Trepanation Of The Skull And You: Lost Pilot For The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy Has Surfaced The Net

In 1995, while Maxwell Atoms (née Adam Burton) was still in college, he created a short animated film titled Billy and Mandy in Trepanation of the Skull and You. This short would go on to form the basis of Atoms' hit Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The character designs differ quite a bit from the end result. In the original pilot, Billy appears lankier and with a smaller nose than his final design while Mandy has pigtails, a nose (which she lacks in the series), and a plain, single-color dress.

In the short, Billy learns about trepanation, a process in which a hole is drilled into the skull to relieve internal pressure, after seeing that Mandy (who incorrectly describes the process as a way to unlock the brain's full potential) has already gotten "trepanned"; Billy then has Mandy trepanate him, which results in Billy losing copious amounts of blood before passing out. Atoms described it as being "completely inappropriate for Cartoon Network," but felt that the characters were too fun to use only once, which led to the development of the series. In need of a straight-man character, it was eventually decided to add the Grim Reaper as the third protagonist.

For the longest period of time, it was believed that the short utilized the visual style of a piece of concept art for an unrelated and unmade pilot for the show (shown below); the actual short is stylized after monochrome films of the 1920s and 1930s, and featured only Billy and Mandy, the latter of whom appears significantly different from the below image. Atoms would later clarify the issue on his official YouTube upload of the short.

In Atoms' 2013 RebelTaxi interview with Pan-Pizza (of thatfellowinthecoat.com and partner of Channel Frederator), he mentioned the short in some detail, revealing that he had it stored away on film, noting that he should've had it digitally transferred "at some point."

Rediscovery

On RebelTaxis's podcast on March 15th, 2016, it was announced Maxwell Atoms recently found the old short and would display it at the TROMAnimation festival in New York.

A day after the short premiered at the TROMAnimation Film Festival, Maxwell Atoms uploaded the short to his YouTube channel in higher quality; there is noticeable deterioration of the film, though it is still in a watchable state. Atoms has clarified that he is unable to reshoot the short and synch it with its audio track, as he was forced to throw out his assets for the short to conserve space when he was living in a studio apartment.

Could Boing Be Added To StarTimes Perhaps As A Replacement To Toonami?

Boing, a children's channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery which is home to Clarence, Adventure Time and Dexter's Laboratory basically older shows from Cartoon Network and Cartoonito. It has a boost in popularity despite not residing on MultiChoice's DStv.

Last month, it was confirmed by Warner Bros. Discovery that youth centred action skewed channel Toonami will fold under Warner TV which brought questions to the channel's potential future in the African market.

Toonami was added on Econets defunct Kwése TV alongside Cell C's defunct Black streaming service in 2017. In 2020, it was shortly revived as a pop-up channel on MultiChoice's DStv and was later picked up by StarSat in South Africa alongside StarTimes in the rest of Africa.

During that time, Toonami was one of the leading kids brands at the time for anime like Beyblade, DC heroes like Batman or and Cartoon Network IPs like Ben 10. Over the years, the quality had further diminished with DC building up most of their lineup and anime on limbo.

Despite transitioning to a much wider spectrum in 2021, not much content was added to the channel except for Firestarter and Dragonball Super. The reason I believe this channel could be on the chopping block for consumers in Africa is simple.

Firstly, Warner Bros. Discovery had been eliminating redundancy across their platforms. Before Toonami, there was TCM and the ever successful Boomerang who similar to the channel went through a dry spell with TCM not getting much hype on its performance as seen with Boomerang.

Unlike the latter, it wouldn't seem far fetched if Warner Bros. Discovery opted for existing brand e.g. Boing as opposed to a complete restructure of the channel.

Toonami is regarded as an adult channel but most of the content fit the demographic of Cartoon Network being 7-12 years and also StarTimes still regards Toonami as a kids brand despite the rebrand in 2021 and the only new offering on the channel at the time, Firestarter.

Boing would make a suitable replacement as both leverage on archived material and also Cartoon Network and Cartoonito aren't even seen on the platform. This would be one way to get the content to newer audiences and familiarise them with both brands.

Nick Jr. Is The Next TV Channel To Enter The Splat Zone

During the year, Nickelodeon unveiled a retrofitted design at the 2023 KCAs which is currently applicable in the United States with plans to add it in more international territories still underway. Of course, other Nick properties such as Nicktoons and Nick Jr. haven't entered the Splat Zone.

For several months, consumers were curious as to when Nick planned to update these brands better yet it how their logos would appear seeing as Nickelodeon's current design is based from an old logo of theirs some would assume Nick Jr. would undergo something similar.

As seen above, that's not really the case as the brand was introduced to one of Nick's iconic logos which can be viewed only on digital platforms at the moment. Unlike Nickelodeon, the preschool brand's design seems bubbly kind of lighter take to the main channel.

Our initial guess on why Nick Jr. couldn't opt for their past logo may have to do with the discontinuation of their parental offering or NickMom. Another would be that Paramount wants to align these brands as seen with MTV and MTV Base or BET and BET Hip-Hop.

Nick Jr's induction to The Splat Zone means that Nicktoons will be the last brand to undergo the procedure. Considering not much investment is going onto content development it's likely to receive a duplicate if not a zombified design as seen with the rest of their offering.

Why PBS Kids Africa Is Behind With The Rest Of The World?

PBS Kids owned by the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) is the most trusted educational brand for children aged 2-8. Since 2021, the brand has operated a number of blocks and linear channels in the United States, Africa and formerly Australia.

For those residing outside the United States may have noticed some rather bizarre variations from the American feed. I mean you have shows like Dinosaur Train currently in its fifth season with the Africa still wrapping up the second season I know shocking.

On top of that there's a lot of shows some fresh that have yet to be broadcast on the channel such as Let's Go Luna, Splash And Bubbles, Xavier Riddle And The Secret Museum, Ready Jet Go! and Clifford The Big Red Dog.

From what's understood here, consumers don't have longevity with PBS Kids as seen with Cartoon Network and Disney Junior globally. Despite the fact that some of this content such as Dinosaur Train and Cyberchase have been viewable in these markets.

Generally, PBS Kids hasn't got much credibility for these as the content is funded by taxpayers and foundations which just leads to curiosity as on how much ownership the main PBS brand has over this content.

I for starters don't mind how out of fashion PBS Kids may appear to some audiences. It's one of the few brands that acknowledge their much older properties I mean it debuted in 2019 across Africa airing shows like Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Time Warp Trio.

Aside from that, the main feed is repetitive and perhaps them introducing this content to newer audiences is another way to help build their offering. The international feeds doesn't focus solely on older content as there's shows like Donkey Hodie and Hero Elementary.

PBS Kids can be entertaining to the young and old.

Recap To The Month: ‘Great African Mysteries’ And ‘Great African Escapes’ To Bring South African History To Life

The HISTORY® Channel Africa, DStv 186, is excited to announce the production of two new local documentary shows which preserve and recognise South African stories of historical significance.

Great African Mysteries will unlock the secrets of Africa’s past, and Great African Escapes investigates some of the most daring escapes in local history. Both standalone shows are presented by well-known local talk radio personality, John Robbie and were produced by Clive Morris Productions (CMP).

Through their engaging narratives and historical accuracy each show will entertain and inform viewers, as they are transported to different moments that shape our collective identity.

Great African Mysteries with John Robbie will air on Friday 21 July at 21h05. The show will explore three of the biggest mysteries in South Africa, from the discovery of Homo Naledi at the Cradle of Humankind, to the hoard of gold which Paul Kruger supposedly hid from the British during the Second Boer War. It also investigates events surrounding the crash of a South African passenger aircraft, known as the Helderberg, in 1987 in which all 159 people on board were killed.

Meanwhile, Great African Escapes with John Robbie which airs on Friday 28 July at 21h05, investigates three daring local escapes. This show will look at the death-defying passenger rescue from the sinking MTS Oceanos cruise liner in 1991 and will also reveal in detail the sensational prison break from Marshall Square by four anti-apartheid activists - Mosie Moolla, Harold Wolpe, Arthur Goldreich and Abdulhay Jassat. Finally, it will uncover Albie Sachs’ miraculous escape from a car bomb explosion in 1988 and how this saw him adopt the approach of "soft vengeance" in the form of achieving freedom in a non-racial and democratic South Africa.

The HISTORY Channel Africa delves into each of these stories of significance with exclusive interviews, fascinating first-hand accounts and archival footage.

About being the show host, Robbie says, “I’ve always been a fan of the HISTORY Channel, so was delighted when the team reached out to me to be involved. It is such an important project because so many South Africans don’t necessarily know about these stories which are key moments in our country’s history, shedding light on significant events and remarkable individuals. Both shows go beyond surface level and tell the stories behind the actual events.”

Marketing Manager of the HISTORY Channel Africa, Anita Gardini says, “We’re a premiere channel for historical storytelling, so we are incredibly proud to uncover six local stories through these two shows. It was great to work with John; whose effortless narration and additions of little-known facts bring each of these moments in time to life. HISTORY Africa believes it’s important to uncover and share our history in order to safeguard our shared heritage. We hope that viewers find these stories gripping and engaging and walk away wanting to know even more about our country’s history.”

Khayelihle Dom Gumede, Chief Operating Officer at CMP, the production company tasked with the project, adds, “Unearthing just a few of South Africa’s historical mysteries and great escapes has been an incredible journey of fact finding and storytelling for CMP. And along the way, to meet inspiring people like Justice Albie Sachs and Professor Lee Berger who've had such an impact on our world and our country, has had a profound influence on our production team. To be part of the channel known as the premier destination for historical features is an enormous privilege.”

Also, on the HISTORY Channel this ‘Mystery Month’ is the latest season of History’s Greatest Mysteries with Laurence Fishburne (Fridays at 20h15, starting 21 July) Mystery Places (Saturdays at 19h25, starting 8 July) and Ancient Murders Unearthed (Saturdays at 20h15, starting 15 July).