You know, it's probably been more than a year since I went to the Homestar Runner website. I used to love watching the adventures of sweet, dopey Homestar, evil genius Strong Bad, and the rest of the crew, especially as a way to distract myself during my IT days. But, for some reason, I just stopped looking for new SB e-mails and other cartoons. And whatever internet buzz the cartoon generated seemed to die down at around the same time.Which is why I'm surprised to read this article from Wired News: it seems that the Cartoon Network had been in talks with creators Matt and Mike Chapman about a Homestar cartoon that would be added to the Adult Swim lineup. But, interestingly enough, the brothers Chapman decided to turn them down. Yes, folks, you read that correctly.
Despite the Time Warner power behind the Cartoon Network, and the buzz that being a part of Adult Swim brings to a cartoon, the Chapmans decided to stick with the web for a very good reason: they wanted to keep doing the cartoon their way.
"The whole TV thing seemed creepy," said Matt Chapman. "They wanted to plug it into their model -- that all comedy was gag-related, not character-driven. They left the door open, but we liked what we were doing and kept doing it online." He didn't rule out doing another cartoon for Adult Swim -- Cartoon Network is based in Atlanta, where the Chapmans are also based, so they know each other well -- but Homestar Runner will be staying on the web for the foreseeable future.
Good for the Chapmans. They're making enough money from the website and related merchandise to make it their full-time business, and don't feel the need to compromise their creative vision in order to reach the "big time." Given the reach of the internet, it's even debatable that the Adult Swim audience would be that much bigger than the number of people who already see Homestar on the web. Given the failure rate of Adult Swim cartoons -- for every Robot Chicken or Aqua Teen Hunger Force, there are probably three 12 Oz Mouses -- they probably felt that the PIA factor wasn't worth it.
I wonder if we're going to be seeing more of this in the future, where show creators eschew traditional broadcast methods because they're doing well enough online. I'm sure this won't be the last time something like this happens.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2007 @ 7:45PM
Mack Swift said...
To be honest. I love adult swim. Most of the programming is great. However, for every ATHF and Robo Chicken, there's a couple 12oz mices that happen.
What AS could do is actually use these little known gems out on the internet as little shorts between the main shows (like Boomerang does) or use Homestar Runner as part of the bumps.
THere's a lot of potential there, just got to think outside the box a little.
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6-18-2007 @ 10:13PM
Jordan Running said...
Here's a little-known fact: Matt Chapman actually did produce something for Adult Swim. He wrote and performed two musical numbers for the Sealab 2021 episode "Sharko's Machine." They're called "Respek Knuckles" and "The Knowledge Hat," and you can download both tunes from the Adult Swim web site for free. Links to both are on the Homestar Runner Wiki: http://rurl.org/4nc
I would love to see The Brothers Chaps do something for Adult Swim, as long as it's not H*R. I love Homestar Runner too much to see it adulterated by television network executives. Actually, TBC's "Cheat Commandos" characters would be a good fit, as they're essentially a parody of the old GI Joe cartoons. Otherwise, it would be great to see something completely new from them on television.
(Incidentially, H*R co-creator Craig Zobel broke into film recently with Great World of Sound, which was well-received on the festival circuit. I'm still waiting for it to hit Netflix.)
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6-18-2007 @ 11:41PM
Vito said...
I'm not sure what Matt Chapman thinks Adult Swim is, and I question whether he actually has seen any of the programming on there in the last three years at all. It's full of character-driven comedy (just as full as Homestar) and they let their creators do whatever they want. Maybe there's some darker side to AS that we are not privy to, but all signs I've ever seen indicate that they fight for the creator's rights to do whatever they want and only make the decision of whether the show stays or goes.
Only instance of that I can think of was where Tim & Eric talked about Adult Swim insisting on some massive changes after seeing early episodes of Season 2. Even then, though, they were right, those first two they produced (Glass Eyes and Zoo Trouble) were the worst of the whole season. But even then, I've never heard anyone actually speak of it as "producers telling us what to do, what to change, what to write, etc."
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6-19-2007 @ 12:43AM
wil said...
Good for them. All too often networks buy shows for one reason or another, and then fundamentally change them because networks are stupid.
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6-19-2007 @ 1:00AM
OClvl3 said...
People still go to Homestar Runner?
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6-19-2007 @ 3:45AM
Ty said...
Interesting...
I like how everyone is like "omfg! teh x-ecootives wanna drag 'um dowrn"... which really shows they have no, no no noooooo, idea as to how Adult Swim's original programing started out. And seems to continue to do so. Just give 'em an idea, if it goes it goes if it doesn't it doesn't. They'd probably take Homestar Runner as is, no changes really needed.
And I like how they feel like "gag-related? we don't do gags, why would we debase ourselves"... please, they're equally as gaggy as anything on [AS]. If it really was the failure rate they should have just stepped up and said so.
Now please, someone step up and tell me how Trogdor isn't gag-related, but character driven.
This is like hearing about John DiMaggio being a bit of a jerk about celebrity VOs in movies, or when John Kricfalusi turned out to be a bit of a jerk.
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6-19-2007 @ 10:08AM
Brooks said...
You'd think that Adult Swim, home to the most unique and crazy variety of cartoon shows, would let them have creative control. I can't imagine Adult Swim ripping apart an Assy McGee script and sending it back, saying "It's too character driven. Add more gags and cultural references and send it back."
Maybe I'm not getting the full story here, but it's better to get your show onto CN then Nick, Comedy Central, or even MTV (who have been the home of several ill-fated masterpieces). I respect their ability to stay on the net, but I'm still disappointed in their decision.
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