TVSquad

(S01E02) Nightmares are an interesting phenomenon. What can seem terrifying while it's playing out in your subconscious loses much of its power once you wake up and try to explain it to someone. In that regard, Nightmares and Dreamscapes was a perfectly apt title for Stephen King's 1993 short story collection. When King is at his best, he's able to make even the most absurd situations seem real and horrific. When those same ideas are fleshed out into a visual medium, however, they become diluted without King etching the images into your mind himself.

This is why so many of King's works suffer when they're translated to the movie or television screen, and why "Crouch End" the second offering of the new series Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (click here for Keith's review of the premiere episode "Battleground," based on a short story from the Night Shift collection) was more tiresome than terrifying. Also, out of all the short stories the man has written, this wasn't his best one.

Hey, did you wake up this morning and find yourself inside the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.? If so, you should stick around because the museum is hosting a Jim Henson retrospective through September 4. You'll be able to check out creatures from as far back as Sam and Friends, the show which would portend the Muppet aesthetic, as well as animatronic creatures from The Dark Crystal. Some of the classic Muppets such as Kermit, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, and the Swedish Chef, all originally voiced by Jim Henson, will also be on display. Now i just have to try to get out to D.C. before this disappears.

[via Muppet News Flash]

While it's no small feat to create an animated series kids will love, or one adults will love, it's especially amazing when someone is able to create something that both kids and adults can get a kick out of. SpongeBob SquarePants is a perfect example, and so is pretty much everything Craig McCracken has had a hand in, from Dexter's Laboratory (which he didn't create, but did work on) to The Powerpuff Girls to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, which, by the way, will kick of its fifth season later this month (April 28 at 7 p.m. EST on Cartoon Network to be exact). I've praised Foster's plenty of times already, but I'll say again that if you like cartoons and haven't checked this one out yet, you should. The unique creatures and design of the show give it a kind of "storybook" feel, and there's plenty of subtle jokes for adults and slightly older kids. I loved the episode when a sculpture of Grandma Foster is broken, causing Bloo to point out in one scene that "a bust this big needs ample support." What makes McCracken's work so admirable is that he's able to combine elements that are both jokey and heartwarming. The result is a show both myself and my three-year-old niece can enjoy. As "simplistic" as the show may seem, that's actually quite an accomplishment.