they should have sprung for nelvana

for real, would have actually went somewhere

The most likely reason that DiC got the series is that they were available and Nelvana weren't.

On Bluesky my media archives contain an article from "Variety" that clearly states that DiC were already at work on the property before the pilot aired. (Search for "Thumpsquid".)
The most likely reason for the differences between the T.V. special and the rest would. be that Nelvana would have worked in-house, so any problems that arose would have been put right very quickly. DiC farmed out their animation to a studio in Taiwan so by the time they got the footage back, there would have been little they could have done to remedy any defects that were present.

That's interesting, One thing I still find strange regarding the outsourcing is how much of an outlier Tgag is in terms of quality to the others around the time. I know DiC isn't really known as the seal of quality but it's a shame they got the short end of the stick in that regard. Also unless this info is inaccurate I read that the show was first outsourced in Japan and moved to Taiwan half way. Which if so that's strange too given how most of the things that came from japan looked so much better. I kinda wish there was a documentary or something that went in depth with these old shows and their production hurdles.