The Lookback : Frankenweenie

The Flashback 
 notice: Spoliers 

                           
     This time we take a lookback at  Frankenweenie. (Stop! , We taking a lookback at  movie from 2012?  That was 3 years ago,might as well...)  No , we are looking back at 1984's "Frankenweenie". (What?)
     Tim Burton made both the 1984  short film and  2012 feature film (so he ripped himself off?)   The movie is about 30 minutes in length (so it could be aired every year as a special?)   it's  boy and his dog movie.  The boy named Victor Frankenstein (umm yeah) likes making monster movies using his dog a bull terrier named  Sparky.(I was expecting a wiener dog )
                                                 

                                           awww a boy and his dog/ Copyright Disney

  Much like the beginning of Finding Nemo , our movie has  death before the 5 minute mark. Yep, poor Sparky gets hit by a car.   Victor is of course is heartbroken by this.  Victor then learns at school that you can use electrical impulses  to move muscles and he gets inspired to bring Sparky back to life. (The one time a kid learns something from school)  So victor makes a machine to make a bolt of lighting to bring Sparky back to life. (Yes, he un burried the dog)  And Sparky is brought back to life (yay! , also Moral of the story kids, pay attention in school)  Though keeping the dog in the attic proves to be a fruitless idea (the dog gets out as soon as Victor falls asleep ) and he wonders the neighborhood.  Apparently they get freaked out. (why?, they've never seen a dog before?) Victor's parents find out about the dog and Victor explains what happened.
                                                     

                                  aww a boy and his.. ahhh kill it , what is it?!!!!/ Copyright Disney

  The Frankensteins then figure out what to do about Sparky. (They want to keep the dog a secret from the world)  The neighbors (who apparently like to gossip and have nothing better to do) give funny looks to the Frankensteins and wonder what they have in there.  Victor's dad's idea is to invite people to re-meet Sparky. (Ummmm)  Though as expected they freak out (and mess up the carpet) and their screaming causes Sparky to run.  Victor runs to find Sparky and neighbors form an angry mob. (Monday : Neighborhood Watch , Tuesday: Neighborhood Mob)  Sparky runs to a miniature golf course.   The mob do what  normal people do around wooden infrastructure light a lighter to see inside and accidentally set the the windmill at the golf course on fire. (Isn't it my job to do what you did in the first part of the sentence?)  The problem is Victor is inside it with Sparky.  (The neighbors aren't just arsonists they are also murderers?)

                                                 

                               I know , honey, I loved that Windmill too / Copyright Disney

  Sparky drags Victor out in time (oh yay)  but the fire causes a part of the mill to collapse and it re kills Sparky. (Boo!) The neighbors realizing they were wrong (or also known as idiots )  decided to help rebring  Sparky back to life again-again. They use their cars (wait they didn't drive to the ...nevermind)  and they jump start Sparky (oh , hahha I just got the name)  Sparky lives again,  Sparky falls in love with a poodle at the end (a dogs dream ) and the movie ends.

  Now the back story... (yay) this movie was supposed be a short film to be aired with the re-release of Pinocchio in theaters. But due to test screenings , they thought children were horrified.

                                  Yes, because Disney never makes things to horrify children. 

 They fired Tim Burton because of that  and over spending (well maybe that ) and it wasn't released  , until later. When  Burton had sucessful movies of "Bettlejuice" , "Nightmare before Christmas" (So Disney un-fired him . like sparky was un-dead) and they released his movie with the Nightmare Before Christmas  DVD release.    

       I myself  first found the movie on Toon Disney,when they played the movie in 2008,  which is where one of my 3 copies of the movies is from.     It's an interesting  movie, it was made in 84 , but it's black and white and it feels like an old fashion monster movie. It's nice story and  since it's 30 minutes they  didn't have to pad it out with other things. As a person (as of writing this) who hasn't seen the remake , I am not going to compare the two  even if I did see the 2012  version I would say they are different movies and special in their own ways. (Cheap)  Meaning that while they have the same name and similarities they have their own stories to an extant. 

  If you want to see the movie , it's on the DVD version of Nightmare Before Christmas and included in the remake's  DVD and Blu Ray, and it's on the internet . (Like us)   

   That's our lookback , tune in next time when we review the movies where Bambi , Nemo , and Cinderella bring their mothers back life .  

The Lookback : Children's TV blocks : PBS Kids GO!

 PBS  The Flashback 


     This is our first ( first, means there is more coming?) delve into PBS as a lookback  , but they do children's programming, they are more  well,  the opposite. (Viewers like you)
    PBS's children's shows are either known for educational or preschoolers.  PBS deiced to make a new block (mostly aired in afternoon, but depended on your market as most PBS stuff does) it's target audience were children who were probably outgrown the needs of "Sesame Street"  and watching shows like "Arthur" , "Zoom" (the revived one from 1999 ) , and "CyberChase".   This bring us to PBS Kids GO! (shout the Go , or you are doing it wrong)  which was introduced in 2004   it was going to also be a new channel (a digital over the air channel) . Which sounds great.
 
     It's look was  the PBS  Kids logo but no face of a child thing .
                
        PBS Kids go! incorporated  two long running  PBS series :  Arthur (  1996-present)  and  Cyberchase  (which began in 2002 ) , and depending on your market  , Zoom (which began in 1999 and ended in 2005). They also introduced two new series to  PBS' fall line up, First , a spin-off of Arthur featuring Buster, the bunny.  Which featured , the character  in a series where  was video taping  different kids in his travels around the  United States with his Father. It was based off an episode of Arthur of the same name where Buster's Father takes him and Arthur's Family to New York . It was a mixture of live action and animation. (not live animation that would hurt the drawer's wrist)  
               
                    
                Meanwhile ... how many times can someone say Buster?

While another series was Maya and Miguel  , which  focused on twin brother and Sister 10 year olds and the things they get into.   Since this is PBS Kids and not some other thing ,  it had a focus on multiculturalism and  language learning.  Maya usually tries to help a family member or a friend but  her plans, which sometimes includes her friends  go wrong, It ran 65 episodes from 2004-2007 (some PBS stations repeat the show as of now )
    These were the first "core 4 "  series of PBS Kids GO!
  In 2006   they added a new series called "Fetch With Ruff Ruffman" which like Postcards from  Buster it was half animation  , half live-action.  A Game show where kids competed on challenges and the host was a cartoon dog named Ruff.    This series ran from 2006 to 2010.    With the challenges the contestants had the viewers at home were able to learn along with  the contestants.
  Also, in 2006  as a short at the end of  "Maya and Miguel" a  series called "Word Girl" started  airing  and it became it's own 30 minute show in 2007. (Still running today)   This series is about  a girl named Word Girl who has come to our world  and acts as a superhero  who also has a large knowledge of vocabulary. (Remember this is PBS)  She was adopted by an Earth couple , called the Boxfords and she is known as Becky Boxford  , because all great superheros have secret identities.
       The series  , features a word  each episode  that is repeated at times when need during  the 11 minute period. (Most episodes were two 11 minute segments)   Which makes it fit in that educational thing it has.

Now a word from some guy ... we don't have commercials thanks to you.

ABC Family getting new name

ABC Family  TV NEWS 

                 

image: Disney 

UPDATE  12/11 : The Date for name change is now set for January 12th , 2016   per this 

     ABC Family is making it's biggest change in it's life  since it was bought by Disney in 2001, after  over 25 years of having the name Family in it . (First as Family Channel, then Fox  Family)  They will be renaming the channel in January of 2016 , as Freeform.


 From the Disney Blog

ABC Family President Tom Ascheim announced today that ABC Family will be renamed and rebranded as Freeform in January 2016. The name, look, feel and attitude of the network will capture the nature of the Becomer audience and the modern way this audience generates and consumes media.
Viewers will be introduced to exciting new and original content while still enjoying their favorite ABC Family shows. Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Young and Hungry and Baby Daddy return in early 2016 for their winter premieres alongside the world premieres of new original series Shadowhunters and Recovery Road.
The name Freeform speaks to the mindset and attitude of what the channel has defined as Becomers. Becomers are in high school, college and the decade that follows and are navigating the wonderful, fun, exciting and scary time in life when you experience the most firsts—first car, first apartment, first job, first love, first heartbreak—all the firsts that exist between who they are now and who they want to become.
This audience’s identity and experience are fluid as they explore endless possibilities and their passions take shape. Freeform personifies this fluidity and will deliver ideas, forms of content and ways of interacting with the brand. Freeform is inspired by the interconnection between content and audience; media and technology; interactive and linear; life stage and lifestyle and the way Becomers interact with them all.
Fans are encouraged to check out freeformfan.com to submit photos and videos that creatively express the word “freeform.” Submissions may be used as part of our ongoing launch campaign underscoring the new brand’s essence of collaboration and co-creation of content with our viewers.
- See more at: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/blog/abc-family-becomes-freeform-january-2016#sthash.CZxgjjaO.dpuf

  Late last year their were rumors of a name change as the channel looks to focus on it's termed "becomers" (ages 14-34) and new programming has been added in the past months.



Deadline reports that they will be keeping popular things like the 25 days of Christmas (a  holdover of the Fox Family days)  and keeping some part of the family friendly audience.

The Lookback : The Charlie Brown lookback : Is this Goodbye , Charlie Brown?

The Peanuts 
 
     In our 9th installment of  Charlie Brown looking back we look at "Is this Goodbye ,Charlie Brown"    It first came out on CBS (of course) in February 1983.

      Our special starts with Linus trying to call Charlie Brown , but he gets Sally and Sally makes things hard for our hero (Linus is our hero , apparently) and eventually he does get C.B.   Linus tells Charlie that he has something important to tell him and should come over right way. (Linus forgot how phones work?)   When Charlie Brown goes to Linus' place we found out the news : Linus (and his family , of course) is moving away. His father has received a job transfer.  Lucy tells the same thing to Schroeder  and gives him a picture to remember her . (He doesn't believe her though ,more on that later but first a message)
                           

                                   Who's that ?  /Copyright the Peanuts/Paramount/some guy maybe

      Lucy also handed her psychiatry practice over to Snoopy who increases the price to 50 cents (like a jerk )   Later Charlie Brown sees his sister still waiting for Linus to pick her up and take her to a movie  , though Charlie tells her that is not coming and that  they are moving. She doesn't believe him.   Charlie Brown was invited for a going away party. Snoopy was the caterer because why not?
                                   

                                          Look everybody's here ! /copyright Peanuts

   Then the sad day comes ( though if  Linus and Lucy didn't move away the spinoff  called "Linus and Lucy" couldn't have ran  5 seasons on NBC ... this is a lie)    Linus even gives up his blanket to Snoopy.  C.B walks home very sad to his home , where Sally is sitting outside and Charlie Brown tells here the bad news and she walks in the house angrily.   Then Charlie Brown tells Schroeder (our new hero, yeah we  had to change heroes)  and he is shocked.   Noting he never even got to say goodbye.
    When Charlie Brown  is still upset  , Peppermint Patty decides she wants to help (and eventually get her own spinoff that ran on ... naw never do the same joke twice unless it's funny)    Patty calls Charlie Brown in the middle of the night  she invites him to date at the movies though Charlie Brown was so tired he didn't know what was going on,  Peppermint waits for Charlie Brown to pick her up ( did she give a time?)  Marcie visits him at the wall and wonders why he looks so tired and we find out that well Charlie Brown thinks he had a dream that Peppermint Patty called him on a date. Marcie tells P.P what happend but doesn't believe her and continues to wait.  (ummm Why? are people not believing people in this special ?)
   Peppermint Patty is not happy that C.B skipped their date  and she yells at him over the phone and hangs up and CB is confused.   Though as much as you can figure out the end to this special... yes  Linus and Lucy's dad didn't like his new job so back they go. (Don't ask questions. )

    If you were a reader of the comic strips this is based off the ones than ran from May 9th to May 21st 1966.

Read them starting from here 

The Lookback : Charlie Brown Lookback : It's the Pied Piper , Charlie Brown

The Peanuts  

     A Peanuts special you may have not heard about , "The Pied Piper, Charlie Brown" , that sounds like  the Great Pumpkin (is that capitalize?)  has so far not aired on TV (in the US, maybe other countries)  but it was the first released on DVD , in 2000.  It was also the first "new" one after Charles Schultz's death.   Let's get to it.

    Sally wants her big brother, (Ole Charlie Brown) to read her  a story because , in her words,  he promised her that he would read her story.  After she prods Charlie Brown he relents and gets two books :  War and  Peace  or  The Pied Piper (Are children supposed to read War and Peace, and what if Sally picked that one would this be called " It's War and Peace , Charlie Brown" ?)  Since the title of the special is not with War and Peace , you know Sally picks the 2nd book because it was lighter.   Charlie Brown changes rats to mice because Sally didn't like that intro. (Rats  are jerks , mice are not)  He also changes the story  to a more modern small town , over run with mice (sports mice).

                                 

     The mice dance in victory of their kill/ Copyright Peanuts

  Charlie Brown , Sally, Linus , and Lucy follow a TV crew to city hall where Charlie Brown tells the mayor (who's approval rating is probably down due to mice problem) he knows someone who lead the mice away from the town.  Funny hidden joke when the mayor's sectary turns him away  she tells him why don't come back when you are fifty years old, the Peanuts were around for 50 years by this point so ... joke on her.   Eventually , Charlie Brown does get to talk to the mayor and suggest his help. The Pied Piper ,(Snoopy).
                                                   

                                The mayor has  a strict wear red and white policy/ Copyright Peanuts

 The desperate mayor agrees to have Snoopy (the Pied Piper) get to work he even signs Snoopy's contract.  (Politics at work?)  Snoopy plays his  Concertina and he leads the mice in a merry melody and leads the mice out of town.  (Though, apparently the city has a low cat population, darn it Bob Barker )  Then Charlie Brown , Snoopy , and some kids there to help Snoopy  all go the mayor to collect his reward. The mayor decides he  doesn't think he promised such a thing even  dis-owning that the contract is real and not even owning up to signing it. (In other words , he's a politician)
  Charlie Brown warns the mayor  that folks that don't pay a promise will pay in other ways.   Snoopy plays his instrument again  and the mayor and pals all get enamored and follow Snoopy out of town , never to be seen again. (Hey Snoopy , we have a job for you, we will keep our promise)   Charlie tells his sister  the moral of the story, to keep your promises.  Sally doesn't believe anything like that can happen in real life when  : Charlie Brown and Sally hear music outside and see Linus , Lucy, Peppermint Patty , and Franklin all dancing around Snoopy's dog house as he is playing his instrument.  Lucy begs Charlie Brown to make him stop.

  That's our look at this special , it's a quite interesting one , fun to see the Peanuts characters playing  an interesting story. (War and  Peace Peanuts would have rocked)   The music  in the special is a fun mixture of Irish sounding, country, anda few other sounds. It's  a nice special  based off the story.
                                         

Lookback: The Charlie Brown Lookback: Snoopy the Musical (tv version)

The Flashback   
Special Edition 

                                         

In a deviation of our normal pattern , we are doing extra Charlie Brown Lookbacks and we start with "Snoopy! the Musical" the TV version.
     I say, TV version because it was play , an actual play (cough musical , Jacob Two-two) , that  first started in 1975 in San Fransico, went off Broadway , was done in Canada , in London's West End.  But  in 1988 an animated version was made and aired on CBS for a full  50 minutes (with out commercials) release. It doesn't have a surround able plot instead a series of vignettes was how it was put together,    So that is how we will look at it.

 The first song is  "Don't be less than Everything  You can be": Where Linus , Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, and Sally sing about being the best you can be.

                                             
                         Don't be dog when you can be the house ... /copyright peanuts

   The 2nd song is  sung by Snoopy , after Lucy suggests Charlie Brown get a cat.( Why cat, when she meant wife is beyond me)

Peppermint Patty seems disgusted. 

   The Fourth  segment , Snoopy wonders what the kids do all day when they are school.   We say fourth because the third was not really a song it was just Woodstock's funny morning routine. Back to the fourth part.  A funny line is Linus telling Lucy she should have her mouth boarded up , when she asks should she have her ears pierced. ( He'll pay of that later) We see, Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Linus, Charlie Brown , and Sally doing school things.  The Featured song is called "Edgar Allen  Poe" 

                       

                                                           

                                           I remember the year of 18 Charlie Brown- Linus / Copyright Peanuts

 The song is about them worrying that the teacher will call on them with a question about Edgar Allen Poe.
                           
                             This is the song/ copyright Peanuts
   The Fifth segment is called  "I know now" ,  the girls : Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Lucy tell us what they know. (Lucy calls Peppermint Patty , Patrica)
   They know that you can't bend crackers, your body isn't leaking when you cry (umm), Similes make lousy umbrellas and more. Also telling Snoopy to go home if they are infront of his house.   Listen to that song here
   The Sixth segment , introduced by Snoopy, is about Linus and the Great Pumpkin. It's called Vigil (The Great Pumpkin died?)  (you can listen to that song here)  Linus' song is about how he's waiting for the Great Pumpkin and making deadlines and moving them up. (Like my first lawyer)
 
more after the jump

A new 90's Nick block coming to TV

TV News  Retro TV 
   

    It started as a mystery as The 90's are all that twitter page was re branded as the Splat with the message #TheSplatiscoming . Rumors of new channel or block that will air 90's nick programming came out and now as offically announced  there will be a new 8 hour block on teennick , replacing the current 4 hour (2 hour replay)  of 90's are All That, starting October 5th at 10PMET

 from press release

*Follow "The Splat" on Twitter @thesplat, Instagram @thesplatgram, Facebook, YouTube, Vine, Tumblr and Pinterest.#TheSplatIsComing
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Millennials who crave the iconic Nickelodeon shows of their childhood, includingKenan & Kel, Rugrats, Hey Arnold! and more, can rejoice. Starting Monday, Oct. 5, Nickelodeon will throw back to the '90s every day with the launch of "The Splat," a new multiscreen content destination spanning television, seven social media platforms and a dedicated web site aggregating the most loved Nick content from the 1990s and beyond. "The Splat" will dive deep to create a retro experience filled with landmark Nickelodeon programs; classic programming stunts like Nick or Treat, U-Pick and Super Toy Run; the recreation of specific days of programming as they aired in the ‘90s; and original promos and interstitials, including the Doo-wop Dinosaurs and the Opera Lady. "The Splat" will roar to life across all platforms on Monday, Oct. 5, launching that night on television on TeenNick from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. (ET/PT).
Celebrating the characters and shows that are definitional to millennials who grew up in the ‘90s, "The Splat" will consist of:
TV block - an eight-hour rotating TV lineup airing daily on TeenNick from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. (ET/PT);
TheSplat.com - a fan-driven site built around social conversations;
Emoji Keyboard - a fully integrated Splat-branded keyboard featuring emoticons, stickers and GIFs;
Social Media Community - a robust social presence on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine and YouTube.

They also announced some of the programming details

"The Splat's" rotating TV lineup on TeenNick will have weekly themes and monthly programming stunts featuring hit '90s animated and live-action series including All That, Angry Beavers, Are You Afraid of the Dark, CatDog, Clarissa Explains It All, Hey Arnold!, Hey Dude, Kenan & Kel, Ren & Stimpy, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, Salute Your Shorts and The Wild Thornberrys, with additional series rolling out throughout the year. At launch, "The Splat" will feature themed weeks and stunts like:
First Time for Everything (week of Oct. 5) - first two episodes of fan-favorite animated and live-action series and game shows;
Rugrats Reptar Takeover (week of Oct. 12) - best of Rugrats episodes featuring Reptar;
Hey Arnold! Live from the Stoop (week of Oct. 19) - Stoop Kid-centric episodes;
Nick or Treat (week of Oct. 26) - call-in event where lucky callers get 40 seconds to choose from six doors, collecting tricks and treats along the way, plus scary and spooky themed animation episodes.

 
source : http://www.viacom.com/news/Pages/newsdetails.aspx?RID=933091

Our 2015 Fall TV premiere calendar

ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX, NBC  TV Look Fall 2015 

   As the new fall tv season is about to start  here at the start dates and times for the new fall season  of new shows and new seasons.   Note:  Networks being networks can change anything they want so changes may happen, if we catch a change we will try and change it.  Note 2 : This is for the broadcast networks.  

September 21st 

ABC
10PMET Castle (Season Premiere)

CBS
8PMET Big Bang Theory (Season Premiere )
8:30PMET Life in Pieces (Series premiere)
9PMET Scorpion (Season premiere)
10PMET NCIS: LA (Season Premiere)

FOX 

8PM ET Gotham (New Season )
9PMET Minority Report (New Series)

NBC

8PMET The Voice (New Season )
10PMET Blindspot (New Series )

September 22nd 

ABC
8PMET The Muppets (Series Premiere)
8:30pmet Fresh Off the Boat (Season Premiere)


CBS

8PMET NCIS (Season Premiere)
9PMET NCIS :New Orleans (new season)
10PMET Limitless (series premiere)

FOX 

8PMET Scream Queens (Two hour premiere)

September 23rd

ABC
8PMET The Middle (Season Premiere)
8:30PMET The Goldbergs (Season Premiere)
9PMET Modern Family (Season Premiere)
9:30pmet Black-ish (Season Premiere)
10PMET Nashville (Season Premiere)

CBS

8PMET Survivor
note : "Survivor" has as 90 minute premiere
9:30PMET Big Bother's Season Finale (90 minutes )

FOX 

8PMET Rosewood (New Series)
9PMET Empire (new season)

NBC
8PMET The Mystery of Laura (New Season )
9PMET Law and Order : SVU (2 hour season premiere)

more after the jump