Television

Film Roman Begins Production On The Oblongs. North Hollywood, California-based Film Roman began production on The Oblongs, a television series that will be distributed by Warner Bros. Television on The WB Network for the 2000 season. The Oblongs is the second animated prime-time series, after Howard Stern's Doomsday for UPN, that Film Roman has added for the 2000 television season. The Oblongs, based on characters who appear in Angus Oblong's book, Creepy Susie And Thirteen Other Tragic Tales For Troubled Children, are a twisted family with a variety of physical and emotional abnormalities caused by the toxic conditions which abound in the industrial valley they call home. Oblong describes his stories as "a modern, morbid, politically incorrect version of the classic Dick and Jane books of my childhood." The series follows the daily lives of these peculiar "valley" people as they try to fit in with the pretentious, beautiful and affluent people who live in the hills above them. "The show is about being pathetic and trying to fit in, and I think everyone can relate to that," said Oblong. The prime-time series will be executive produced by Jace Richdale (The Simpsons), Bruce Helford and Deborah Oppenheimer (The Drew Carey Show, Norm). Angus Oblong will serve as the series' supervising producer for the show. Mike Kim (Mission Hill, Dilbert) will serve as supervising director.

Unfortunately, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot had a short life on Fox Kids.
© 2000 Fox Kids.

TV Tidbits. Fox has removed Saban Entertainment's Spider-Man Unlimited, the futuristic Spider-Man series, and Columbia/TriStar Television's Big Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot, which was based on the Frank Miller/Geoff Darrow comic book about a little Astro Boy-like robot and his Gigantor-like pal, from the Fox Kids line-up. Both series debuted in September. They have been replaced by Saban Entertainment's The Avengers, and additional time slots for BKN (Bohbot Kids Network)'s Monster Rancher and Toei Animation Co.'s Digimon: Digital Monsters.