Bring back Lilo&stitch and end the disney rule

I am writing as a consumer and a representative of a group of consumers concerned with and angry over current policies regarding Disney Channel programs. Said concerned and angry consumers can be located and contacted at SaveDisneyShows.org Specifically, since the retirement of Disney CEO Michael Eisner, we believe it is now time to discontinue the guideline turned policy of producing only sixty five episodes for any Disney Channel program.

The Guideline to produce only sixty five episodes of any Disney Channel program was conceived and enacted during the earliest days of Michael Eisner%u2019s leadership as a way to produce a large quantity of material in a relatively short period of time for a channel that would broadcast only first party material. For reasons unknown, said guideline was immediately enforced as if it were policy. Later it become actual policy. The sixty five episode policy as it will be referred to hereafter, was originally meant to be discontinued after there would be enough filler material for Disney Channel to allow focus on investing in high rated programs. The sixty five episode policy accomplished it%u2019s goal shortly after the cancellation of the Disney Channel program Darkwing Duck in 1992. For reasons unknown, the sixty five episode policy has been kept not only beyond that timeline, but throughout Michael Eisner%u2019s leadership as CEO of Disney, and even continues to this day.

Intelligent business practice would be to invest in and market programs that receive the highest ratings, and to continue to do until such time as said programs are no longer profitable. I believe to do otherwise is not only anti-creative, hurting fans, but anti-business, hurting you. The sixty five episode policy was useful until the time of around 1992, after which it became self destructive, a fact which has not changed with the passing of time.

Too many shows both beloved by fans and highly profitable for Disney Channel have fallen victim to sixty five episode policy, cut down before they could reach their prime. Chip and Dales Rescue Rangers was the first high rated program to fall victim to this policy. Next came Goof Troop, then Gargoyles, Recess, and now the latest high rated program to be canceled due to the sixty five episode policy is Lilo and Stitch the Series.

I know that Lilo and Stitch the series is the single highest rated program being broadcast on Disney Channel currently. As I said before, the intelligent practice would be to continue to invest in this program until its profit margins drop to an unacceptable level. As I said before, to cancel a show in the prime of its popularity is self-destructive.

Another reason to discontinue the sixty five episode policy is that long running shows continue to be profitable long after they have ended. Shows such as Home Improvement, MASH, and Star Trek the Next Generation generate significant profits to this day because they aired for so many seasons, and have imbedded themselves in the minds of their fans. History has shown that a show that has garnered high rating for many seasons will not only continue to garner high ratings long past its end, but will continue to be remembered and cherished long after it has ceased to be profitable. No doubt fifty years from now The Simpsons will still have a very large and very loyal following despite the fact that it would have been over for several decades.

Lilo and Stitch the Series is perhaps one of the finest family shows to have been produced on Disney Channel for a long time. The fanbase of the Lilo and Stitch seems to transcend things like age, race, and gender, and I believe it is precisely because it is such a powerful lesson on things like community, acceptance, tolerance, and forgiveness. Unlike most other Disney franchises, Lilo and Stitch is something that can be personally related to by a great many parties. Living in a crowded house on low income is something too many families must endure. Many children are often bullied and outcast for being eccentric. Many more children have lost close family members all to early. And who doesn%u2019t want to have a close friend that they can count on? Those at SaveDisneyShows.org and I believe that Lilo and Stitch, both the television series, and the franchise as a whole, is not just children%u2019s entertainment, it is a lesson about life.

I do realize that every episode, including the movie finale Leroy and Stitch, has already been completed and is only waiting to be shown. I also realize that the movie finale resolves the situation facing its main characters and will most likely remove the current villain from the picture. This does not mean in any way that the show must end. In fact, if Lilo and Stitch were to be continued after Leroy and Stitch, then it may even renew the shows vigor by creating brand new situations and forcing greater creative thinking by its writers. I myself have thought of several ways the series could continue after the current conflicts are all resolved, but due to your typical legal reasons I will neglect to mention them.

Perhaps I%u2019m getting ahead of myself, but I honestly believe that whatever allowed a policy that destroys high quality and highly profitable programs should not be tolerated. Moreover, I believe that Lilo and Stitch, more than any other franchise deserves better than to fall victim to such an outdated policy.