TVSquad

• At 4:30AM, TCM has a marathon of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies.
• At 6, TLC has a Cake Boss marathon.
• At 7, USA has a House marathon.
• At 8, Syfy starts their James Bond movie marathon with Dr. No.
• At 8:30, Cartoon Network has a Tom & Jerry marathon.
• At 9, NBC has The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then the National Dog Show.
• CBS has highlights from parade on The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS at 9.
• Discovery has a Mythbusters marathon at 9.
• TV Land has a Brady Bunch marathon starting at 9.
• There's a Golden Girls marathon on Hallmark at 9.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I don't know if Legend of the Seeker could be considered a guilty pleasure or not. I mean, if you like something, why does it have to be a "guilty" pleasure? Having said that, I think a lot of people would consider this show something they're not willing to admit they like. But I'll admit it: I like it. It's a fun show.

Holiday TV Comedy Collection is a mix of Christmas episodes from various shows, including The Office, 30 Rock, Psych, Monk, and House.

• Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes - Spotlight Collection Vol. 7
• Curious George - A Very Monkey Christmas
• Flashpoint - Season 1

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I can't think of another DVD week where there's so much that I don't want to buy. So few new releases, and nothing that really screams out "buy me." OK, maybe the Tom and Jerry set could be fun, but for some reason I was never into that series of cartoons. For my animal battle cartoons I'm more a Sylvester/Tweety and Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote fan.

• Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern - Collection 3
• Ghost Hunters - Fans Favorite Investigations: Special Edition
• The Girls Next Door - Season 5
• Monster Squad - Complete Series
• Mr. Troop Mom
• Reba - Season 6
• Tom and Jerry - The Chuck Jones Collection

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I haven't jumped on the Blu-ray wagon yet. I know, I know, it's supposed to be "better," but I have all of these individual season sets that aren't Blu-ray and I don't know if I want to get rid of the older ones (or sell them) and get new ones. They'd really have to have a ton of extras (and ones that I'm interested in) on them for me to get them. A better picture doesn't really excite me. So I won't be getting the Lost sets being released this week.

But I'm on board for season 2 of Burn Notice!

• Burn Notice - Season 2
• Everwood - Season 2
• Family Guy - Vol. 7 and 100th Episode Celebration
• Generation Kill - Mini-Series (Blu-ray)
  
• House of Payne - Vol. 4

At the midpoint of the 1970s the Saturday morning schedule was remarkably different from what it was a mere five years before. Instead of featuring animated rock n' roll bands, animated mystery-solving teenagers and animated versions of Jerry Lewis, the 1975-76 schedule was filled with live-action series. Lots of live-action series.

In fact, about half of the new series to premiere this year were live action shows. Add those to existing series making return appearances and half of the 1975 Saturday morning schedule featured live actors and actresses. It would be a trend that would continue until the end of the decade and would give animated fare a run for their money.

The 1980s was the beginning of the end for Filmation Studios ... sort of. For, while their Saturday morning fortunes began to fade and eventually disappear, their successes turned to the burgeoning syndication market. It was there, starting in the early 1980s, that the studio introduced us to a sword-wielding warrior who became an animated legend.

Unfortunately, the studio's success in syndication would be a small, but powerful, blip for the two-decade old company. By the end of the 1980s the studio would fade into memory as the company was broken up and its talent moved onto bigger and better things.

When you look at the history of television you can usually connect names to certain eras of programming. For instance, producer Aaron Spelling can be connected with many of the dramas and primetime soap operas of the 70s and 80s; Garry Marshall can be matched to many of the great ABC comedies of the 70s; Mark Goodson and Bill Toddman can be hooked up with the daytime game shows that pocked the television landscape for three decades.

When the names William Hanna and Joseph Barbera are mentioned two words come to mind: Saturday mornings. Without the creations that the Hanna-Barbera studios put out year after year Saturday mornings would have looked much different. Oh, other studios like Rankin-Bass and Filmation would have probably picked up the slack, but then we wouldn't have known about Space Ghost, Scooby-Doo, Mutley, Jabberjaw, or the Wonder Twins.

From the late 50s until the early 90's Hanna-Barbera was a major presence on television. Their shows produced countless imitations (some coming from Hanna-Barbera itself), thousands of characters, and memories that will last our lifetime.

And, it all started with a cat and a mouse.

If the years 1960 to 1964 were a time when the networks put their toes in the Saturday morning waters to see what it was like, 1965 was the year where they took a few steps in. Not completely enough to submerge themselves, mind you...that would be left until the Fall of 1966. But, just enough to feel comfortable enough to dive in.

Like the nation, television was changing in 1965, and the shift could be felt on Saturday mornings. Gone were many of the post-primetime, live action shows that filled the schedule during the first few years of the 60's. In its place was more animated fare. And, that programming was geared to current fads that were taking place in pop culture during that time. It was also the year that a certain animation studio known for its primetime and syndicated fare took its first tentative steps back into original Saturday morning programming.

Here's what's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• FOX is playing around with its Monday night schedule.
• Happy 10th Anniversary, William Shatner and Priceline.com! [via Best Week Ever]
• Is Lou Dobbs angry about his lack of airtime during CNN's Iowa Caucus coverage?
• We've talked about this here before, but what five cable channels would you choose if you could only have five?
• The longtime Leno vs. Letterman battle is over. Leno won.
• The effect that Tom & Jerry had on the making of cartoons.
• Pictures from the season two premiere of Jericho.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• 24 - Season 6 (Slim box)
• 30 Days - Season 2
• Battlestar Galactica - Razor and Season 1 (HD)
• Crank Yankers - Best Of
• Diagnosis Murder - Season 3
• Grafters - Season 2
• Highlander: The Animated Series - Complete Series
• House of Payne - Vol. 1
• Law and Order: SVU - Season 4
• Saturday Night Live - Season 2
• Tom & Jerry Tales - Vol. 3
• Touched By An Angel - Season 4, Vol. 2
• Will & Grace - Season 7
• The Wire - Season 4

A few bits of animation news from the past week or so:

So, back in June I told you about a new Web series from Cartoon Brew Films called Cartoon Dump. The series would feature some of the worst cartoons ever made. Well, now it's online. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will be thrilled to see Frank Coniff as Moodsy the Clinically Depressed Owl. I'm looking forward to more.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• American Dad - Vol. 2
• Banacek - Season 1
• Coach - Season 2
• Curious George - Rocket Ride and Other Adventures
• ER - Season 7
• Frasier - Season 9
• Home Improvement - Season 6
• M*A*S*H - Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen
• Martin - Season 2
• Masters of Horror - Right To Die
• Monarch of the Glen - Series 6
• Playboy After Dark - Collection 2
• A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Vol. 6
• The Rockford Files - Season 4
• Tom and Jerry - Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection
• Tom and Jerry Tales - Vol. 2
• The War At Home - Season 1
• Wings - Season 4

The point of this edition of The Five, besides giving me yet another chance to talk about cartoons, is to examine those weird quirks that set certain cartoon characters apart from their constituents. That is to say, something beyond the usual bulging eyes, springing hair, unraveling tongues, mallet-induced head lumps and stars and birdies that twirl about the head whenever they crash through a wall. I'm interested in quirks and traits a character possesses that no other character does. Some of these are easy: Fred Flintstone's "Yabba Dabba Doo!," Bugs Bunny's various catchphrases like "What's up, doc?" and "Of course you know, this means war!," so I tried to delve a little deeper and come up with some oddities only incredible nerds like myself would notice.

Maybe this will make more sense if I just jump right into it:

A few years ago I received a Hanna Barbera three-disc set of cartoon themes, comedy bits and sound effects. I have the content of all three albums on my iPod, which is quite entertaining when the iPod is on shuffle. After every few songs there will be a short clip of some wacky sound effect. Trust me, you've never heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" until you've heard it followed by Fred Flintstone yelling "yabba dabba doo!"

I like cartoon music, that's my point. So this caught my interest, naturally. Scott Bradley was the musical composer for MGM animation, scoring Tom and Jerry cartoons and the works of Tex Avery. The first three-disc volume covers the 1950s and is limited to 3000 copies. If enough people show interest in the project, other volumes will follow, covering other decades. I suppose people like myself would love to have something like this, but I think even cartoonphiles have to admit that what made these soundtracks so great was seeing them paired up with the cartoons themselves. The next time you catch Tom and Jerry, pay close attention to the music: it stops, starts, takes weird detours, adds subtle gags to the scene, and twists and contorts to fit the action. Some of the most talented musicians in the business worked on those old cartoons, but I get the feeling that hearing the music by itself might leave one as half empty as watching the same cartoon with the mute button pressed.

[via Toon Zone]

I found this little gem via Cartoon Brew and our own Chris Thilk, editor of TV Squad's sister site Ad Jab. It's a commercial for chocolate milk featuring 3D CGI versions of Tom and Jerry. Apparently the chocolate milk gives Jerry the power he needs to outwit Tom and crash through walls. This is absolutely true, and any children reading this should drink a glass of chocolate milk and immediately run into a stationary object as fast as they can. The commercial is foreign, and I'm told it's in Hebrew, but I wouldn't know. I don't really care all that much, either, I just think it's fun to look at. You can watch it here.