Galactic KND Updates
Last year, around labor day, Mr Warburton and the main cast of KND (sans Cree Summer, who could not make it) reunited at Nostaliga Con in Houston, TX for an exclusive table read of a sample script written to pitch the idea of Galactic Kids Next Door. This in itself is incredibly exciting! Not only does it show that Mr Warburton is still interested in pursuing the project, a decade after the initial release of the GKND trailer, but it also provided us with new, exclusive content, and a peek into what GKND might one day look like. In the video, Grey DeLisle is standing in for Cree Summer.
At the table read, Mr Warburton said that Guy Moore had created some storyboards to go along with the script, but they were not able to show it at the convention, due to not being provided a screen. However, Guy Moore has uploaded all of the storyboard content to his website, Which can be viewed here!.
My Thoughts
I highly recommend watching the content for yourself before reading my own thoughts and opinions about it. Form opinions for yourself!
The main topic of discussion among fans is Nigel's dramatic return to Sector V at the end of the table read. Feelings are mixed! Personally, more than anything, I feel that this is the funniest thing Mr Warburton could have done, and it kind of fits into his long legacy of being tongue-in-cheek. Over the last 10, almost 11, years, I have consistently pictured GKND as being an epic battle in space, where Sector V must fight to get Nigel back. I have always been extremely interested in the prospect of Nigel being on the "wrong side" and being pitted against his own teammates. I find the idea compelling, and it also lends itself well to Nigel's character- As he is inspired by many characters before him who have been placed in similar situations (Picard, Anakin, etc). I admit that I am somewhat disappointed to lose this potential tension and narrative intrigue. In a way, bringing Nigel back so quickly is the least interesting option.
However, I am not actually against it. First of all, I do trust whatever direction Mr Warburton wants to take. This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the story he wants to weave, and I am excited to see what he has planned. Also, it allowed us to see both the aftermath of Nigel's departure AND the emotional reunion of Sector V, which is wonderfully cathartic. Even if we never get to see more of GKND, we did at least get to see the team back together again, and that makes me so emotional! It is also really interesting in the grand scheme of previously established canon. We are no longer under the impression that Nigel is gone for several decades, triumphantly returning when Sector V are all in their middle aged years. Instead, we can now move with the implication that Nigel returned quickly, and hopefully stayed for good. Operation INTERVIEWS implied that Abby was feeding Father lies about Nigel's whereabouts, but she does end the series by telling Nigel "Welcome back", implying that he really had been gone all that time.
My actual gripe with the new script segment is the... strange fascination with Wally's underwear. It is used as a narrative device to move Wally around the treehouse and explore how everyone has been affected by Nigel leaving, but it's just so.... uncomfortable. I don't know how else to put it. I guess it's fine as a narrative device and serves to lighten the overall mood, but to me, it harkens back to the bizzare writing choices of Operation VIDEOGAME, which was especially obsessed with toilet humor in a way that the show usually isn't. I guess I'm not a fan. Though, it's hard to complain when Wally gets to be our guide through the treehouse, which I love.
We get to see an exploration of the character dynamics as they exist without Nigel and with the added strain of increasing adult attacks and additional responsibilities. Everyone has crumbled in their own way, and in doing so, they have grown distant, even when they still live and work in the same space. It's heartbreaking, but compelling, and I enjoy that a lot. Though, I sort of resent the idea that Abby "can't handle" the responsibilities of being sector leader. She was able to do it before, and I fully believe she could do it now. I understand she is also grieving, and I would imagine this is a manifestation of her grief as much as a result of the job demands, but overall I don't want her to be underestimated. Hoagie's character changes make complete sense, and I can easily see him becoming short-fused and fully immersed in his work. Wally is interesting in the script, because he acts exactly like his usual self, but is clearly handling his grief via denial and the repression of his feelings. And finally, the other Big Thing, of course I love the script's characterization of Kuki! I don't think I could handle dark, brooding, emo Kuki for a long stretch of time- As her usual personality is a huge part of what I love about her- But it's extremely fun to play around with the idea of her changing so much as a result of grief.
Aaaand... I guess those are my overall feelings about the script! There were also some Q&A segments captured by fans. One addressed Chad's whereabouts, sort of. Mr Warburton gave a classic non-answer, which I respect. The other question was asking how Hoagie and Nigel would be as presidents of the US, to which Ben Diskin gave an answer that I cannot stand by at all! He claimed Nigel wouldn't change very much. No way! I get that Ben is pulling from Nigel's tendancy to stand by his own organization with devout loyality, but that's the KND! The United States Government is pretty different! There's no way he wouldn't be for radical change. And that's my hot take.
What's Up with Streaming?
The last thing I want to talk about in this update is regarding the recent acquisition of Warner Bros by Netflix. Due to this acquisition, the rights to KND now belong to Netflix, which I don't personally feel amazing about. However, it also means there could be changes to the accessibility of the show. Currently, as far as I can tell, there is a page on Netflix for the show, but it is not available in the United States. I can't find a way to determine which countries it is available in, but I am glad it's available for any country, if it is. Otherwise, it remains illusive. My previous statement that it is not legally available in any capacity was not true, because it is available for digital purchase via Apple TV, but I believe that is the only avenue to legally access the show.
All the character pages are done! Woohoo!
Updated the Numbuh 312 page with newer art and comics.
I will be making more of an effort to utilize and update this website, because I've moved off of social media entirely! Finally!
First update: Unfortunately, the KND episodes hosted on the Internet Archive were taken down by evil adults. KND episodes are not available to stream on Max or any other legal avenue, so it risks becoming lost media if we don't circulate episodes. I would advocate for fans to watch the show legally if that was an option, but even if it was, the fact that media companies can remove it at any time poses a risk. If another way to access episodes online comes up, I will share it. Until then, you can email me for episodes (details on the homepage).
Second update: Mr Warburton is making his first convention appearance this year at The Nostalgia Con in Houston this August. Many KND voice actors will be there as well, including but not limited to Cree Summer, Ben Diskin, Lauren Tom and Dee Bradley Baker. Keep an eye on this!
Website goals:
- Character pages
- KND show info and history
- GKND info
- Update how this blog page works. I want to have different sections for different kinds of posts (updates, essays, etc)
- GKND retrospective essay (I freaking missed posting something on the 10 year anniversary)
WELP
HBO Max took KND off their platform :(
So, while I would want to encourage people to watch the show legally, there's now no way to do that. However, there are other ways to access episodes! A wonderful operative has uploaded them all to the Internet Archive! You can download the episodes from here as well. They're in the highest quality I've ever seen for rips of episodes. The only caveat is that op ZERO and op INTERVIEWS are missing.
If necessary, you can also email me at frankenbug@proton.me with the subject line "KND episodes", and I'll send you a zip file.
I got rid of the merch page for now, because it's going to take such a long time to complete it. Right now, it's functionally useless. Eventually, I would like to have a catalog of all the existing KND merch on here, but that will be a future project.
Bootlegs and Knock-offs
As a collector, I've come across some strange items being sold as "KND merch". Because of the dubious quality of some official merch, it can be hard to tell whats legit and what isn't sometimes, but other times.... it's quite obvious.
From years of checking Ebay for KND loot, this weird looking guy has become a familiar face- But I still have no idea what his origin is, or why there are so many of him.
The description of this particular listing is "Codename Kids Next Door Skateboarder Red Hair Mini Figure PVC 2011 by Kid Stuff". Put a pin in that.
This figurine is not a character from KND, and the design isn't even similar to anything that ever appeared in the show. More recently, I've started seeing another figure that has similar design elements, but is a slightly better quality, and loses the glasses.
This one is described as "Codename Kids Next Door Toys Action Figures Micros Figurine Cartoon Network 2" and is currently selling for $15.83 (for a single bootleg figurine????). This one also appears to be made by "Kid Stuff", indicated by the markings on the bottom of his shoe.
An even MORE recent development has been the addition of a girl skateboarder, which I've only seen about twice now. Like her comrade, she isn't a KND character, and doesn't resemble one. I like her design a lot, though, if I'm being honest.
So...what the heck is "Kid Stuff", and why are their generic figurines being sold as "KND"?
I popped over to www.kidstuff.com, which appears to be a generic toy company, and found a link that looked promising.
I won't post pictures from the site, because right clicking on images activates a pop-up telling me that their images are copyrighted, and I don't want to take any chances. You can have a look for yourself, though. The site is definitely fine.
This company makes a series of toys called "Roller Riders Boarder Buds", which includes various characters that come with little skateboards. The designs and packaging artwork do look similar to the KND style, but actually, not that much. This appears to be a case of people not recognizing where their old toys are from and assuming they must be KND characters when listing them on Ebay.
I even found a Youtube video showcasing this cast of characters.
Personally, I'm happy with this outcome. These aren't bootlegs at all- And the designs are kind of fun! The company claims to have been started in the 1980s, but I dunno, it still feels kind of sketchy to me.
However, there's one more thing I want to talk about today, and that's....this:
I suddenly started seeing listings for what look like...commercially produced Rainbow Monkey toys?? Famously, Mr W. was given the choice between making plush toys of Sector V OR making Rainbow Monkey dolls, and he chose the former. So, we know that there are no official RMs out there. My bootleg sirens are going off! But they look so legit...what's going on?
A reverse image search indicates that these toys are being sold on Aliexpress, Amazon, and even Walmart. Though, at the time of making this post, many of them appear to be "no longer available".
In the past couple of years, stolen designs manufactured using cheap labor have been taking over the toy market. A great example of this is Among Us- A very small team of game devs created a breakout hit, and suddenly anyone could buy a cheap Among Us plush on Amazon or even at Walmart. These toys were obviously not licensed, and the actual creators of the game saw no profits from any of the fake merch. Storefronts like Aliexpress and even Hot Topic have been stealing artwork and designs at incredible rates, at the expense of both the real artists and also the cheap, hyper-exploited labor of workers.
But KND is an older IP owned by a big company, so surely there's no harm in buying a cute, cheap RM, right? Honestly, usually, I'd agree (other than the exploited labor I mentioned), but in this case...there's another factor.
Yeah, KND is an older IP, so why are there suddenly Rainbow Monkey knock-offs being sold? I have a theory about this.
Michael Karydas is a custom plush maker who makes everything by himself, from scratch. A few years ago, he was commissioned to make a Rainbow Monkey toy, and he knocked it out of the park. His RM toys exploded in popularity, going low-level viral. He's made a ton of RMs since then, and they're all excellent.
Yes, I think companies that manufacture cheap knock-offs are profiting off of the work and ideas of a small creator. In fact, while both plush designs do look pretty close to actual, in-show RMs...They take some structural liberties...and they just so happen to be the SAME structural liberties. I genuinely think the bootlegs are ripping off Michael's design, specifically.
In-show RMs, for comparison:
The knock-offs have a larger reach since they're sold via Amazon and Walmart, and they're also much, much cheaper, because they're mass-produced by people being paid garbage wages instead of hand-crafted by a single artisan.
I cannot stress enough that you should not buy the cheap knock-offs, and instead buy a commission from Michael K. Alternatively, you can wait eleventy billion years for me to finally make a Rainbow Monkey knitting pattern.
Lastly..........I still have no idea what's up with this guy:
-Numbuh 312
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