TV Squad

• Disney Channel gets top marks across multiple media
  

  Filed under: Industry, Programming, Animation, Children, Ratings, Reality-Free

  I'm just full of Disney news (or full of something) this week, aren't I? On Monday I asked the question of what happened to the Playhouse Disney schedule. This time around I'm going to talk about the entire Disney Channel. Not just the cable network, but the website as well. For both are tops in their respective outlets.

  Well, tops when it comes to kids programming -- an area of entertainment that continues to grow on a daily basis. For 2008, Disney Channel...
  




• What happened to Playhouse Disney this morning?
  

  Filed under: Programming, Animation, Children, Reality-Free

  The following item is for those of you parents out there with young children. Those of you who watch soft-core porn in the morning can disregard this post.

  Did any of you notice something weird with the Playhouse Disney schedule this morning? Starting at 6 a.m. EST you get JoJo's Circus, Johnny and the Sprites and The Wiggles, and those mini-episodes that the network imports from Canada. That wasn't the case this morning. Instead we got Phineas and Ferb, Imagination Movers and Handy Manny. In addition, Ooh and Ahh, and...
  




• Disney wants your sons and grandsons for its new cable channel
  

  Filed under: Programming, Animation, Children, Reality-Free

  Don't worry, Disney isn't recruiting them for some kind of army that will, dare I say it, rule the world. No, the mega-media conglomerate wants them, especially the 'them' that are between the ages of 6-14, to tune into their new cable network. Well, not 'new' in the sense that there's currently a blank space where the network will be. More like 'new' in the sense that they are re-branding one of their current properties.

  Beginning in February, Toon Disney will morph into the newly named Disney XD. There won't be any High School Musical...
  




• Seven of the worst TV Christmas specials - VIDEOS
  

  Filed under: Animation, Music and Variety, Festivus, Children, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free

  Where would we be without the hallowed television Christmas special? We would be engaged in enthralling conversations with relatives who like to give the backstory about the gall bladder operation pictures they still carry in their wallet. We would be playing defense against every breakable item in the house while the neighbor's kids get enough sugar in their systems to power the Space Shuttle. We would not only have to muster the courage to taste Grandma's homemade rum and Kahula fruitcake, but also to pretend that we like it without our...
  



• Saturday Morning: Filmation - VIDEOS (Part 1)
  

  Filed under: Animation, Children, Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Saturday Morning

  In the glory days of the Saturday morning cartoon, translated to be from about 1966 to sometime in the 80s, a handful of studios dominated the network schedules from year to year. Eventually, names like Hanna-Barbera, Sid & Marty Kroftt, DePatie-Freeleng and Rankin-Bass became as common to see on the screen as the characters they created. Add to that list an animation and live-action studio that presented two faces: one of quality storytelling, characters and imagination, and another of mass-produced, limited animation.

  I speak of Filmation Studios. From...
  




• Disney Channel and Handy Manny recognize...National Flashlight Day?
  

  Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Animation, Children, Reality-Free

  We have now reached our official limit on the special 'Days' that the government puts on the calendar. I mean 'Take a Shower Day' is a good one and 'Touch Someone Else Day' sounds both pleasant and creepy, but 'National Flashlight Day'? I really have to put my foot down on this one. Especially when it's being honored by a television show, for Pete's sake!

  No, NBC is not airing a 3-hour primetime special on the day (though, it certainly would help their bottom line). Disney...
  




• What Rich is thankful for
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Adult Swim, Children, Reality-Free, Comic-Con, Life on Mars, The Big Bang Theory

  It's that time of year again, isn't it? That brief period between the humongous holidays of Halloween and Christmas that television and retail outlets have forgotten about. I talk about Thanksgiving, of course. The holiday of football games, unbuttoned pants, family arguments, and giant Snoopy balloons. It is also the time to give thanks.

  Thanks for what? Well, we aren't trading chickens for a gallon...
  




• Giveaway Tuesday: Fraggle Rock - The Complete Series
  

  Filed under: Site Announcements, Contests and Giveaways, Children, Reality-Free

  On this Tuesday morning, we've got a copy ofFraggle Rock - The Complete Series on DVD for one lucky, random commenter. The DVD set is available in stores starting today.
  
  To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 7 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
  
  • To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Fraggle Rock complete series DVD set.
    
  • The comment must be left...
    
  
  
  
  • Saturday Morning: 1974 (Part 2) -- VIDEOS
    

    Filed under: Animation, Children, Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Saturday Morning

    Last time on "Saturday Morning" we reviewed the busy 1974-75 schedule of CBS. In this installment we take a look at the lineups for ABC and NBC.

    When looking at the respective schedules you can see a few patterns that were prevalent in Saturday morning programming of the 1970s. As mentioned last time, one of these themes was the increasing amount of live-action shows on the air. Six new live-action programs came out during this year, with three premiering on...
    

  
  
  
  • The kinder, gentler Halloween monsters of children's television - VIDEOS
    

    Filed under: Animation, Children, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Saturday Morning

    Children's television is the ultimate pacifier. Where else in the world can a terrible, horrific monster that destroys both life and property with nary a whiff of sympathy be turned into a soft, cuddly character who has his own line of soft, cuddly dolls being sold at the local Wal-Mart? It's only later in life, after they've adjusted to these de-fanged monsters, do they realize that their beliefs were so wrong. Aaaannnddd, that's where the therapy comes in.

    But, we're not...