It was SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7th 1996,
DOUG, after having ran for 4 seasons and 52 episodes on NICKELODEON,
Made his return to TELEVISION screens.
But this time.... it wasn't within the SLIME FACTORY.
This time, he was in the MOUSE HOUSE!!!
But it wasn't on the DISNEY CHANNEL but rather a then-recently acquired network
Now before we start this blogpost,
If you NICK SERIES ELITISTS are still FIERCELY INSISTENT that DOUG FUNNIE is still property of NICKELODEON,
(more like property of PARAMOUNT-SKYDANCE)
DON'T QUESTION THE 30 YEAR OLD LEGAL DOCUMENTS!
JIM JINKINS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO PAY THE PRICE FOR GETTING PISSED AT SUMNER REDSTONE OF VIACOM IN FEBRUARY 1994 FOR HOW TO HANDLE THE MONEY.
AND IT WAS SORT OF BOTH MTV AND NICKELDEON'S FAULT FOR BEING HASTY IN THE I.P OWNERSHIP CLAUSE DURING THE MAKING OF THE CONTRACT IN 1990...
so...
FOUR CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME.....
My apologies for the all CAPs statement.
But I've already celebrated the NICK VERSION's 35th Anniversary.... If you want to read that, here's the link to my NICK 35TH ANNIVERSAY POST from AUGUST 11 2026
Let's get started with this post shall we:
The Origins:
For those unaware, the DOUG was susposed to be 65 Episodes.....
for the NICK VERSION that is.
The idea was that it would last 5 seasons with EACH SEASON having 13 episodes to complete that Package.
That was all in JIM JINKINS' 1990 contract he signed with VANESSA COFFEY and GERALDINE LAYBOURNE that year.
The idea for 65 Episodes was to prevent a show from going stale past that limit while at the same time, would ensure SYNDICATION PACKAGE DEALS to other networks would be possible.
The rule has been set in stone since...... I DON'T KNOW......
Then in March 1993,
NICKELODEON announced that they reached a deal with 20th CENTURY FOX 
to create films for them under the NICK BRANDING that would ensure that the three original NICKTOONS would have their own theatrical feature films to go along with it.
Then a year later on FEBRUARY 1994, parent company VIACOM announced that they had purchased and acquired PARAMOUNT PICTURES.
And then came the announcement that VIACOM instituted a BUDGET FREEZE which froze most budgets for shows, reallocating to other programmes, and led to the some shows ending their run earlier than expected.
DOUG was one of those affected by the BUDGET FREEZE.
JIM JINKINS was not happy about his show ending early and after fights with SUMNER REDSTONE, VANESSA COFFEY, GERRALDINE LAYBOURNE, etc., he concluded that his relationship within VIACOM had all but been sapped out.
Then he discovered his 1990 Contract and found that in the event DOUG does not reach the 65-episode limit for syndication, then the rights go back to him.
Having learned of the same tactic used by HARMIN & ISING when they took BOSKO to MGM as well as having witnessed the infamous firing of JOHN KRICFALUSI in 1992,
JIM decided to take advantage of the loophole as he called various STUDIOS in the U.S to buy the I.P rights to DOUG.
ABC responded quickly.
And VIACOM was given a 2-year window to reverse their decision if they're interested.
Fast Forward 2 years to February 1996, VIACOM decided to forget about DOUG and sell the I.P to ABC.... under the proviso that VIACOM retain the rights to the 52 NICK EPISODES and it's accompanying VIDEO distribution rights for said version while ABC has all the rights to any new DOUG Media, Merchandise, etc.
Then ABC was acquired by DISNEY and the rest was history.
The desire to push past boundaries:
Because the setting for the new series would show the characters entering JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL as was teased in the final NICK episode DOUG GRADUATES, the more FAMILY FRIENDLY atmosphere of the earlier series would not feel realistic in the face of writing.
It could still be done but that would not be a realistic representation of what a JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL student studies in class alongside the discussion of said school subject or what social circle the character is in.
So rather than think like a child when writing,
The writers had to think if they were writing a PRIMETIME TV Series but tailor it to older children ages 7 & up.
While some of the older writing staff were brought back, I have a hunch those that refused to return were replaced by the other half who worked on HOYT N' ANDY'S SPORTSBENDER just because JIM felt sorry for those writers when that show got canned in the UNITED STATES.
Bet you forgot about that.
HOYT N' ANDY'S SPORTSBENDER was JIM JINKINS' one and only ADULT ANIMATED series he did and it was on ESPN.
It was originally intended to start airing on NOVEMBER 1995 but then DISNEY acquired parent company CAPITAL CITIES/ABC.
Although the series still aired in other countries, AMERICANS could not watch the series until it was put on places like YOUTUBE, TUBI, archive.org, etc.
Maybe that's where some of the writer jokes as well as some voice actors for DISNEY'S DOUG came from, they were pulled from the HOYT N' ANDY crew as a way to compensate for their show getting canned.
Moving from EAST to WEST:
At least from a production point,
DOUG originally was produced in NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK during the NICK YEARS but with the show now being produced by DISNEY to complete the remaining episodes and extend past that due to NETWORK SYNDICATION RULES, production was briefly moved to LOS ANGELES.
While some actors agree to move to L.A or to FLY there to record their lines, I have a hunch that some actors refused to move or fly over there for personal or financial reasons, which is perfectly valid.
(TOM WARBURTON refused to go to L.A during production of PEPPER-ANN so he elected to stay in NEW YORK and fax his drawings to SUE ROSE.)
Since the actors probably wouldn't appreciate having their characters recast, they elected to voice their lines from their own recording studios and send the tapes to L.A through telecommunication.
An early form of REMOTE WORK I would say before the days of the pandemic.
But unlike the PANDEMICS DAYS, it was the 90s so apps like ZOOM, TEAMS, etc. didn't exist yet and it was still the days of DIAL-UP so I'm sure FAXING and PHONE-LINEs were used.
A Voice Actor's Kerfuffle:
However, there was another problem that happened:
And it revolved on actor BILLY WEST....
No he's not the problem but rather what he caused during the re-auditions.
Basically what happened was that WEST was told either his PAY was gonna get cut or he get the same pay he's had since the NICK SERIES....(take your side)
WEST did not like these financial ultimatums and he demanded that the only way he can return is if his pay is increased regardless if he's the only one getting paid more or the higher pay is given to all actors in the production just to be fair with his co-workers.
(Keep in mind that his fame grew after voice both REN & STIMPY as well as get newer roles like RED M&M, BUZZY THE BEE, BUGS BUNNY, ELMER FUDD, etc.)
In my mind, the executives really wanted to keep BILLY WEST but they also felt that the budget should not be affected by his demands for a higher pay.
After weeks of tense negotiations, BILLY WEST got fed up, left, and probably gave the finger to his former employer and the executives over his salary.
Enter THOMAS LYONS, Actor from CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
By this point before he became better known for being in Live Action CRIME DRAMAS like LAW & ORDER,
LYONS' background was in STAGE PRODUCTIONS.
He was called up to take WEST's place to voice DOUG ever since WEST walked out over a SALARY DISPUTE.
What about other characters like ROGER, BOOMER, COACH SPITZ, etc.?
CHRIS PHILLIPS was chosen to provide the vocals for ROGER & BOOMER.
BOOMER would also be voiced by PHILLIPS as well.
SPITZ on the other hand would be voiced by BUGS BUNNY actor JEFF BERGMAN who made the character sound like a goofy guy who can't be taken seriously despite his strict demeanor.
Others such as SKEETER's dad JOE VALENTINE were taken over by FRED NEWMAN.
The Reveal, The Repulse, & the Curious:
Need I punctuate with pictures? If you insist:
That's because neither HANHO HEUNG-UP,
nor ELLIPSE
were contacted to do OVERSEAS animation services.
Ok.... So we can live with that.
The Reveal,
The Repulse,
&
The Curious
Even though there was hype, sometimes it can go haywire like playing BAG THE NEEMATODE at the local Video Arcade, only to go through your entire wallet of QUARTERS.
(I can't make any PHANTOM MENACE jokes as that movie came 3 years after DOUG.)
BRAND SPANKING NEW DOUG was released to television screens on 09/07/1996......
And....... Well..........
RECEPTION WAS MIXED.
First, let's start with the GOOD.
People noticed that the animation looked different.
The characters moved like they were in a SIMPSONS, BEAVIS, or DUCKMAN cartoon instead of the floatier constrained feel of the NICK SERIES.
That's because neither HANHO HEUNG-UP,
nor ELLIPSE
Instead, the animation was done by PLUS ONE ANIMATION.
Yes, that PLUS ONE.
The same studio that did animation for MIKE JUDGE's BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD
and some episodes of KING OF THE HILL, also from MIKE JUDGE.
Others noticed that EPISODES now had a single plot instead of two 11 minute segments.
Again, we can live with that since NICK had 3 episodes that were full 23 minute episodes:
DOUG BAGS A NEEMATOAD,
DOUG'S HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE,
&
DOUG'S CHRISTMAS STORY.
Now.........
what about when DOUG talked?
"I haven't changed a bit..."
That's when things started to FALL APART.
We all know the VOCAL DISCREPANCY problem that plagued THE GENIE from ALADDIN when ROBIN WILLIAMS got pissed at DISNEY for disobeying his pleas not to use his voice for MERCHANDISING and then he stormed out, resulting in THE GENIE being portrayed by DAN CASTELLANETA when RETURN OF JAFAR and it's later accompanying ALADDIN TV SERIES 
"Way to go KATZENBERG for disobeying my requests,
sending me a stupid PICASSO PAINTING,
and replacing me with HOMER SIMPSON."
Kids hoped the same wouldn't happen with DOUG FUNNIE but alas, it did.
While THOMAS LYONS did his best to impersonate WEST in the first few episodes,
the voice however changed in pitch and cadence rapidly, making it pretty obvious that it isn't WEST.
And the writers knew this was going to be questioned by viewers so to tell viewers that DOUG's voice is different, they had to write an explanation in the first episode to explain the voice change:
the voice however changed in pitch and cadence rapidly, making it pretty obvious that it isn't WEST.
"Skeet. Do you think things have changed since summer vacation '96?"
"No......"
"Except, you sound different."
"Yeah, that too. It's starting to bug me man."
Needless to say, the kids did not take a liking LYONS' Voice since it's not a match WEST's performance of DOUG at all.
Many kids who grew up in the 90s have this FIERCE belief that their CHILDHOOD years are more important than their PUBERTY or ADULT years and no matter what they think, they can't escape it.
Ok. So they can't escape but they feel a child character in a cartoon shouldn't grow up......
And they refused to accept that the voice change was due to the Character entering puberty.
Some refused to accept their character entering Puberty or they think that it be better if WEST remained but lowered DOUG's octave(Creating a prototype of FRY's voice in FUTURAMA just to make the puberty excuse more poignant.
By the time the series reached it's 1998-1999 season, DOUG no longer sounded like his 1996 self.
Other criticisms included PATTI now having a much shorter haircut.
While people didn't mind if PATTI now wore PANTS and earrings, the haircut raised many a FOLLICLE up the scalps of kids.
Why is that?
In the original NICK SERIES and a few flashbacks in the DISNEY SERIES,
PATTI had a somewhat short but still recognizable POOFY style.
In the 1993 episode DOUG'S HUGE ZIT, There was a point in the story where....
SPOILER ALERT: Patti gets a minor haircut but is embarrassed about it.
Despite the fact that her hair looks the same in this scene.
When people noticed that PATTI wasn't embarrassed about her new 7TH GRADE PIXIE-CUT
"I've decided I was due for a change."
People took great offense to the new haircut for three reasons.
01. VIEWERS accused PLUS ONE Animation for trying to find shortcuts to avoid animating long hair, but even during the Nick original, PATTI's hair was animated as stiff as is due to budgets in the same way her skirt was kept stiff during the era.
02. PATTI's short haircut was considered by some viewers as a betrayal of PATTI's original CHARACTIZATION which was embarrassment of a botched haircut.
03. Some also took offense at the fact that it's breaking another rule:
Don't make the CHARACTER look like the actor.
People found out that PATTI's short hair maker her look like her voice actress CONSTANCE SHULMAN....
PATTI's shorter hair now makes her look like the girl that inspired her: PAM MAYO
So.... Who does PATTI resemble more?
CONSTANCE SHULMAN? or PAM MAYO?
Take your pick...
Again, the writers knew about it so they alongside the artists decided to give Patti some slightly longer haircuts during when she's in a QUAILMAN fantasy
And then some
Ok...
But can somebody explain how they manage to get PATTI to grow her hair long enough to dress up as BARBARA EDEN's JEANNIE from I DREAM OF JEANNIE
(As of this writing, BARBARA EDEN is still alive, though I read a FACEBOOK post that she's having a medical emergency.)
Whenever there's a flashback to before the beginning of the School Year of '96,
they have to make sure they use the correct model sheets for her hair
There's also this clever joke addressing the critique:
"This morning, CONNIE sang an inflammatory song about my Haircut,"
Anyway, moving back into topic according to that restaurant above this sentence,
Another change that got kids riled up was THE END OF THE HONKER BURGER
The HONKER BURGER was considered the TRADEMARK hangout for the characters to go to for when it came to HANG OUTS or LUNCHEONS.
My guess is that the HONKER BURGER was a VIACOM trademark but people don't care about trademark disputes. All they care about was for the STATUS QUO to remain. PEROID!!!
To keep the TRADEMARK problems from coming to light, the HONKER BURGER was changed to CHEZ HONQUE by writing an explanation where FAT JACK, Roger Klotz's landlord at the trailer park sold his land to the BLUFFs just to build a new Middle School, 
leading to JACK to buy the ancillary rights to the HONKER BURGER and turn it into a FRENCH CUISINE EATERY, only to botch up the naming rights due to his poor FRENCH literary skills.
BILL BLUFF is starting to have second thoughts.
Just look at his face.
Needless to say, Nobody liked that change.
Especially since in real-life, we ABSOLUTELY HATE IT when our childhood restaurant closes due to REAL-ESTATE DEVELOPMENT or financial problems.
I feel your pain. Especially to both this waiter and chef
No really. I've seen my Childhood restaurants in VANCOUVER that have come and gone.
"Sacre Bleu."
*Chef curses in FRENCH.*
Some moved into different buildings such as NEIGHBORS which moved from 49th and Victoria St. to 35th and Victoria St.
While others such as this MONGOLIAN Restaurant in DENMAN STREET have now closed permanently.
Again, I feel your pain.
Knowing the BACKLASH, The writers had a contingency plan:
Yeah, they had to write a DAIRY QUEEN style restaurant to replace the HONKER BURGER.
And who's running this joint?
MR. SWIRLY? The Ice Cream Manufacturer?
Well..... I guess the economy became so good during the CLINTON ADMINISTRATION that it was about time that the old ICE CREAM maker decided to open a Restaurant to expand his business.
Some people accepted but the minority were still mad over replacing a BURGER JOINT with a parody of DAIRY QUEEN.
At least DAIRY QUEEN doesn't suddenly Discontinue your favorite Flavor, unlike what happened to DOUG here
Moving along,
The BEETS breaking up was also another thing that made kids MIGHTY PISSED.
How MIGHTY PISSED were them kiddies?
"Well, CHOKE ON THIS!!!!"
"UGH!!!!"
"YOU IDIOT!!!!"
*Punching ensues offscreen while Ms. Pink Manager watches in recoiled bemusement*
Well, Remember that scene in 1995's APOLLO 13 where JIM LOVELL's eldest daughter BARBARA gets totally upset about the BEETLE's breaking up?
Seeing as those kids probably asked their parents about the sour-taste left behind by the real-life BEETLES breaking up in the late 1960s,
Millennial CHILDREN prefer the status quo and hoped the same wouldn't happen to the fictional BEETS.
But JUMBO had to breakup THE BEETS just because their music was under copyright by MTV.
It's enough to make NERDS angrily typing diatribes on their RUBBER DOMED keyboards scream:
"I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!!"
Fortunately, There were no storylines about MONROE YOEDER getting murdered, unlike what happened with JOHN LENNON... otherwise, DISNEY would not want to hear the end of it....
Though there is one episode where FLOUNDER does hook up with DOUG's older sister JUDY that may raise some hair follicles a tad bit.
And for the writers of DOUG, good thing that most of the Internet Forums in 1996 were limited to nerds with the most stable 56k DIAL-UP modem setups, 
unlike the forums or SOCIAL MEDIA of today where anyone with a 10Gigabit fiberoptic Ethernet or wi-fi 7 connection can go on their computer or phone and chime in with their opinions.
unlike the forums or SOCIAL MEDIA of today where anyone with a 10Gigabit fiberoptic Ethernet or wi-fi 7 connection can go on their computer or phone and chime in with their opinions.
Or you could just verbally confront the writer or actor at an ANIME CONVENTION like FAN EXPO or COMIC CON....
But security's gonna have a field day about interrogations like this so....
"Can you tell me who's idea was it for VIACOM to freeze what budget
or
Why Michael Eisner had a fight with BILLY WEST over salaries?"
And please, for the love of NEEMATODES,
Don't use your confrontational skills at a D23 Convention.
Not all the changes were bad.
Though some have MIXED reactions depending how you view.
For example:
Some people had issues with the fact that ROGER is now RICH!!!
"I am........R-I-C-K-H.......RICH!!!"
(He's dyslexic. Deal with it.)
Kids still had nightmares about that 1992 episode where DOUG imagines himself as a bum taking crap from ROGER.
"Hey FUNNIE! Look who struck rich back in December 1992?"
Granted, ROGER's new rich characterization is not as JERKASSY as the 1992 episode played it out, This did lead to the character using his riches to fund his schemes
Some however are annoying like ROGER thinking he could use the MONROE DOCTRINE to claim ownership of whatever he finds.
"NO ROGER!!!!
THE MONROE DOCTRINE DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!
AND YOU'RE STILL NOT GETTING MY PLASTIC COW!!!!"
Even though kids still preferred BILLY WEST as ROGER KLOTZ,
CHRIS PHILIPS at least managed to make his ROGER VOICE sound much closer to that of WEST's portrayal, unlike LYONS' take on DOUG FUNNIE.
"Why am I more CHADLY than DOUG?
Because I'm rich, and I have the vocal chords of the NICK JR. FACE,
and I'm in the GRAND THEFT AUTO series!"
Oh put a sock in it ROGER.
You were only in GTA III as both MARTY CHONKS & EL BURRO.
And yes, DOUG FUNNIE did make it into GTA, just that he was cast as a CORRUPT COP during the GREAT RECESSION of 2008 so both of you got to share the spotlight.
But unlike LYONS' single voice which was DOUG,
PHILLIPS was way better at handling WEST's former characters due to being more familiar with the earlier series as well as maintaining the required registers for the voices even if it means making both ROGER & BOOMER sound deeper in the chords.
Though one thing I wish PHILLIPS would have done was to finally give ROGER a FULL-ON NEW YORK ACCENT.
Mainly because there were a few NICK episodes where ROGER had a slight NEW YORK ACCENT and that made his character sound the more funnier.
Another change was that CONNIE is now a HOTTIE!
Sure, some people have mixed views about Connie being a hottie due to the original charm of the original THICC Connie both visually and in her personality.
For those who need a reminder, here's what original THICC CONNIE looked like
Many believe the original THICC CONNIE symbolized the character's impenetrable Innocence despite also being a target of ROGER's mean jokes.
And did I say THICC?
The wikis say CONNIE was originally fat but I highly doubt that.
That's just here dress making Connie look like that but CONNIE is as thin as any THICC Character can be.... just with a big BUTT to compliment it.
Don't believe me, here's proof from DOUG's fantasies.
If only you can see past this stupid INTERLACING from my DVD Rip....
And when she showed off her Physique to DOUG while imitating RONALD WISENHEIMER
My guess was that JIM needed to appease his new Superiors with a hot female character and because he couldn't afford to have FRAN BRILL play two characters which is the reason why LORETTA LAQUIGLY was written out,
He told his writers to write elements where CONNIE went to a beauty farm which resulted in losing the weight she carried through out the NICK years
I don't know about you but both DOUG and PORKCHOP were sure impressed at the new physique.
This new CONNIE had a new personality which in reality was wrought out by two events in NICKELODEON'S DOUG
CONNIE's hormonal tantrum of being a baseball pitcher in DOUG'S ON FIRST
"I WANNA GO BACK TO OUTFIELD!!!!"
and
CONNIE punching ROGER in the PANCREAS after swiping her hat and making fun of her botched haircut.
While CONNIE wasn't as much of a rebel as ROGER KLOTZ
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!"
"HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!!!!"
*Roger punched in the gut by CONNIE*
"WHY DON'T YOU GROW UP YA BIG BABY!!!!"
or a stuck up closeted jerkass like GUY GRAHAM,
She did run herself into some troubles
Such as when she thought SKEETER was a VAMPIRE
but the only serious crime she got in trouble for was messing up BAND TEACHER BOB FORT's plans to humiliate a RIVAL MUSIC COMPOSER
I heard CONNIE got in trouble with MR. FORT over PLAN B...
But I'm not telling any more rumors.
Fortunately, CONNIE learned her lesson not to mess with best friends or faculty.
The theme song was also changed.....
Likely because the old theme is still under copyright by MTV.
While I'm sure the NICK THEME is still preferred by fans, I still think the new theme is a more welcome change due to sounding a little more upbeat.
One person who I think likes the BRAND SPANKING NEW! theme more is this guy:
We all know that DOUG WALKER of THE NOSTALGIA CRITIC has major issues with the DOUG franchise due to him sharing the same name as the title character.
(Which is weird due to fellow NICK artist DOUG LAWRENCE also sharing the name too but you don't see PLANTON's actor making a fuss about.)
In fact, the older NICK THEME, which is a parody of the JOHN DENVER's
SINGING & SKIING
was known to drive WALKER insane due to repressed memories.
And it's still a bad idea to tease the man with PATTI jokes.
Fortunately, he's since made peace with both series if his Halloween Costume is any indication
But please,
DON'T PLAY THE NICK THEME OR JOHN DENVER ORIGINAL IF HE HAPPENS TO VISIT YOU AT A CONVENTION.
Finger Pointing at whom?:
So....WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THOSE CHANGES?
Many NICK ELITISTS keep insisting it was MICHAEL EISNER and his legion of EXECUTIVES who pushed for the changes to either to fit with the NETWORK or to shake things up.
We all love to POINT THE FINGERS at whom
either to justify your anti-capitalist viewpoints, or maybe just to troll other people either because VIEWPOINTS or just for the hell of it.
But the reality is that almost all of the infamous changes done to DOUG during the DISNEY YEARS were all the fault of JIM JINKINS!
And JIM even admitted it in the later years.
"For all the kids who complain about the changes done to DOUG during the DISNEY YEARS, don't blame it on the MOUSE!!! BLAME IT ON ME!!! The changes were my own FAULT!!! After doing about 150+ stories, I felt it was time for my WRITING TEAM to look for a way to restart.
THE CHANGES WERE MY DOING. I WANTED TO SHAKE THINGS UP."
Yes, JIM. I believe you.
But think about how those feel. I'm still sure that there are those, especially them Millennial NECKBEARDS who still refuse your confession and insist that it was EISNER's fault, just to rid yourself of the guilt.
If you think so, then I'd prefer that EISNER absorbed JIM's self-deprecation blame.
I'm sure JEFFREY KATZENBERG's ideas to shake things up would be a lot worse for DOUG.
But.... THANK BALLS KATZENBERG left after a fight with EISNER.
And with the help of STEVEN SPIELBERG & DAVID GEFFEN, formed...
EAST? OR WEST?:
While NICKELODEON ANIMATION STUDIOS was based in LOS ANGELES, DOUG was made in NEW YORK CITY as that was where JUMBO was based in.
For a short while, DISNEY's DOUG was briefly moved to LOS ANGELES.
But I think what made kids that time complain about the move for both to a new network and production facility mirrors what some would say about comparing DISNEY to FLEISCHER in the 1930s.
DISNEY was all about wholesome, artsy, pathos, and fantasy.
While FLEISCHER was all about RISQUE, GRITTY, URBAN, FUNNY, etc.
The funny thing is While DOUG was more PLAY IT SAFE during the NICK YEARS which may have contributed to it being trounced in the NEILSON RATINGS by RUGRATS, REN & STIMPY, ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE, etc. during it's time with the SLIME FACTORY,
People still use DISNEY vs. FLEISCHER as an allegory for how DOUG didn't need to touch on mature subject matter during the DISNEY years when production moved to the WEST COAST.
CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE(aka INSERT NAME FOR BABY HERE):
In an effort to improve ratings and improve the critical reception as well as provide more FAN-DRIVEN realm of creativity within the viewer, DISNEY held a contest on the OCTOBER 1996 edition of DISNEY ADVENTURES magazine
The idea of both DOUG and JUDY getting a new sibling was teased in the first DISNEY episode but it took us by surprise when that announcement was made.
But KIDS were intrigued about the prospect about naming the baby since we all played Video Games where you can name the PLAYER CHARACTER and this was chance for them to actually be involved with the production of a Cartoon.
"Mom's pregnant? Way to go Dad!"
The idea for the contest was that not only would you name the Baby but also choose their Gender.
At first, when the baby was revealed on December 1996
Kids thought they were tried for and the contest was rigged where the reveal was that the baby is a girl with the name CLEOPATRA DIRTBIKE FUNNIE.
But then the MAY 1997 issue of DISNEY ADVENTURE came out, 
and the results of the Contest were revealed where the Winner of the
NAME THE FUNNIE BABY Contest was none other than
BRENT CHAPMAN of BLAIRSVILLE, GEORGIA.
BRENT, if you're reading this, CONGRATULATIONS 30 years later...
ULTIMATELY, DOUG CAN'T WIN HIS FIGHTS, INTERNALLY:
Sad but true.
DOUG receiving word that his HALLOWEEN SPECIALS of 1996 and 1998
lost to those year's TREEHOUSE OF HORROR specials on FOX.
DOUG just can't seem to win fights with just wits....
And neither when it comes to competing with other series.
In case you haven't noticed, DOUG seems to be cursed to be in the shadows of it's contemporaries.
The NICK SERIES could barely put a scratch on RUGRAT's BABIES and it could not outfox REN & STIMPY without breaking the pigeonhole.
And neither could the DISNEY SERIES due to JIM'S admitted push to shake things up turning away a minority of fans.
And by this point, I had to compete internally with shows like RECESS, PEPPER-ANN, etc.
Had DOUG moved to CARTOON NETWORK instead of DISNEY, the results would have been the same.
It would have to internally compete with DEXTER'S LAB, COW & CHICKEN, JOHNNY BRAVO, POWERPUFF GIRLS, etc.
At least this admittance resulted in a funny if self-deprecating joke where....
"You ever won an EMMY?"
*Puts hands on Hips and looks Pissed off.*
Why does DOUG look pissed here?
Because he's still ANGRY at the EMMY AWARDS for giving his 1992 EMMY to RUGRATS and his 1993 EMMY to TINY TOONS back when he was at NICKELODEON.
The DISNEY SERIES would get two more EMMY NOMINATIONS but like before,
He still didn't win them.
Instead, the 1999 EMMY went to ARTHUR
while the 2000 EMMY when to PINKY, ELMYRA, AND THE BRAIN.
Conservative Nostalgia:
No.... Not in a political sense but rather in a LIFE sense.
BILLY COORE, aka THE NOSTALGIA MALL, 
has this believe running in his family that things should just remain the same for all time.....
in other words:
STICK TO THE STATUS QUO!!!(totally not a HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL reference)
Why am I making justifications on using a YOUTUBER when talking about DOUG?
Because of a little thing called METAPHORS & HYPERBOLE.
COORE's arguments is that he prefers that things remain the same for him and he hates when changes happen.
Example of his resistance to change was when he locked himself in the bathroom when he found out that the CAROUSEL was removed from CAROLINE CIRCLE MALL and added more seats in the food court in late 1996 or early 1997.
COORE is also one to think that changes in TV NETWORKS is unnecessary and tantamount to having him leave.
He admitted in one of his LIVESTREAMS that sometime in 1996, He felt that NICKELODEON wasn't was the nostalgic network for him once HEY ARNOLD came around.
(He didn't mention HEY ARNOLD but I can tell that NICK after 1996 was not for him.)
And although he liked EARLY CARTOON NETWORK, My guess is he felt alienated by the time CN introduced their famous CARTOON CARTOONS lineup to compete against NICKTOONS & Disney's ONE SATURDAY MORNING.
By 2004(which is COORE's personal ANNUS HORRIBILUS), he swore off watching both NICKELODEON & CARTOON NETWORK.
Still, What does BILLY COORE have to do with DOUG?
While he prefers RUGRATS over DOUG or REN & STIMPY, COORE has actually watched DOUG back when it was still a FULL-ON NICKTOON
(On his little MONTGOMERY WARD TV mind you)
but throughout his videos, his BLUE SKY posts, and even his YOUTUBE LIVESTREAMS,
He makes no mention of the DISNEY Version, VIACOM's Budget Freeze, SUMNER REDSTONE, or anything relating to the events.
Is he trying to avoid one version in favor of another, is he trying to say that REDSTONE's budget freeze never happened? Who knows but by this point, he stated to have downsized his NICK viewing after 1995 and his mind was also all over the place what with CAROLINA CIRCLE MALL's midlife crisis in the mid to late 90s and his obsession with his childhood PACKARD BELL 822CDT PC.
DOUG REVIVAL SERIES. IS IT POSSIBLE?:
The idea of a DOUG REVIVAL SERIES has been brought up for many years and has led to many an online fight of what it'll be all about and who will HELM IT.
For many, including BILLY WEST, They would prefer if either NICKELODEON, or PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE were the ones to revive the show but that's not going to happen due to DISNEY firmly owning all the ancillary copyrights to the characters and stories, except for the NICK EPISODES to which those are still owned by PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE.
If one accepts the fact that DISNEY firmly owns the rights to said show, then logically, that's where a revival would be but that's up to the decision to their current executive brass if they want to commit to a revival or not.
And even then, It would have been another DISNEY+ ORIGINAL SERIES like
THE MANDALORIAN
or HULU original
like the FUTURAMA & KING OF THE HILL revivals.
The news outlets talking about a potential revival are conflicting but here's a sample of ARTWORK to show off what such a revival would be:
DOUG KIDS
Make no mistake about the artwork above but that's the gist of the series being from JIM.
And yes, It would have been from DISNEY..... had they accepted the pitch....
But right now, that's in a sticky corner.
Sources point out that the show was pitched to DISNEY back in 2019 during the tenure of GARY MARSH but I've read that the series was scrapped when a restructuring occurred in 2021 during the tenure of AYO DAVIS.
Probably due to DAVIS preferring to allocate resources to BIG CITY GREENS & OWL HOUSE.
But then what explains all these hypes happening in 2023?
If such a revival happened, I would have loved to work on the revival since it's been half my dream to work with JIM JINKINS, DAVE CAMPBEL, BILLY WEST, etc.
But aside from WRITER Changes, the show would have no choice but to use DIGITAL INK AND PAINT software like TOONBOOM HARMONY PREMIUM
due to how the current production landscape of 2D Animation is.
And if it were up to me, I'd negotiate with JIM to hire a JAPANESE OVERSEAS studio like TRIGGER, MAPPA, SCIENCE SARU, or even JC STAFF to handle the animation due to my perchance for wanting hand-drawn frame by frame ANIMATION done on WACOM CINTIQS as well as varying line weights instead of the current PUPPET RIG system AMERICAN & CANADIAN productions mandate.
To me, DOUG can have digital COLORS but evened out outlines with pre-constructed assets are not going to work for MR. GREEN SWEATERVEST. Only Hand Drawn characters with a few Cel-painted CG BGs to complement the look.
We'll see....
And one final addendum before we move along, If I was working with JIM on a potential Revival, I would want to handle the COMPUTER DEPARTMENT where our CPUS would be AMD THREADRIPPERS that we build ourselves with MOTHERBOARDS coming from GIGABYTE, MSI, ASUS, etc.
Our ALL-IN-ONE COOLERs would be provided by either CORSAIR or NZXT,
our GPUS would be provided by NVIDIA's AIB Partners and they'd be consumer 4090s or 5090s,
And our Cases would be provided by FRACTAL DESIGN.
That's my final ALTERNATE SPECULATIVE TWO CENTS!
Now let's move along shall we.
DOUG should learn from either MARVEL or FUTURAMA:
According to another CBR post from 2023, an argument was made that due to some sour taste left being by DISNEY's late 90s tenure handling DOUG as well as the failure of Nickelodeon's FAIRLY ODD PARENTS: FAIRLY ODDER, and the middling reception of THE PROUD FAMILY: LOUDER & PROUDER,
The argument is that DOUG is just fine without continuing past the DISNEY SERIES with the argument that ending the SERIES with the 1999 episode MARRIAGE MADNESS ended the show on a beautifully heartwarming high note.
That same CBR article however did mention that if a revival were to happen, writer SPENCER BOLLETTIERI stated he would have preferred a SPINOFF based on QUAILMAN.
His argument about why QUAILMAN as a spinoff series would have worked out better instead of continuing off the DISNEY series is due to the fact that many moviegoers or even those who watch TV shows are tuning in to more programmes that feature SUPERHEROES.
THINK MARVEL, DC COMICS, or even MY HERO ACADEMIA.
Makes sense since the DISNEY SERIES made twice the amount of QUAILMAN episodes throughout it's run though half were standalone stories while the other half were regular DOUG episodes that used QUAILMAN to personify DOUG's anxieties and/or temptations to solve problems.
And considering DISNEY's owned MARVEL since December 2009, That might seem more appropriate.
(James Bond is owned by MGM AMAZON)
((INDIANA JONES is still kind of a stretch however))
But in my mind, I would rather want to see a continuation of DOUG during the character's HIGH SCHOOL years as a way to lampoon popular culture with teens... at least from my generation pool without running the risk of trying to tap into GEN-Z Culture or run the risk of flame wars regarding LGBT and whether it should be in the revival or not.
Besides, DOUG is better off staying close to it's MILLENIAL HUMOR instead of catering to GEN Z or GEN ALPHA in my opinion.
In my mind, DOUG should also borrow a page from FUTURAMA, especially with how well the HULU episodes are going.
I would love to see how DOUG and friends would reference things like MARVEL, STAR WARS, or even anime like NARUTO, BLEACH, DRAGON BALL, MY HERO ACADEMIA, DEMON SLAYER, etc.
But only time will tell if that's gonna happen.
I'll keep my eyes posted on outlets like CBR, FACEBOOK, etc.
HOLY CRAPANOLI!!! Was this a long blogpost for me!
I never intended this retrospective to be a DIATRIBE RANT or anything
but rather a retrospective on how the series came to be, the issues, clearing away any finger pointing, etc.
I do believe that the DISNEY SERIES still is a success.... maybe not as successful as the NICK predecessor but still enough to have bigger merchandise deals, a theatrical film, a Live Show, etc. which is saying much for the series but then again, that's like trying to compare it to RUGRATS which had 3 THEATRICAL FEATURES, a STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME, And a freaking CGI series and several Video Games.
While DOUG's got toys, a GAMEBOY COLOR Game, books from SCHOLASTIC, etc.
And even a memetic TIGER ELECTRONICS Game
Funny how DISNEY didn't cash in the
PRESS DOUG TO DOUG meme.
Compared to most people on the INTERNET who still believe SUMNER REDSTONE never froze the budget,
When I talk to people at CONVENTIONS like FAN EXPO or stores like BEST BUY,
they do believe the sordid story about VIACOM's actions and the move to another network so that goes for saying something.
And even though I'm still mad at AYO DAVIS for passing on the DOUG KIDS revival in favor of BIG CITY GREENS, OWL HOUSE, & HAILEY'S ON IT,
I still think the revival should have been pitched at HULU since the concept fits that NETWORK better than being a DISNEY+ original.
If FUTURAMA & KING OF THE HILL found great success on HULU, then so can DOUG.
And for those who may be asking why I used the name
THOMAS LYONS instead of THOMAS MCHUGH?
There's no such actor as THOMAS MCHUGH.
I checked the actor's IMDB page. His real last name is LYONS!!!
MCHUGH was just his STAGE NAME.
Here's the link to his IMDB page:
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