Board Thread:Lion Guard Discussion/@comment-28095648-20170823035624/@comment-31583911-20170827154240

Beshte wrote: I have to agree with you, and everything you've written here. A couple of pointers I think might also be contributing to the seemingly diminishing popularity -

-Really bad choice in returning cast. Kids and adults alike LOVED Jasiri. She's been in two eps, and whilst she'll be returning in S2, we have no idea when. The Outsiders: They knew how popular they were. For a long time, the date of their return was the most frequently asked TLG question in google. How many eps? One.

Meanwhile, characters like Ma Tembo return quite often. And we don't really see much love for her. Mtoto (I love him so much but)? Much like Ma Tembo, we see him fairly often, but is he really popular?

-Poor merchandising. Rise of Scar is out. What Scar toys do we have to get the fans (all ages) thinking 'woah, what did I miss with this series?!'. A playset. An expensive playset which is still not out in most stores. No small volcano with a light-up Scar at the top. No 'villain pack', just more hero toys. Blind bags are at this stage completely AWOL.

And why so much focus on T&P? They're barely in this show! They work well as mascots for TLK, but not this series.

-Lack of interest in the world. Who is Scar's Guard? Why keep teasing us with pictures but never reveal more? Why say 'Nala's Father' without giving us a real name? What is Young Rhino's real name? WHERE'S SIMBA'S PRIDE?! Again, I'm almost 100% sure that they know we want to hear about these. Even kids will start questioning things eventually, and parents can't answer.

I also hope that popularity will re-increase. The show has a lot of untapped potential, and I wish writers would explore that potential instead of looking for the cliches they did 20 years ago (seriously, some of these writers have been working longer than that, and I'm starting to recognize their episodes without needing to check the credits).

(On the subject of the Discord, I will be returning, it's just that work has been catching up to me lately.) Yeah there's not much point having timon and Pumbaa around since we know how they met etc and I do think one annoying comedy relief is enough. Unless they want Timon and pumbaa to teach Kiara Hakuna Matata which Kion already knows....