Television

Film Roman Is Stuck In The Middle With Sí TV. Film Roman has joined Los Angeles-based Latino production company Sí TV to produce a half-hour, English language animated pilot entitled Stuck In The Middle which is intended for prime time. Written and co-created by Sí TV co-chairman Jeff Valdez, the pilot will feature the vocal talent of co-creator and executive producer Cheech Marin (comedy team Cheech & Chong; Nash Bridges), who also serves on the advisory board of Sí TV. Stuck In The Middle is about a twelve-year old whose home life in The Barrio contrasts with his schooling in The Bucks, a nearby wealthy enclave. Expected to make the transition from production company to cable network in 2000, Sí TV will offer a 24-hour schedule of primarily original programming, including first-run episodes of the company's programs Cafe Olé With Giselle Fernandez and Funny Is Funny!, as well as classic TV shows, talk-format strips, sporting events and award-winning projects by Latino filmmakers.

Celebrity Deathmatch's Second Season Began July 1. The second season of the clay-animated MTV, Eric Fogel-created series Celebrity Deathmatch, which pits celebrities against each other in the boxing ring, began on July 1 with an All-American Fourth of July show. The episode included the following bouts: Abraham Lincoln vs. George Washington; President Clinton vs. Independent Council Ken Starr; and James Van Der Beek vs. Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Celebrity Deathmatch airs weekly on MTV in the US on Thursdays at 10 pm (ET/PT).

The PJs.
© Fox Broadcasting Company.

Murphy Returns To PJs. Eddie Murphy has rejoined the voice cast of Fox's Will Vinton Studios-produced comedy, The PJs, after angrily walking out on the show when Fox decided to hold it back for midseason rather than giving it a slot on the fall schedule. Murphy, a co-creator of The PJs who has provided the voice of lead character ThurgoodStubbs, had already recorded eight of next season's 22 episodes before he walked. Producer Imagine TV used Murphy sound-alike Phil Morris for two episodes, but it's undetermined whether Murphy will re-record these two due to the cost of such a re-do. Now that the voicing problem is resolved, Imagine TV brass are said to have warmed up to the idea of holding off on The PJs ' second season bow, but sources close to the situation say Fox network executives are at fault for failing to give Murphy much advance notice of the scheduling decision and its rationale.

Dragon Tales Is Coming To PBS. Dragon Tales, a co-production of Columbia-TriStar Television Group and Children's Television Workshop, will debut on PBS in January 2000. The series of 40 half-hour episodes is about the adventures of six year old Emmy and her four year old brother, Max, who discover a magic dragon scale in their playroom, and are transported to Dragon Land where dragons and children help each other to overcome obstacles and face fears. Each half hour is divided into two twelve minute adventures, and linked by Dragon Tunes, a short music video designed to encourage audience participation.

Dinotopia Is Coming To ABC. The ABC network, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., has ordered a six-hour miniseries based on the first two installments of James Gurney's fantasy book series, Dinotopia which is about a world in which humans and highly-evolved dinosaurs live together in harmony. With the exception of Stephen King projects The Shining and Storm Of The Century, Dinotopia marks ABC's biggest miniseries time commitment since 1988's 30-hour War And Remembrance which starred Robert Mitchum. Some sources estimate the cost at $50 million, but ABC will not comment on the budget. The project will depend on a mix of computer-generated effects and animatronics to bring life to the multiple breeds of dinosaurs featured in Gurney's books. Shooting is expected to take place in Australia, New Zealand, and Mongolia's Gobi desert. Hallmark has purchased exclusive TV, motion picture, theatrical and home video rights to the Dinotopia series. Sony Imageworks had previously held the rights to the franchise. The first two installments of the book series have already sold over two million copies in 30 countries. HarperCollins will publish the third book in the series in October. Recently, the books had been involved in controversy because of several similarities between them and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, although formal charges have not been made. Lucasfilm did do some development work for an earlier, unrealized Dinotopia film.

Cartoon Network Offers Shorties. "Shorties" is a series of two-minute animated shorts that re-interpret some of Hanna-Barbera's lesser known, but fondly-remembered characters such as Atom Ant, Jabberjaw, and Wally Gator. The shorts began to air in June throughout the day on Cartoon Network during breaks from regularly scheduled programming. They feature original plots and different animation techniques for each short, and aim to update these characters with an ironic, post-modern twist. Techniques include cel animation, cut-outs, stop-motion, and mixed media. The idea for "Shorties" came from Cartoon Network Creative Director Michael Ouweleen. The first batch of "Shorties" includes: three produced at Curious Pictures, Thanks A Latte (Droopy Dog) directed by Mike Bade and designed by underground comics artist, Kaz, Sound Hound (Huckleberry Hound) directed by Nick Hewitt, and Harasscat (Pixie & Dixie) directed by Michael Ouweleen; Atom Ant directed by Jonas Odell at Film Tecknarna; When Animals Nap (Yogi Bear) directed by Michael Ouweleen at Red Rover; Miss Understanding (The Hillbilly Bears) directed by Colleen O'Hare at Olive Jar; Alligator Liberation (Wally Gator) directed by Bee Murphy at Film Tecknarna; and Let's Do Lunch (Jabberjaw) directed by Casper Kelly at Film Tecknarna.

Silver Fox To Produce Angelmouse. Children's BBC has commissioned newly formed London-based Silver Fox Films to produce Angelmouse, a 26-part series for the BBC. The series is about a little mouse who has been sent down from heaven to help out. He's not very good at his job, however, and whenever a good deed backfires, as often happens, his halo dims or disappears. Graham Ralph is directing the series which is slated to debut later this year. Graham Ralph recently formed Sliver Fox after relinquishing his stake in London-based Hibbert Ralph Animation where he was a partner with Jerry Hibbert.

New Tales from the Cryptkeeper.
© Nelvana Ltd. and CBS.

Mythic Warriors.
© Nelvana Ltd. and CBS.

CBS Announces Saturday Morning Schedule. The CBS Television Network's 1999-2000 Saturday Morning schedule, which begins on October 2, includes three returning shows and three new ones, all produced by Toronto-based Nelvana. The new series are Rescue Heroes, Blaster's Universe, and New Tales From The Crypt. Rescues Heroes is about a team of international emergency response professionals, and is designed to introduce young viewers to preparedness and safety techniques. Blaster's Universe is based on a series of CD-ROMs from Knowledge Adventure. Set in the early 21st century, the series is about Max Blaster, a 12-year old boy who is obsessed with science and space, and his 12-year old alien friend, who looks like a typical human girl. Together they work to save the universe using logic and creativity. New Tales From The Cryptkeeper is a new anthology series hosted by the ghoulish Cryptkeeper whose tales are designed to teach the value of honesty, hard work, responsibility, and other moral values. The returning shows are Anatole, Flying Rhino Junior High, and Mythic Warriors. Anatole follows a Parisian mouse couple and their six kids; Flying Rhino Junior High is about a group of kids who use creative thinking to beat a class bully; and Mythic Warriors revolves around mythological heroes who learn moral values while battling monsters.

The complete schedule follows:

7:00-7:30 am Anatole
7:30-8:00 am Blaster's Universe
8:00-8:30 am Rescue Heroes
8:30-9:00 am Flying Rhino Junior High
9:00-11:00 am CBS News Saturday Morning
11:00-11:30 am New Tales From The Cryptkeeper
11:30-Noon Mythic Warriors: Guardians Of The Legend

BKN Acquires Monster Rancher. BKN (Bohbot Kids Network) Bulldog Network, a programming block which debuts in the US on August 29, 1999, has acquired the programming and licensing rights for many worldwide territories for Monster Rancher. The show will debut as a lead entry on BKN as a daily Monday - Friday half-hour series. Monster Rancher was originally developed in Japan as a Sony PlayStation video game by Tecmo, and the series is currently in production at TMS, Japan's largest animation house. The series is about an 11 year old boy who wins a Monster Rancher CD-ROM that transports him to the Monster Rancher realm where a monster named Moo plans to conquer the world by making all monsters evil. BKN is also distributing Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths & Legends.

Turner Plans Another Toon Network. In 1992, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS) first launched its 24 hour all-cartoon cable service, Cartoon Network. Next spring, Turner will launch a second all-toon service, Boomerang. When Cartoon Network debuted seven years ago, it could have been called the Hanna-Barbera Network because its programming consisted almost exclusively of the classic Hanna-Barbera library, which was also owned by Turner. But recently new shows such as The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory, produced by Cartoon Network itself, and since the Time-Warner/Turner merger, other, newer Warner Bros. shows, have forced most of the classic series off the air. The new network is being created to rectify this situation, and provide an exclusive home for the series and characters that baby boomers grew up with, hence the name Boomerang. Besides Hanna-Barbera stalwarts such as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and The Flintstones, Boomerang will also showcase the Warner Bros. stars such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. The network will premiere April 1, 2000.

Cartoon Network Announces Fall Highlights. Cartoon Network, the 24 hour all-cartoon cable service, has announced several highlights on its fall schedule. These include: a Tiny Toon Marathon on Sunday, September 19, 12-8 pm; the premiere of new series Mike, Lu & Og, created by Chuck Swenson, Mikhail Aldashin, and Mikhail Shindel, on November 12; the premiere of new series Courage, The Cowardly Dog, created by John R. Dilworth, on November 12; the television premiere of the feature-length Scooby-Doo And The Witch's Ghost on November 27 at 8 pm. (The film will also be available on VHS beginning October 5, 1999); a one hour special of Dexter's Laboratory on December 10 at 7 pm and January 1, 2000 at 12 am; a 48-hour marathon of Looney Tunes, Mil-Looney-Um, on December 18-19; and a Jetsons Millenium Celebration December 30, 10 am-December 31, midnight. Also, a new season of Space Ghost Coast To Coast will premiere in October.

Read more about Space Ghost in "Late Night with Space Ghost" by Heather Kenyon in the July 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine.

MTV Sets Premiere For Downtown. MTV: Music Television will premiere its newest animated series, MTV Downtown, which was created by New York-based School of Visual Arts alumnus Chris Prynoski, on Tuesday, August 3, 1999 at 10:30 pm ET/PT, 9:30 pm CT. The 13-episode series will air regularly on Tuesday nights. MTV Downtown focuses on the shy and thoughtful Alex, and his wild and crazy sister, Chaka. Many of the characters and situations are based on interviews with people around Manhattan.

Phred on Your Head. Courtesy of Data Motion Arts.

DMA, Possible Worlds, and MTV Animation Put Phred On Your Head. Nickelodeon's Phred On Your Head is a show in which Phred, an original animated character who appears on the forehead of a different real kid every day, and the kid whose forehead Phred appears on, introduce an irreverent collection of classic segments from such educational shows as Sesame Street and The Electric Company, in addition to new material that is educational and entertaining. Working from sketches provided by New York-based Data Motion Arts (DMA), Possible Worlds and MTV Animation created Phred using Possible Worlds' system that makes real-time cel animation possible. Phred On Your Head debuted on Nickelodeon on June 6 at 12 pm, and will appear on Nickelodeon's new network, Noggin, on Monday, July 26. The show will air twice daily, 5-7 pm and 8-10 pm ET. Noggin is an educational TV channel and website, developed as a joint venture of Nickelodeon and Children's Television Workshop.

Film Roman Gives Teens A Victor. Film Roman is producing three shows aimed at teens. Two of the shows, Mission Extreme, about extreme sports athletes who are also undercover detectives, and Sirens Of The Deep, about mermaids living secretly as humans, will be live-action, but the third, VICTOR, is animated. Victor, created by The Simpsons director and animator Wes Archer, is about a boy who believes he can talk to aliens. The shows will be syndicated as a block under the Max Degree TV banner and are set for a fall 2000 debut. Stations that will carry the block are still under negotiation.