Wednesday, November 02, 2016

"Harvey Beaks" is Ending

I know, I'm a little late but...

Harvey Beaks...is ending.
And...I'm okay with this. Not exactly all the way happy, but okay nonetheless.

The announcement was made during an interview creator CH Greenblatt did on RebelTaxi's Pizza Party Podcast in September, in which he would not continue the series for a third season. The reveal is at 32:55 (it's best to start a little earlier.)


I've always prepared myself for when an animated series ends after a short run, but then end up close to a blubbering mess anyway. But soon after, I smile and look back on how great that series is and how lucky I was to have watched it for as long as I have. And Harvey was one of those series.

My opinion about The Beaks has stayed the same since I reviewed it last year. It's simply a wonderful creation of animation that has stood out among the rest. And there was a lot of amazing new programs that we all loved, so that says a lot. The setting, plots, characters and production was something else because of how lush, smooth, off-beat and mellow it looked and felt. Everything matched the others in the tone it set for, with took it far away from Nick's other offerings, which was the biggest breath of fresh air I could take in these days. And I miss that.

When I first heard that Harvey was ending, I was shocked and a little hurt inside. I felt it could go on another season, but hey, it's not my show, so my opinion in that regard doesn't count. Then I heard that the decision to end it was of creator CH Greenblatt. I sighed a sigh of relief now knowing he  wanted to end it, not Nick. But alas, it still stings me.

While I've heard  about the halt of production in general, I haven't heard of many other stories in the writer's room about how Nick has treated Harvey. After Nick took new episodes of The Beaks off the air in Spring of last year (along with those of other originals), many fans were pissed. Automatic assumptions of poor treatment--or even cancellation--have flooded social media for weeks, especially on Tumblr, where CH and the writers frequent. I myself haven't noticed because I haven't watched much live TV in quite a while and I haven't been through Tumblr either. I wish I should have though. Anyway...
CH has later reassured fans that it wasn't the case; even going as far as calling it "a disservice from the truth". In a post on Tumblr, he explained:
"Everyone remain calm. We’re not off the air. And it’s not just us getting this treatment. They stopped all premieres (animation and live action) except Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket for the summer. Hopefully they’ll re-run the show so folks can become more aware of it in the meantime. We should be back with a big push come late summer/early fall.
We’re not thrilled about this, but we’re still making episodes full steam ahead and I promise they will get out there eventually."
Even if he is just as annoyed about the rumors and stuff as we all were, I find Carl's open honesty and happy reassuring palpable and refreshing. Seeing him so true to his fans while not browbeating anyone was kinda sweet.

I'm so very happy we all got the chance to see this man's second creation; it was just as unique, inventive, hilarious, visually pleasing and memorable as his last Chowder. I'm really eager to see where CH goes next. He's a great storyteller and producer that's had his dues, and deserves all the success he's gotten over the years.

Harvey Beaks is one of the best Nick shows today and deserved its praise and respect. Especially as Nick has gone through a bit of resurgence lately, as this, Pig Goat Banana Cricket (IMO) and The Loud House have given the Splat a much-needed shot in the arm in term of animated series, along with the upcoming and highly-anticipated Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life movies, along with. Nick is on a nice roll right now, and it's all thanks to this series.
Thank you everyone at Harvey Beaks for everything.

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