Disney XD Orders ‘Billion Dollar’ Pilot

COMMENTS (5)

• Disney XD pretends to be a boy-oriented cable network, but as reported HERE in DHD, and in the WSJ, and New York Times, all their growth has been in … girls.

  These shows sound moronically stupid if the desire is to get boys to watch. Jonas Brothers as bionic super-soldiers? A big shot Skateboarding Whiz? A hunky teen guy or two for girls to watch?

  Only the gay-female ghetto of Disney would think updated Leif Errickson or Scott Baio types would appeal to boys. Hint: boys hate those guys. Precisely because girls drool over them.

  Boys like stuff about guys they could reasonably (if they pretend real hard) grow up into: firemen, cops, forest rangers, ranchers, anything with a hint of danger, accomplishment, and excitement.

  They also like stories about geeky guys who become less geeky by becoming … more grown up and masculine. Girls like the guys who are already the big shot, teen idol types. This is why gay men don’t have a clue (and never will).

  Disney: here’s my free advice to you. Drop these shows. You own Marvel which owns Malibu Comics. Produce cheap, animated versions of Malibu titles including “Prime,” “Firearm,” “Solitaire,” “Night Man,” “Hardcase,” “Ultra Force,” and “Freex.”

  You own these titles. They appealed to boys, during the Comics boom. They are superheroes, but relatively unknown, so they’re fresh. The storylines are already established, as well as the characters. They are cheap to produce, and you can copy DC’s successful Cartoon Network run. You can get known voice actors cheap.

  Plus, they’re a lot better than Jonas Brothers redoes. Check the sales figures. Boys don’t like the Jonas Brothers, they despise them.

  Comment by whiskey — Monday May 10, 2010 @ 12:48pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Why don’t they have any more musical shows? All sports? Why no GLEE type shows?

  Comment by Shelly — Monday May 10, 2010 @ 3:18pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I have to agree with whoever posted the recent comments on the choice of shows for boys Disney has choose. It’s not so much the type or story line but the over the top comedy they try to show down boys throats. Boys like obviously more of a rough and tumble type of boy but, they don’t like the stupidness they try to have their boys portray . Give them the rough and tumble comedy and take out the over the top comedy. you make boys look dumb. Jake and Josh was more of a boys comedy. Funny a little over the top but, good acting, more believable . My son loved that show and I enjoyed watching it with him as an adult.

  Comment by Kat — Tuesday May 11, 2010 @ 4:37am PDT  Reply to this post

• I grew up in the 70′s and 80′s with two younger brothers and over twenty boy cousins. Before the technology of DVR’s and Tivo’s, I remember the, “Six Million Dollar Man”, “Hardy Boys”, “Batman”, “A Team”, and “The Hulk” being the shows that all American boys ages 8-14 whose lives stopped to watch those scheduled shows. I recall lunch boxes, t-shirts, back-packs, dolls ect. being a hot commodity during that time.

  Reflecting back to that time, all boys of that era, on the first day of school proudly waited at the bus stop with his brand new, “Hulk” shirts and “Six Million Dollar Man” metal lunch box. It was huge! I speak for many girls who grew up in that time and we loved the shows almost as much as the boys. If it weren’t for the, “Six Million Dollar Man” or “Batman”, we girls would never have the spin-offs such as, “Wonder Woman” or “Bionic Woman.”

  Now…..fast-forward to 2010 — I am now a mother of three young boys who are ages 5, 6.5, and 8yo. My boys are only allowed to watch the Disney Channel. Unfortunately, most of the shows on Disney are geared to a female audience. Don’t get me wrong, my children have enjoyed, “Hannah Montana”, “Drake and Josh”, “Wizards of Wazerly Place” and “iCarly”. However, The “Billion Dollar Freshman” sounds like a show that all boys will love – which in turn brings in the female audience. It is good old fashion “boy” tv. Disney has always been geared towards the female population and the young male population has no choice but to follow the trend. Based on Disney’s male role models a boy can hope to become a young rockstar (i.e Drake Bell, Jonas Bros), or fall into the shadow of their more successful sister, (i.e. iCarly, Hannah Montana ect). My point is that the majority of the boy characters on Disney are either, rockstars, the dopey talentless brother, the underappreciated computer genius, or the eccentric older brother.

  Nickelodeon’s Spongebob is the coolest boy show on tv right now, but most boys past the age of 8yo have outgrown him. That age gap for boys, needs a good thought provoking, imaginative, age appropriate show. A show they can go to school and speak amongst their peers about and still be “cool.” Most every little boy watches “Hannah Montana” because it is the one of the few popular kids shows on television. But no boy would be caught dead in school conversing with his buddies about what Miley did to Jackson on the last Hannah Montana episode.

  I am thrilled to see a family-friendly show targeting the ‘younger-old’ boy age group coming to Disney. This show will not only captivate the young male audience, but the show will entertain the female audience as well. Coming from the writers and producers of “That 70′s Show”, this is a guaranteed hit! I am really looking forward to Moore and Peterson’s immense talent and comical wit hitting Disney on a kid’s level. Now-a-days, all the Disney shows are the same….. Same kind of characters, plots, jokes and story line. The kids need this fresh change of character, story lines and plots that only exceptional talents like Moore and Peterson can bring to Disney with their vision. I know this will become an enormous hit. I can’t wait to have “Billion Dollar Freshman” in the line-up for family viewed tv shows in my house!

  Comment by Momof3boys — Sunday May 16, 2010 @ 8:03pm PDT  Reply to this post

• more musical themed stuff on disney channel like glee. Make a Disney Glee Show!

  Comment by shannon — Friday August 13, 2010 @ 10:52pm PDT  Reply to this post