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I could readily see Muppets taking over the old Goofy 'How to...' shorts, with a large cast of characters to choose from to maximize the craziness that devolves from otherwise mundane activities.
 
Wonder if something like That 70s Show will still be made in TTL--that was a good show, IMO. Fun fact: when Mila Kunis (who was born in Ukraine, but whose family moved to the United States in the aftermath of Communism's fall in OTL) auditioned for the role of Jackie in OTL, all the actresses had to be 18. Mila told the producers she would turn 18 on her birthday--she just didn't mention that she was really fourteen years old. By the time the producers figured it out, they thought that she was a great fit for Jackie's role...
 
Wonder if something like That 70s Show will still be made in TTL--that was a good show, IMO. Fun fact: when Mila Kunis (who was born in Ukraine, but whose family moved to the United States in the aftermath of Communism's fall in OTL) auditioned for the role of Jackie in OTL, all the actresses had to be 18. Mila told the producers she would turn 18 on her birthday--she just didn't mention that she was really fourteen years old. By the time the producers figured it out, they thought that she was a great fit for Jackie's role...
One is coming... after being prematurly posted on the guest thread.
 
Here's another note: Ana Kasparian (from the Young Turks political program on YouTube) apparently auditioned for the role of Jackie, too, and even got a call-back, but her mother vetoed it for unknown reasons before it got that far (this is according to tvtropes.org, so take it with a grain of salt)...
 
Part VI - Forever Let us Hold our Banner High

Part XI: Forever Let us Hold our Banner High


“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney



Unlikely Allies
How Jim Henson, Nelson Peltz, and Bill Ackman Set Aside their Significant Differences to Forge a New Disney

Cover article from Fortune, May 1999


Business, like politics, makes for strange bedfellows. Take the case of Jim Henson, Chairman of the Walt Disney Entertainment Company, and Nelson Peltz, Activist Investor. Just six months ago the two were locked in an epic struggle, Commanding Generals for their respective business armies in a Proxy Battle so grand that it made headlines and, for a brief moment, got your average citizen interested in boardroom politics and talking about “poison pills” and “margin calls”.

In the end, Henson won that battle thanks to the loyalty of the Disney family, a well-orchestrated defense led by the Disney “Legal Weasels”, the Machiavellian machinations of Ted Turner, and, perhaps most critically, a poor choice of allies on Peltz’s part. Certainly, the liquid funds that Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson’s “Faction of Faith” provided to Peltz’s offensive were negatively offset by their headline-grabbing gaffes and missteps that undermined one of the main pillars of Peltz’s strategy.

But if the perceived limits of his faith were an issue for Falwell, Henson seems to have a rather Christlike sense of forgiveness, for rather than make an enemy of Peltz, who’d retained a small stake and cemented himself on the Disney Board, he chose to team up with him, taking his fiscal criticisms on good faith and trying to find a compromise that worked with the values that the Disneys and he had instilled into the company.

Complicating things further was the arrival of Bill Ackman, another Activist Investor, but one on the liberal side, whose ascendance to the Disney Board was overtly there to counter the “political machinations” of Peltz’s “Good Shepherds”. And yet shorn of the Old Testament Fire and Brimstone of Falwell and Robertson, the Faction of Faith, now represented by the genteel, smiling face of George W. Bush, son of the former President, seemed far less interested in forcing socially conservative politics into productions and keener on just being heard and listened to. Thus, Ackman too soon found that he and Peltz, despite the differences in their politics, were of a like mind on the need to improve Disney’s financial footing, which has stagnated in recent years.

Like with Peltz, Henson opened his arms to Ackman, putting them both in direct touch with CEO Stan Kinsey, COO Dick Nunis, and CFO Richard Nanula. Nanula in particular showed a real interest in working with Peltz and Ackman. At the suggestion of Peltz, Thomas O. Staggs, an Operations VP in Parks & Recreation, was hired as the new Treasurer.

The process did not go smoothly at first. Peltz and Ackman laid out a ten-step program for slashing overhead through targeted reductions in spending and elimination of redundancies. Many of these were the very suggestions that Peltz had pushed during the proxy fight and the list was full of euphemisms like “bringing employee compensation in line with industry norms”, which was a non-starter with Henson, a firm believer in the philosophy of “pay people what they’re worth”. Some of the plans, such as removing or scaling back child actor supports or “healthy eating” options, were similar non-starters in conflict with Disney’s Corporate Values.

Also a non-starter was any reduction in quality. In keeping with the “premium brand”, quality was never to be sacrificed. Period. The “Disney Difference” remained sacrosanct. Attractions, productions, concessions, and even merchandise were to retain a sufficient level of quality. And arguments by Peltz that “most guests will never notice” were shot down by Henson with an “I will, and so will the Disneys.”

The three also were at loggerheads over the unions. Peltz flat out wanted to break or further marginalize the unions while Ackman wanted to follow the “German approach” and put a union representative on the board of directors and thus “give them a direct stake in business outcomes”. Henson, who had long worked to act as a “fair arbiter” between union and management, supported this idea, but for Peltz and the Disneys it was a non-starter.

But the three – seven counting Kinsey, Nunis, Nanula, and Staggs[1] – soldiered on, and found areas where compromise could be achieved. Modest increases in ticket, parking, and hotel prices were a “quick win” that spurred growth in revenues. New technologies and processes and training in the parks were employed to reduce “ride-to-wait” ratios, which could improve user experience. Dick Nunis had already implemented this to some degree, but new technologies and computer-simulated strategies were allowing for even further process improvements. New computer servers offered ways to cut costs and improve cybersecurity. An expanded digital presence on the World Wide Web created new revenue streams with a negligible increase in operating costs. Upgrades to electrical and mechanical systems would ease maintenance burdens and improve energy efficiency, as did small, simple things like automatic lights. Excess power generation could be sold to third parties and unused floorspace and land at Walt Disney World could be rented out, leading to the recent announcement of the Disney Imagination Complex[2].

Internal bureaucratic processes and paperwork were streamlined through automated processes modelled after Silicon Valley. ISO 9000 and Lean/Six Sigma approaches were implemented in some cases to streamline day-to-day operations and eliminate “the little daily lost minutes” while in theory improving performance and efficiency. An executive trip to Tokyo Disneyland provided a good example of such efficiencies.

Outdated, unused or underused patents and technology were leased or even sold outright to competing parks, in particular to Pearson, with Disney’s latest innovations keeping then a step ahead of the competition.

Discretionary spending was reduced by renegotiating third-party contracts and refinancing and consolidating debt. Cheaper suppliers were found for staples and raw materials so long as strict quality standards were maintained. Financial systems were upgraded and made more efficient. Corporate Sponsors were renegotiated or replaced entirely, such as in the case of Kodak, whose ability to live up to upgrade commitments to the Imagination Pavilion[3] was in question. Kodak was released from its contract in exchange for a cash settlement, with Apple Computer taking over the sponsorship. Most tellingly, renegotiations with major shareholder Marriott have helped spur efficiencies in lodging that have improved hotel revenues while cutting costs for both partners.

On the studio side, consultants were hired and brainstorming sessions were initiated to find and eliminate waste and redundancy, which created conflict with some directors and producers. Leasing of empty studio and sound stage space, particularly in Disney-MGM Studios East, was increased and cheaper filming locations in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America were explored to reduce production costs without sacrificing quality. Also, while underperforming “prestige” labels like the WED Signature line would be maintained, they would be used less often and reserved for “event” productions. Only Jim Henson’s established reputation with the creative community allowed things to be implemented as smoothly as they were.

Most controversially, some layoffs were made at many levels, though not nearly to the degree that Peltz envisioned. Middle managers were hit the hardest as process improvements reduced “rubber stamp” bureaucratic jobs. Multiple jobs were combined, giving some employees additional duties and often requiring additional pay. Early retirement options were negotiated in some cases, aided by a major restructuring of the retirement program using market-based strategies and reinvestment of withheld dollars to help defray the lifecycle costs. This controversial restructuring of the pension plan faced strong union opposition and could only be partially implemented with willing or new employees, and with older employees “grandfathered” into the older system.

In all, the methods used have so far managed to reduce total expenses by up to 20% in some areas and about 10% overall between 1998 and 1999.

And the process continues. “Nelson and Bill have worked well with Stan, Dick, Rich, and Tom and I to really streamline things,” Henson told Fortune. “Nelson and Bill have been really smart and helpful and willing to listen so that we don’t accidentally streamline away what makes Disney, well, Disney. Things may have started a bit rocky, ‘forming, storming, norming’ and all, but Stan and I are really happy to have them on the team.”

“Jim is a better and smarter businessman than I originally gave him credit for,” Peltz told Fortune. “Far from just some Hippie dreamer, he’s got a good head for business and is willing to listen and willing to tell you the reasons why he says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the suggested courses of action. He’ll bend, but never break.”

“Jim and Stan are smart cookies,” said Ackman. “They understand their company and its values and they stand by them. Frankly, more Fortune 500 companies should take a good look at how Disney has balanced its duty to its shareholders with its duty to its vision and values.”

While it is likely that the improvements that Peltz and Ackman have instituted will reach the limits of their effectiveness fairly soon, if they haven’t already, Wall Street has reacted positively, particularly as lowered expenses and rising revenues over the last couple of quarters combine to reduce the P/S Ratio and increase profitability. Disney not only regained share prices lost in the original proxy fight, it improved upon them, with share price ending up 3.5% compared to pre-Peltz prices, outperforming the S&P.

“Henson, Peltz, and Ackman are a symbol of what is possible when you put your egos aside and focus on the mutually beneficial win-win,” said investor and financier Warren Buffett. “Too often big egos get in the way of sound compromise and derail promising structural reforms. Henson in victory could have marginalized Peltz. Instead, he sought out his advice. If there are any big financial lessons-learned from this saga for companies to take into the 21st century, it’s that one, right there.”



[1] Naturally jokes about the Seven Dwarves abounded, with long-running joking conversations about which executive corresponded with which dwarf. “To be honest, we’re all a bit grumpy and dopey after all those spreadsheets,” Henson joked whenever asked.

[2] Will become a sort of high-tech office park and startup incubator giving Disney a first option on acquiring or licensing any IP or inventions at fair market value.

[3] In our timeline Eisner used legal muscle to force Kodak to pay for an upgrade to the Imagination Pavilion in 1998, resulting in the maligned “Journey into Your Imagination”, which all but eliminated Figment and managed to literally insult its audience.
 
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Also a non-starter was any reduction in quality. In keeping with the “premium brand”, quality was never to be sacrificed. Period. The “Disney Difference” remained sacrosanct. Attractions, productions, concessions, and even merchandise were to retain a sufficient level of quality. And arguments by Peltz that “most guests will never notice” were shot down by Henson with an “I will, and so will the Disneys.”
*looks at the many videos and forum posts from disgruntled Disney fans over Pressler and Chapek's eras*
*looks at Disney's California Adventure's initial reviews and performance from both guests and bloggers*

Oh yes, they will definitely notice...

Discretionary spending was reduced by renegotiating third-party contracts and refinancing and consolidating debt. Cheaper suppliers were found for staples and raw materials so long as strict quality standards were maintained. Financial systems were upgraded and made more efficient. Corporate Sponsors were renegotiated or replaced entirely, such as in the case of Kodak, whose ability to live up to upgrade commitments to the Imagination Pavilion[3] was in question. Kodak was released from its contract in exchange for a cash settlement, with Apple Computer taking over the sponsorship. Most tellingly, renegotiations with major shareholder Marriott have helped spur efficiencies in lodging that have improved hotel revenues while cutting costs for both partners.
Thank god, the Imagination Pavilion is saved. Now can we get the Wizard Gellz and his assistant into the ride as part of the upgrade?

“Henson, Peltz, and Ackman are a symbol of what is possible when you put your egos aside and focus on the mutually beneficial win-win,” said investor and financier Warren Buffett. “Too often big egos get in the way of sound compromise and derail promising structural reforms. Henson in victory could have marginalized Peltz. Instead, he sought out his advice. If there are any big financial lessons-learned from this saga for companies to take into the 21st century, it’s that one, right there.”
So far, a good start to the New Millennium. Henson has Tomorrowland 2055 and EPCOT to look forward to and there are some new Disneytowns to come (not to mention DisneySea and Tomorrowland Nextworld). I'm thinking the early 2000s will be a fantastic period for Disney unless something happens to change that... 👀
 
Holy Smokes I missed a lot over my holiday break.

But if the perceived limits of his faith were an issue for Falwell, Henson seems to have a rather Christlike sense of forgiveness, for rather than make an enemy of Peltz, who’d retained a small stake and cemented himself on the Disney Board, he chose to team up with him, taking his fiscal criticisms on good faith and trying to find a compromise that worked with the values that the Disneys and he had instilled into the company.
I love how you resolved the Good Shepherds plot, it would've been really easy to just retread the same ground as the Kingdom Acquisition storyline and just have the would be invaders foiled and thrown out to the streets again, but instead you made Peltz still join the board as an unlikely partner.

Now I understand why you always made sure to show us his struggles and grievances with the other Shepherds, to show us that his not as evil as Far(t)well and is actually just misguided. Love this Redemption Arc.
Outdated, unused or underused patents and technology were leased or even sold outright to competing parks, in particular to Pearson, with Disney’s latest innovations keeping then a step ahead of the competition.
I wonder what does are and how Pearson will use them effectively. Wouldn't be surprised if we see some familiar rides and attractions at Pearson Parks soon.
Corporate Sponsors were renegotiated or replaced entirely, such as in the case of Kodak, whose ability to live up to upgrade commitments to the Imagination Pavilion[3] was in question. Kodak was released from its contract in exchange for a cash settlement, with Apple Computer taking over the sponsorship
Journey into Imagination is saved!
No Eric Idle, no shoddy looking sets (although I doubt Jim would let that slide) and Figment stays too, wonderful.

Wonder what Apple will do with the Pavillion, will they just update the ride technology or will they include some product placement? I definitely expect some computer grafics integration. Also I expect a computer lab or something on the other floor.

Also I wonder how much cross promotion will happen on the Apple side of things?
Maybe Figment will make some appearances on Apple products (especially does aimed at kids) and maybe he get some educational PC games too? Would be a cool way to make him connect with a whole new generation of kids.
Most controversially, some layoffs were made at many levels, though not nearly to the degree that Peltz envisioned. Middle managers were hit the hardest as process improvements reduced “rubber stamp” bureaucratic jobs. Multiple jobs were combined, giving some employees additional duties and often requiring additional pay. Early retirement options were negotiated in some cases, aided by a major restructuring of the retirement program using market-based strategies and reinvestment of withheld dollars to help defray the lifecycle costs. This controversial restructuring of the pension plan faced strong union opposition and could only be partially implemented with willing or new employees, and with older employees “grandfathered” into the older system
Well I guess that was unavoidable, at least it was not the complete artistic gutting of the entire studio like Peltz planned to do.

Also I hope the new retirement plan is as safe as they think it is or we'll gonna have a problem when the financial crisis hits. Maybe I'm just panicky, but this Thread has through me to treat every tiny little detail as a potential Chekhov's Gun.
“Jim is a better and smarter businessman than I originally gave him credit for,” Peltz told Fortune. “Far from just some Hippie dreamer, he’s got a good head for business and is willing to listen and willing to tell you the reasons why he says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the suggested courses of action. He’ll bend, but never break.”
Pelt my man how did you think he built an entire production company from the ground up if he wasn't also business savvy? Also great to see Jim's character development in action, almost funny to remember how much of a pushover he was at the start of this, but he never changed who he is.
[2] Will become a sort of high-tech office park and startup incubator giving Disney a first option on acquiring or licensing any IP or inventions at fair market value.
The DIC sounds a bit like the Silicon Valley equivalent of the Whopass Studios, in all the best ways. Wonder if this will become relevant again. Maybe the next Steve Job will come from here

Great chapter @Geekhis Khan and Happy New Year
 
WOO. not great with all the bushiness stuff but its says a lot about Jim that even know this is not a Henson wank he still comes out this well
 
Indeed; that's one of the good things. Geekhis clearly likes Henson but he's also willing to show him as a man with flaws and foibles.
 
And 1999 dawns with a new era at Disney. Business-minded men have joined the team and change is afoot.

And yes, as noted in the Commentary thread, this TL is starting to wind down. This new "Part" will be the last fully detailed Part before a final Epilogue "Part" that sort of surveys the Fiction Zone years up through the present. Thanks, all, for the continued support.

I do have to commend Geekhis on rehabilitating Nelson's image like this. It wasn't that long ago that us readers wanted to pelt him with eggs for ruining the Disney Dream.
I love how you resolved the Good Shepherds plot, it would've been really easy to just retread the same ground as the Kingdom Acquisition storyline and just have the would be invaders foiled and thrown out to the streets again, but instead you made Peltz still join the board as an unlikely partner.

Now I understand why you always made sure to show us his struggles and grievances with the other Shepherds, to show us that his not as evil as Far(t)well and is actually just misguided. Love this Redemption Arc.
It was never my intention to make Peltz or really anyone the villain, just another Foil or Jim, a chance to see things from the standpoint of a businessman. And Peltz wasn't entirely wrong from the financial standpoint. Balancing the art and the finance is a challenge in any era. Even Falwell isn't meant to be a villainous clown, though it is hard to avoid things going in that direction with the man whose crusade against Tinkie Winkie isn't even his most outrageous chapter iOTL, and I really just had to let him be himself here.

And while it may surprise some, this TL isn't a big political rant on my part either, though I'm not going to hide or dilute my ethical and moral values to avoid offense. People might be really surprised at how I've voted through the years. Things have taken a definite progressive turn, which, go figure, tends to happen when your main POV person is a progressive hippie. Culture in the 1990s, like in our timeline, took a turn to the left, though a stronger turn in large part to Henson steering Disney more progressive/woke/whatever earlier. Culture, and politics, of course, are never static, so don't expect things to stay this way forever.

This is a seriously positive change and I hope Disney starts to become more adventurous with the WED-Sig line as animation costs decrease.
If anyone has ideas for a WED-sig in the 2000s and 2010s pitch it for the Contest, please! I've got two decades of animated canon to produce here!

Ah yes, the alternate counterpart to the FastPass. Hopefully, Disney doesn't turn it into the mess that it is today (*cough* Lightning Lane *cough*).
Thank god, the Imagination Pavilion is saved. Now can we get the Wizard Gellz and his assistant into the ride as part of the upgrade?
I'm sure you have some ideas. Let's talk in the Parks PM!
 
Do you have any plans for any future timelines? Or is that too far in the future? I’m just curious to see what you’re planning on following this up with.
 
And 1999 dawns with a new era at Disney. Business-minded men have joined the team and change is afoot.

And yes, as noted in the Commentary thread, this TL is starting to wind down. This new "Part" will be the last fully detailed Part before a final Epilogue "Part" that sort of surveys the Fiction Zone years up through the present. Thanks, all, for the continued support.



It was never my intention to make Peltz or really anyone the villain, just another Foil or Jim, a chance to see things from the standpoint of a businessman. And Peltz wasn't entirely wrong from the financial standpoint. Balancing the art and the finance is a challenge in any era. Even Falwell isn't meant to be a villainous clown, though it is hard to avoid things going in that direction with the man whose crusade against Tinkie Winkie isn't even his most outrageous chapter iOTL, and I really just had to let him be himself here.

And while it may surprise some, this TL isn't a big political rant on my part either, though I'm not going to hide or dilute my ethical and moral values to avoid offense. People might be really surprised at how I've voted through the years. Things have taken a definite progressive turn, which, go figure, tends to happen when your main POV person is a progressive hippie. Culture in the 1990s, like in our timeline, took a turn to the left, though a stronger turn in large part to Henson steering Disney more progressive/woke/whatever earlier. Culture, and politics, of course, are never static, so don't expect things to stay this way forever.


If anyone has ideas for a WED-sig in the 2000s and 2010s pitch it for the Contest, please! I've got two decades of animated canon to produce here!



I'm sure you have some ideas. Let's talk in the Parks PM!
Hey as long as it’s not Cheeto Mussolini it’s fine
 
Rise of the Bongo
The Beginning of Bongo: The Rise of Matt Groening’s Bongo Studios
Article from Animation Nation Netsite, by Nathan O’Raptor[1]


As the millennium came to an end, Matt Groening, Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo, and Coffey and the Haywards were in a pretty good place. Groening was one of the most respected cartoon creators of his generation, with an acclaimed 10-season run of The Bunyans ending, and Nuclear Family and Rugrats were, after brief retools, coming back with distinction. The only way, it seemed was up.

Having struggled to get certain ideas in The Bunyans (I think you can guess which ones) past executives, Groening decided to form his own production company, in order to have greater control of his content – and so, Bongo Studios (named after a character from Life In Hell) was born, writers David X. Cohen, Josh Weinstein, and Bill Oakley leaving Wayward and following him. Production on Nuclear Family and Rugrats remained at Wayward and Bongo Studios began to work on three new projects.

Bongo’s first project as an independent studio was an animated short based on Janell Cannon’s children’s book Verdi (Cannon and Bongo would become frequent collaborators), starring Bumper Robinson as a little green tree python who doesn’t want to grow up, but learns an important lesson. The short was critically acclaimed and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film; whilst it lost to the Skeleton Crew’s Spider and Fly, the event was a positive for Groening for other reasons.

Groening’s friend, Nick Park[2], who was at the event for his film Tortoise v. Hare, introduced Groening to a man he had long admired: Jim Henson. The two men talked, with both expressing interest in collaborating, and Henson expressing support of Groening’s offhand ambition to branch into feature film. Henson even offered to underwrite the nascent Bongo Studios. Bongo, whilst excited about the possibility of working with Disney, turned him down, wanting to retain their independence.

The two companies would eventually develop a working relationship, even having a young Mr. Burns and a family photo of The Bunyans show up in Roger Rabbit 3, with Disney gaining the theme park rights to the Bongo characters, after Columbia (their other main partners) showed little interest, all culminating in Bongo eventually signing a three-picture film deal with Disney, fulfilling Groening’s long-standing ambitions to branch into feature film. However, that is a story for another day.

Futurama

With the new millennium dawning, Groening began pondering the future. Recalling what people in the past thought the world would look like in the new millennium, Groening began thinking what the world would look like a thousand years from now. Naming the show “Futurama” after a pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair and further inspired by their love of Star Trek, Groening and Cohen built their show around a core theme: the world changes, people don’t.

We see the world of tomorrow through the eyes of Curtis J. Fry (Billy West), a pizza delivery guy with a pretty crappy life who ends up accidentally (or so it seemed…) cryogenically frozen and who then wakes up in the year 3000.

With no job, no family and no prospects, he decides to sign up for space exploration and ends up posted on the E.S.S. Beautilycias (pronounced like Bootylicious, much to the initial amusement of Fry[3]), captained by blowhard Zapp Brannigan (Phil Hartman), an arrogant dingbat fond of pseudo-Shatnerian monologuing. Captain Brannigan is joined by aggrieved first officer Kif (Maurice LaMarche), semi-senile science officer Marconi Farnsworth (also Billy West) and brilliant but lazy and entitled communications officer Amy Tang (Lauren Tom).

However, Fry ends up befriending the lower-deck crew members: the hard-drinking, kleptomaniacal robot URL (pronounced “Earl”), voiced by John DiMaggio, ass-kicking cyclopean alien (actually mutated human) Leela (voiced by Nicole Sullivan), stuffy, anal-retentive (as in “give you an official reprimand for being 0.0001 seconds late” anal-retentive) Jamaican “ship’s bureaucrat” Hermes Andromeda (Phil LaMarr), and the crab-like “Decapodian” alien (and lethal ship’s doctor) Dr. Schlomax Greenzerg (also voiced by Billy West).

Finally, there was the breakout character of Ensign Condannato “Condi” Camiciarosso (Hank Azaria), a red-shirted Clone who keeps dying on every mission only to get systematically replaced by his next Clone every episode, who then reintroduces himself to the crew.

It’s often been described as “the closest thing to an American Red Dwarf we’re ever likely to get” and generally took a comedic bent on space adventures, with often-surreally designed aliens and bizarre cultures using the trademark Groening satire, furthering the Star Trek tradition of putting social metaphors in the stories – and skewering everything from religion to corporate culture to even New Coke.

However, it wasn’t shy to delve into darker territory when it was needed to. A particular case is the seminal episode “Judge Not a Man, Mind You”. The Beautilycias is sent to remedy racial tensions on Lacerta Eight, a planet inhabited by a race of gecko-like aliens, who are split into various ethnic groups based on the colour of their scales – with the green-scaled gecko aliens enjoying the most privileges and the other colours being discriminated against.

Understandably angry at their plight, the other colours are caught between two different leaders: a violent militant and a revolutionary pacifist. The episode culminates with Brannigan literally sitting the three leaders — the militant (who has started to understand the consequences of taking up arms against their oppressors), the pacifist (who has reluctantly come to accept that reasonable force may be required for his dream to come true), and the overlords' leader (who has started to comprehend how bad the other colours have it) — down at phaserpoint and commanding them to talk to each other.

The dénouement is Brannigan delighted at his success, and confident that, given enough time, they’re going to work something out. Fry turns to a slum and asks, “Yeah, but how many kids are gonna die in the meantime?” Brannigan turns to him and says, “How many more will live?” It’s an amazingly subdued statement from the usually bombastic Brannigan and showcases Hartman’s talent as an actor.

Futurama initially struggled on Toon Town’s Pleasure Island block; however, it made five good seasons and maintained a strong cult following, still seeing syndication and Direct View attention to this day. While probably not the first Groening cartoon most think of, and greatly overshadowed by The Bunyans and Nuclear Family, Futurama is for many viewers his most ambitious and indeed clever work.

Bartman

Bartman was born, obviously enough, out of the popularity of Bart Simpson’s superhero alias, Bartman, on Nuclear Family. It was one of the first ideas pitched for an in-house production once Bongo Studios was formed. And the notion of Bartman prowling the alleys of Springfield at night, facing equally idiosyncratic supervillains, was a great way to point out and deconstruct the superhero tropes popular in the many superhero cartoons and films that exploded in the 1990s.

Using the more altruistic Bart who had emerged after the Nuclear Family retool, Cartwright was able to show her depths as an actress and grant Bart a bit more of a personality. The semi-loveable, sarcastic old misanthrope version of Mr. Burns also appeared, acting as Bartman’s foil and occasional benefactor. Whilst the episodes where the two collaborated were infrequent, the interplay between the two, with Burns serving as the M to Bartman’s James Bond, are fondly remembered. An example is this exchange in the episode “Icewalker”:

Bartman: (seeing a dead group of Burnsco scientists in an Arctic research station) Well, I guess that’s them… on ice.

Burns: Please have a little respect for the dead, Bartman. These men had families. Please tell me you rang in to report, not make puns.

Whilst ostensibly a send up of the superhero genre, the series also had deeper themes. According to writer Bryan Konietzko, the show was principally about the power of one person to make a difference, for better or for worse. However, another theme becomes apparent: if you dedicate your life to hatred and revenge, you will bring nothing but pain, both to yourself and to those around you. The quest for revenge on those who had previously wronged them brought ruin to many of Bartman’s friends and foes alike…and, sometimes, to Bartman himself.

Many of Bartman’s villains were three-dimensional and complex, petting as many dogs as they kicked, having relatable motivations, or having tragic backstories that kept them sympathetic despite their often-extreme actions, with a few unrepentantly horrible ones mixed in just to shake things up.

Nukovore (Rene Auberjonois), for example, an entity that fed on radiation, was a villain simply because he needed radiation in order to sustain himself, and his attempts at getting it would cause destruction, keeping him sympathetic despite his often-extreme actions. Duke Disastardly (Arthur Burghardt) was outwardly a mustache-twirling Silver Age villain who acted “for the evil”, and yet a look at his tragic past as an abuse victim gave context to his “Carmen Sandiego-like” crimes. Womandrake (Cree Summer) served as both a deconstruction of the femme fatal trope and an avatar for the glass ceiling as she (despite her hyper-competence) struggled to gain rank in the Council of Evil Intent villain’s union. Master Mind (Corey Burton), an AI constructed by Chester Whitney’s company who went rogue, whose rhetoric about a slavish dedication to pure logic and how he would “bring order to the chaotic human race” were all rooted in his desire to never be subservient to anyone ever again, giving a tragic context to his often-grandiose plans to subjugate mankind.

One of Bartman’s most tragic foes was Insectina (Cree Summer), a Burnsco lab assistant whose DNA ended up fused with an insect after her boss, having stolen the credit for her discovery about genetic editing, attempted to murder her to cover his tracks, and whose desperate, but doomed to fail, attempts to cure herself and struggle maintain her humanity in the face of the insect’s emotionless nature, kept her sympathetic despite her often-extreme actions. This heartbreaking monologue in the seminal episode “About A Bug” is a good reason why the character is so well-remembered:

Insectina: Some days, I feel like Christina Vespa was the fake me, like I’m an insect who dreamt it was a woman and loved it… oh, I loved it. However, the dream’s ending… and the insect’s waking up. Some days I feel like I can’t stop it. Someday, and every day it gets a little closer, someday, it’s going to wake up…

Her right eye, which is still human, begins to tear up. Bartman gives her a pained look.

Insectina: (almost plaintive, like a little girl who’s had a nightmare) I don’t wanna wake up…

However, the show’s greatest villain was the seemingly normal and benign Chester Whitney, a charismatic “new wave” millionaire who was often engaged in sinister schemes, and who was the father of Bart’s on-again-off-again love interest Alex. What made Chester such a great villain was not that he was an affable but manipulative evil genius who could trick the heroes into doing his plans for him. Nor was it that he had the capacity to feel love and other human emotions despite the often-extreme evil of his actions, with his redeeming love for his wife and daughter offset by his calm detachment and simple psychopathic amorality.

No; what made him so effective was the complete lack of a Freudian excuse. The writers did not try to humanize him or make us sympathize with him because of some painful past or bad childhood. Instead, it was very clear that he was the type of person he was (and always had been) and did what he did entirely because he wanted to be, even occasionally playing his literal psychopathy as the psychological disability that it is, with lasting personal consequences for him (e.g. the estrangement of his daughter).

Another reason is that, unlike many of Bartman’s villains (and many villains full stop), he fully embraced the Aesop that “revenge is a sucker’s game” and steadfastly avoided making things personal, refusing to let his antagonists (most often Bartman) define his goals. And as the show went on, Chester Whitney became, whilst never truly heroic, a lighter shade compared to some of the other villains. Whilst other villains concerned themselves with the destruction of humanity or other aims, Whitney’s only desire was money and power. This made him an occasional ally to Bartman, when it was necessary.

Many of Bartman’s themes would later appear in the Bongo Studios cartoon Avatar – in particular, it’s tempting to see Bartman villain the Skin-Taker as a precursor to that show’s Koh the Face Stealer (they’re even voiced by the same actor). Perhaps appropriately, many of Bartman’s staff would later work on Avatar.

Evil, Inc.

Inspired by the glut of workplace sitcoms and films beginning in the late 1990s, Bongo Studios capitalized on this with a very strange take: Evil, Inc. Taking a subplot from Nuclear Family and running with it, Evil, Inc. portrayed supervillainy as a job. Primarily led by David X. Cohen, writer Jackson Publick of The Tick fame was brought in early on in the first season and quickly rose to the top of the writer’s room, eventually partnering with singer/creator/voice actor Doc Hammer on their famous Evil, inc. spin-off Andy Venture in 2005.

Imagine the cream of the crop of supervillainy, the top-tier evil and the best of the best of the worst. Dr. Diabolicus and his crew…are not those supervillains. In fact, they’re not even in the top 10. Or the top 50. Maybe they’re in the top hundred, but that’s only because the Amoeba Gang (suggested to have been inspired by “a gang in Townsville” and clearly an affectionate homage to Whoopass Stew) couldn’t come up with a more intimidating name. Their lair is falling to bits. They struggle to buy supplies due to lack of funds. And the broader community of both supervillains and superheroes either don’t know who they are or treat them like a joke…or insult.

Most of the show follows Dr. Diabolicus (voiced by Rik Mayall), who angsts endlessly about people seeing him as a joke, trying to get respect from the supervillain community, as well as being seen as “the cool boss” by his henchmen. Dr. Diabolicus’ henchmen include the cheerfully violent, if none-too-bright second in command Major Disaster (voiced by Adrian Edmondson); the snarky female assassin Black Scorpion (Susan Egan), who, through no fault of her own and much to her displeasure, has found herself slumming it way below her station; the dim-witted and perpetually cheery literal-man-mountain (as in he’s made of living rock) Thunk (Patrick Warburton); the diminutive and super-intelligent, but neurotic alien telepath Sico (pronounced “sicko”) (voiced by Tom Kenny); and the nervous-but-eager-to-prove-himself super-smeller temp Frank (Neil Patrick Harris). The crew were later joined by Thunk’s “son” Thunk Junior (Dee Bradley Baker), produced by asexual budding.

Part of the humour of the show is the fact that it treats supervillainy as a kind of job: evil lairs have estate agents, henchmen can be hired from temp agencies and there are expos advertising the latest doomsday devices and death-traps. The other part is the fact that all the heroes and villains are actual people, with desires and flaws and pet peeves and idiosyncrasies, opening up the series to Jerry -like explorations of everyday arguments and petty obsessions, with the crew’s hatred of Sico (except for Frank and Thunk) and his odd friendship with the dim-witted Thunk, and the many implications (later confirmed by the showrunners) that Black Scorpion is gay (she calls a lava-themed super-villainess “smokin’” and is just as flustered around Wonder Woman expy Warriora as the non-Thunk males are).

Diabolicus and crew, being pretty low on the supervillain rung, are constantly strapped for cash and struggle to get supplies, which sets up a lot of slapstick plots where Diabolicus and crew completely and utterly humiliate themselves in order to get money/power/respect. For example, in “Only in Florida”, Diabolicus and crew have to resort to a low-rent lair, after having lost their old one in a bet (long story). The problem is…its previous tenant was redneck villain Gumbo Gomer (Billy Ray Cyrus in a stunt cast), who flooded the lair and infested it with alligators, one of which drags a screaming Sico down the hall.

Another case was the episode “A Slightly Less Convenient Truth” (written by Kristin Gore), where their plan to hold the world to ransom by threatening to melt the Antarctic ice cap is complicated by their having to buy a second-hand heat ray, because they can't afford the newest model, and ironically foiled not by the superheroes, but by the fact that the cheap heat ray gets shorted out by UV radiation due to the Antarctic hole in the ozone layer.

One episode “Family Matters”, has Diabolicus and crew be forced to babysit Diabolicus’ nieces and nephew, Burt, Laura and Margo (voiced by Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Judith Barsi, and strongly hinted to be parallel universe versions of the Simpson kids)…the same day they are having half-man, half-snake villain Kobra (voiced by Jim Cummings, doing a Sterling Holloway impression) around for a cup of coffee, in order to discuss a potential future team-up.

The catch? The kids' father, the Blue Badger (voiced by Dan Castallaneta) is a superhero and Kobra‘s archnemesis. So, basically, the whole episode is about Diabolicus and crew attempting to keep the kids away from the Kobra and vice versa. In a rare happy ending for Diablolicus, Kobra finds out about the deception (through a panicking Thunk accidentally putting truth serum on Diabolicus’ sandwich instead of hot sauce) and, impressed by Diabolicus’ dedication to family, accepts his offer of a team-up some time in the future and leaves.

Evil, Inc., would run for an impressive 7 seasons and generate the equally beloved spinoff Andy Venture, which followed the titular Johnny Quest expy and his perpetually underestimated “Hindu friend” (actually a Sihk) Khan, which would itself spin off the ongoing series Tales of the Downright Peculiar with Dr. Orpheus, a Nocturns-style anthology series with the semi-recurring Bartman character, voiced by David Tennant, in the Rod Serling role. In some ways, it is the most successful of Groening’s productions given the many spin-offs, and yet since Evil, Inc. was set up by Bartman, and Bartman a spinoff of Nuclear Family, which was in turn alluded to be a parallel dimension to The Bunyans (which Dr. Orpheus visits at one point while travelling “the multiverse”), it’s arguably all the same show, with fans constantly wondering when the Rugrats will make an appearance (rather sadly, since Rugrats is not a Bongo Studios production, rights issues meant that is impossible; sorry to be a killjoy).

Conclusion

If The Bunyans, Rugrats, and Nuclear Family were the Three Faces of Matt Groening in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then his three new faces of the late 1990s and 2000s were Futurama, Bartman, and Evil, Inc. While the “first three faces” showed a huge disparity in tone and themes from the innocent and sincere to the cynical and misanthropic, the “second three faces” represent an artist who has found his core “style”. All three maintain a similar balance between the cynical and sincere, the political and the universal, and the affectionate and the deconstructive. All three utilize similar tropes and often the same writers, even as all three maintain their own unique feel.

The “first three” saw Groening as a struggling, experimental up-and-comer trying to find his way in a changing US entertainment environment. The “next three” saw him as an established icon in the animation industry. The “next three” also increasingly demonstrate the visions of his partners and employees, be that Cohen, Weinstein, Oakley, Publick, or Gore, whose own peculiarities and humor increasingly began to define the works, with Groening increasingly the Creative Head and executive producer.

As such, fans often describe Groening in terms of “BB” (Before Bongo) and “AB” (After Bongo). There are “orthodox” fans that doggedly stick to the BB works, and some who refuse to acknowledge anything that’s not Life in Hell or The Bunyans, but by and large fans seem to appreciate the two “phases” of the man and his work.

Not a bad journey for a man whose TV career began with a hastily-scrawled rabbit family in the Gracie Films waiting room.



[1] Hat tip to @Nathanoraptor.

[2] The two actually know each other in our timeline. Groening wrote a foreword to an Aardman book and Nick Park appeared on an episode of The Simpsons.

[3] Kif: (bored) Welcome, Cadet Fry, to the E.S.S. Beautilycias, the pride of the fleet.

Fry: (laughs obnoxiously) Bootylicious!

The assembled crew gasps and mumbles in shock and anger.

Dr. Greenzerg: The nerve of this guy!

Kif: (angry, arms crossed) She is named for the great Admiral David X. Beautilycias, who sacrificed himself to save the people of Beta Omicron IV in the Battle of Prophylaxis!

Fry: Oh.
 
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Evil, Inc. reminds me both of the Harley Quinn TV series (where the supervillain protagonists often have to deal with mundane issues) and Inside Job (that Netflix just cancelled for literally no reason at all just yesterday, even Shion Takeuchi herself seemed surprised - what's the point in cancelling a series as well-received as that one while keeping literal trash on the platform, it doesn't even make financial sense!)
 
God, to FINALLY be able to talk about this.

Firstly, it's weirdly apt this to be the penultimate post - given how this TL began, it's a fun bookend that it semi-ends with Henson aiding the rise of another man who wanted to break out of being "the wacky cartoon/puppet guy". What did Jim say when his journey began all those years ago? "They look at me and all they see is Kermit". Perhaps Groening said in this discussion, "All they see is Bart, Lisa and Maggie."

And Bartman gives off incredible Justice League/BTAS vibes, so that's always a plus.

That was actually one of the inspirations - Gargoyles was another (the whole "urban fantasy" tone and the themes about the pointlessness of revenge and hatred). As for Avatar? Stay tuned.

Evil, Inc. reminds me both of the Harley Quinn TV series (where the supervillain protagonists often have to deal with mundane issues) and Inside Job (that Netflix just cancelled for literally no reason at all just yesterday, even Shion Takeuchi herself seemed surprised - what's the point in cancelling a series as well-received as that one while keeping literal trash on the platform, it doesn't even make financial sense!)

Harley Quinn was one of the inspirations, actually.

In addition, it was to exploit the fact that Mayall and Edmondson, along with a lot of their cohorts, are much bigger names in America than they ever were OTL - and that both (both in our timeline and this) have dabbled in voice acting... and Bongo would seem right up their alley.
 
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