Geek Syndicate Issue 9 March 2014 | Page 64

Image © Cartoon Network Geek Syndicate The same is true of The Clone Wars. Whilst I bet it shifted a lot of toys because, well, Star Wars - it was also a show that made a major effort to address the gender imbalance in the movies by making it as much Ahsoka’s story as Anakin or Obi-Wan’s. Interestingly, you don’t see a lot of Ahsoka toys, but she does show up on a lot of the other merchandise, which means that whilst she doesn’t shift much stuff in the “blue” isles it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a follow-ing out there that spends money of her. Clone Wars didn’t have to try and go to some of the interesting places that it did, an update of best forgotten 1980s show Droids would probably have shifted as many play sets, but the degree of love and expense and care that the show took was clearly felt to be worthwhile. So much so, that with the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm killing the show off, many of the production team have been moved straight over to keep doing the same thing on Star Wars: Rebels. 64 To prove the lie that it’s boys that buy merchandise, there is crossover Geek Breakout hit, Adventure Time. For a show starring a teenage boy and his magical, talking Dog, this is as far from a machined, demographically targeted piece of television as you can get. Strange, dream-like and often completely off-kilter, Adventure Time manages to be the sort of thing kids love whilst having enough depth in its subtext to draw adults in as well. It’s also crazy about reward-ing a fandom, with a rolling series of hints, backstories and wider mythology to keep people hooked. On top of this, there is a lot of Adventure Time merchandise aimed at those with more than just pocket money to spend. So is there a conclusion here? Well probably not - it feels evident that commercial, retail fac-tors influence how these shows are made, but it’s not as simple as the more cynical line you often see touted as to why someone’s favourite show has just been cancelled. Young Justice was every bit as diverse and interesting as Legend of Korra but that couldn’t save it even with a fan base behind it, and maybe spending power was indeed a factor. On the other hand I’ve yet to find anyone who likes the Transformers series but it keeps on trucking, presumably because those Optimus Prime figures keep on truckin’ off the shelves. At the same time, quality finds a way - most of the people that work on these shows want to make the best show that they can. Networks are as hungry for content as ever. It’s always worth having an Adventure Time, or a Korra out there, bringing people to the network where some will stay and watch the adverts or other shows. It’s noticeable that many of the more interesting shows are away from established brands though, which may say more about how those brands are now micromanaged. And given a choice, an audience can vote with its feet, as it always has, so watch the shows you love, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll keep being made. Matt Farr Image © Nickelodeon, 2012 up until it’s final batch of episodes. Korra is a hit in the traditional sense and does so at least in part by defying the urge to target and milk a tight demographic.