Pokemon

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

Pokemon is an anime imported by the WB to fulfill a minimum government requirement for children's programming. The show stars Jesse, James, and Meowth, three agents of the heroic Team Rocket. Their job is to protect Pokemon, a group of mysterious creatures with strange powers. Among the powers Pokemon have are the ability to shoot fire, water and lightning blasts, and send any adult that attempts to view the show into a haze of confusion. Team Rocket is opposed by groups of "Pokemon trainers" who force the innocent Pokemon to battle each other, Fight Club style.

As the show progressed, the mood became darker. Mysterious "Pokemon Professors" were introduced along with the concept of organized "Gyms" and "Leagues" where trainers would force Pokemon to battle for trophies and prizes. Eventually Team Rocket was forced to try and break up a "Pokemon Championship", which led to the episode "Dennou Senshi Porygon" (roughly translated as "Flashing Lights and Bright Objects"). In this episode, Meowth used giant strobe lights to interrupt the finals of the tournament. The intensity of these scenes caused seizures and convulsions in hundreds of Japanese schoolgirls and caused Pokemon to be permanently banned in most of the world.

Although "Dennou Senshi Porygon" was the last original episode of the show to be produced, it was not the last episode to air in America. Realizing that most episodes of Pokemon were virtually identical, executives at the WB reedited the original episodes in random order. By slightly changing character designs and backgrounds, they were able to keep Pokemon on the air until the bitter end of the WB.

Much like some other WB programming, Pokemon was too mean to die. Using its "recovery powers", the show re-emerged on Cartoon Network where it continues to delight youngsters and confound critics to this day.

Pokemon Merchandising

Using its licensing rights to the fullest, Nintendo has pumped out a continual stream of Pokemon merchandise since the show started. Among the items for sale are Pokemon video games, CDs, DVDs, trading cards, posters, hats, T-shirts, plush dolls, Halloween costumes, and enough other stuff to keep the Home Shopping Network in business for years to come. When asked whether all this is good for kids, a spokesperson for Nintendo said "Dat's right!" and continued sending out the merchandise on behalf of "da Boss".