Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars just might be the best action/adventure show on television. Come to think of it, it might be the only true action/adventure show on television.
But, as the show ramps up the action content and significantly sweetens its visuals, its increased intensity might be driving away some younger viewers.
As The Clone Wars moves through its second season, the war is growing -- both in scope and violence. Viewers are seeing more dead Clonetroopers, more crashed vehicles and more beloved characters in deadly jeopardy.
Its ratings continue to cruise in hyperspace (especially for males), but I wonder if the darker tones of season two could drive younger kids and their parents away from the show.
Even though the show has been on forever, I still enjoy my weekly dose of the new South Parks. But lately, they seem to be running out of targets or have narrowed their focus too much on one particular evil: reality television.
The season opener featured a rather nasty swipe at Disney's Jonas Brothers. The recent "Dead Celebrities" chortle-fest took a much needed pot shot at Ghost Hunters, aka, "the gayest f#*$ing show on television." And last week launched an all out attack on Discovery's Whale Wars and Deadliest Catch, particularly against Whale Wars star Paul Watson.
The show has always been a bitch to write and making every episode a satirical masterpiece is impossible without suffering a full-on breakdown. But should the show lay off reality TV and take some bolder shots at reality, which as we all know are two completely different things?
While we wait for the World Series to be over and The Simpsons (and other Sunday night FOX shows) to return, here's something fun: a list of the 14 most awesome fake products from the show (The Simpsons I mean, not the World Series).
I'm sure that there have been a gazillion funny products over the years on the show. I can't even remember more than a few of them. But this list brought back a lot of memories of certain episodes with great fake products, including: Malk, Cheezus H. Rice, and Nuts and Gm (Together At Last!).
(S04E03) I swear to you, dear reader, that I do my best to stay somewhat objective when reviewing The Venture Bros. It's tough, though, when the writers keep knocking them out of the park like this. We're only a few episodes in, but I'm already enjoying things more than I did with season three, and it's not just because this episode had mind-blowing prog rock and UPS guys with the Shining.
Well, Apple didn't take my suggestion to replace Microsoft as the new sponsor of Seth MacFarlane's comedy special. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stepped up. Actually, it's Warner Bothers Pictures' Sherlock Holmes that'll sponsor the MacFarlane variety special.
Comedian Nick Swardson has scored his own sketch comedy series on Comedy Central. The show will hit the air next year and feature a lot of digital shorts and animation, some of which will be based on almost Python-esque "Gay Robot" character. Swardson and Adam Sandler actually shot a pilot for his "Gay Robot" character years ago and thanks to the magic of YouTube, you can also enjoy it. Warning: if you're easily offended by jokes of a sexual nature, please get over yourself and grow a sense of humor before watching it.
If you're a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and you want to know what happened between Season One and the now-running Season Two, you're going to need a video game system.
The story in the new game, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - "Republic Heroes" bridges the gap between the show's first two runs, as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and their loyal Clone Trooper comrades take on a new Separatist enemy packing a freshly polished doomsday weapon.
Available for PS3, Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360, "Republic Heroes" lets you play as a Jedi Knight or as a Clone Trooper -- depending on where you are in the game and what choices you make as a player.
Seth Rogen has always enjoyed Halloween specials, from the TGIF line-up when he was a kid up to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Tonight, he'll be in his own Halloween special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (NBC, 8 PM), based on the Dreamworks animated feature Monsters vs Aliens.
"I was a nerd and had nothing to do on Friday nights," Rogen says of the TGIF line-up during a conference call with press. "Whenever like the sitcoms would do their Halloween episode, I always enjoyed that for some reason. That always spawned some good comedy."
This is a rather interesting video. It's a stop-motion depiction of The Flintstones, from the 2001 Cartoon Network movie Flintstones on the Rocks. Specifically, it's a dream sequence that features Fred Flintstone bowling and saving another woman (not Wilma). All the Flintstones sounds are here, all made to look like one of those holiday specials we see every year. Love the music too.
[via Boing Boing]
Here comes one of the most brilliant casting moves in television history since Saturday Night Live hired a 12-year-old boy to play Dan Quayle.
Ron White, one-fourth of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has been cast as the lead voice in a new animated sitcom called "Hounds" for Comedy Central.
The show will be set in a small Southern town where White will play Chicken, "a countrified Yoda with a bottle of Jack and a bag of weed, an opinionated Southern philosopher who considers himself the center of the universe." No offense intended to "Tater Salad," but I can't think of a better person to play that part...until someone resurrects the remains of Sorrell Booke in some kind of horrible government experiment to turn flesh eating zombies into a military weapon.
In the grand tradition of show business, though, the special will go on November 8, just without Microsoft commercials. Fox is looking for alternate sponsors. Here's my first call if I'm at Fox -- Apple. Don't you think those Mac/PC ads would send a message to viewers who might still think Microsoft is behind this?
It would also be a brilliant PR move by Steve Jobs and Apple. After all, they could say, "Hey, we're not afraid of the content in Seth MacFarlane's show. We have a sense of humor."
This sounds like a really odd new show from G4. It's Slasher School, a new animated show that features the voices of Attack of the Show hosts Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, and Blair Butler. The show debuts tonight at 7PM on AOTS.
The plot? It's about a school where killers learn to kill.
(S04E02) First things first. If you are not a connoisseur of '90s superhero cartoons or a huge nerd that has been closely following Venture Bros. news all the way through production, you may have missed out on the full "Handsome Ransom" experience. That is not to say the unaware couldn't have a good time, but things were made ten times funnier if a viewer knew that the not-so-pure Captain Sunshine was voiced by Kevin Conroy, aka Batman.
The popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants amongst kids (and many adults) is almost beyond explanation.
Don't get me wrong. It's a fun show that skillfully blends little kid appeal with occasional bursts of adult-worthy humor. It also boasts an impressive voice cast, including Tom Kenny and Clancy Brown. But there are kids who can't live without this little tie-clad yellow blob.
To celebrate the little champ's tenth birthday, Nickelodeon has announced SpongeBob's 10th Anniversary Celebration (Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.) with a list of A-list celebrities, including Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, LeBron James, Pink, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Robin Williams.
That impressive collection will appear in an hour-long special featuring SpongeBob flashbacks.
The special is hosted by Patchy the Pirate, "President of the SpongeBob Fan Club (Encino Chapter)." He sets off for Burbank -- home of Nickelodeon. (It's on Olive, near Victory -- in case you were wondering.)
Neil Patrick Harris is the It Boy of television right now. He can really do no wrong, whether it's on How I Met Your Mother or hosting the Emmys, he's come a long way since Doogie Howser, M.D.
Tonight he plays a villain, the Music Meister, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Cartoon Network, 7:30). He even gets to sing, and the song is actually catchy.
Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars just might be the best action/adventure show on television. Come to think of it, it might be the only true action/adventure show on television.
While we wait for the World Series to be over and 
If you're a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and you want to know what happened between Season One and the now-running Season Two, you're going to need a video game system.
Seth Rogen has always enjoyed Halloween specials, from the TGIF line-up when he was a kid up to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Tonight, he'll be in his own Halloween special, 
Here comes one of the most brilliant casting moves in television history since 
Well, it seemed like an unusual pairing when it was announced. Kind of like oil and water. Well, the oil slick has hit the proverbial fan. 
The popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants amongst kids (and many adults) is almost beyond explanation.
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