Kids WB and Cartoon Network often cancel most of thier shows at the 52 episode number mark, because that's the 'perfect' number for syndication. It basically means that even popular shows rarely last longer than 52 episodes.
Originally, the magic number for a series to reach to allow for syndication was 65 episodes. That number was derived this way: Most syndicated shows are rerun 5 days a week, so if you had 65 eps., your reruns would last 13 weeks before being recycled again. That means each episode would run 4 times in a year (52 weeks divided by 13). The assumption was that most kids would watch the same thing 4 times a year without tiring of it. Later, to save money (and by presumably testing kids in the target demographic), it was decided that kids wouldn't mind watching the same thing 5 times a year, so they only needed 52 episodes for syndication (52 eps divided by 5 days a week = 10.4 weeks; 52 weeks/year divided by 10.4 weeks = 5 reruns per year). This same thinking affects how many episodes are normally ordered for a weekly show (like those running on Saturday mornings). The networks used to order 26 episodes so that they would only be rerun twice a year, but later changed that to 13, believing that kids will watch the same thing 4 times a year. (Is this all sounding too much like a math lesson?) Of course, once the magic number of 52 is reached, there's nothing to prevent them from making more, so long as the show is profitable. Animation is so expensive to make, however, that they are usually deficit financed, and companies hesitate to to go too far into debt before seeing a return on their investment. Thus, if merchandising and other revenue streams are not making up the cost of production, they will stop at 52 and hope to recoup their investment in syndication and video releases.
shit's corny, Heros that no one gives a shit about, Nighthawk? Fire Skull or some shit? She-Hulk (i kinda like her) and Colossus? no f'n personality.... the New Jersey Defenders???? really? I'll be reading the rest of this series online..damn that.
