TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Today's the day Moonlight fans go crazy. A complete series set! I'm surprised I haven't bought any of the Rockford Files DVDs since it was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, but it's just something I haven't gotten around to yet.

As for The Girls of Little House on the Prairie, well, that sounds kinda dirty.

• Criss Angel Mindfreak - Season 4
• Emergency - Season 5
• George Wallace - Special Edition Miniseries
• Jonathan Creek - Season 3
• The Last Detective - Complete Collection
• Little House on the Prairie - The Girls Of, Vols. 1 and 2
• MI-5 - Vol. 6
• MonsterQuest - Season 2
• Moonlight - Complete Series
• My Three Sons - Season 1, Vol. 2
• The Powerpuff Girls - Complete Collector's Set
• The Rockford Files - Season 6
• This American Life - Season 2 (Borders stores only)
  

Okay, show of hands. How many of you are going to the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con to see all of the panels being held by the many television studios and shows? Uh-huh, a good amount. Now, how many of you are going to be perusing the booths and dealers down at the exhibit hall? Ahhh, not so fast!

If you're a fan of all things television and you think you'll have some time to see what else is going on during this, the world's largest science fiction and comic book convention, you may want to re-think your plans. This isn't your grandfather's, father's, or even older brother's comic book convention.

Starting last year this convention has become the biggest television event between the TCA's the week before (which we are covering, by the way) and the Emmy's at the end of the summer. This year is no exception as the days are packed with shows varying from Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica to Big Bang Theory and Bones.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Ever since they appeared on Saturday morning, The Super Friends have been a veritable gold mine for wacky videos. The following is a short list of some of my favorite short videos starring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the gang.

New TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Animaniacs - Vol. 3
• Daniel Boone - Season 4
• Lovejoy - Season 1
• Perry Mason - Season 2, Vol. 1
• Picket Fences - Season 1
• Pinky and the Brain - Vol. 3
• The Powerpuff Girls - Season 1
• Reno 911: The Movie
• Silver Spoons - Season 1
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - Season 3, Vol. 1

The first season of The Powerpuff Girls comes out on DVD June 19. The series, created by Craig McCracken (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), debuted on the Cartoon Network in the late '90s, first as occasional shorts on such showcases as What A Cartoon and then later developing into an actual series.

On the surface, Powerpuff Girls appeared to be little more than a cute action cartoon for the Hello Kitty set, but McCracken has a knack for throwing in plenty of pop culture references for the adults, and, frankly, it's just cool to see a cartoon starring three tough little girls who aren't damsels in distress. The basic shapes and vibrant colors mixed with the simple lessons learned in each episode, then combined with action sequences borrowed heavily from Japanese animation, resulted in a series that resembled a preschool show taken over by caffeine-addled weirdos, which is the highest compliment I can think of.

Happy Monday, everybody. I've compiled some interesting news and tidbits from the world of animation just for you:

In keeping with the current trend of depicting cartoon characters as real people, someone has drawn the South Park characters as real people.

As reported by Brad last February, classic Gumby shorts are now available on YouTube, Google Video, and In2TV (which is run by TV Squad's parent company, AOL). The shorts are being made available through DMGI, which is also releasing a Gumby DVD later this year. I've placed the first Gumby short at the end of this post.

Don't ask me how I stumbled upon this, but apparently there's a new cartoon in Japan inspired by The Powerpuff Girls called Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z. According to this Wikipedia article, Craig McCracken, who created the original series, has nothing to do with this new version that seems to reimagine the precocious little crime fighters as Sailor Moon-like vixens. In fact, the characters were actually designed by Miho Shimogasa, who worked on Sailor Moon. Anime News Network also mentions the series here, and there's a cavalcade of clips on YouTube for the show, too. Considering that most fans of the original Powerpuff Girls are a bit older now, I could see something like this really taking off here in the states. Watch a clip after the jump, and click here for a promo of the new series.

Cartoon Network Enterprises announced recently it had signed a license deal with Mattel to create toys based on its animated series for the 6 to 11 age group. What this means is that in 2007 we'll be seeing new toys and games hit the shelves based on shows such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's A Monkey, Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. Relationships between Cartoon Network and other toy manufacturers will remain unaffected. I don't buy toys for myself anymore, obviously, but since I have nieces and nephews in this age bracket the news caught my attention. Foster's will be the first show to have its toyline launched, and I'm curious to see what kind of action figures they come up with based on those characters.