Good-bye DC Nation and why we freak out

Those of you keeping track in geek culture have heard that Cartoon Network has chosen not to renew Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice, and some of you may be wondering why so many of us fervent nerds are cussin' out CN and writhing in agony and screaming towards the heavens and all that. Afterall, they're just some dumb cartoons.

If you weren't pulling for these two to make out, check to see if you still have a soul.

But, they're not. They're really really great cartoons. They're beautifully animated and have intriguing, engaging stories and are both incredibly great tools to introduce newer and younger viewers to the wide, and sometimes daunting, DC universe. I myself was new to a handful of characters and plots. But it's more than them being great cartoons.

See, I have kind of a cynical and depressing view of mainstream media when it comes to movies and network television. It can be incredibly depressing to see what people are calling "good television" these days. So when a show that's really wonderful and special comes along, it tricks me into believing this business isn't so bad. More than just being a well-written well-animated show that truly has something to say, more than just simple escapism, that is someone's baby, more than likely it's a lot of people's baby, and to see it air and turn out amazing is a Batdamn miracle in this business. And when that wonderful beautiful show ends before its time, well, it just reminds me of the kind of world we do live in.

Because usually, it's not that it was a bad show, it's that not enough people(or enough of the right people) watched it, or it didn't get that arbitrary number the network wanted, or it doesn't have a toy line, or it isn't an already established story that's sure to be a cash-cow no matter what kind of show it turns out to be.  And y'know, it's fine that this is a business and it's ultimate goal is to make money, but to say it doesn't make this much money or well it doesn't have toys, it could make money in the long run, it could have potential, having a great show is a solid investment.

However you want to say what cartoons mean to you, I see it as a star in the sky. Yeah, it's pitch black out and there are billions of stars, but that one star could be bright enough to light even one person's way, to give them hope, to lead them on their journey. Becuase shows, especially cartoons, can do that. You can especially see it in this era when all the kids who grew up on those terrible 80's cartoons will tell you what an impact Batman and He-man and Cheetara had on them.  Maybe that one show is all a kid will get to see and that's what will help define the man or woman they'll grow up to be. And when that star is snuffed too early, yeah it's small in the grand scheme of things and there are plenty of other stars in the sky, but it doesn't change the fact that that star is gone, and the sky is a little bit darker.

That's why I get so worked up when I see something I love gets canceled. It's why I get so angry when I think of Pushing Daisies or The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, or Motorcity, or Symbiotic Titan, or now GLTAS and YJ. They were great shows and now they're gone, and all of mainstream television is slightly darker because of it. So if you're wondering why people are in mourning  that's why.

There's still a bit of hope for fans who want to save the shows. Look at all the stuff you can do here. Tweet at Cartoon Network or write on their facebok page.  Please be polite. Maybe they'll reverse their decisions; stranger things have happeend. I am not going to damn the new shows they're comign out with, Beware the Batman and New Teen Titans, at least until they come out. Because I remember way back when, when Batman: Brave and the Bold ended and this new not-so-great-looking Green Lantern cartoon was coming out and I was looking at it skeptically.