Category: Television

UPN gave its pilot project, MEET THE BREAKNECKS, from Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, the greenlight to series, renaming it GAME OVER. UPN entertainment president Dawn Ostroff ordered the series as a mid-season replacement for the net's first ever CGI series in prime time.

U.K.-based Glasshead Ltd. has been commissioned to produce a 13x13 animated series entitled, THE BLUE DRAGON, for 4Learning, Channel 4's education division. The series is geared toward 5-7 year olds with the goal of teaching them to look at the world in scientific ways. The series boasts voice talent such as Jane Horrocks (LITTLE VOICE & ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS) and Andrew Sachs (FAWLTY TOWERS). 4Learning plans to start airing the series in January 2004.

TBS has picked up reruns of FUTURAMA and THE FAMILY GUY. Starting Monday, July 7, 2003, the two shows will air weekdays at 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm, respectively. This move continues the crossover between Cartoon Network and its fellow AOL Turner channels, as well as TBSs pursuit of the young adult audience.

The Oscar-winning creators of the acclaimed animated TV series BOB AND MARGARET, Alison Snowden and David Fine, are set to produce their latest primetime animation series, SIMON SIMPLE, with Vancouver's award-winning Studio B Productions. The 26x22 series is in development for Canadian broadcaster TELETOON.

Montreal-based CinéGroupe Distribution, a division of CinéGroupe, has signed with HOLA Entertainment to sell its shows in Latin America and the Caribbean. Marie-Christine Dufour, evp of distribution, licensing and marketing for CinéGroupe said HOLA president Mercedes Alvarez "offers an unbeatable combination. She has extensive experience in television sales in Latin America, and, she is based in Montreal. She will be able to build on the relations CinéGroupe has acquired over the years, and solidify our position in this growing market." CinéGroupe (www.cinegroupe.com) is the animation partner of Lions Gate Entertainment.

Some of the shows Alvarez will handle include THE CHINESE SIAMESE CAT, (CinéGroupe/Sesame Workshop) and PIG CITY (CinéGroupe /AnimaKids). CinéGroupe has more than 800 half-hours of animation and live-action family programming. CinéGroupe is producing TRIPPING THE RIFT, a 3D animation series with Film Roman for primetime on the Sci Fi Channel (U.S.) and Space (Canada) plus P3K: PINOCCHIO 3000, a 3D animated feature with Animakids and Castelao.

Cyborg 009 will join Cartoon Network's "Toonami" line-up on Monday, June 30, 2003, airing weekdays at 6:00 pm. Combining elements of JAMES BOND movies and ASTRO BOY, CYBORG 009 follows the adventures of a world-class sprinter who, after being seriously injured, is kidnapped by the Black Ghost, a villain plotting to take over the world. The athlete is rescued by a kind-hearted professor, who turns him into the ninth series of cyborg warriors that were originally designed as "super soldiers" to help carry out the plot to conquer the world, but are now dedicated to stopping them.

Vancouver-based Bardel Entertainment seems to be doing exceptionally well with holiday programming. Bardel's big Leo Award-winning production, THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE, has recently been sold to SVT Sweden and is in final negotiations with TV2 Denmark and CBBC London. This family holiday classic has aired on ABC Family in the U.S., TELETOON in Canada, TV12 in Singapore, Asia TV in Hong Kong and Teletoon in France, charming audiences with its thoughtful message and unique 2D and Flash-animatied style.

THE ORLANDO JONES SHOW debuted June 16, 2003 at 11:00 pm on the FX cable network, featuring the popular former 7-Up TV spokesman and writer for MAD-TV, promising to offer an alternative to late night talk shows. This alternative show's slogan is "No white guy, no desk, no band." It does feature sketches, fake commercials and animated shorts in sort of a one-man MAD-TV or SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE meets DENNIS MILLER LIVE. Half-hour episodes will air Monday through Thursday with a rerun on Fridays.

Will fathers want to watch hours of cartoons or are Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon scheduling Father's Day programming marathons to keep the kids busy while dad relaxes in his easy chair? Nick plans to give dads their due on June 15, 2003 from 2-6:00 pm with a new special show of THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS titled "Make Room for Daddy-O." Jimmy invents a device that alters Hugh's personality, making him the coolest dad in Retroville.

THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY returns June 13, 2003 to Cartoon Network, as a full-fledged 30-minute series at 7:00 pm and replays at 10:00 pm. The toon net obviously isn't afraid of American superstitions about Friday the 13th, considered a bad luck day by many in the U.S. Then again, this macabre yet hilarious tale had good luck when it won The Big Pick in August 2000. The toon, created by Maxwell Atoms, beat out a number of different pilots to be selected by the viewers to become a 13-episode series, launched in October 2001.

Despite increasingly vocal opposition, the FCC approved changes in media ownership regulations on June 2, 2003 that are expected to lead to a new series of mergers as media companies seek to expand and enter into new combinations in local markets across the U.S. Changes the FCC made included raising the percentage of the nation's TV households one company can reach from 35% to 45%. It lifted a 28-year band on allowing newspaper and broadcast combinations in larger markets and is also allowing one company to own more radio stations locally. The vote split along party lines 3-2, with three Republication commissioners voting for the change and two Democrats objecting. The FCC did not touch the ban on mergers among the four major TV networks, but they do stand the most to gain from the vote. The FCC received more than 750,000 pieces of mail -- the most related to any one issue in the history of the FCC. Many critics claim that further consolidation will drown out minority viewpoints and destroy competition. Some say it will lead to more unemployment in the entertainment industry.