TVSquad

With FOX's Sunday "Animation Domination" continuing to be a strong draw among the 18-49 crowd, the network is still out there looking for its next animated hit. And this time they went further than Seth MacFarlane's front door. FOX has inked a deal with Peter Bagge to produce a pilot based on The Bradleys.

The Bradleys are the family at the heart of Bagge's work over the past several years in seminal comic series Hate and Neat Stuff, along with their own series. While the comics followed Buddy Bradley through young adulthood, the FOX series would reportedly focus on his teen years, still at home with the family.

I've always liked Bagge's unique artistic style and thought it would lend itself very well to animation. There's a fluidity to his limbs and lines that reminds me of classic Disney black-and-white animation. The humor is very raw and grounded in very real, and not necessarily good, human behavior. It could be a great way for FOX to continue expanding their animation lineup.

This American Life starts up on Showtime this Thursday, March 22nd, and one of the first four episodes features an entire segment animated by Chris Ware. If you haven't seen Ware's art before, then you've been missing out. He's been feature in The New York Times Magazine, was in the "Masters of American Comics" touring museum exhibit, and is an artist who really captures angst well. Whoever thought that would be considered a huge plus.

You can watch Ware's This American Life segment here. I really enjoyed the way it captures the spirit and theme of the radio show. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think.

[Thanks, Mike]

He's not the most talented artist in the world, but Dilbert creator Scott Adams had some things to say about television recently, and I have to agree with at least one of his assessments. The cartoonist/author says television has "just enough censorship to make the creators act creatively." I would tend to agree with that statement. While stifling creative freedom in any form should be frowned upon, it's actually really cool to see what a show can conjure up when its creators are forced to work within certain parameters. Apparently, Adams also likes a lot of shows I never watch, such as 24, My Name is Earl, and The OC. He says 24 is "is more entertaining than just about any movie I've seen in the past five years." He also sings the praises of the DVR, which I also agree with. In fact, I've become so enamored with my Tivo that even when a show I like is airing and I actually have time to sit and watch it I'll still wait until after it records and then watch the recorded version instead. It's as if the Tivo has become some kind of idol i don't want to anger by watching actually live TV. Does that make me weird? Yes, it makes me very weird, actually. Although, I have stopped short of actually baptizing the Tivo.