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Television

The 80’s… They Haunt Us!

On the heels of the announcement that ALF is going to be a movie, word has been making the rounds that Sony Pictures have green-lit a movie adaptation of the 1983 fantasy/crime drama TV series Manimal. In case you haven’t heard of that one: “Manimal followed Dr. Jonathan Chase, a wealthy doctor with a mysterious past, who morphed into animals in order to help the police fight crime”. Winner huh? Well apparently not: The show was cancelled after only 8 episodes aired on NBC. Guess that’s what happens when you go up against Dallas. Anyway, according to The Hollywood Reporter,Glen A. Larson, one of the most prolific TV producers of the ’80s (Magnum P.I., Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica), created the show and is attached as a producer on the feature.” The film is likely to be another combination of live action and CGI. Check out the rest of the article here to find out more.

image c. 2012 NBC

 

Dog with a Blog

Admit it: You’re gonna notice a title like that, yes? Dog with  a Blog is a new mid-season replacement sitcom series picked up  by the Disney Channel.  Here’s part of the press release: “In the premiere episode, Bennett [the dad] adopts a shelter dog in the hopes that it will inspire Tyler and Avery [the siblings] to get along and bond over taking care of him. That happens – to some extent – when the kids discover that their seemingly ordinary dog can talk.  From that moment on, Tyler and Avery agree on one thing: Stan’s ability to speak must be kept a secret from everyone, even their parents. As the kids learn to work together to keep Stan’s secret safe, they soon find that his canine point of view, whether in the home, in the yard or in the park, helps them navigate their new sibling situation and, ultimately, becomes the tie that binds the family.” The series comes to Disney Channel on Friday, October 12th. Starting on September 18th, regular posts from the talking and Internet-savvy dog himself will be available at SeeStanBlog.com.

image c. 2012 The Disney Channel

Ha! It Kills Us!

Word is out around Hollywood that 80’s favorite ALF will be coming to the big screen finally. In case you need a refresher: “ALF stands for Alien Life Form, and the ’80s sitcom centered on a friendly furry alien creature (a puppet) who crash landed on Earth and took up with the Tanners, a suburban family. ALF, whose name was later revealed as Gordon Shumway, is sarcastic and has an appetite for cats. He courts trouble with government forces that are on his tail.” According to the article in Hollywood Reporter (and elsewhere), Jordan Kerner — who produced last year’s hit movie The Smurfs — was pegged by Sony Pictures to produce the new picture. Again, it will be a live-action feature film with ALF himself as a CGI character. Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco, creators of the original TV series,  will be involved as co-producers. Paul Fusco was also ALF’s main puppeteer and voice actor, and he’s expected to be the character voice for the new film as well. So far there’s no word as to a main script writer, a director, or a planned release date… but watch your cats just in case.

image c. 2012 Alien Productions

A Different Kind of Monster Battle

If you haven’t seen it so far, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters is the latest “re-imagining” of a classic product line to premier on The Hub network — in this case back in June. Kaijudo is a new version of the Duel Masters series by Wizards of the Coast (which, like The Hub, is a division of Hasbro Toys). This time around, the creators of this new show (specifically Andrew Robinson and Henry Gilroy from The Hub) wanted to have a different take on the “young kids and their fighting pet monsters” genre. The creatures of Kaijudo come to Earth from another dimension, and they can’t just be called up or sent back by the flip of a card. What’s more, our hero — a young boy named Ray, voiced by Scott Wolf) — has a special power of empathy with the monsters, and so he is very connected when they are hurt or made to suffer.  According to the creators, they wanted a show where the heroes, the villains, and even the companion monsters show much more personality than shows like these have seen in the past.  Have they succeeded? Find out for yourself. New episodes of Kaijudo currently air on The Hub on Saturdays at 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific. Check out the official Kaijudo web page from The Hub as well.

image c. 2012 by The Hub

This Year’s Winning Frog

The July issue of Animation Magazine featured the 2012 Pitch Party, which has become an annual event.  The idea is simple: Entrants purchase a 1/16th-page ad in the magazine, and submit a one-panel “pitch” for a new animated TV series or feature. A panel of animation industry experts, the staff of Animation Magazine, and on-line readers each get a chance to pick their favorites.  Those industry folk this year included names from Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, PBS, and the Hub among others. And the top pick from both those bigwigs and the Animation staff was Jimmy Legs: The Down and Out Frog, created by Daniel Contois — the story of a cartoon frog living in America following a nuclear apocalypse. Oh what fun! And you can see the development of it at Dan’s web site.  But there were plenty of other entries of possible interest to furry fans, including Detective Cats (web site), Little Monsters (web site), Road Kill Heroes (web site), Swamp Stalkers (web site), Mad Cow (web site), Samurai Chinchilla (web site), and Bad Penguin (web site). And of course check out Animation’s web site to find out more about this year’s Pitch Party, and next year’s too.

image c. 2012 by Daniel Contois

 

Dragons on TV

After a few years and much talk, Dreamworks Animation are ready to premier their new TV series Dragons: Riders of Berk.  Re-named from the more simple Dragons, this new series brings us further adventures of the young viking Hiccup, his dragon friend Toothless, and other characters from the Ursa Major Award-winning feature film How to Train Your Dragon. Jay Baruchel (as Hiccup), America Ferrera (as Astrid), and several other voice actors from the feature film reprise their roles for this new TV series. Unlike previous Dreamworks series like The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, this new Dragons series will be shown on Cartoon Network instead of Nickelodeon. A special preview episode will air on Cartoon Network starting Tuesday, August 7th. Check out their Wikipedia entry too.

image c. 2012 Dreamworks Animation

Friendship is Magic on the Printed Page

Back from San Diego Comic Con with sore feet and lots of stuff to tell you about!

First up: Among the many things at SDCC dedicated to My Little Pony — Friendship is Magic was the news that IDW Publishing will release a brand-new full-color MLP-FIM comic book series, starting up in November. The lead artist for the series is Andy Price, who since the announcement of the comic has been answering a flood of questions over on his Deviant Art page. According to him (and IDW, whom your trusty ed-otter spoke to at the con), the series will feature brand-new in-canon stories of the inhabitants of Equestria, not adaptations of the existing TV episodes. Various artists have been commissioned to create the covers for each issue. Mr. Price made it a point to note that his art for the series will be all hand-drawn and hand-colored. Check out his site or the IDW site for more news on a release date for the first issue.

image c. 2012 IDW Publishing

He’s Here to Rock Your Pizza!

It’s an all-new rodent! CEC Entertainment Inc, owners of the Chuck E. Cheese line of pizza restaurant/arcades, have announced a total make-over for the company’s mascot.  Gone is the portly circus ringleader (and gone, at least in TV commercials, is Chuck E’s voice of 20 years, Duncan Brannan). In his place is a new slimmed-down Chuck E. in a t-shirt and jeans, sporting a Gibson Les Paul Guitar! The new Chuck E is voiced in ads by Jaret Reddick, lead singer for the pop-punk band Bowling for Soup (well-known for their song “1985”).  ScreenMag.com has the first ad from the new campaign up on their web site. Trivia bit for you: Did you know that Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza restaurant chain was founded by Nolan Bushnell — who also founded Atari?

image c. 2012 CEC Entertainment

New Turtles This Fall!

Our friends at Cartoon Brew have a link to the first trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, premiering this fall on Nickelodeon. This new CGI series (similar to the TMNT feature from 2007) features the voices of Jason Biggs (American Pie) as Leonardo, Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) as Raphael, Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs) as Donatello, and Greg Cipes (Teen Titans) as Michelangelo. “Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles chronicles the adventures of the teenage turtle brothers as they emerge from their hidden lair in the sewers for the very first time. Ready to confront the wondrous and hostile world of New York City, they face enemies more dangerous and pizza more delicious than anything they could have ever imagined.” The trailer premiered on Nickelodeon last Saturday.

image c. 2012 Nickelodeon