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I think flanderization plays a big role in cartoons. Shows start to lose their grip when the characters become stereotypes of what they were initially.

"You can't have happy endings in sitcoms, not really, because if everyone's happy, the show would be over, and above all else, the show... has to keep going," - BoJack Horseman.

As a kid, it always confused me when cosmo would interact with Timmy's dad and crocker. Like, wasn't one of the shows biggest rules that fairy godparents *couldn't* be seen by other people or they would lose them forever?

Out of all the cartoons that went through seasonal rot, fairly odd parents was the worst. What’s worse is that they had multiple opportunities to call and quit, but by the time it was permanently canceled, just about half its runtime was seasonal rot.

God forbid Mark talk about one piece’s length.

Why’s the Brian death edited like a 2010 ytp 💀

*"Let it die, let it die. Let it shrivel up and die."* - O'Hare

Lesson from the life of an animator: "If you are going to hire a writer for your cartoon(or the cartoon you direct),make sure he cares about your show and always check what he writes on paper before the episode enters the project and airs,and of course you know when it's time to finish."

Sometimes I forget the fact Grey’s Anatomy is still going on, and yet somehow I still don’t know what the heck show is even about anymore for it to go this long.

Frank welker has been voicing fred from scooby doo for over 50 years since the og 1969 show

15:37 I'm impressed Julie Kavner can even speak anymore, with how wrecked her vocal cords are

"Grey left with her anatomy like three seasons ago" is probably one of the sentences ever said.

I was SO scared that this would be a Manscaped add with that sponsor transition

The downfall of the Fairly Oddparents needs to be studied

I loved your point about the show not feeling "real" anymore because it's such a subtle critique but it's so true. I too feel that at some point, these long running shows begin to feel less real. The best way I can describe it is the show becomes somewhat self-aware, it's aware of how culturally impactful and iconic it is. And because it's aware of its importance, the characters aren't written as just another piece of that show, they are written with an acute awareness of how the audience will react to them. Now the writers know that the audience has certain expectations and in trying to meet those expectations, the writing begins to feel self-aware. I'm not talking about a self-referential sort of self awareness (although that can start happening too), I'm talking about a scene perhaps being framed in a certain way because the writers expect it to be iconic or a character does something arbitrary because the writers are checking a box for familiar character trait. An example of this is Vegeta. In the first few seasons of DBZ, his character, introduction, and role in the plot were so raw and natural. He was another in a long line of villains turned rivals and his journey felt organic and real. But now, the cultural expectation is that Vegeta will always be Goku's rival because he's so iconic, that rivalry is part of Dragon Ball's identity. As a result, the show never introduces a new rival to replace Vegeta. They always have Vegeta fill the same role in new DB as Goku's sideman because they need to check that box. But this feels weird and less "real" because logically, Vegeta would have been replaced by a new rival at this point like Tien and Piccolo were before him. Old Vegeta was written so we never knew what he was going to do. But modern Vegeta is written so we know exactly what he'll do. Another example is Super Saiyan vs Ultra Instinct. When SS was introduced, no one realized this was about to become one of the most famous power-ups in all of fiction. It was introduced with nothing but faith in the concept and its role in the story. But Ultra Instinct was created with the goal of replicating the enthrallment viewers felt with when seeing SS for the first time. SS was well written and just so happened to become the next big thing. But Ultra Instinct, conversely, was explicitly designed to be the next big thing. That's what I mean when I say it's self-aware. The end result is that the show loses the rawness, the "realness" that it originally had. When the show was first made, the creators had no idea what was going to stay in the cultural consciousness, what scenes, gags, character, settings were going to become part of popular culture. They were going in totally blind. But now the writers feel the need to meet certain expectations, to hit certain check boxes, because they know what the audiences expects. It makes certain choices feel arbitrary, like the writers are winking at the audience because they know what they want. The show isn't exploring new, uncharted territory anymore, it's going through the familiar because it has to meet familiar audience expectations.

I heard someone make a great point one time about modern SpongeBob: it just looks like every single frame is trying to be a viral meme.

I think thats why we see some studios rebooting their franchises or having sequel arcs and sagas, it makes the IP stay in the market but at the same time you dont have so many rules to follow. Not that all the time is good but its a good idea You can have room for new ideas without restraining the writing team so much

Imagine running a certain show about a certain sponge for almost 25 years. Couldn’t be me.

To me the biggest hint that a show has run its course is when the focus shifts the supporting cast to more than the main characters themselves. Example is at one point in the Simpsons the show could have been renamed Springfield, because the Simpsons family were not the focus. It felt like they were there to witness the start of someone else’s story like the audience. Also the moment the Continuity is given a soft reset to make new stories. Etc Homer and marge meeting as kids at a summer camp, or SpongeBob with camp coral. If you are gonna change important parts of the continuity, you have to give it a hard restart. Honestly something like the Simpsons could do with a hard reset and change up the art style. Breathe new life into the show.

To me what bugs me a lot about a lot of newer episodes of shows is the bright AF colors. Seariously watching season 1 SpongeBob vs whatever the new season is the colors are eye piercing same with the Simpsons it just looks too perfect

If change wasn't such a risky a thing for every audience to adapt to this wouldn't be as much as an issue, but when most people have so much stuff to do outside of entertainment, they end up just not seeing the worth in the risk and sticking to what they have.

These are things I feel can kill a series. Some of which you mentioned: 1. Of course going on for to long. Aside from the issue of staleness, there are other things that simply come with that effect. 2. Giving a mostly episodic series a more plot centered focus. A lot of series handle this right and I actually encourage this. But when later episodes focus a bit more on heavier plot impacted elements, I feel it can disrupt the overall flow. Like how in Regular Show when they brought in the dome and scientist. It changed the feel of the show and kinda dulled the impact brought from the randomness of an episodic series. 3. Simply changing or removing to much. Like Fairly Oddparents. Removed old characters, brought in new ones WAY to late into the series run. 4. A sudden change in staff. Not always a bad thing, but take Rick and Morty for example. Dan brought in more writers for the sake of “equality” without considering the fact that those not directly connected to the show and it’s team may not be the best for such a consistent series. 5. And probably the easiest and worst one to screw up, forgetting the fundamentals. Of course, SpongeBob. They insisted on making almost every character equally unlikable. To the point where someone as dull and empty as Squidward became seen as the exception.

American Dad has really avoided the same drama all these other adult animations have. I guess that's because it's in two halves, the Fox era for 11 seasons and TBS era for 9 seasons. Because both share the workload, the characters evolve all over again to fit the new company's designs. TBS's style is to start an episode with a basic premise (eg, Francine likes ASMR) and ends with a ridiculously high stakes plot (Francine is absorbing Chernobyl radioactive waste). It's not the Fox structure but it works, and it's their way of keeping the show fresh

I honestly believe that The SpongeBob Movie should’ve been the swan song for that show. It would’ve been literally the perfect ending and when I rewatch the show now I stop there and pretend that’s when it ended. 😂

Many people say that when a show goes beyond a fifth,sixth or tenth season,that's when a show becomes bad but I honestly disagree.In my opinion,the most certain period that a show should be finished is the period in the writers strongly start to run out of ideas,and this is a problem that can happen even before a fourth season or a 100th episode.

Bobs burgers is the only long running show where the plot is less crazy every season I do agree that Bobs Burgers “is” the most consistently good show on TV, but some of the season 10+ episodes are really boring. Everyone is starting to lose their personalities and all sound depressed which kinda fits the characters but is a problem when the main appeal of the show is the charming characters. It feels like the show is starting to slowly not care like every other long running show

One show that somehow hasn’t started to show fatigue is Bobs Burgers. I’m so happy that they kept all the characters as actual characters and are still developing them. Season 14 has been really good actually and I have massive respect for the writers for keeping up such a consistent bar when it comes to writing the show.

Extremely random and unrelated but I’m watching this video with my 6 year old little niece in the room, and she goes “why is the man in the video pretending to speak in a bad Jamaican accent?” And it threw me completely off LOL. I’m sorry about her, Mark. Excellent video. Just wanted to share that funny moment haha. ❤

It’s funny you mention Cosmo, Timmy’s dad, and Mr Crocker, being they all wear the same shirt and tie… 🤔

Not going to lie, South Park is still going strong despite its 27-year long run. Its lowest lows are still just fine, so it’s amazing how it managed to stay so good for so long.

18:01 this singular frame breaks every single rule of the show what the hellll???

One thing i think that causes shows to fladerize their characters is when characters stop growing up. Instead of making them into better versions of themselves writers either change or start getting lazy and eventually it makes them lesser and it either goes into a process of relearning everythinf they already learned. Or- it falls into a cycle of emptyness with little depth with the characters.

This is why I sorta wish that Family Guy remained cancelled by Fox if it had never been renewed by Fox it would have been fondly remembered as a nice cult classic.

South Park is the only thing I can think of that still is fresh. Like there's off episodes, but never episodes that are out of character.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Regular Show, which I'd argue hits most of these marks. It clearly had fatigue as it went on, going from being wacky to being all about will they wont theys with Mordecai, CJ, and Margaret, the flanderization of the characters, and the "jump the shark" moment with the dome in season 7, and space in season 8.

About the topic of Voice Actors aging, Peter Cullen comes to mind. He's 82 and still doing voice work. Was once again Optimus and was in Invincible. He seems to really still enjoy doing it but I always worry at this point if doing "the" voice, the one he got inspiration for from his brother, is straining .

Simpsons has been on so long Homer is a milennial now

I really enjoyed the Greys Anatomy detour. I would consider the “jump the shark” moment to be either when Christina left or Derek’s accident

Well there's a good guide one can use for such a thing. You have shows like KOTH and Regular Show which were long running but ended just when the creators wanted them to, and shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy where they've gone on so long you'd wish they'd been cancelled years ago. Then you have your odd man outs like Clerks The Animated Series or something like that which got cancelled way too quickly.

BRINGING UP GREYS WAS SO RANDOM BUT I LOVE IT it's such a good case study, i adored the show before like season 11 but it's downfall is horrible. glad you analyzed it for an audience like yours who probably doesnt even care about it

Whenever a creator or cast member leaves a popular show, that should be a massive sign that a series is gonna change massively, often times for the worst, need I remind y’all of community season 4(aka the gas leak years).

The voice actors sound so different in the Simpsons poor Julie Kavner (also love that you are a Grey’s Anatomy fan lol)

My personal headcanon is that spongebob is such a good cook that he was able to make the krusty krab the most popular restaurant in bikini bottom and his evolution from unsung hero to practically being a celebrity as more of a symbol of character growth rather than flanderization.

When it comes to new voice actors, nothing has topped Kermit the Frog. After Jim Henson's death, Steve Whitmire was chosen, and after some hesitation, he accepted his new role. He put his own spin on the character, turning Kermit into a more lighthearted yet just as witty character, complete with a perfectly recognizable and equally iconic higher pitch. Nintendo has been doing the same with Martinet's retirement. Each of the Italian tradesmen is still voiced by one man, Kevin Afghani (Waluigi has not appeared in a voices role since Martinet's retirement), who doesn't try to sound like Martinet. He adopts a more whimsical tone to match modern Mario games

South Park still running strong after 27 years . New Seasons are still good and the specials have been awesome. Crazy how this series has been going for almost 30 years and managed to never miss or have a bad season .

i love the mini ytp at 6:21

That’s why I mostly roll my eyes or get annoyed when people beg for shows to get more seasons like it wasn’t enough for them shows such as gravity falls amphibia and the owl house like I get it I would like another season to but you have to move on now

I never realized Timmy's dad, Cosmo, and Crocker all wear the exact same shirt.

Shows like South Park, family guy, and the Simpsons were the best when they opened an episode with the immediate cast sitting on the couch or standing around.

I think a show that’s hard not to mention when it comes to shows lasting a long time is Doctor Who With a total of 39 complete seasons (if you add all the seasons of classic and nuwho together) over the span of 60 years, with a 40th season on the way, the show is designed in a way to go one forever. Sure there have been a few rough spots (chibnall bad) but it’s still managed to stick around after all these years

And then, there's Arthur and Cyberchase. Arthur ran for 25 seasons before it ended its run and Cyberchase is still on the air after 22 years, 14 seasons and the death of Gilbert Gottfried.

The show Heroes really laid the foundation for how a TV shows lifespan goes. It starts out good, then slowly gets worse and worse until everyone is relieved that it finally ends.

i've pretty much been calling this phenomenon "the simpsons effect" in my head for a bit

One show that almost has 20 years and still is good is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

As a kid, I was a huge fan of Jimmy Neutron, and for the longest time I was so upset and resentful that it got so little airtime and was cancelled after only 4-5 seasons. But now? I guess there's a silver lining to it. Everyone who loved it remembers it as a fantastic show, rather than a dilapidated shell of its former self that went on for too long.

My problem with the current Simpsons is exactly what you mentioned: they became vague caricatures of who they were, and the show has become more of a celebrity showcase than a family show with heart and more-than-occasional social commentary. Like, Homer from the first seasons isn't a bad father, he is a man who tries his best but gets distracted, but you can tell that he loves his family and wants the best for them, often at the cost of his own happiness and comfort ("Do it for her" is still one of the most beautifully heartwarming and heartbreaking moments in the show). Bart from the first seasons isn't a bad kid; his pranks aren't malicious, he's just mischievous, but you can tell he wants to be better even if he isn't sure how to do it ("Bart gets an F" shows you that he tried, he really did, it's just that the school system isn't built for kids like him). And you can do that for any of the other characters. I feel like more shows should take a page out of the Gravity Falls book: that show had two incredible seasons with a tight-knit story, didn't overstay its welcome, and is still regarded as one of the best cartoons in modern history, because they had the end in sight. When you have a destination, it's very rare for you to meander and get lost.

I want to see a cartoon in the future that justifies a longer run by having the characters age and evolve as the series progresses

I enjoy how the amazing world of gumball handled voice actors getting too old and switching out a new one Whare it was a running home that the characters voice changed and all the characters around them noticed it except for the character itself and then it just moved on like nothing happened after it

Flanderization is the major aspect that really hammers a show to where the characters...kinda have to be the same otherwise they are alienated by the audience, one show that i think makes it work or knows it well to the point of avoiding it is South Park, Trey and Matt i feel know how long they have been going and know how to make their characters work so they use the obvious tropes and make episodes they try to push the envelope on what the networks allow versus what they wont allow, which i think makes them so much more appreciated then Family Guy or The Simpsons does as these shows both feel like they are pumping out stories that just feel like dead air or to fill the run time they have been given so those watching it will notice the jokes being flat or uninteresting stories, like the only thing worth noting in recent Family Guy in the last few years was that Lois's VA bloodcurdling scream for a episode that when you watch it back it's not really funny but her performance was one of the best portions of acting that any have seen come out from it. Its honestly sad these are the outcomes but at the same time the only release of these shows will see is if the network will pay for continuation or how long many will watch.

Spongebob is so old in the german dub we already lost the voice of Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward because they died, Patrick's voice was replaced becsuse he wanted more money and the voice of Mrs. Puff has retired.

South Park is the one animated show that just hits it's quality out of the park (🥁) time after time.

It feels like these days, cartoons (or TV shows in general) have one or two choices for how long shows can last: either it ends after two seasons with a few dozen episodes or lasts forever and a day.

I really like what they did with Malcolm in the Middle. Since it’s live action, the characters are going to age, and I think that helps make it enjoyable. It gives more you can do with the characters. Like 12 year old Malcolm isn’t going to have to make the same decisions as an older, 16 year old Malcolm, and so it makes the change in the character feel a lot more natural and less forced

6:29 "Rawr :3"

those clips of modern fairly odd parents with the bouncy lerping and robotic keyframed animations make me want to die

15:45 HAS ME SCREAMING LMFAOOOO

Damn, it’s kinda crazy how Ninjago is still going to this day, faced many if these issues and overcame most of them.

When show has lasted too long, the only thing you can hope for is a good ending.

6:24 my final braincell trying to process life

It's hard for me to comprehend that there was a single person who was not only as invested in Family Guy as to feel it was cataclysmic to kill off Brian, but also actually believe it was an actual lasting change.

Another reason why chowder is my favorite cartoon it ended before it got stale

7:14 yeah, and the trauma was so bad it took them a decade to realize brian was alive almost the entire time😔.

I hope Mark does a video on Adventure Time. That show is actually really amazing. It starts off all silly & goofy but later on it goes over life lessons and relationship advice. It tackles real world issues in its own way and the later seasons are filled with wisdom and emotional maturity.

17:00 isn’t this that show that people say tried to rip off SpongeBob or am I tripping

thank you for including a mini ytp of brian getting hit by the car

Don’t get me wrong. It is sad when I show ends. But when it never ends? Oh man. It just feels like a rinse and repeat. When it concludes you feel grown attach to the characters and their world. If it doesn’t end, you get bored. But I totally get the business of it. Yes. I’m glad to hear animators enjoying their jobs on the shows they work on. But it comes a time and place where your story just needs an ending. And usually when that happens, the animators will always find a new thing to work on

6:21 Brian’s death as a YTP is something I never knew I needed but thank you

Mark talking about Grey’s Anatomy is something that I didn’t know I needed

Why is Mark so much nicer to Spongebob like everytime he says something negative about it he has to prefix "Now I'm not trying to say its bad if you like it that's fine!" but not for any other show.

The clip of marge transitioning to the SpongeBob clarinet fuckin cracked me up XD

Personally, I think while Bob's Burgers has been on longer than expected or some people don't think it's at funny as it used to be, I at least appreciate it for sticking to what it's good at. Like, besides one episode where the family goes to Florida to visit Linda's in-laws, the show mostly takes place in their town and the surrounding area, which I really appreciate

The biggest red flag I notice is when a show goes on for so long that grown-up fans of it increasingly begin working on the staff to the point where the show becomes Fanservice: the Show and nothing else.

Im kinda glad courage the cowardly dog didnt get the spongebob treatment

god damn mark thought you were gonna rank every cartoon in existence

Meanwhile American Dad somehow not only stayed fresh, but got better as it went on!

9:15 This is something that gets lost with how much religion has been phased out of most television in the modern era. The Simpsons are bad Christians and that's supposed to be an element of their overall disfunction and relatability. Ned doesn't feel the urge to skip church, or swear, or gamble, or sin at all. He's not just a good Christian, he's free of temptation in a comical way. In the 80's, Christianity was the norm in America and mocking it or having characters in family sitcoms be overtly sinful wasn't at all the norm. Times changed and Ned's piety went from being something to be jealous of to something to be mocked as American society has become less conservative, more diverse, and more secular. It essentially went from "Wow, this guy likes going to church every week? He's such a better person than Homer!" to "Wow, this guy likes going to church every week? What a kooky weirdo!"

A show like Avatar the Last Airbender is a perfect example of ending at the perfect time and perfect length (I wish they made more seasons)

I like how the show Monk just…stopped. One episode they wrapped up the mysteries and walked off the air while still being decently popular. Good ending.

What if Mark binge watches Sesame street or maybe Sazae-san if it (even exist on streaming)

When I heard "If there's anything I'd describe as being... uh, long..." that was a perfect moment for a Manscaped sponsorship

There was an episode of Happy Days, where a dude LITERALLY jumped a shark. And it was the BEST ONE.

The Grey's Anatomy situation sounds so much like how comic writers handle relationships.

I feel your pain with Grey's Anatomy. My mother is OBSESSED with the show so it's on almost 24/7 so you can definitely see when the Fonz is on the water skis. You can even predict Plot Twists episodes in advance. And how you feel about Callie, I feel about Izzie and ARIZONA. I hate Arizona so much. As for the rest of the video, I agree. A good performer knows when its best to get off the stage. A lot of the shows that have been on for decades need to let the show go entirely or maybe do what The Walking Dead did. The original show jumped the shark when they added Negan but with the spin offs, they made just enough wiggle room to recover, in my opinion. Letting shows go opens the door for new excellent ones to be introduced and to have a fighting chance of getting more than 2 seasons without a huge fight first.

I would not put it past Nickelodeon to try making more SpongeBob with AI voices if say, Tom Kenny passed.

The thing about the Krusty Krab improving over the years like you mentioned around 11:30 I think has a bit more meaning. It used to be run down and I think SpongeBob’s presence elevated it to where it is in newer episodes.

9:52 Come on, Mark, we know how you really feel. Have the SpongeBob fans scared you into falling in line?

I knew family guy should have ended at s7 Glad i baought all 7 seasons on dvd

SpongeBob in the end of the first movie(like the very end when he gets the manager) is what SpongeBob is, just a guy. New SpongeBob would never do what that movie SpongeBob would because they made him way too soft. When SpongeBob cried he actually had a reason(he got humiliated in the April fools, and his favorite holiday was ruined by squidward, & when he got fired for karate, that’s his dream job, plus it’s something he couldn’t control. Last but not least being when he was delivering the pizza, he spent all that way just for a customer to turn him down for a mistake he didn’t have control over). Now he cries for anything, even made an entire episode where he made a bet towards squidward on crying. Like seriously?

The only series I’ve seen handle going on for a long time is one piece, and the main reason for that is that Oda actually WANTS the series to keep going and has intentionally added multiple things to keep exploring. Series like SpongeBob and Fairly odd parents was never created to be an extremely long running show, because the world is just to small. Where one piece works is that Oda has a created a world large enough to justify the series length. Even after 1000s of episodes, there’s still stuff yet to be seen such as Elbaf, Imu, Shanks and Blackbeards rivalry and much much more