When toylines jump the shark

[rykerw1701]

Never had this problem. My favorite lines were so badly mismanaged they never made it to the ramp. Sttmp Mego failed to release all of the crew and any vehicles. ST3 ERTL only did 4 figures. This line had the most potential and should have been run like GI Joe. TNG Galoob gave us no vehicles or playsets. Playmates made the mistake of changing the scale and by the time they fixed their mistake, the line had run it's course. This line had cost prohibitive accessories because of the scale and the one playset that would have worked, and made them a fortune, they never even considered. Then they dropped the ball with the movie line by not releasing the second wave an completing the bridge playset. Now it is Funko's turn to tank by not following through.


CC.

So I'd say Playmates Star Trek line jumped the shark with the 1701 Tapestry Picard. That's the one where they only released 1,701 of a desirable figure when they were regularly releasing over 100K of figures. Then they did the same thing with two other figures. Really torked off collectors who were trying to "Collect 'em all." The line never recovered from that.

[LordMudd]

Never had this problem. My favorite lines were so badly mismanaged they never made it to the ramp. Sttmp Mego failed to release all of the crew and any vehicles. ST3 ERTL only did 4 figures. This line had the most potential and should have been run like GI Joe. TNG Galoob gave us no vehicles or playsets. Playmates made the mistake of changing the scale and by the time they fixed their mistake, the line had run it's course. This line had cost prohibitive accessories because of the scale and the one playset that would have worked, and made them a fortune, they never even considered. Then they dropped the ball with the movie line by not releasing the second wave an completing the bridge playset. Now it is Funko's turn to tank by not following through.


CC.

[palitoy]

P.A.C.K and Super Adventure team was brilliant for me because I was the right age and I already used both characters in conflict/adventure situations. There was only so much fishing and exploring one could do....

As for Joe and this is just an example of age being a factor, it totally lost me with the cartoon. I loved the tone of the comic and the cartoon with it's laser beams and death-rays turned me off. However, I was 12 going on 13, so the likelihood of me continuing with the line were almost nil anyway.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Yeah, it's all when you come in. I came in late enough with Joe (really when the first cartoon mini aired) that there was enough sci-fi in it by then that Serpentor didn't bother me at the time. In hindsight, I see it. Cobra-La was WAY too deep though.

I can see both the P.A.C.K. problem and the Adventure People issue. But both didn't really have much of a mythology, so to me they are a bit more open to introduce wilder elements. But I also never owned or played with any, so I can't really weigh in with any confidence!

Chris

[EmergencyIan]

Oh and I'll kick in too. I loved the Fisher Price Adventure people as a kid, they were special to me.

Around the late 1970s they retooled figures to look more "Star Warsy" and I viewed it as lame and weak as a kid.

You know, I recall thinking that was odd, as well. As I've said many times on here, I love the Adventure People line, but they lost me with that stuff. It doesn't fit the line, at all.

For me when GI Joe RAH went SciFi toward the late 80s, I lost interest. It didn't fit.

- Ian

[palitoy]

Ok, get out the pitchforks

When Big Jim went from general outdoorsman to P.A.C.K

[palitoy]

Oh and I'll kick in too. I loved the Fisher Price Adventure people as a kid, they were special to me.

Around the late 1970s they retooled figures to look more "Star Warsy" and I viewed it as lame and weak as a kid.

[Mikey]

Ok, get out the pitchforks

When Big Jim went from general outdoorsman to P.A.C.K

[palitoy]

I think this is a great thread idea but the one thing that will always have us disagreeing is that we all enter toys at different ages.

When I started collecting toys, the average collector had a decade on me. To them, any GI Joe with fuzzy hair was "Crap" and oh God, mention of "Bulletman" was like showing Dracula a cross. I adored those characters.

As for Serpentor, another hard right into Science Fiction for Joe, I bet it's split right down the middle with 80s kids.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I love the idea of Serpentor, but I think the concept may have been a bit out-there for GI Joe.

It's where I first learned of Vlad the Impaler! Dracula was REAL? WHAAAAATTT???

Those Spidey figures stunk up KBs for YEARS.

Chris

[enyawd72]

Personally, I loved Serpentor...the idea of genetically engineering this super villain from all history's dead warlords was really cool.

I think the worst example is Toy Biz's Spider-Man line when we got to Fisherman Spidey, Baseball Spidey, Fireman Spidey, Camping Spidey, etc. etc.

spideyinaction.jpg

[Earth 2 Chris]

Werewolf's comment on the Steppenwolf thread about GI Joe got me thinking: when did your favorite toyline jump the shark? It could be in the toy itself, or in the related media; tv series, comics, etc.

As I said in that thread, GI Joe:RAH probably jumped the shark in 86 with the seemingly super-powered Sgt. Slaughter and sci-fi/horror villain Serpentor. But they really lost their way the following year with the Lovecraftian backstory given to Cobra with Cobra-La. Cobra Commander was blue-skinned and had a bunch of eyes under that helmet thanks to spores? Snake people? What the...?

Then there's MASK. When it went NASCAR, it went completely downhill. The stories were still cool, but the concept was just horrid. The TV show became unwatchable.

What sharks did your favorite toyline jump?

Chris