MovieChat Forums > Jem (1985) Discussion > Why did Hasbro do that?

Why did Hasbro do that?


Why did they cancel Jem when it was just in the middle of its third season? Couldn't they have waited until it was wrapped up to announce they were taking it off the air?

Raagh! It's sad how so many good cartoons never get a proper ending! 😢

reply

I believe there was a contract in place to produce a 65 episode run, so it really did reach its natural conclusion. Christy Marx did know that the series was ending and that's why the last episode has a little tying up of *some* of the storylines.

reply

There were plans for an animated movie and fourth season, but then they decided not to produce anything else.

After the G.I. Joe and Transformers movies bombed, they scrapped plans for the Jem movie, which was probably the deathnail for the series as a whole.

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5423577/Bobbydrake2000

reply

[deleted]

This ^ !

reply

Deathnail?

Death knell, perhaps?

reply

I think the dolls weren't selling as well as they hoped for one thing.

There was a great fan site - not sure if it still exists - that explained how this may have been because the Jem dolls were bigger than the Barbie dolls, and hence girls weren't able to have their Barbie dolls play 'together' with the Jem dolls. Or at least, that was one possible reason as to why the Harsbo line-up didn't do as well as they hoped.

reply

I never got why the Jem dolls were bigger than Barbie. If they'd been just a bit smaller, girls could used the Barbie playsets to build their Starlight Mansions and so forth.

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5423577/Bobbydrake2000

reply

As a teenager I babysat two sisters who would literally watch the show surrounded by their barbies. When the episode ended they would then act out the scenarios with their barbie dolls.

I'm convinced if the dolls had looked anything like the Integrity Toys tribute collection, both they and the series would've lasted a heck of a lot longer. Not to mention given Mattel's Barbie a run for the money.

http://integritytoys.com/jemandtheholograms/collection-classic-jem.php

Happiness must be earned.

reply

I totally agree with you. Harsbo probably thought they had an edge over Barbie by manufacturing larger dolls, but it ultimately backfired.

reply

I agree with you. I only had one Jem doll growing up; it was the Rock and Curl Jem doll. Anyways, I would always get frustrated when I couldn't fit my Jem doll into the fashion clothes I had for my Barbies. My mom bought me one Jem doll fashion for her. I got sort of bored with the doll and ended playing with my Barbies instead. My Jem doll was nice but, I preferred my Barbie dolls....

reply