Hey #DCNation fans! Have you heard?? DC Nation will return in January with all new episodes!”
–@CartoonNetwork, October 13th. [link]

For those of you who don’t know, two weeks back, Cartoon Network pulled the entire DC Nation programming block from the schedule – Green Lantern, the DC Nation shorts, the beloved Young Justice: Invasion, all of it – and replaced it with Dreamworks’ Dragons, just 10 hours before airtime.  The producers and creators didn’t know about this until after it happened.  iTunes didn’t know about it and released the episode as originally planned (thank you, Apple).  DirecTV and Dish Network DVRs recorded the time slot as scheduled, since the memo didn’t get to their desks in time, either.  No one understood; no explanation was given then – and still hasn’t been given to date.  Not even now, after the cheerfully-made announcement via Facebook and Twitter that DC Nation will, in fact return! In January, 2013, that is.

The fandom is in an outrage, and they have every right to be.  We only got two episodes, after the three-month hiatus?  What gives?  An explanation, some information, would be helpful, but nothing.  Not that this is new; each hiatus of Young Justice has come out of nowhere, with no reason provided as to why.  The last one at least fell into the pattern of a season break; even though it was never really called that officially, as far as I know.  Still, it was never this ballsy, the removal of the show, and sometimes in the past they’ve played reruns of the series, to as to not completely alienate us – pardon the pun – from the series and to keep us interested; to, hopefully, keep us coming back for the eventual return of new episodes.

Theories and rumors are abundant over the internet as to the reasons for this debacle.  Are there disputes going on within the chain of command?  Is there a financial issue?  A struggle taking place with DC Comics itself, over rights and permissions?  Is this the heeding of Parents’ complaints about the “mature content” in the show?  Is there a conflict with the animation studios over work conditions in Korea?  No one knows for sure.  Cartoon Network remains silent as ever.  Meanwhile, the hate-mail and vicious comments from angry fans pour in from every direction.

I’m surprised that I am not more actively angry or saddened by this turn of events.  Instead, I find that I feel kind of resigned and overall, just disappointed.  It hasn’t sunk in yet, I suppose.  Or the pattern that Cartoon Network has fallen into, giving us a small samples and then making us wait for so long, has desensitized me to the absence of what was and still is one of my favorite shows.  I’m almost left with a residual sense of apathy towards the network.  My biggest resentment, honestly, comes from the manner in which they announced the postponing of DC Nation as a whole.  Again: “Hey #DCNation fans! Have you heard?? DC Nation will return in January with all new episodes!”  As though it’s good news.  Seriously?  They expect us to be HAPPY about this?  I wish they had, at least have the decency to acknowledge that what they’re doing is disappointing and going to upset their fanbase.

But no.  They’ve made it clear that the fans and viewers of their shows are extremely low on their priority list, if we’re on that list at all.  You can see that from the outdated graphics used during airtime alone.

It wouldn’t surprise me at this point if the show(s) get cancelled in the long run.  I’m already bracing myself for it.  Young Justice has been dealing with these cancellation and postponing conflicts since it first aired; for whatever reason, Cartoon Network is resistant towards this show.  I, personally, can’t understand why; it’s quality stuff.  It appeals to multiple demographics and age groups, the genre is hot right now, especially right after the success of The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers this summer, and the other comic-book films soon to follow.  The animation is beautiful and the writing is top-notch.  The ratings are decent; at least enough to keep it on the air.  What’s the problem?  Whatever it is, it’s keeping YJ offstage and out of the limelight.  I’m having flashbacks to Gargoyles, and I’m pretty much convinced that Young Justice will follow in the same fashion of cancellation…

…and maybe not.  There’s a chance that it might come back.  Maybe all this unpleasantness will go away.  There’s no way to know at this point; all we can do is wait and see.

But if it does continue in January, I’ll be watching.