Category: Television

Film Roman has joined Los Angeles-based Latino production company Sí TV toproduce a half-hour, English language animated pilot entitled STUCK IN THEMIDDLE which is intended for prime time. Written and co-created by Sí TVco-chairman Jeff Valdez, the pilot will feature the vocal talent ofco-creator and executive producer Cheech Marin (comedy team Cheech & Chong;NASH BRIDGES), who also serves on the advisory board of Sí TV. STUCK IN THEMIDDLE is about a twelve-year old whose home life in The Barrio contrasts

Beginning September 6, 1999, NODDY will air Monday through Friday on PBS stations in the US as part of PBS's "Ready to Learn" service. NODDY debuted in the US in the fall of 1998. The program's success has led to the production of 25 new episodes, bringing the total number of episodes to 65. The new episodes will begin airing in the fall of 1999. Based on the world-renowned children's books by Enid Blyton, NODDY, a show for children ages three to seven, is co-produced by BBC Worldwide, The Enid Blyton Company and Toronto-based Catalyst Entertainment, Inc.

French production company Alphanim's RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT, a series,co-produced with Cinar, about a group of three friends who travel the worldseeking out paranormal phenomena, will begin airing on the Fox FamilyChannel on Wednesday, July 14, 1999. Alphanim, which was created in 1997 byChristian Davin, has announced a number of new television series that arein production or development.

In production:

SPACED OUT is a family sitcom created by P. Colin-Thibert and J.C. Islert,

Protozoa, a leading real-time 3D character animation studio, is producingBBC Choice's new breakthrough kids series, THE DOG & DINOSAUR SHOW. Inproduction now, Protozoa, which did the real-time motion-capture animationfor live TV show guest appearances by M&M's Crispy character (Will VintonStudios created and animates the CGI character in the live-actioncommercial campaign), will produce 26 segments of the show using itsproprietary performance animation software, ALIVE. Asked why he chose

Cartoon Network has announced that I AM WEASEL will premiere on June 10 at8 pm (ET/PT). This show is a spin-off from David Feiss' currently airingCOW AND CHICKEN series. Creator, writer, and director David Feiss' serieswill follow the exploits of the internationally famous I.M. Weasel and hisinsanely jealous arch-nemesis I.R. Baboon. Each half-hour show will consistof three 7 minute shorts. 52 shorts that were originally shown as part ofCOW AND CHICKEN will be joined by 27 new shorts have been created for the

SP0NGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, a new animated series which is being produced at theBurbank Nicktoons Studio, will premiere on Nickelodeon on July 17 at 10:00am ET/PT in the USA, becoming Nickelodeon's first original Saturday morningcartoon. A preview of the cartoon appeared on Nickelodeon on May 1, andreceived a 6.3 rating and a 25 share when it was watched by 6.9 millionviewers. The cartoon features the adventures of SpongeBob, a hopelesslyoptimistic and earnest sea sponge whose good intentions often lead to bad

This weekend's syndicated episode of SISKEL AND EBERT AT THE MOVIES, Roger Ebert's weekly movie review show in the US, is an animation special entitled "That's Not All Folks!," during which the film critic will explore the past, present, and future of animation.

Animation company Film Roman has announced that due to productiondifferences Fox will take over production responsibilities on June 1 forFamily Guy, which is currently in production on its second season. Theprimetime show Family Guy airs at 8:30 pm on Sunday in the coveted spotafter The Simpsons and has been a hit with biting, racy humor. While Foxspokespeople say that it will be handled "in-house," a specific division orFox-owned company has yet to be named. Film Roman, which produced 15

Shui-Bo Wang's Oscar nominated SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE makes its US TV debut Sunday, May 16 at 8 pm on HBO's Signature Channel.

SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN also debuts in Canada on Thursday, May 27 at 9 pm and 2 am ET/PT on Vision TV. It repeats on Friday, May 28 at noon, 8 pm, and 1 am; and on Monday, May 31 at 11 am. It also airs on SCN on Friday, June 4 at 8 pm; and on TVO on Monday, June 7 at 10 pm.

Cartoon Network has greenlit Gavrilo Gnatovoch's LONGHAIR AND DOUBLEDOMEfor production as a seven minute series pilot. The short featuresLonghair, a fastidiously sophisticated and self-serving Cro-Magnon, andhis charmingly earnest yet irksome friend, Doubledome, as they endeavorto evolve alongside their oafish neighbors, the Neanderthals. An airdate has not been announced. Gavrilo Gnatovich runs his own studio KNOCKKNOCK CARTOONS in Cleveland, Ohio, which is a commercial animation house

Fox Family Channel's 1999-2000 6 pm-8 pm lineup includes two new animated series. Saban Entertainment's PIGS NEXT DOOR, a new animated series in the tradition of ALL IN THE FAMILY, chronicles the life of a family of pigs who move from the farm to the suburbs and are forced to deal with prejudiced humans. Rodney Dangerfield provides the voice for the title character of RODNEY, a series in development for the 1999-2000 season that depicts Rodney's misadventures as a struggling comic and the everyday ups and downs of dysfunctional family life.

BBC1 has bought another season of New York-based BKN's POCKET DRAGONADVENTURES. The first season currently airs in the U.K. Monday and Thursdayat 3:45 pm on BBC1, averaging 1.3 million viewers, which represents about a37% share. The series features the mischievous little Pocket Dragons whoseek adventure in a magical world of wizards, knights and gargoyles.