Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes # 6: Netflix’s Cowboy Beebop Cancelled within Three Weeks of Release
-For the Uncensored!
If the details that have emerged within December showed, Cowboy Beebop wasn’t going to last. The Beebop community, including myself, were not pleased. The series didn’t even pull me in as a long time fan. Coveting the DVD’s like they were a memory from my childhood. The New York Post reported December 10th, 2021 by Ben Cost, “Netflix devastated cast members, crew and fans by canceling the highly anticipated live-action “Cowboy Bebop” series after just one season. The decision came less than a month after the spinoff’s premiere on Nov. 19.”[i] As someone who wasn’t particularly interested in it anyway, five minutes proved that my interest fell of so quick. It happened as I decided to give it a chance, but it was a lost cause from their. I could have watched it, but as a fan, I have the anime. I didn’t need to consider a live action franchise that knew what it was anyway.
As Ben Cost said from his December 10th article, “It was a cowboy be-flop.”[ii]
Cowboy Beebop premiered in 1998, which follows Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine, all criminals who end up doing jobs as Space Cowboys across the universe. For most fans, like myself, were excited. This is the purest example of how art that worked before shouldn’t be touched. Like the Oldboy remake directed by Spike Lee[iii]. As Gundam said, “You can’t take Gone with the Wind and change it around.”[iv]
What you can’t expect me to feel is sympathetic. In this case, the fans spoke and Netflix had the right idea. I could tell within a few minutes as it felt uninspired, boring, and just lazy. It’s like when Maeby said in Arrested Development, “It’s like comparing apples to a fruit that no one has ever heard of.”[v]
I am not a fan of fan fiction and this is why. Just be aware that people love something when you adapt a beloved anime or cultural icon. If the disinterest is there, don’t worry I knew too. Uninspired art with a pissy cast criticizing fans doesn’t make the series better. But to consider this the fault of the fans is off putting, and dangerous. Too many celebrities do that anyway. I get messages in stories, as I do that all the time.
The misunderstood incompetence is felt, and I didn’t care if it lived or died beyond a second season. And that famous phrase from Juice I love to say, “Just because you pour syrup on shit doesn’t make it pancakes.”
And this shit Beebop pancake no one wanted.
[i] https://nypost.com/2021/12/10/netflix-cancels-cowboy-bebop-after-just-one-season/.
[ii] https://nypost.com/2021/12/10/netflix-cancels-cowboy-bebop-after-just-one-season/.
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[v] https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5d601d65-d664-40d2-a2ad-40f3938a1570.
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 19 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Our Freedom Book https://www.ourfreedombook.com/thereallouistbruno17. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His next series, City of Sand is out now:https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/louis-bruno/city-of-sand/hardcover/product-rke9jz.html?page=1&pageSize=4. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. Subscribe as well so you can get my articles in your inbox every time. Every little bit helps in the war against Big Tech. Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and also get updates sent to your email, so you can tell substack what’s worthwile. Let me know too.