in Italy where's he's trying to woo Minnie seems a little weird.

I remember Mouseterpiece Theater, Disney Nightime, All them old Disney movies (Kurt Russel era, etc..). Just grab a 1 hour time slot at night and make it a Classic Hour. They will have it big hit with current generation of parents who grew up on that stuff.

I'm going to refuse to let my future children watch shows like the ones that come on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which also has terrible shows now.

Looney Tunes are the absolute best (the classic ones, at least). You're always guaranteed to laugh.

 

[RandomPrincess]

So first Good Luck Charlie and now Phineas and Ferb have been cancelled by The Disney Channel.

While any network's lineup will always have some stinkers, The Disney Channel's current lineup (and that of DisneyXD and Disney JR.) is getting worse and worse. It seems over the past year there's been a huge turnover of programming and the new shows are failing to find an audience.

I'm glad that Disney Jr. has finally found solid footing again with shows like Jake, Sofia and Doc McStuffins but it went through a really rough patch (after mis-steps like Agent Oso, Octonauts, etc.) but the current lineup is skewing very girl-centric with the addition of Sherif Callie.

Sad to see Phineas and Ferb go I love that show!

As for Disney Junior just because a show stars a girl doesn't mean it's a girl's show. Callie is a cowgirl she's not doing anything stereotypically girly, infact she is the hero always helping out and doing what would have been a male only job back then as sheriff. I think she appeals to preschool boys and girls. Just like boys and girls enjoy Jake it stars a boy but it's not a "boy's" show Most Disney Junior shows seem to appeal equally to my son and daughter only Sofia seems to disinterest my son.

 

[nolatron]

I'm going to refuse to let my future children watch shows like the ones that come on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which also has terrible shows now.

Ugh, We can't stand Nickelodeon either.

Looney Tunes are the absolute best (the classic ones, at least). You're always guaranteed to laugh.

Oh yes, only the classics. We caught a few minutes of the "new" Looney Tunes and turned it off.

 

[nolatron]

Just like boys and girls enjoy Jake it stars a boy but it's not a "boy's" show Most Disney Junior shows seem to appeal equally to my son and daughter only Sofia seems to disinterest my son.

Yup, My DD likes watching Jake just as much as Sofia.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Oh yes, only the classics. We caught a few minutes of the "new" Looney Tunes and turned it off.

I couldn't stand the new one, either. It was pretty popular, though.

This is, by far, one of my favorite Looney Tunes shorts. Yosemite Sam is the greatest.

 

[Ignohippo]

Sad to see Phineas and Ferb go I love that show!

As for Disney Junior just because a show stars a girl doesn't mean it's a girl's show. Callie is a cowgirl she's not doing anything stereotypically girly, infact she is the hero always helping out and doing what would have been a male only job back then as sheriff. I think she appeals to preschool boys and girls. Just like boys and girls enjoy Jake it stars a boy but it's not a "boy's" show Most Disney Junior shows seem to appeal equally to my son and daughter only Sofia seems to disinterest my son.

My kids love Sofia and Doc as well, but you can't argue that Disney Jr. has had 3 new shows in the past year and all 3 have been centered around female characters. It doesn't mean boys can't like them, or that they are exclusively for girls, but it does mean that the networks new offerings are skewing towards a girl demographic.

It's easy to understand. They now have DisneyXD for boys, so it makes sense they would try to skew one of the other channels towards a girl demo.

I just wish they would create more ensemble shows again like Little Einstiens, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Bear In The Big Blue House, etc. There's no reason why the programming should ever skew one way or the other on Disney Jr. And if you have something like Sofia, balance it out with something like Handy Manny. There just isn't much balance in their current programming.

 

[RandomPrincess]

My kids love Sofia and Doc as well, but you can't argue that Disney Jr. has had 3 new shows in the past year and all 3 have been centered around female characters. It doesn't mean boys can't like them, or that they are exclusively for girls, but it does mean that the networks new offerings are skewing towards a girl demographic.

It's easy to understand. They now have DisneyXD for boys, so it makes sense they would try to skew one of the other channels towards a girl demo.

I just wish they would create more ensemble shows again like Little Einstiens, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Bear In The Big Blue House, etc. There's no reason why the programming should ever skew one way or the other on Disney Jr. And if you have something like Sofia, balance it out with something like Handy Manny. There just isn't much balance in their current programming.

What about Henry Huggle Monster? He's the main character and a boy also new this year. I personally think it's very old fashioned to assume just because the lead character is a girl or boy that it is geared toward one sex or the other.