In 2005, Cartoon Network premiered the series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. It was created by Judd Winick, a former cast member on The Real World and a comic book artist/writer. The show follows the adventures of Juniper Lee: An 11-year-old Chinese descent girl who lives in Orchid Bay City. Besides the normal problems of school and social life, she is also the Te Xuan Ze, a protector of the human and magical realms. Most humans are unaware of the magical realm thanks to "The Veil" which separates the two. Juniper (or June, as her friends call her) must keep the balance. Fortunately she is not alone. Her grandma (the previous Te Xuan Ze) provides her guidance along with Monroe, a magical talking dog with a Scottish accent. She also has her brother Ray Ray who often hinders her work but can also see through the veil and can be of assistance at times. June has been magically enhanced to be able to fight the various monsters that come across her path. She senses trouble thanks to the bracelet on her wrist.
The series ran for three seasons for a total of forty episodes and ended on a cliffhanger in 2007.
. It had been renewed for two additional seasons but was canceled for unknown reasons. It could be executive meddling or low ratings but no one outside of the network knows for sure. What is known is that the show went off the air quickly in the United States. The show currently reruns on Pogo in India, Boing in Nigeria, South Africa and France, Boomerang in Thailand and Tooncast
in Latin America. On April 11, 2017, it was added to Boomerang's
streaming app in the United States, making it one of the few shows that
are on the app that did not air on the actual Boomerang channel in the
US (source Wikipedia.).The reason I have started this page is thanks to the Crossover Nexus episode that aired on Cartoon Network this year (2018). I really liked the show when it came out. The animation was smooth, most of the major cast was interesting, and the show didn't take itself too seriously. There were some serious moments but that didn't bring the tone of the show down. The cast was diverse: Juniper Lee is an American girl with Chinese ancestry. Her two best friends are Ophelia Ramirez (a goth latina) and Jody Irwin (an overachieving, positive Jewish girl). June also has a crush on Marcus (who happens to be black, but no one cares at all). It has all this diversity without slamming you over the head about it. I like to think (probably delusional) that I see if the character is compelling or not and then look at other things such as gender, age, race, etc.
Regardless, Judd Winick and the major cast would love to revive the show. While it seems like a long shot, one only needs to look at recent history. After thirteen years, Samurai Jack came back for one more season. Hey Arnold came back with a movie and Rocko's Modern Life and Invader Zim aren't far behind. Swat Kats is in the process of coming back too. Whatever you may think about them, Cartoon Network also rebooted the Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans. The point is nostalgia can equal money. The success of Crossover Nexus is a good indicator that people want some of those shows back. The hype of seeing the original Teen Titans in the Teen Titans Go movie also shows that.
I intend to do my best to bring it back. Here is a petition: https://www.change.org/p/cartoon-network-and-warner-bros-bring-back-juniper-lee-on-cn-and-continue-onwards-precisely-in-two-more-seasons?utm_campaign=fb_dialog&utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt#_=_
Obviously it isn't enough but it's a start. I have started this blog to help spread the word. I spread it on my Twitter handle and Facebook accounts too. I chat on Discord about it when I can sneak it in. I have posted things on Reddit. I plan on sending letters (yes those old pieces of paper) to the folks in charge of programming and maybe put in some wacky thing to get then noticed. I also will see how other shows got revived and use that knowledge to further my goal.
Does it sound like I'm obsessed? I am. I don't know why but I'm going with it. You can find Judd Winick and all of the major cast on Twitter. You can come and pity me here if you wish. You should be able to find me on Twitter too. I'll see what else I can post on this blog (with permission of the creators of course) and maybe I can do an interview with the creator, the major cast members, or both.
-So Long
December 8, 2018
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