The Network Answer

Whinot:
Opening Themes...
Have you ever stopped to consider them as anything at all?

Colleague:
Hm no

Whinot:
In American dad its established that it happens every single day. Stan ALWAYS hits the flagpole each morning, Roger is scheduled to startle him, and he starts each morning by singing. Thats not just some opening sequence, its literally the beginning of the next day. Then theres others, like Rick and Morty, who’ve established theirs is a loop, played over top beyond the scope of the main characters. 6 years ago, disney started a new gag. Themesong takeovers.

Colleague:
Mhm.

Whinot:
different shows characters crossing over to take over a themesong. It made more sense in the Milo Murphy instance, that was just Doofenshmertz acting out the theme and failing. it makes far less sense for that squirrel overtaking the Kim Possible theme song.
Side note, very proud that a series that ended when I was a child is still being brought up to the audience.
But it always goes back to one concept. The Network.
I have no. Freaking idea. How to group it. How to explain it beyond 'coincidence'. But it CANT be coincidence. They cant just ONLY know about the other shows on their own network because they know MORE. And its strictly divided.
20 years ago, Nickelodean and Cartoon Network were 'rivals'. They took shots at one another. Till the final blow where Nickelodeans commercial break was 'hijacked' by cartoon network characters, openly explaining that they weren’t supposed to be there. Theres a divide between networks within the scope of the animated multiverse, but a lack of boundaries between universes dependent on how unrealistic they are. I wanna say it has something to do with the concept that the animated multiverse is an ever expanding list of 'what ifs' on the basis of thought and imagination. hypotheticals gain sentience.

Say, when I do this, barge in here, rambling like a lunatic, do you have any image in your head? Im picturing me barging into your house unnanounced, sleep deprived with a mug of coffee, ignoring your questions on why im in your home

Colleague:
That is ALWAYS what I imagine.

Context: This question lingered for quite some time, and other discussions were held after this response. It was multiple days of thought before I reopened the discussion to be continued.

Whinot:
What if… the anthology episodes are no different from “The Vegging”.
What if it’s the universe actively throwing plot lines at the main characters. Or maybe it’s a collective dump of unfinished plot lines to clear out the dictionary. The Meta-verse area they travel through when they meet the self referential six HAS to be the space between the universes inhabitants and the outer layer. Thats why everything is meta, it’s like stepping into the factory in charge of creating the everyday objects in your world. And that’s why it’s a hazard to the main characters health. It’s too meta.
This could explain away episodes of other shows, like in ‘Close Enough’ where Candice finds herself in the studio making the series.
But they’re all connected. It’s a secondary layer of animated Meta, still divided from OUR world. What if the outer layer BEYOND the dictionary, is the Meta Zone. A 4th dimensional layer BEYOND the 3 dimensional universes, but held WITHIN the 5th dimensional grid system of the outer Multiverse! But held within its boundaries, and meshed through its walls, like a multi layered hard drives file system, redirecting users to other parts of the files not on a straight pathway, dependent on not their location, but their significance to the search!
THATS how you explain Networks! It’s it’s OWN Network System! Shows closer together in style, pattern and flow, are connected by the Meta Zone, but can link to OTHERS through the 5th dimensional grid system of the outer Multiverse! A danger to the inhabitants, because it breaks things down to their primal forms! Like over-explaining a joke! If the entertainment dies, the CHARACTERS die, the SHOW dies!
Oh my God, thats the Network answer!

Colleague:
Toonish, its 3 in the morning.

Whinot:
TELL ME THAT ISN’T FREAKING COOL!

Colleague:
IT IS COOL, BUT YOU NEED TO SLEEP AND SO DO I!

Whinot:
NEVER!!!
If we were neighbors, you could bet your KIDNEYS that I would wake you up in the MIDDLE of the night, IN your bed, to explain a breakthrough like this! It simply CANNOT wait!

Colleague:
I BELIEVE YOU!