Dear Cartoon Network…
by Stephen Gerding | March 21, 2013 @ 6:05 AM | 28 Comments |
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Last Sunday, my daughter and I settled in to watch the final episodes of Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series while enjoying a leisurely breakfast. It’s become a bit of a tradition to catch up on the latest adventures of Razer & Aya (her favorite GL characters) and the newest twists and turns in Artemis and Aqualad’s dangerous subterfuge while munching on a bagel or some oatmeal. I’d been preparing her for quite a while for the unfortunate end of both of her favorite shows, so, after giving her the proverbial two-minute warning that after today, there will be no more new cartoons starring these characters, we fired up the DVR and clicked play.
We made it through Aya’s redemption and eventual demise rather well – better than I’d have expected, to be quite honest. She was a thrown a bit by Razer flying off into the stars in search of the love of his life, but she was able to accept that his story was one we’re unlikely to see since he’s a Red Lantern and the series is called Green Lantern. “Maybe we’ll get a Red Lantern and Aya series, daddy.” “Maybe, hon – you never know!” Now it was time for Young Justice.
A little background: My daughter adores this cartoon. She loves plenty of other shows – Sesame Street (still!!), My Little Pony, Teen Titans, Go! – but the junior Justice League, Artemis especially, have taken up permanent residence in her heart. She spent her own money on the super-fancy Artemis action figure – the only female character we could find in toy form – and she now stands watch over her bedroom. Most seven-year old girls want pretty princesses or Justing Bieber-themed birthday parties. My daughter insisted on a Young Justice cake, which required much Google image searching since the franchise seems to have never been licensed for party supplies. Simply put, she loves her superheroes, and the YJ kids are the best.
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So, we sit back and enjoy the last stand of the heroes of Earth as they unite against the Reach, aided by the treacherous villains of the Light. My daughter responds to Artemis and Wally West’s romantic kiss in Paris with the requisite “BLECH!!!” She asks why Lex Luthor is helping Young Justice when he’s a bad guy. She forgets she has a mouthful of waffle for a full two minutes during Wally’s heroic death sequence, nearly tearing up when Artemis is told of his sacrifice.
And then we come to the final scene, the big reveal that Vandal Savage has steered War World straight to the fiery pits of Apokalips to strike up an alliance with Darkseid. That’s when the wheels came off the bus.
“You’re wrong, daddy. This isn’t the last Young Justice.”
“I’m afraid it is, Sienny.”
“But that’s DARKSEID! They have to fight Darkseid! I saw him in my books. He’s a bad guy! And it said on the TV that it was a new episode!”
After explaining that the “All-New” bug in the corner of the screen was for the episode we just watched, a conversation that took several minutes because she was convinced – CONVINCED – that I was 110% wrong about the future of her “faaaaavrit” show, she eventually came around to the sad reality that Cartoon Network had taken it off the air.
“Can I write them a letter and ask them please, please, pleeeeease to make more?”
“Of course you can, hon. And yes, we can mail it to them.”
“Can you put it in the computer for them to see, too?”
Absolutely. So, here it is, Cartoon Network. A letter from my daughter, the biggest Young Justice fan I know.
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