Category: Television

Bender will be back next year for more adventures on FUTURAMA. The animated

series from producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen has been picked up

for the 2000-01 season by Fox. A decision has not been made yet on whether

the number of episodes ordered will be 13, 22 or some number in-between.

On December 2, 1999, USA Networks' Live Telecast of IMPROV-ICE, debuted

graphics done by Pinnacle Systems' Rocket for FXDeko. Rocket for FXDeko is

a template-based tool that allows the generation of real-time 3D elements

which can be automatically updated by live data streams. Rocket integrates

with Pinnacle's award-winning FXDeko character generators and adds further

dimension to live broadcasts including textured, reflective and transparent

Nick Jr. and Teletoon have asked Nelvana Limited to start production on

MAGGIE AND THE FEROCIOUS BEAST, based on the mother and son team of

Betty and Michael Parakevas' storybooks. The adventures of 5-year-old

Maggie in Nowhere Land will hit Nick Jr. in Summer 2000 and Teletoon

next fall.

In a move much like a parent buying their child a toy and then receiving

money from their kids allowance for it, Warner Bros. Features has sold

THE IRON GIANT to Cartoon Network and TNT. Cartoon Network couldn't

handle the license fee of US$3 million, so sister Turner channel, TNT,

came in to help out on a six-month pre-Cartoon Network window. TNT will

get six runs of the critically acclaimed box-office disappointment

within that six month time period. Both networks plan to promote the

The Nickelodeon toon THE WILD THORNBERRYS will be coming to a town near

you beginning February 14, 2000. Starting at Toy Fair in New York City,

the Commvee recreational vehicle from the series is making its real

world debut. After Toy Fair, the Commvee will make appearances at Nick's

"All That Music and More" tour venues, "The Big Help" events, and

various "Lucky 10" markets across the U.S. So when picking up wild

berries at the local Lucky 10 don't miss out on meeting the wild

ZDTV, a 24-hour cable television channel about computing, technology and the Internet, will have Atari founder Nolan Bushnell on BIG THINKERS. Hosted by Mark Eddo, BIG THINKERS features in-depth discussions with the most visionary and influential men and women working in the high-tech industry today. The episode with Bushnell, the creator of PONG, will air January 5, 2000 at 10:30 pm. These interviews, plus additional footage not shown on air, will be available in streaming video on the show's companion Web site.

DARIA fans can start gearing up for a telefilm full of fun-filled teenaged

angst. IS IT FALL YET? will be based off the DARIA series and is slated to

hit MTV in the fall. Karen Disher and Guy Moore will direct, and Glenn

Eichler and Peggy Nicoll will script.

Recently, Europe has gotten a good old dose of American capitalism,

Japanese style. POKEMON has infested the European television market. The

children's mega-hit first debuted in the UK on Sky 1 in April and quickly

became the channel's #1 kids show. In October, the ITV Network and GMTV

secured UK terrestrial broadcast rights to the show. A month prior to the

ITV and GMTV deal, POKEMON started airing on Germany's RTL2, The

Netherlands' Fox Kids, Belgium's VT4 and RTL, Portugal's SIC and France's

Cult comic and TV franchise THE TICK is getting a new lease on life.Producers Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson (FANTASY ISLAND, MAXIMUMBOB), via their deal at Columbia TriStar Television, will bring alive-action, primetime half-hour version of the clueless hero's show to FoxBroadcasting. The series is scheduled for fall 2000.

Read more about THE TICK from creator Ben Edlund in the Animation WorldMagazine article "Tick Fever Endures" by Deborah Reber.

The Disney Channel and Toon Disney gear up for the holiday season with a newmillennium celebration. The Disney Channel will feature holiday episodesfrom Playhouse Disney series BEAR IN THE BIG HOUSE, ROLIE POLIE OLIE, andPB&J OTTER. To highlight FANTASIA/2000's January 1st opening in IMAXtheatres around the country, MOVIE SURFER'S will go inside the new film.Toon Disney, the 24-hour all-animation network, will present variousholiday-themed features as well as the television premiere of the Annie

We have more information to add to the Pokemon insanity. Last weekend whenPOKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE debuted in theatres, the TV series POKEMON stoleenough kids away for the local movie house to finish #1 and #2 for both weekdays andSaturday morning. The weekday 7am POKEMON averaged a Kids WB! record 4.8rating, 32 share, in kids 2-11, and surprisingly beat all other weekday kids series,morning and afternoon,except for its chief competitor the WB's 4pm. POKEMON.