Chris Elliott is quite possibly the most famous person few people have heard of. His early '90s sitcom Get A Life is a classic and he's had runs on TV shows like Late Night With David Letterman and Everybody Loves Raymond as well as some memorable movie cameos. And now he's in a new TV show.
It's called Eagleheart and it's about an over-the-hill action star who uses his television show of the same name "as a soapbox for his right-wing politics and conservative paranoia". He'll likely be more carictaure than character. Is the character based on Chuck Norris, I wonder?
It is produced by Conan O'Brien's production company. Conan actually co-created a pilot with similar themes (an over-the-hill star trying to remain relevant) in the early 90's called Lookwell starring Adam West.
It's got the right star and the concept certainly sounds amusing. But did it have to be Cartoon Network? Isn't the word "cartoon" in the network's title? Yet another example of channel drift.
Cartoon Network is getting deeper into the live action series game.
Yes, I know that's like Fox Sports getting into the daytime soap opera business, but you can't get too upset about the network inappropriate name game. Remember when Bravo was the fine arts network? I rest my case.
As for Cartoon Network's new non-animated shows, a release from the network says Tower Prep and Unnatural History are headed our way in January, 2010.
According to the network, Tower Prep is "an action thriller telling the story of rebellious teen, Ian (Drew Van Acker), who wakes up one morning to find himself trapped at a mysterious prep school." In other words, it's a teenage remake of The Prisoner -- the original 1960s version -- or "Jim Henson's The Prisoner Babies."
Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars just might be the best action/adventure show on television. Come to think of it, it might be the only true action/adventure show on television.
But, as the show ramps up the action content and significantly sweetens its visuals, its increased intensity might be driving away some younger viewers.
As The Clone Wars moves through its second season, the war is growing -- both in scope and violence. Viewers are seeing more dead Clonetroopers, more crashed vehicles and more beloved characters in deadly jeopardy.
Its ratings continue to cruise in hyperspace (especially for males), but I wonder if the darker tones of season two could drive younger kids and their parents away from the show.
The Cartoon Network is stepping away from cartoons yet again. This time they're creating a new reality show in which scrawny teenaged boys ages 13 to 16 will be put through high-tech training an effort to stop them from being bullied or to get back property that has been borrowed and not returned. The series will be called Going Commando. Insert joke here.
I'm somewhat ambivalent on this show. On one hand, teaching kids problem-solving skills is a great idea. On the other hand, the show should also teach the kids the discipline needed to use their knowledge for good rather than evil (perhaps the show could be sponsored by Google?).
I'm sure many of us nerdy types were bullied in our youth and would have enjoyed the use of "night vision, hydro reconnaissance or rappelling" in an effort to fix the problem or at least make it go away. So what do you think? Is this program a good idea or a disaster waiting to happen?
This is a rather interesting video. It's a stop-motion depiction of The Flintstones, from the 2001 Cartoon Network movie Flintstones on the Rocks. Specifically, it's a dream sequence that features Fred Flintstone bowling and saving another woman (not Wilma). All the Flintstones sounds are here, all made to look like one of those holiday specials we see every year. Love the music too.
[via Boing Boing]
Neil Patrick Harris is the It Boy of television right now. He can really do no wrong, whether it's on How I Met Your Mother or hosting the Emmys, he's come a long way since Doogie Howser, M.D.
Tonight he plays a villain, the Music Meister, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Cartoon Network, 7:30). He even gets to sing, and the song is actually catchy.
Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Clone Wars might just be the beat best action and adventure show on television.
Admittedly, there isn't a ton of competition as action shows are few and far between on TV these days. They're expensive to produce in live action, so reality TV, detective shows and "chick-flick" dramas drive network schedules. Since the Star Wars universe exists only in the imaginations of George Lucas and his team encamped north of the Golden Gate bridge, The Clone Wars has more room to play affordably.
The second season of The Clone Wars launches this Friday on Cartoon Network. To build some force behind the premiere, LucasFilm Animation hosted a press event at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. Munching on Wookie-Cookies (as all of the catering was Star-themed) and rubbing elbows with costumed Clone Troopers and bounty hunters, show creators and cast members mingled with reporters in an enthusiastic, nerd-friendly atmosphere.
It was mentioned a few months ago that some of the folks behind Robot Chicken (including Seth Green) are making a new Adult Swim series called Titan Maximum, which is basically a Voltron parody. I didn't realize when I first heard of this project that there was also a little Thunderbirds in the mix as well. And quite probably some Team America: World Police.
It's too early to tell, but based on the preview, the show certainly looks funny. Unlike Robot Chicken, this show will likely have things like plots and regular characters (the nerd kid from Robot Chicken doesn't count). In that sense, it's more a parody in the vein of The Venture Brothers.
First we had Mad Men Yourself, where you can make 1960s-ish, retro-looking avatars for yourself, and now comes Scooby-Doo Yourself. It's a promotion for the new prequel movie Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins, which premieres this Sunday on Cartoon Network.
Unlike the Mad Men version, where you could just create your own from a series of options on the screen, you have to upload a good picture of yourself and it will make you into a Scooby-Doo character.
On a side note, is that supposed to be Fred in the pic??
Being a big fan of Cartoon Network's goofy Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I'm really looking forward to the debut of Marvel's Super Hero Squad. The show premieres Sept. 19 on Cartoon Network, and Marvel has already launched a teaser site featuring a fun video preview that could turn out to be the show's opening montage.
Super Hero Squad is based on the toy line and video game of the same name. It features cute and cuddly versions of Marvel heroes, like Wolverine, Iron Man, and the Hulk, protecting Super Hero City from a pint-sized Dr. Doom and other baby baddies. Judging by the preview video, the show will even make room for kid-sized versions of more obscure characters like Fing Fang Foom and MODOK.
I haven't watched The Clone Wars. I'm officially done with that franchise and don't want to get into a new cartoon (or that live-action show that's coming up). Star Trek, yes. Star Wars, no. But it has its fans, and this video celebrates that fact ... or something. It will make kids chuckle (maybe) but older fans grit their teeth and say "maybe that Ewoks song wasn't that bad after all." The show returns October 2.
Lucasfilms told us at Comic-Con that the new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars promised more sophisticated storylines and higher stakes. It is war, after all. And they promised us bounty hunters. One of the most popular classes of characters in the franchise was conspicuously absent during the first season.
That follows the pattern of the films, if you think about it. While the first film was technically Episode IV: A New Hope, it was only branded as Star Wars. The stakes were raised and things got much better with the next installment, complete with official subtitle. Rise of the Bounty Hunters even sounds like an episode in the film franchise.
Adult Swim has put a three and a half minute promotional video for The Venture Bros. Season 4 on their site. To save you folks a click, I've embedded it here at the end of the article.
The intro goes immediately into silliness, noting various significances of the number four, most of which are completely ludicrous. In the preview, Hank is sporting a different haircut, and I have no idea what's happening with Dean. He seems to be bonding with his father, among other strange misfortunes.
Brock is only in a quick clip with a shaven head without a clue as to what's happened to him since he quit his bodyguard position. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend only appear in a brief segment, as well. It's weird to see 21 without his henchman outfit.
It seems that all of television is slowly losing its identity. The History Channel doesn't cover history. TV Land clogs their airwaves with run-of-the-mill reality shows. Comedy Central gives Carlos Mencia his own show.
It must be hard to draw in the kind of ratings the average television executive expects (average=viewers who are willing to commit mass suicide if they miss a rerun of Chico and the Man) when you're anchored to one theme or genre. But it's not impossible.
One network that seems very close to giving up entirely is the Cartoon Network. According to the Los Angeles Times, CN's new lineup of live-action, reality-based programming is tanking in the ratings and rumors are swirling that the CN may drop the "C" in its name. Does the head of Radio Shack now work for the Cartoon Network?
Cartoon Network picked Thursday to announce a lineup of new, green-lit shows and the return of a couple successful 2008 outings.
The two new original comedy animated series include Regular Show and the intriguingly entitled Horrorbots. The former was developed by the network's sort of "animator in training" developmental system, Cartoonstitute.
Regular Show is created by J. G. Quintel and was developed as a short for the development program. In each episode, "two bored groundskeepers, Mordecai (a six-foot-tall blue jay) and Rigby (a hyperactive raccoon) are best friends who spend their days trying to entertain themselves by any means necessary, much to the displeasure of Benson (their boss, who is a gumball machine) and to the delight of Pops (an older, lollipop-headed gentleman)."
Chris Elliott is quite possibly the most famous person few people have heard of. His early '90s sitcom Get A Life is a classic and he's had runs on TV shows like Late Night With David Letterman and Everybody Loves Raymond as well as some memorable movie cameos. And now he's in a new TV show.
Cartoon Network is getting deeper into the live action series game.
Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars just might be the best action/adventure show on television. Come to think of it, it might be the only true action/adventure show on television.
The Cartoon Network is stepping away from cartoons yet again. This time they're 
Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Clone Wars might just be the 
It was mentioned a few months ago that some of the folks behind Robot Chicken (including Seth Green) 
First we had 
Being a big fan of Cartoon Network's goofy 
Lucasfilms told us at Comic-Con that the new season of 
Adult Swim
Cartoon Network picked Thursday to announce a lineup of new, green-lit shows and the return of a couple successful 2008 outings.
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
