The Failure of Pirates of Dark Water: Expensive & Unfinished
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Back in the early 90’s there was an animated show that bounced around TV called Pirates of Dark Water. Ambitious in its execution and cost, it attempted to tell a continuous story.
But Pirates of Dark Water, like so many shows, just never caught on and didn’t generate numbers enough to warrant the cost.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pirates_of_Dark_Water
https://cartoonnetwork.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pirates_of_Dark_Water
https://davidleesummers.wordpress.com/2023/09/30/the-pirates-of-dark-water/
https://collider.com/pirates-of-dark-water-reboot-when/
https://piratesofdarkwater.net/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna-Barbera
https://alexslibrary.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/pirates-of-dark-water-a-missing-link/
https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=3936&figures=piratesofdarkwater
https://www.newspapers.com/image/724280260
https://www.newspapers.com/image/949506778
https://www.newspapers.com/image/923060621
https://www.newspapers.com/image/389630364
https://www.newspapers.com/image/940879275
https://www.newspapers.com/image/886539859
https://www.newspapers.com/image/922156119
https://www.newspapers.com/image/573645506
https://www.newspapers.com/image/129389856
https://www.newspapers.com/image/994359022
https://www.newspapers.com/image/937834089
https://www.newspapers.com/image/790364059
https://www.newspapers.com/image/637054479
https://www.newspapers.com/image/890454143
We have previously covered “The Pirates of Dark Water” back in 2018 but wanted to update it and give the story more time and the research that we think it deserved.
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@SecretGalaxyTV
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
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@codytaylor-g2p
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I Made A Review on This Show.
@nixie_of_the_blade
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Ah yes, replaced by SWAT Kats, another badass show they killed off before its time…
@ricardodiazcollado813
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I remember this show as being my favorite when I was around 4 or 5 years old!
@ragnarlothbrook4652
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
With AI literally anyone with licensing could bring this gem back.
@ragnarlothbrook4652
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I LOVED this show when I was a kid.
@rosslytle5700
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
@Netflix @Oprah @Somebody PLEASE!!!
buy the rights to this IP and give it to Studio Trigger!
(Or if they're too busy with Cyberpunk, give it to Mappa!)
@TomReiner-j2d
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
It did pretty good subsisting on click bait is a fail
@Rick-y9q
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
There was no failure they did the same thing to pirates the dark water that they did the thunder or the barbarian it was a choice based on money
@CartoonKingCollectibles
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
This show needs a reboot, or redo or a movie or TV series. So good
@ponyote
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
New sub, just because you covered one of my beloved childhood memories well. Without having already checked, I hope you've covered Silver Hawks and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. (I'll find out soon, I guess.) Thanks for a lovely, professional presentation.
@nerobruno
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Studio killed art. 🔪
The business people ruined it. The story and world were great and STILL have potential. Somehow I feel that Dark Water inspired One Piece.
@ShowtimeDr
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
When I was a kid in Southern California, they showed the first 4 episodes of this, then showed the same 4 again, and again. Then it was gone. I really wanted to see what would happen.
@JSchroederee
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Reminds me of the Family Guy joke where peter lists all the failed shows between when Family guy was canceled and brought back
@artemismoon7655
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I loved Pirates of Darkwater. It was their loss for not trying to market more to girls because it had so much potential for a female audience like myself.
I think it was also a mistake to try to obscure the continuity, I remember that bugging me a lot. I later discovered anime and I was like WOW. It has a storyline! With a goal! And it ENDS!
@XiaoFury
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I liked this show, dang it. I wanted more of it!
@gemmeldrakes2758
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
This is one of the great lost opportunities of the 1990's I think. A well written well-produced show for children, which managed to do both action/adventure and deeper themes.
@scottthomas4973
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
someone has to make a live action series just to bring the characters to life and most importantly to finish the story that was stolen from thousands of kids during the 90s
@DarkOverlord96
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
They should pull a Samurai Jack and bring the show back on Adult Swim as a 9 episode miniseries.
@witaswonders2547
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I loved this as a kid! I just always remembered it as Dark Water
@gregjames5439
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I loved it but i think it always came on at weird times of the day
@markcolgan3262
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Could they not completely with AI?
@MrXHCx
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
The needle drop around 1:10 was legit the best part of my day.
@wittyfish6633
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
it didn't help the series that every time the show came up it was at a different time slot…. (charging my little kid battaries).
@ryangunwitch-black
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Even as a kid (a big kid, at that) I was stoked the “comedy relief monkey-bird wasn’t annoying. Not like Orko or any other cartoon creature sidekick. I liked how big homie always got mad at him and said bad Mer words though. Hilarious.
@ryangunwitch-black
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
They should not reboot but simply pick up from where it left off. With the same kind of cell-shaded animation and all.
@muticere
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
The fact that I only ever saw it in reruns on early Cartoon Network sort of says it all. For me as a kid it was a cool show I found with a mysterious lack of resolution. It wasn't until later that I figured out that there would be nothing else, that those reruns were all that existed. On some level I get it, it was a darker show with actual on screen death scenes. Still, doesn't make it any less of a bummer no attempt even now seems to exist to do some kind of revival.
@000MidnightSun
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
This show sucked. Hanna Barbera was just shoveling garbage all over the place.
@kristophert932
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
absolutely loved this show. i had all the action figures. so crushed when it was cancelled
@radiantheatmanifold1503
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I just finished this on Tubi TV. A shame they never finished it.
@WoodworkingforAnyone
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Wren looks like an old rich woman that has had work done
@WoodworkingforAnyone
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Even as a kid this animation looked like crap and the voice work was garbage.
@mickietoweringhouse
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I had no interest in this cartoon as a kid. Swat Cats wasn’t much different either.
@russelllemieux
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Dammit Dan we need ure top 10 fivires …
@Dick-r3t
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
The loss of this show is a tragedy. Of all the stupid things to catch a remake/reboot…. Someone should get fired for overlooking this gem
@johnwarren892
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I was mad when it disappeared, and never knew what happened.
@jackfrank932
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
I had a VHS of at least a few episodes, in my memory it was always a slippery mix of a movie and a TV show. Kind of surprised to be looking into it now and finding it was an unfinished show. I just watched Ferngully and now so much of my childhood is flooding back. Next stop, biker mice from mars.
@Thisdudeduc
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
Love this damn show but SwatKatts was mind blowing as a kid
@attackofthecopyrightbots
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
8:00 this 100% is what killed it
I really liked the first couple episodes but after that they got really silly it felt like two different shows
@davidtapos7797
September 18, 2026 at 1:52 am
💯
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