Um, don't forget that that budget per episode pays for everything in it -- including printing costs, editing, narration fees, equipment leasing, licensing fees, etc. etc. I'd love to see the show, but don't have cable, lol. However, I'm willing to bet they are getting the most bang for their buck they can. Maya might be the best tool for creating them, but that creating takes time, and that time takes money. Given what they are doing and wha thtey have time to work with, I sorta think we should all be saying holy cow. (and, to be honest, they are saying wow, lookit what we did without awesome funding. Now, of course, they want more money....:))

thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)