TVSquad

Cartoon Network and Warner Horizon Television fired up the cameras in Toronto recently on the new live-action pilot, Unnatural History.

While it's easy to ask why another live action show is proceeding on the Cartoon Network, Unnatural History could be fun enough to delay your need for that explanation.

According to a network press release, we're dealing with an "action-packed blend of mystery and martial arts" here. Fortunately, there's no sign of Power Rangers masks or rubber monsters stalking Unnatural History.

Hot from this morning's Variety: NBC has purchased the rights to a new script by O.C. writer John Stephens. Warner Brothers TV will produce the show under a previous deal Stephens made with the peacock network.

The premise of the show? What starts as a normal cop-show takes a "hilariously horrifying" twist when the not-so-super police officers have to face the likes of vampires, mummies and other supernatural ghouls -- return of werewolf man?

Man, I am so not a technophile. All of this high definition DVD talk just puts me to sleep. On the other hand, I have to stay somewhat aware of new developments so I'm not found crying in my apartment several years from now trying to play a Blu-Ray disc on my standard DVD player.

Right now Blu-Ray and HD DVD are in a race to see which high definition format comes out the victor. Some studios have been releasing content on both forms, while others have stuck to only one or the other. Recently, Warner Bros. said it would introduce the Total HD Disc. This new disc will hold both the HD DVD and Blu-Ray format.

Is it possible that in our desire to forge ahead into the future we'll become so sick of trying to keep up with new ways of viewing the same old stuff that we'll actually just throw everything aside and start listening to transistor radio and attending operas? I'm hanging on to my old Victrola just in case.

Well, perhaps "forgotten" isn't the right word, but for every Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd there's a plethora of one-shot or secondary characters from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies who still had their own unique personalities, even if they weren't quite as popular as their iconic counterparts. So today, we pay tribute to those we haven't forgotten, but should think about more often anyway. Here we go:

The Goofy Gophers: These two gophers, named Mac and Tosh, appeared in eight shorts between 1947 and 1965. The characters were created by Bob Clampett, based on designs from an earlier cartoon. They were, essentially, a sarcastic reply to Disney's cutesy Chip and Dale, speaking to one another in fawning tones, always injecting lines like "please" and "no, you must go first" into the conversation. Their voices were provided by Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg, and based, apparently, on actors Edward Everett Horton and Franklin Pangborn.