The Cartoon Network now has reality television.  Actually, they have decided to include reality programming since March of 2009.  Yet, with the Cartoon Network turning to “reality,” is nothing sacred on television?  The Cartoon Network having reality television is equivalent to Ralphie, in A Christmas Story, finding out his decoder ring is merely a tool for selling Ovaltine; a perversion of things we thought were absolute. Question is, how did it come to this?

Reality has slowly contaminated Cartoon Network through animated shows that also happen to contain non-animated material.  Consider Adult Swim’s first run with Space Ghost, Coast-to-Coast. Space Ghost contains a large amount of animation, but the protagonists are interviewing real celebrities.  Newer shows coming from the studio, such as Robot Chicken, also contain dolls, clay, Legos, and other real-life creations mixed in with their animation. After this, Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job! came onto the scene, and this was the show that crossed the line.  Tim and Eric is mostly reality, with some camera tricks that generate the illusion of animation.  This progression of meshing more and more reality with animation has changed Cartoon Network, for better or for worse.

I worry that before long, Cartoon Network, a station which now belies its very name, will go the way of MTV.  Everyone knows that when you turn on MTV nowadays, you will not see music videos.  Those days are long gone, and now the station bombards you with awful reality television.  The Music Television station, over the course of years, has shunned almost all music, all from the insidious introduction of unrelated television matter.  Like a cancer, reality on Cartoon Network will spread if its new live-action programming proves even to be a minor hit.

Now, you may think that I am overdramatizing the whole matter.  However, do these shows seem acceptable on a station dedicated to showing animation?  Even if these shows aren’t always horrendous, they really belong on different networks. Perhaps these shows will vanish with time.  If these shows stick around, I feel that the Cartoon Network will no longer show cartoons, even if it is many years from now.  The station will have the same target audience, only it will just lack animation.  For a lover of animation, I find this threatening.

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Below is a list of the new live-action shows on CN:

The Othersiders:  A show involving a team of kid paranormal investigators as they explore supposed haunted locations. I guess it’s better than adults claiming to believe in paranormal apparitions.  However, the kids’ intense pseudo-professionalism can be surprisingly enticing to audience members. Perhaps these kids should be focusing on their studies instead of ghost stories.

Survive This:  With a title suggesting Survivor for tweens teens, this show involves eight teens being dropped into the wilderness to see if they can “survive.” This series is as bland as reality television can get.  But hey, if you don’t have teen friends bickering at each other in real life, you can watch them on the Cartoon Network! As much as I am displeased with the other shows, this one should not even exist.

Brainrush:  Contestants answer questions for cash while on a rollercoaster. Wow, it’s Cash Cab on a rollercoaster. ‘Nuff said.

Destroy Build Destroy:  Two teams compete for cash as they destroy objects, build contraptions from their parts, and attempt to compete using the contraptions. Though it definitely has the dumbest name (quite self-explanatory as well), Destroy Build Destroy is the show that is the most appropriate for Cartoon Network. Still, during Nickelodeon’s heyday, Destroy Build Destroy would have fit right in with all the other shows.  Sadly, Nickelodeon is no longer in its prime, and now Cartoon Network has scooped up its viewing demographic. Whoops.

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I believe animation is underappreciated by older audiences–if asked, many people would maintain that cartoons are for kids.  Even shows like The Simpsons or Family Guy don’t get to the heart of the animated genre in the way that Adult Swim does. Whether Cartoon Network is the best place to expose people to animation, well, that’s up for another debate.  But seriously, lets just pray that CN does not go the way of MTV–or else cartoons might be  SOL.