Kids' WB! has ordered 13 episodes of MAX STEEL, a new 3D CGI animated action-adventure half-hour series from Sony
Pictures Family Entertainment (SPFE) which is set to debut in January 2000.
Set in the fictitious suburban city of Del Oro Bay, it centers around Max
Steel, a young international secret agent who was the product of a
bio-technical accident which infused him with nano-technology giving him
bionic abilities. The teenage hi-tech hero is dedicated to protecting the
Earth by fighting the most dangerous and sinister mercenary organization,

United Kingdom's ITV Network Centre has commissioned a second series of 13
episodes of the animated series THE STORYKEEPERS from Dublin, Ireland-based
Monster Productions, an animation studio and distribution company formed in
1995 by former management and artists from the Don Bluth studios. The new
series, produced by Shepherd Films, and distributed by Monster Distributes,
will be delivered in Spring 2001 for broadcast on Sunday mornings. The new
series, which is a prequel to the existing series, is set in AD 8, and

Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of Comedy Central's SOUTH PARK, have received permission to
sample copyrighted Monty Python work for use in IT'S THE MONTY PYTHON
STORY. The animated special will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the BBC
comedy series MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS, which was created by Graham
Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry
Gilliam (the lone American in the group, who did the animation). The
special will include a spoof of the famous "Dead Parrot Sketch" entitled

Whoever wants to know how the cliffhanger ending of the October 15, 1999 episode of SPACE GHOST:
COAST TO COAST is resolved will have to win the auction that the Cartoon
Network is holding Friday, October 15 to Monday, October 18. Cartoon
Network is auctioning off the last page of that episode's script, which
will not be part of the broadcast episode, to benefit Clowns Without
Borders. The auction will be held at www.ebay.com. At the end of Friday's
episode, which guest stars comedian Steve Wright, Space Ghost and cast find

NIGHT OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN, an hour-long animated special, will air on
Fox on Thursday, October 28, at 8 pm. Featuring the voices of Luke Perry
(BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), William H. Macy (FARGO), and Tia Carrere
(WAYNE'S WORLD), the special was produced by Dallas, Texas-based Computed
Animation Technology (CAT) and Wimberley, Texas-based Locomotion Studios
using performance (motion-capture) 3D animation. It was written by John
Shirley (THE CROW). The special, like the upcoming Tim Burton film, SLEEPY

HESTON, animation director J.J. Sedelmaier's final TV FUNHOUSE segment for
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, aired Saturday, October 2 on the comedy show's season
premier, which was hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Sedelmaier's final
vignette, which concludes his three-year collaboration with writer Robert
Smigel, lampooned the NRA's pro-gun position by using real audio of NRA
president, actor Charlton Heston, addressing Congress combined with
dialogue from his PLANET OF THE APES movies and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, in

Paris, France-based Salsa Distribution has acquired the Latin American
television distribution rights to the half-hour television special GOGWANA.
Produced by London-based AARGH! Animation Ltd. for S4C, and directed by
Deiniol Morris, GOGWANA is based on THE GOGS, the Stone Age family depicted
in the claymation television series. In the special, after an earthquake
destroys the Gogs' cave, the family goes in search of a new home, and,
along the way, encounters pygmies, dinosaur air-balloons, and pygmy-piloted

Sony Pictures Family Entertainment's ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPERS has
fallen behind schedule. Although the show is currently in syndication by
BKN (Bohbot Kids Network), only nine out of forty episodes have been
completed and several episodes have already been repeated with many more
repeats expected. Burbank, California-based Flat Earth Productions opted
out of its fifteen episode production contract after completing only three
episodes because they felt the schedule with the budget was overly

Bill Plympton's second animated feature film, I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON,
will have its television premiere on the cable television network Cinemax
on October 22, 1999 at 8 pm. The film is about a husband who discovers his
thoughts become reality. It premiered at the Toronto International Film
Festival in September 1997, and was featured in Dramatic Competition at the
1998 Sundance Film Festival. The film was named Best Theatrical Film at the
World Animation Celebration in February 1998, and was awarded the Grand

Montreal, Canada-based Motion International has started production on
MARSUPILAMI, a 26 episode, half-hour animated television series based on a
comic strip by Belgium artist Andrè Franquin. French producer Marathon is
co-producing, and the series will be aired by Tele-Quebec, as well as
other, as yet undetermined, international broadcasters. Marsupilami is a
funny animal-type character with yellow fur, black spots and many talents.
He first appeared in 1952 in SPIROU MAGAZINE, a Belgian comic book. A