Of Cybersix and other shows

Let us talk about a past cartoon series, called Cybersix. In those series, a leather-clad, genetically enhanced, (cross-dressing) super heroine fought against various Frankenstein-like monsters of an evil Nazi scientist, von Richter. This went on for 13 very successful episodes, and then it stopped. I cannot help but wonder why.

Cybersix had all the elements that a show – even a cartoon show – needs to succeed. It had scripts that were decent at worst and impressive at best. It had very wonderful audio, including the actors who did the voices. The technical details were also solid – yes, it was mostly the colors, the drawings (background), but still, they worked well. 

The fanbase? Back in 1999 fanfiction and fanart sites were not as well developed as they are now, but they were already there, plus the show did reruns, at least for a while. Yes, for a single-season, 13-episode show it had reruns for few years indicating that it was successful, at least for a while. 

And yet there was no follow-up; the last episode ended with an open hook that implied that some sort of a sequel could be in the wings; but nothing followed. Cybersix just died – irrelevant whether a whimper or a bang – and so far it is not being resurrected. Why?

Hard to say. The original comics did not belong to the modern day entertainment giants – DC, Marvel, Disney: Cybersix hails from Argentina, not the US. It is possible that as an ‘alien’ it was treated as an unnecessary rival that had to be put down, not encouraged by the giants mentioned above: the series is very popular in Canada, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, but apparently not in the States – maybe that’s the problem.

Of course there is also the fact that Cybersix’s creators were involved in a lawsuit against a TV show called Dark Angel, which was American (i.e. the States) and which did have similarities with Cybersix; eventually the lawsuit was dropped by Cybersix’s team, but Dark Angel itself was also cancelled, just after two seasons; perhaps that is why Cybersix hasn’t returned yet – maybe there was some sort of a deal to put down both shows in order to settle the suit...

Still, Cybersix may still have its last hurrah in 2014, as Discotek Media apparently plans to release all 13 episodes on a DVD, so let us wait and see...and as we do that, let me also point out to other shows that will be returning onto the TV screens in a near future.

1) MLP: FIM. The 4^th season is coming, and it seems that Twilight Sparkle will be once again battling against the forces of chance and change: the rumors say that the elder princesses, Celestia and Luna, will be kidnapped and TS shall go to the Everfree Forest in order to save them. The Everfree Forest is a land where seasons change on their own and animals and plants are not dependent on ponies to live their lives – therefore it is evil (according to the show’s logic) and must be avoided. And people wonder what is wrong with America – if your own TV shows undermine your own politics, naturally at least some of the new generation will grow up with conflicting messages in their heads; yes conflict may be a part of democracy, but MLP: FIM has no democracy in it whatsoever – zing!

And speaking of MLP: FIM, some people were giving Andy Price a hard time because he was going to be drawing a winged Twilight in the show’s comic-verse. People! Grow up! Andy does only what he is paid to do – if he is paid to draw a winged Twilight he will do it, a wingless Twilight – he will do it too. This fact only points-out that the show’s 4^th TV season is indeed at hand and the people at Hasbro have finally began to try to combine their multiple ‘verses together, make them more coherent and compatible with each other, nothing more.

2) And secondly, the Canadian TV series, Lost Girl, is also returning – on November 10^th. It has also dealt with a changing main heroine, but whereas MLP: FIM is saying loud and clear to everybody – winged TS is here to stay at least for a while - Lost Girl has had Bo ascend (dawn?) and then largely forgot about it – Bo before and after dawning is the same Bo, only perhaps with some newer powers. That said, the show-verse itself appears to be changing: now there are humans that are aware of the Fae and are not cowed by their powers; they may actually seeking to exploit them, as Isaac Taft tried to do. However, the show’s slot has also changed, from 9 to 10 pm, making me wonder if the show is slowly losing popularity – or has acquired some enemies that try to push it out of the earlier time slot to make it harder to watch – or it will contain even more mature and dark elements than before; either way, I will certainly watch it; hopefully, you will to.

So: one good show from the past that may be coming back on DVD, and two other shows that are still coming to the TV screen with new seasons and episodes.