TVSquad

Marge Simpson's spread in Playboy was a groundbreaking moment for cartoon women everywhere. Her sensual skin pics paved new ground for the "feminine-animated."

She told the world that the women of animation aren't just vehicles for humor or straight characters to set up punchlines for the males on the paper. She helped us realize they have thoughts, feelings, emotions and yes, even urges that make them unique, infinitely interesting and utterly fascinating. They are, as Dr. Frasier Crane so eloquently put it, "like a fine wine: always intoxicated, ever surprising and only getting better with age."

And so, for the cause of gender equality and female empowerment, here are the ten cartoon chicks who should pose naked because it would be righteously awesome.

Raising the dead, robot/human relationships, melting families and naked tiger-like humanoids. By reading this list you probably think I'm talking about stuff that happens on shows like Battlestar Galactica, Lost and According to Jim. Obviously, you would be wrong...except for the According to Jim thing. No, all of these events took place in cartoons made in the 1980's.

Long have I prayed for the following kid shows of yesteryear to be made into movies: Smurfs, She-Ra, and Jem (*sings* Truly Outrageous!). And now, I only have to wait a little longer (late 2008 to be more specific) for the Smurfs to take the big screen. Cinematical is reporting that a movie about Peyo's little blue buggers is in the works. The film, produced by Paramount / Nickelodeon, will be directed by Colin Brady who has worked as an animation supervisor on films like E.T., Hulk and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Here's what I'm not so jazzed about. The movie is 3D CG-animated. What happened to regular animation? I just want my smurfs in regular 2D and only three-apples-tall (or however three-apples-tall translates onto a movie screen). What do you readers think? Am I being too old-fashioned in saying this creative move will jeopardize the soul of the Smurfs? Well, maybe that was harsh. Anyway, check it out for yourself. If you'd like to see some production stills, click here.

This time we've got three copies of The Smurfs season one, volume one on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The set is available in stores on February 26.

To enter, simply leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, February 15, simply telling us who your favorite Smurf is. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Ever wonder where The Smurfs came from? Was Papa Smurf the progenitor of all smurfness? Would Smurfette forever be the only the female sent by Gargamel to cause jealousy and unrest in the otherwise male community?

I certainly have. I love those little forest imps (only three apples tall) and their awesome smurfin' singing. I can hear it now. LA LA La la la laaa... And now you probably will have it in your head for the rest of the day. Sorry about that.

If you want to learn more about The Smurfs, check out the video after the jump. It explains how Peyo, the Belgian cartoonist, discovered the word that made him a legend and other smurfin' good facts.

Choke on hot blue nostalgia, Generation X.

The Smurfs, that popular animated program I and many of my friends watched religiously as children of the '80s, is finally coming out on DVD. The Smurfs: Season One, Volume One is a two-disc set including the first nineteen episodes of the first season, along with "The Smurfs Springtime Special" and "Smurfs: The Music Video." The set comes out December 4.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Whoa! Paris Hilton just lost 60 million dollars in inheritance?
  
• Television cartoons from the 80's are making a comeback.
  
• I had almost forgotten completely about them, but then Trista and Ryan had a baby, just in the nick of time.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Every so often I'll stumble upon something on the Web I think is totally the bees' knees, but then my excitement is met with total indifference by the folks who read this blog.

So who knows what y'all will think of it, but Way Out Junk is the coolest blog I've seen in some time. It's a collection of albums, many based on television, that are out of print. The blog allows you to download free MP3s, almost all of them transferred from the original vinyl albums.

So, you're now in that limbo period between the parade and Thanksgiving dinner where there isn't really much to do (well, except watch football. Blech!). So, you need something to occupy your time before you dig into that turkey with all of the trimmings. Boy, do I have that something for you!

Our friend iZ Reloaded (not his real name, I'm pretty sure) has compiled an extensive list of 1980's cartoon introductions that you can find on YouTube. There are seventy-five listed and they run the gamut, from Saturday morning fare like Pac-Man, Smurfs, and Dungeons and Dragons to syndicated classics like G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man and My Little Pony. Also included are intros to cartoons that I barely remember or never even saw, such as Potato Head Kids, Starcom and The Raccoons.