Why did Ren & Stimpy APC end so abruptly?

Only 3 or 4 episodes aired out of seven that were produced. Was it ratings? Censorship? Not finishing episodes on time?

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Last two.

A combination of bad ratings, reviews and John K being ossessive and way too demanding as usual.

John K cannot into showrunning. What do you want?

I forgot to add, the last half was completed a year after the first three aired.

A large part of why APC is considered dogshit is that it removes part of the charm R&S had in being a Nickelodeon show that got away with as much as it did. When you just straight-up make it Adults Only fare with nudist beaches and strap-on wood saws, it loses that charm and becomes nothing more than cheap shock value. There's very little separating stuff you'd see in an episode of APC from stuff you'd see in a show like Drawn Together, and that's not what people wanted from something they grew up with.

>stuff you'd see in Drawn Together
Drawn Together was also frequently clever while it was wallowing in filth. APC was raunchy just for the sake of being raunchy.

I don't know. I'm very conflicted when it comes to this show. It had a really fun and interesting art style and was a far better representation of John K's evolving drawing style unlike the weird, doodle-like, abstract, unorganized mess of a style he's developed now. (See Miley Cyrus short and Simpsons guest couch gags)

But yeah, overall the series really needed a bit of subtlety when it came to vulgar and raunchy humor. I felt like I was being bombarded with shit humor constantly. I could say the same about Ren & Stimpy's implied homosexual relationship. It's a funny concept, but its execution wasn't the best. Again, subtlety and clever joke implementation can go a long way.

It was actually the lack of censorship that made R&S go under. They thrived on working around the rules and what they can get away with. Once all restrictions were lifted it went to shit.

John K. blamed APC's cancellation in part on the Janet Jackson boob controversy.

These were very unpleasant cartoons to watch. They either need some sort of charm or cleverness to them.

As is, it was like one of those dirty joke book cartoons from the 70s. except by the 2000s the novelty of a raunchy cartoon for the sake of a raunchy cartoon was played out.

But even then, I think the series would have lasted much longer is John K could keep on schedule and it was obvious the Spike TV animation block was using the APC as their flagship, so the fact that they only had a few episodes in the can during the premier and spent another year making the rest was a death sentence.

It also didn't help that the latter ones were also an exercise in self-indulgence with "Altruism" being over 40 minutes long for what was essentially an APC take on a 3 Stooges short. Except without the charm or remotely relatable personality

Funny how he considers himself to be part of the "cut the bullshit" generation, yet seems to make up alot of excuses. He blamed everyone but himself for being kicked off Ren and Stimpy when it was on Nick.

Man, APC, I can tell a lot of effort went into it, but it's just so fucking ugly.

Like, here's Ren from the original series (granted, it's from the pilot, where he looks a bit different, but close enough)...

...and here he is in APC. Stimpy didn't get fucked over as bad.

I feel like it's not a COMPLETE dumpster fire, there ARE a few jokes that work. A lot of people say Ren Seeks Help is the best episode but I get more laughs out of Fire Dogs 2, just because of how fucking batshit insane it is.

Honestly, I feel like the show wouldn't have been received as badly if it looked more like the original series. I mean, I could be wrong, but I feel like the show being so ugly and offputting was a big part of it, too. Hell, maybe it would've been FUNNIER.

I agree with that too. There was a certain cuteness and appeal to the character designs that was lost in APC.

Also, one odd byproduct of the APC is that it made the later Nickelodeon Games episodes look better by comparison and the faults not as bad.

I dunno, APC at least gets a reaction. Games episodes are so bland looking and boring. I'd put em on equal ground.

It really bums me out that a show that started so great really declined pretty early and never recovered. I mean, there's a few good Games episodes, but none of them really hit those same high points that Spumco did.

What the fuck is this drawing

>"Altruism" being over 40 minutes
Damn, why couldn't they just make 11 min. shorts like the original show? None of the APC eps needed to last more than that, let alone be 2-parters.

>that scene where Stimpy literally sucks the shit out of a rat's asshole

Every single APC episode drags and drags and DRAGS. Even the not 40 minutes ones feel like they go on forever.

I can agree there. APC is at least shocking in what a colossal misfire it was and total disconnect with potential audience. The later Games episodes, were mostly the show becoming a husk of itself.

It was a bit ironic that they both had the same problems of leaning exclusively on gross-out humor. With Games, it became one-trick pony and witless, while APC added a heavier raunchy flavor to it.

>But even then, I think the series would have lasted much longer is John K could keep on schedule and it was obvious the Spike TV animation block was using the APC as their flagship, so the fact that they only had a few episodes in the can during the premier and spent another year making the rest was a death sentence.

I could've sworn the show was canned not because of John K's time management issues, but because of how it was so unabashedly disgusting that it turned off both viewers and advertisers.

The Nude Beach episode is unironically good fapbait

Plus, it gave us SHAMPOO MASTER!

Probably a combo of both, really.

In all honesty, I still think it was the best show to come out of the SpikeTV animation block.


youtu.be/BdeHw6fYUq4

They simply had no more new episodes to show after Fire Dogs 2. Naked Beach Frenzy was allegedly skipped for censorship reasons, but it could also be that it wasn't finished yet.

Fire Dogs 2 shows just how desperate the situation became. It got split into a 2 parter, though in reality it was not. "Part 1" was just the Nickelodeon Fire DOgs with a live action Ralph Bakshi wraparound, and Part 2 splitting between actual animation and live action Bakshi

They also padded out the schedule with certain Nickelodeon reruns (and most famously "Man's Best Friend")

Stimpy's Pregnancy and Altruists were never seen until they came out aon DVD, and their long gestation period explains why they ended up so bloated.

Though I'm sure the general reaction to these did it no favors. I think they were only shown in reruns once before the whole block was canned.

>tfw the Ren & Stimpy comic was written by the Slottster

That’s not Spider-Man vs Powdered Toast Man

Soitenly!

I'm doing it

See me do it?

I see you doin it.

Yes, he no longer looks like a chihuahua, ears are too small.

The most interesting Games episode was The Last Temptation, if only because of how they got away with religious stuff. Also, weird way to conclude the show.

Ren Seeks Help was amazing.

he looks like a naked old man! it's funny

Like there's a lot in the APC shorts that doesn't work but i think it falls in line with the kinda terrytoons mentality john has where half the stuff doesnt work because the way they make them is looser. They're still fulla nice drawings and design and emotional, thoughtful filmmaking. Sure they drag, but that's special too. When was the last time you saw a cartoon that was too slow instead of too fast? METICULOUSLY too slow?

The biggest reason it was canceled?

John K was late as fuck getting episodes finished

It was compounded by the first episode aired being garbage, resulting in bad reviews and all good will used up as people realized Nick was right all along to censor/fire John K.

IIRC the final straw was John K insisting that he be allowed to do the nude beach episode even though he was repeatedly told that Spike would NEVER air it.

I guess that was their way of making him more manly and adult-like in order to contrast Simpy's more naive feminine vibe?

I mean it kinda works. Normally I assume that the original series takes place when they were a lot younger, and this show takes place when they're older and more mature, appearance wise at least.

WHERE THE FUCK IS CANS WITHOUT LABELS JOHN!?

>When was the last time you saw a cartoon that was too slow instead of too fast?
youtube.com/watch?v=mQ1a0gOdOUE
I'll give fast-paced cartoons this: they have more rewatchability through compressing copious amounts of content in a small timeframe.

MTV also played a big role; Spike and MTV are owned by the same company but MTV wholesale REFUSED to let Spike use any of their shows for the block outside of a bare handful of B&B shorts hastily edited together w/o the video segments

I thought the Naked Beach episode was Spike's idea. John said they asked him to put more adult content on the show.

I have a lot of these comics.

Ren Seeks Help was written in 1991 as a 11-minute episode, I think. The fucking 3-minute walk cycle was a blatant way to pad time

Oh yeeeeeeah I forgot about that.

These comics are legit excellent. It's a shame not many people ever mention them.

Why did they have to stretch the episodes that long? Why not 7 or 11 min. like on Nick?

According to John, he didn't want the extreme shock humor in Adult Party Cartoon, but the network kept telling him to add it in because they wanted it to "be more like South Park."

>According to John, he didn't want the extreme shock humor in Adult Party Cartoon
>According to John,
He's lying.

Sums it up perfectly. I want to laugh at what they fly under the radar. Not watch cheap sex jokes on some tryhard "adult" show.

You are doing John K too much service by assuming it's intentional. The style just looks leagues worse.