by Can Tran

Created on: March 22, 2007   Last Updated: March 12, 2009

There have been plenty of brilliant TV shows in the past. However, they usually get cancelled. One could ask: Why do brilliant TV shows end up getting cancelled?
There are many answers to that question.
One answer would be marketing.
The second answer would be outside factors. The third answer would be Hollywood
strikes. The final answer would be timeslot placement. Any one or any mix of the three would kill a potentially brilliant TV show before it has any chance to shine.

Back in 2002, there was a new remake of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." It would be aired on Cartoon Network's "Toonami" block.
This was long before Cartoon Network would do away with Toonami. As a fan of the original He-Man animated series, I had to check it out. So far, I felt that an up-to-date remake of the He-Man cartoon series was a great idea. However, I had always wondered the reasons that the series ended so early.
I knew other people gave the series very positive reception. The show ended when things were getting good.

I looked up the reasons that the series had ended. I discovered that the show ended because of poor marketing. Many fans loyal to the He-Man franchise felt that the creators of the remade series did not market it properly. There was not enough promotion time of the series. On top of that, there was a lack of hype. In this respect, the creators could have learned a thing or two from TV shows such as "Heroes" and "Lost." They did a good job with the marketing, hype, and promotion.

Mattel, which created the toy line, is blamed for not promoting He-Man enough. Instead, it concentrated mainly on "Barbie." In this respect, the lack and failure of marketing was blamed for the cancellation of the 2002 remake of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. In that respect, He-Man got cancelled because of low ratings attributed to a poor marketing and publicity campaign. It would be cross-promoted with a line of He-Man action figures. On top of that, poor sales and marketing of the action figures would not get enough people interested in the series. Because of this, the remade He-Man series would get the axe before going midway into the second season.

Luckily, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe managed to make it past the first season.
Unfortunately, the show died almost making it past the second season. In this respect, you got poor marketing and promotions to thank for that one.

Outside factors also play a role in the cancellation of a brilliant TV series. There is really

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