MTV goes “Downtown.” at NATPE

MTV brings five different animated shows to NATPE including their newest entry, “MTV Downtown,” a look at the lives of a group of diverse, multi-ethnic characters who live, work and play in the East Village of New York City. The cast centers on a pair of siblings who are polar opposites: older brother Alex is introverted and thoughtful, while teenage Chaka is wild and impulsive. Thirteen half-hour episodes of the show are being offered. Also available for the first time at NATPE are thirteen or twenty-two half-hour episodes of the outrageous clay animated, “Celebrity Deathmatch,” and four half-hour episodes or fifty individual pieces from “Cartoon Sushi Shorts,” an assortment of fresh and funny animated films from around the world. “Daria,” going into her third season in spring ‘99 will have thirty-nine half-hours and the perennial “Beavis & Butt-head” present ninety half-hours, plus the hour-long “Beavis & Butt-head Christmas Special” with parodies of “It's A Wonderful Life” (“It's A Miserable Life”) and “A Christmas Carol” (“Huh Huh Humbug”).