Looking forward to Sakuma's interview.

 

I already watched Episode 1, 3 & 4.
Yeah I skipped the Barbie episode.

I really like Star Wars toys beginnings.
I really laughed hard on the He-Man episode.
I really smiled a lot on the GI Joe episode.

It's funny to think anyone's getting sole credit on who created He-Man.
And the blame to the fall of He-Man toys goes to She-Ra toys allegedly "De-Masculinazing" He-Man.

And I feel bad for the Father of GI Joe.
He chose $100,000 over a royalty cut that even his son and grand son may use it.
And the drama of the resurrection of the GI Joe thru Hasbro owner's son.

Overall, I like the Editing and Humor used in this show.

 

Dude. The Barbie episode is REALLY FUCKING GOOD. There are whores, corporate sabatoge, drug fueled Hollywood parties, more whores, a court case that went up to the state supreme court, and a weird melting lady in a chair sculpture. As a fan of toys in general, you owe it to yourself to watch the Barbie one.

 

That's a bit of an understatement. GI Joe first appeared in like 1965 and has new figures every year since, baring like 3 single years with no figures between reboots of the line. TF fans like to think our brand is the powerhouse, but GI Joe has been around a looooong time.

 

Ok.. I'll try to watch it later.. This better be good.

 

GI Joe has been dead for years now. Also I should have been more specific and said GI Joe A Real American Hero.

 

GI Joe had new toys last year (2017, remember its only January). They're not quite the juggernaut they were in the 80s but they are the longest running action figure line by far. And even if you exclude the 60s 12" joes and the recent TRU exclusive line they still lasted from 1983 to 2014.

 

Where?!

 

2017 SDCC Cobra Missile Command Headquarters and some offerings from the G.I. Joe Collectors Club, at least. Not exactly mass release but it's something.

 

I agree with your statement for the most part, but I definitely WISHED the toys represented the cartoon. I thought about it all time. My dream as a kid were figures that matched the animation. Plenty of youngsters thought the same, which is why we love masterpiece.

 

ARAH outlasted Star Wars at retail. 15 years(82-95). By the time ARAH got killed off, Star Wars had returned. Even so, by 96 TRU was trying to bring ARAH back but wasn't able to get it back until late 97. So ARAH wasn't away too long. Then it got brought back again from 99-2000. By 2002 gijoe came back with GI Joe VS Cobra. By 2005 we had Sigma 6 then the 25th anniversary line in 2007-2009. Rise of Cobra resulted in a loss of international markets after the toys weren't selling(in a rare move, Hasbro admitted that raising MSRP on their own part was to blame).

Gi Joe has been a Rasputin-Esque brand that refuses to die. Personally, I hate that Hasbro seems to only have confidence in it when tying it to a movie. Not every brand will have its own 2007 Transformers 1. Rise of Cobra and Retaliation didn't boost sales the way the 2007 Transformers movie did.

Even in Retaliation we were still getting modernized ARAH updates.

I think it would be cool to see a Transformers VS Gi joe line but Hasbro seems very hesistant aside from sdcc sets which don't have transforming figures.

 

I'm usually perplexed by the current state of G.I. Joe. The movies didn't do great, but they still have a consumer base that's reading the comics, and Renegades could have been just as long running and successful as TF: Prime if they only had put some merchandising effort behind it.

I do understand why they've backed the Transformers horse over and over, it's a sure thing and has appeal worldwide in a way G.I. Joe does not, but I still wonder why they aren't trying out some new ways to bring back the Joes? Hell, I think they should throw out a wave of some 6-inch figures and see if that market that will buy anything and everyone at that scale will bite.

 

Sigma Six could have become something really remarkable if they’d gone just a bit farther with it.

 

What made me really laugh at the He-Man episode is the "psychedellic" nature of the designs.
They just think random and put in on He-Man and turns into money.
"What these guys (Mattel) are smoking?" said at the interview.

And the "Oh, didn't you know we have comic book for this line?" and the "Oh, didn't you know we have cartoon show for this?"
Those after thought excuses still made it and helped the line.

And the idea that She-Ra was born out from the Mattel's Female Toys department's egos.
My goodness. I never thought things like that exist in a toy company.

 

Watched the Barbie and Star Wars episodes. Barbie's origins certainly are, um, scandalous.  

As for Star Wars, huh, I always heard the (false) rumor that George Lucas made out like a bandit with the merchandising toy sales from SW. Guess this show certainly debunks that since Kenner was the only company willing to work with GL and produce toys for SW from the onset, so it was Kenner that made out like bandits instead. GL waiting until the rights expired to make the PT movies (and subsequently the toys) was shrewd of him, even if the PT toys weren't as successful by comparison to the OT stuff. Learned something new there.

The kitchen sink approach to He-Man gave me a chuckle, for sure.  

 

3 3/4" 2017 G.I. Joe Action Figures

The club put out a whole bunch of stuff, in addition to the SDCC exclusive someone brought up.

Also they had a full retail line in 2016:

3 3/4" 2016 G.I. Joe Action Figures

Again, not a lot of stuff, but they've had new figures almost every year since 1965.

 

So you're telling me that for all of last year the only GI Joe A Real American hero toys were exclusives, that sounds like a franchises that is just barely clinging to life. Yes I know GI Joe started way back in the sixties and was on toy shelves in some form or another until 2016. But even before that GI Joe was slowly diminishing the amount of things that were being put out. G i Joe's presents in toys aisles started dwindling after GI Joe Retaliation came out and slowly trickled down to nothing. The line is dead.

 

You sold me on that.
Can you sell me the GI Joe episode as well?  

 

Yeah, dead at mass retail, if we're being technical. Better exclusives than nothing at all. Although, I believe the GIJCC is losing their license by the end of the year so it may soon be down to nothing soon enough. Yay for being right?