Since the early 1950s, the imaginations of America and the world have been captured by an innovative device known as a television. The television brought the outside world into the comfort of your own home. Programs on the television's channels and networks have a wide range of topics, from business and politics to music and sports. Some of our greatest memories came from television programs; watching Lucy frantically wrap candies in a factory, finding out who shot JR, helping Big Bird cope with the death of Mr. Hooper, and partying with "wild and crazy guys" Chevy Chase and Steve Martin. But we wouldn't have any of those memories if it weren't for Walt Disney. It was Walt who led the way for a whole new genre of television programs with Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club. Following these great successes, more and more people introduced new types of programming for televisions everywhere. In fact, so many new television programs were being produced in the 30 years following 1950 that new channels and networks had to be created to hold all of them. Surprisingly, there was no one channel dedicated solely to family entertainment. Disney took up the chance to do so and, in 1983, created The Disney Channel. Now, people no longer had to go to the cinema or vacation to Walt Disney World to see Mickey Mouse and his friends. They were right there on TV. The public loved it. Advertisements for The Disney Channel began to pop up everywhere; in magazines, on busses, in restaurants, and even on other TV stations! Heartwarming programs like Good Morning Mickey, Welcome to Pooh Corner, and Donald Duck Presents enthralled audiences for quite some times, that was until the early 2000s. Things started to go downhill on January 12, 2001. The cheesy "family sitcom" Lizzie McGuire debuted following the premiere of Zenon: The Zequel. Although the series had some of the ideals from Walt's time, it would get worse with each new show. From that point on, The Disney Channel became the foremost preteen network on television. Programs like Hannah Montana, The Suite Life with Zack & Cody, and That's So Raven! proved to be a "slap in the face" to the name that represents the largest media conglomerate on Earth. Although these shows may seem to be very different from each other, they all had one very large thing in common: the basic plot. Most, if not all, of the shows revolve around a spoiled and bratty teenager who goes through life wanting it to make big in the music industry one way or another. The protagonist normally has an annoying sidekick of the opposite gender whose only dialogue was plagued with puns lamer than trying to eat Pop-Rocks while drinking Coca-Cola at the same time. Then, after a few episodes, it's revealed these two characters have a romantic relationship. Beyond that, it's just a bunch of random characters and that extremely irritating "fake laughter" sound effect looping every two seconds.
In 2007, there was a light of hope. Phineas & Ferb aired its first episode. From that first episode, titled "Rollercoaster," you could see that creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh took a great deal of inspiration from Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, combining it with 21st Century lifestyles and humor in a magical formula that seemingly merged two opposite concepts perfectly and in a way with which everyone was happy. Also, the biggest aspect of Phineas & Ferb that made it stand out of Mickey's ragtag crowd of the 21st Century was that it was a cartoon. Pretty much every other show on The Disney Channel is a cheesy live-action sitcom with horrible acting. It's challenging to think that just 10 years ago, it was the other way around, with mostly cartoons and just one live-action show. Although Phineas & Ferb are still going strong, they were quickly overshadowed in 2008 by Camp Rock and other wannabe rockstar-related movies/TV programs. This invasion of sorts led to even more $hi++y "sitcoms," largely targeted at adolescent girls. I though Disney was for all ages and genders. This is where separation comes into play. All the preteen girl-related programs are the highlight of The Disney Channel. The real Disney stuff gets pushed to late night (on very rare occasions). The boy-targeted programs go onto Disney XD and the "real" sitcoms go onto ABC. I personally think that all ages rangers and genders should be represented on The Disney Channel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You're porbably thinking, "Kermit, that's way too much to handle." If that's going through your mind, compare to the United States of America. The North relies on industry and urban areas to survive while the South relies on agriculture. The West, Alaska, and Hawaii are hyrbrids of the two cultures. Although we all may seem different, we live under one flag. That is what unites us and, with that spirit in mind, is what unites The Disney Channel.
In 2007, there was a light of hope. Phineas & Ferb aired its first episode. From that first episode, titled "Rollercoaster," you could see that creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh took a great deal of inspiration from Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, combining it with 21st Century lifestyles and humor in a magical formula that seemingly merged two opposite concepts perfectly and in a way with which everyone was happy. Also, the biggest aspect of Phineas & Ferb that made it stand out of Mickey's ragtag crowd of the 21st Century was that it was a cartoon. Pretty much every other show on The Disney Channel is a cheesy live-action sitcom with horrible acting. It's challenging to think that just 10 years ago, it was the other way around, with mostly cartoons and just one live-action show. Although Phineas & Ferb are still going strong, they were quickly overshadowed in 2008 by Camp Rock and other wannabe rockstar-related movies/TV programs. This invasion of sorts led to even more $hi++y "sitcoms," largely targeted at adolescent girls. I though Disney was for all ages and genders. This is where separation comes into play. All the preteen girl-related programs are the highlight of The Disney Channel. The real Disney stuff gets pushed to late night (on very rare occasions). The boy-targeted programs go onto Disney XD and the "real" sitcoms go onto ABC. I personally think that all ages rangers and genders should be represented on The Disney Channel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You're porbably thinking, "Kermit, that's way too much to handle." If that's going through your mind, compare to the United States of America. The North relies on industry and urban areas to survive while the South relies on agriculture. The West, Alaska, and Hawaii are hyrbrids of the two cultures. Although we all may seem different, we live under one flag. That is what unites us and, with that spirit in mind, is what unites The Disney Channel.
