Interview with Sam Register about Teen Titans and more... [Archive]

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 05:24 PM

Who didn't know season 4 was about Raven? :shrug:
I have a feeling that the other DC property show will be a teen hero, seeing as how popular they were for Teen Titans, except that maybe they might make it less "cartoony" and "silly". It's totally pwn ass if they went with a Speedy show, but I know they would'nt.

Vin

01-12-2005, 05:29 PM

CN Original - Life and Times of Juniper Lee by Judd Winnick

That was already green-lit well over a year ago. Register said, "We have an original CN superhero series just greenlit created by well known comic book writers. No press release has been released yet so it's still under wraps." So, we wouldn't know what it is.

DC Universe - your guess is as good as mine

Superman. ;)

Would make sense, what with Superman Returns coming.

Allen CARR

01-12-2005, 05:43 PM

but vincent, i don't think superman even exists yet in Teen Titans. Clark kent is still clark kent.

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 05:48 PM

You've gotta be kiddin me, Allen. superman was there WAAY before the Titans formed, whther it be comics or show, he was there way before, and if there is a Batman in that universe, then htere is a Superman.

Killtacular

01-12-2005, 05:48 PM

That was already green-lit well over a year ago. Register said, "We have an original CN superhero series just greenlit created by well known comic book writers. No press release has been released yet so it's still under wraps." So, we wouldn't know what it is.
I'm telling you, it is Juniper Lee, seeing as there is no other reference to the show. After all, wouldn't he say "We have two original CN superhero series" if another show had just been greenlit (three if you count Electric Girl)? Judd Winnick, regardless of your or anyone's opinion of him, is a "well known comic book writer".

Sam Register's job involves cartoons done out-of-studio. He obviously does not follow Juniper and would mistakenly believe that it was "just" greenlit when it was actually announced a year ago (although a year ago it was NOT greenlit, just OPTIONED for development). What interests me is that he includes Electric Girl with this as-of-yet unknown DC property that CN has bought stake in. I wonder what studio would do EG; Sony? Are they planning on completely redesigning the characters and farming to some company like Renegade? Worries me just a tad.

In conclusion, are you seriously trying to tell me that they have FOUR superhero shows IN ADDITION to TWO existing ones, in development? SIX SERIES? I can barely swallow five as it is.

If I'm wrong then I'd be sad to be wrong because Cartoon Network should NOT be making THAT MANY series about superheroes. It is freefalling into a trend that is going to lose its stability in the wake of a glut of approaching superhero movies that do not have the quality of Spiderman 2, that will dissolve public interest just as Batman and Robin threatened to do (and did) back in 1998.

Allen CARR

01-12-2005, 05:49 PM

my bad thenRed X unmasked, i new that. I was just thinking of the DCUAs timline. and clearly Titans is not part of it.

Vin

01-12-2005, 05:54 PM

but vincent, i don't think superman even exists yet in Teen Titans. Clark kent is still clark kent.

Huh? What does that have to do with the potential development of a new Superman series?

I'm telling you, it is Juniper Lee, seeing as there is no other reference to the show. After all, wouldn't he say "We have two original CN superhero series" if another show had just been greenlit (three if you count Electric Girl)? Judd Winnick, regardless of your or anyone's opinion of him, is a "well known comic book writer".

Matt, hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. ;) The second season of Juniper Lee is already being worked on. Sam is obviously speaking of a show that has not been announced yet. Perhaps it's Dial H for Hero [edit: Ben-10? ]. Perhaps not.

When I spoke to Judd's mother last year, she was confident the show was moving ahead. Believe me, it's not Juniper Lee that Register is referring to.

Killtacular

01-12-2005, 05:56 PM

Matt, hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. ;) The second season of Juniper Lee is already being worked on.
Then Cartoon Network is going to gamble and lose.

Vin

01-12-2005, 05:58 PM

Then Cartoon Network is going to gamble and lose.

I hate to really go off-topic, but ... Why? What else do you know about this project?

Mek

01-12-2005, 05:59 PM

As if I need more reasons to be absolutley sick of Raven. Season 4 is going to be overkill.

I don't hate the character, but man... if there ever was an overrated (but good) titan in the show, it's definitley her. >o<

Allen CARR

01-12-2005, 06:00 PM

I hate to really go off-topic, but ... Why? What else do you know about this project?

i hope this new superhero show, is better then the 3rd season of Teen Titans. also, i hope the hero as unique powers as well.

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 06:02 PM

Matt, hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. ;) The second season of Juniper Lee is already being worked on. Sam is obviously speaking of a show that has not been announced yet. Perhaps it's Dial H for Hero. Perhaps not.

It'd be so cool if it was Dial H for Hero.
And Allen, no need to apologize. I didn't know you meant in the DCAU, I thought you meant the comic timeline.

Vin

01-12-2005, 06:02 PM

i hope this new superhero show, is better then the 3rd season of Teen Titans. also, i hope the hero as unique powers as well.

Well, the series will likely be based on an established or a group of established DC characters. I simply mentioned Superman since Superman Returns will be hitting theaters in 2006. It would make sense for Warner Bros. to have another series tie-in, in addition to Justice League Unlimited to promote the character and get more children interested.

It'd be so cool if it was Dial H for Hero.
And Allen, no need to apologize. I didn't know you meant in the DCAU, I thought you meant the comic timeline.

There was a series being pitched around a while ago, that supposedly akin to Dial H for Hero, where one boy can change into ten superheroes... If I recall, the official name of the show was Ben-10.

Allen CARR

01-12-2005, 06:15 PM

Hey Vincent, i have this idea for a cool new comedy.action superboy show. It would be set in a alternate universe, and would have the same feel of that "Danny phantom" show, on nick, here it is

http://www.dccomics.com/secret_files/images/dc/pic_medsuperboy.jpghttp://wf.toonzone.net/WF/superman/episodes/NewKidsInTown/Screens/20.jpg
15 years ago, Clark kent was rocketed from his home world of Kyrpton, as a baby. he was found buy a family that was driving through smallville kansas one night. The kents took in the baby, and took his ship as well. Now, the now teenaged alien Clark, and his family have moved to Metropolis. Clark had devolped amazeing powers, and could even fly now! seeing a need to save people, Clark dons a suit, that his mom made for him. and began fighting crime as Superboy, but to hide his identity, Clark changed his hair, and donned Glasses, and became mild mannered teenager Clark Kent. While superboy may be famous, Clark kent on the other hand, has TO contend with the trials of Highschool.

the show would have have lots of comedy, and very fast paced Action. thier would be younger versions of Lex Luthor and Lois Lane.It would be cool, if it was on Nick, to. and this is not a smallville show.

Killtacular

01-12-2005, 06:56 PM

I hate to really go off-topic, but ... Why? What else do you know about this project?
It has nothing to do with the project. It has to do with 80% of Cartoon Network's output being one genre, and not just that, but a specific field within that genre. This is not "The Superhero Network", this is Cartoon Network, but you would hardly know that, seeing as CN's lineup in 2005 will have the following shows with powered or non-powered heroes, premieres or reruns: Powerpuff Girls, Codename: Kids Next Door, Totally Spies, Atomic Betty, Teen Titans, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Justice League, The Batman, Static Shock, Krypto, Electric Girl, Juniper Lee, Unnamed DCU Series, Unnamed Superhero Original; and if you venture slightly outside the "super" or "team" parameter, you have Duck Dodgers and MEGAS. There are even anime that qualify as "superhero", like DICE (which seems incredibly retarded, fyi). What does Cartoon Network Studios have to show for themselves then, besides hero and superhero shows? TWO shows: Foster's Home and Billy & Mandy. That's it. This is an extremely dangerous imbalance, an all-or-nothing dive that could jeopardize the network. Too much is too much. People will get burned out. I guarantee it.

William C. Maune

01-12-2005, 07:00 PM

Nick seems to do very well with its glut of "OMG! If I do the wrong thing I'm not going to be popular!" shows. I don't think a glut itself will be a problem. If the new shows aren't very good then a glut will magnify the problem. However, good shows are good shows. As long as quality is present I think kids will eat it up.

Killtacular

01-12-2005, 07:02 PM

Nick seems to do very well with its glut of "OMG! If I do the wrong thing I'm not going to be popular!" shows.
That's not a genre or field, it's a trait common with a wide variety of shows, ranging from school dramas to even, yes, superhero shows (such as Kim Possible). Let's not kid ourselves; Nick's ratings breadwinner is their animation, not their live action, just as Disney Channel's ratings hinge on their live action more than their animation.

Fone Bone

01-12-2005, 07:03 PM

Well, the series will likely be based on an established or a group of established DC characters. I simply mentioned Superman since Superman Returns will be hitting theaters in 2006. It would make sense for Warner Bros. to have another series tie-in, in addition to Justice League Unlimited to promote the character and get more children interested.

There was a series being pitched around a while ago, that supposedly akin to Dial H for Hero, where one boy can change into ten superheroes... If I recall, the official name of the show was Ben-10.Will this be an out of DCAU continuity series like The Batman? If so, I smell a future ban of Superman characters on JLU should it last that long.:shrug:

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 07:07 PM

I PRAY it is not similar to The Batman.

William C. Maune

01-12-2005, 07:08 PM

That's not a genre or field, it's a trait common with a wide variety of shows, ranging from school dramas to even, yes, superhero shows (such as Kim Possible). Let's not kid ourselves; Nick's ratings breadwinner is their animation, not their live action, just as Disney Channel's ratings hinge on their live action more than their animation.

Considering how far you stretched your definition of superhero shows to fit in everything you mentioned (some of those I'd just call "action/adventure"), I think the "common trait" easily qualifies as a genre as well. I wasn't referring about Nick's live-action either. What I've seen of Danny Phanton had him worrying about his popularity. Timmy of Fairly Oddparents tries his darnedest to be cool. XJ9 is always trying to fit in with everyone. Etc., Etc. Probably the only current Nicktoon that doesn't deal with it on a regular basis is Spongebob.

Vin

01-12-2005, 07:23 PM

Will this be an out of DCAU continuity series like The Batman? If so, I smell a future ban of Superman characters on JLU should it last that long.:shrug:

This was just speculation on my part. I don't know whether it will happen or not. It just makes sense for Warner Bros. from a business perspective. Make a new Superman show before / after Superman Returns and sell lots of new toys to kids -- akin to what they doing with Batman.

If I am not mistaken, Superman: The Animated Series came out in 1996, so when Superman Returns comes to theatres, it will have been ten years since the show debuted on The WB. For Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network not to consider a new animated Superman series would not make too much sense if they are really intent on making a big, new franchise around Superman.

Hero Supreme

01-12-2005, 07:29 PM

Vin

01-12-2005, 07:34 PM

who could the team be?

who could the other guests be?

I don't follow comics, but isn't there a team of futuristic superheroes? The Legion or something of that sort? Maybe that's the team they're talking about.

As for other guests, there's a TON of other characters that have appeared in the Teen Titans comics, according to Titanstower.com. Some of the more obvious characters might be someone like Impulse / Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 07:35 PM

the interview said

In the fifth season we also get to see some other DC teenage superheroes and possibly another superhero team from the DC Universe.

who could the team be?

who could the other guests be?I hope it's not the Justice League, though I doubt they'd do that. Most liely it'd be another teen team. Hmmmm....I hope it's not Young Justice either, though yet again, there'd be no possible way for them to do this. Maybe the Team Titans. Oh I don't know. I can't think of anyother DC team they could add to the show.

EDIT: Impulse would be a little hard to have on the show.

Hero Supreme

01-12-2005, 07:37 PM

Some of the more obvious characters might be someone like Impulse / Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.

these do seem to be the most obvious choices, and would be cool to see, but because of their similarities to flash and Wonder woman respectively, they may get snubbed. same for superboy. who are other DC teens?

Supremus

01-12-2005, 07:39 PM

This was just speculation on my part. I don't know whether it will happen or not. It just makes sense for Warner Bros. from a business perspective. Make a new Superman show before / after Superman Returns and sell lots of new toys to kids -- akin to what they doing with Batman.Oh it will sooo happen. Probably not more STAS, though. It might just be something new ala The Batman (God forbid), but there will be a new Superman show. I am willing to bet Fone Bone's Brilliant, Big-assed, but sadly irrelevant to "Wake the Dead" DCAU list on it.

Knight

01-12-2005, 08:00 PM

Mas and Menos are the lamest looking characters I have ever seen. If they wanted a speedster (other than kid Flash or Impulse) why not use Jesse Quick.

Other than that the other developments on the show look interesting. The Legion is the only other team of "teen" heroes I can think of that exsist in the Dc Universe. Unless they create a new one.

Spectre

01-12-2005, 08:08 PM

Mas and Menos are the lamest looking characters I have ever seen. If they wanted a speedster (other than kid Flash or Impulse) why not use Jesse Quick.

Maybe they were inspired by Plusle and Minun.

http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/prsplusle_160.gif http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/prsminun_160.gif

Killtacular

01-12-2005, 08:22 PM

This was just speculation on my part. I don't know whether it will happen or not. It just makes sense for Warner Bros. from a business perspective. Make a new Superman show before / after Superman Returns and sell lots of new toys to kids -- akin to what they doing with Batman.
Except -- Glen Murikami is already stretched out over two series, Teen Titans and The Batman. Bruce Timm vaguely oversees Teen Titans (and does miniscule work at times when he was needed to) and has a large amount of work on his hands with JLU which has a third season and probably a fourth. There's not many people who could handle a Superman series and are actually looking for a job, and have had experience in the executive producer's role.

Except for one.

Alan Burnett.

Style

01-12-2005, 08:25 PM

Yeah, it's pretty certain we'll see another Superman toon. But, I wonder about the nature of it. The Batman followed suit with Batman Begins: the film is a reboot, so the toon is too.

The situation is different with Superman returns.

The story semi-references the pre-existing movie, (At least the first two,) and is about Superman coming back after being gone for years. Given that, would it make sense to have a Superman reboot show? Or would they want the show to follow suit on an older superman coming back story too? If that happens, it might be cool if they used STAS to form the new show's back history. On the other hand, that would kind of mean that Superman would have to go away in JLU, to make a return story work.

Or maybe not. the new show could play fast and loose with continuities too. What if the new show decided that Stas was cannon, JL/JLU never happened, and was about the return of Superman after years of self-imposed exile following the events of Legacy? That might be kinda cool....

Hero Supreme

01-12-2005, 08:50 PM

Maybe they were inspired by Plusle and Minun.

http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/prsplusle_160.gif http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/prsminun_160.gif

are those for real?

Red X Unmasked

01-12-2005, 08:53 PM

If you're reffering to the Pokemon, then yeah, they are for real.

Animelee

01-12-2005, 09:56 PM

Yeah, they're real. Their English and Japanese names are Plusle and Minun. Believe or not, they have abilities that are pretty useful in battle, but they're highly marketable in Japan.

Do I suspect the same for Mas and Menos? They touch their fists/tails/legs/fingers together, get a temporary power boost, and kick ass for a few minutes, à la Plusle and Minun, and Touch and Go from Ninja Turtles. Kids will probably eat them up as they eat up Plusle and Minun (not sure about Touch and Go), and the toys will be flying off the shelves.

Believe or not though, just because Plusle and Minun were made just for the fact that they're highly marketable, it doesn't mean they're not entertaining. I feel the same about Mas and Menos.

Fone Bone

01-12-2005, 11:09 PM

Oh it will sooo happen. Probably not more STAS, though. It might just be something new ala The Batman (God forbid), but there will be a new Superman show. I am willing to bet Fone Bone's Brilliant, Big-assed, but sadly irrelevant to "Wake the Dead" DCAU list on it.Hey! Bet your own list!:p

I would love to see a Legion series because it could fit into DCAU continuity without any problems. Then again Teen Titans potentially could of as well and we all know how that turned out.;)

Styl92 if you REALLY want an in-continuity to STAS but not JL/JLU Superman series then you are an even bigger troublemaker than I thought!:D

Style

01-13-2005, 12:59 AM

Styl92 if you REALLY want an in-continuity to STAS but not JL/JLU Superman series then you are an even bigger troublemaker than I thought!:D
Ooh, I should have figured someone would read that as an "anti-JLU" comment. But that's not what I meant at all.

I was just saying that a Superman reboot might not be what they want to do, because the movie isn't a reboot. So if a new show isn't a reboot, then it would have to establish that it's Superman had some kind of back history. And I was just saying that instead of making it a nebulous, undefined history, that they could sort of use STAS as a template for that back history. And I suggested that if they do that, that they should ignore JLU so Warner Bros. wouldn't have to make b.t. kick Superman out of the JLU. that's all I was sayin'. I'm pretty much assuming the show would be made by someone else, by the way.

Supremus

01-13-2005, 01:24 AM

Hey! Bet your own list!:p Just hope I don't lose.

I would love to see a Legion series because it could fit into DCAU continuity without any problems. Then again Teen Titans potentially could of as well and we all know how that turned out.The problem with the Legion is that they would have a lot of space adventures, and space adventures in the DCAU have generally sucked badly.

Fone Bone

01-13-2005, 09:14 AM

Just hope I don't lose.

The problem with the Legion is that they would have a lot of space adventures, and space adventures in the DCAU have generally sucked badly.I liked Twilight fine. Seeing as how this would probably be done by a whole different team I bet they could get writers who specialize in that kind of thing.

Space Cadet

01-13-2005, 04:01 PM

I'm telling you, it is Juniper Lee, seeing as there is no other reference to the show. After all, wouldn't he say "We have two original CN superhero series" if another show had just been greenlit (three if you count Electric Girl)? Judd Winnick, regardless of your or anyone's opinion of him, is a "well known comic book writer".

Is Juniper done in My Teenage Robot style, or is it something different?

Hatter

01-13-2005, 09:29 PM

DJ PopTart

01-13-2005, 11:12 PM

Not really.
It just underscores that they did Teen Titans in the anime style TO attract kids. And it certainly seems to have worked.

Butho

01-14-2005, 12:01 AM

Teen Titans seemed very anime when it started out, both in design and story elements, but it seems to have really derived from that path now. It's hardly the most anime-derivative in my opinion.

Never was a real LoSH fan, but it'd be interesting to see a team go about making that show. To break up the whole space-setting monotony, they could just focus stories on several planet settings like in the comics. But that'd still be like Star Trek superheros, and probably still boring.

Some of the more obvious characters might be someone like Impulse / Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.
If they ever did get to, I think Kid Flash would be more likely than Wonder Girl. But both are very unlikely to "no chance at all" anyway, so that's not saying much.

Slane

01-14-2005, 12:17 AM

Hmm... I read the interview, and...

Does anyone else find it incredibly ironic how Mr. Register created Teen Titans in order to "get kids back into American Superheroes", and yet Teen Titans is one of the most anime-derivative cartoons on TV? And this is while being bitter about how kids watch nothing but Pokemon and DBZ! Getting inspiration from what is popular isn't a bad thing as long as you are pulling out the correct aspects.

Exaggerated facial expressions and movements, long absent in serious action cartoons, allow for comedy and fluidness; while Teen Titans is not the most serious show out there, the show utilized those aspects that just happened to be in anime but are not just an anime-derivative. Heck, Looney Tunes and the old days of animation serve as inspiration for some of the show's movement.

I would disagree with Butho that the show is no longer as "anime" as it was early on, but, again, that may be confusion on my part between what we should call anime and just call exaggerated, quick animation; the Cyborg/Robin tic-tac-toe game in "X" seems like a cartoony joke, but the design of the characters, all small and silly, seems anime-ish to me. The show keeps using those pseudo-chibi moments (the thought bubble of Cyborg eating the nasty Tamarian pie in "Crash," Beast Boy walking away frustrated in "X," Cyborg trying to determine the logic of Mumbo's hat in "Bunny Raven").

Fone Bone

01-14-2005, 06:09 AM

Getting inspiration from what is popular isn't a bad thing as long as you are pulling out the correct aspects.

Exaggerated facial expressions and movements, long absent in serious action cartoons, allow for comedy and fluidness; while Teen Titans is not the most serious show out there, the show utilized those aspects that just happened to be in anime but are not just an anime-derivative. Heck, Looney Tunes and the old days of animation serve as inspiration for some of the show's movement.

I would disagree with Butho that the show is no longer as "anime" as it was early on, but, again, that may be confusion on my part between what we should call anime and just call exaggerated, quick animation; the Cyborg/Robin tic-tac-toe game in "X" seems like a cartoony joke, but the design of the characters, all small and silly, seems anime-ish to me. The show keeps using those pseudo-chibi moments (the thought bubble of Cyborg eating the nasty Tamarian pie in "Crash," Beast Boy walking away frustrated in "X," Cyborg trying to determine the logic of Mumbo's hat in "Bunny Raven").Hatter's only saying the Register's comments are ironic considering what TT owes a debt to not that it's a rip-off of anime.