Aug 31 2009
This has been a long time coming but finally there are plans to stream episodes of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" online. No definitive launch date for those streaming episodes, but they are mentioned in this PBS release, which duplicates portions of an update from earlier this summer:
PBS KIDS® AND FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. LAUNCH NEW
MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD WEB SITE ON
PBSKIDS.ORG
New Site Honors Children's Icon Through New Games and
Features Including
Photo Sharing Section and Online Video Clips
PBS KIDS Highlights Top 26 Favorite Episodes On-Air
Saturday Mornings This Fall and
Plans for Multi-Platform Distribution of MISTER ROGERS'
content
(Arlington, VA/Pittsburgh,
PA, August 31, 2009) - A new neighborhood
awaits preschoolers and fans of all ages at PBSKIDS.org/rogers with the redesigned
MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD Web site, full of new activities, video clips and
memorabilia. In addition, 26 favorite episodes will be part of the national PBS
KIDS Saturday morning broadcast lineup beginning September 12 (check local
listings) and will be available to stream online later this fall at
PBSKIDS.org/rogers for fans to enjoy whenever they want. MISTER ROGERS'
NEIGHBORHOOD also recently launched a new game on the PBS KIDS PLAY!
subscription service (PBSKIDSPLAY.org) featuring Daniel Striped
Tiger and will premiere a mobile application later this fall.
"Fred Rogers paved the way for children's media more than 40 years ago,
and we are proud to continue to work with Family Communications to ensure his
legacy evolves alongside new developments in media and technology," said Sara
DeWitt, Senior Director, PBS KIDS Interactive. "PBSKIDS.org continues to
increase in traffic, with an average of 9 million unique visitors a month. It's
clear that kids love our games, and that parents and educators view our content
online as a trusted and fun learning experience."
"At Family Communications, we continue to
hear from adults about what MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD has meant in their
lives," said Kevin Morrison, Chief Operating Officer, Family Communications,
Inc. "The core values of the series -- kindness, civility, reassurance and
inspiration -- have helped many strive towards being the best they can be. We
are excited to continue to infuse Fred Rogers' values in new platforms with new
generations of children."
The new Web site features an expanded video
inventory from MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD, including virtual field trips with
Mister Rogers to visit a penguin exhibit, a dinosaur museum exhibit, an art
museum, a pediatrician's office and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, along with the
ever-popular factory visits. The site also encourages parent-child interaction
with Parent Tips on every screen to help adults understand what their children
are working on through their Web experience.
· In the all-new
Neighborhood of Make-Believe area, children can explore two new environments --
inside Lady Elaine's Museum-Go-Round and Daniel Striped Tiger's clock.
· In the
Museum-Go-Round - never depicted before on TV or the Web - children can create
artwork of their own, make a kaleidoscope, or just delight in the simple joy of
discovery as they make things spin and go up and down.
· Inside Daniel's
clock, Daniel Tiger is getting ready for bed, offering an open-ended activity
which gives children an opportunity to reflect on their own feelings about
bedtime and separation from the ones they love. As they turn out Daniel's
lights or get him his blankie or teddy bear, they can listen to a Mister Rogers
bedtime song or hear Mister Rogers tell a bedtime story.
· And for fans of
all ages, the all-new "Neighbors of All Ages" section invites kids and adults to
share their memories of growing up with the Neighborhood and provides tools
through photo sharing site Flickr to post photos and letters.
Working in creative collaboration with PBS KIDS and
Family Communications, Inc., the award-winning, Boston-based educational media
developer FableVision produced the new site. FableVision President Gary
Goldberger notes, "FableVision feels honored to extend Fred Rogers' mission to a
new generation of parents and children. This new media-rich site
supports and guides children as they navigate their way through
life."
Parents and teachers can also continue to access content and resources
that support essential childhood themes in MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD through
PBS Parents (PBSPARENTS.org) and PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org). PBS Parents offers articles, activities,
tools, recipes and printables that parents and caregivers can use to extend the
learning at home. PBS Teachers provides classroom resources from the series
that educators can download and use to support education in community
engagement, the arts, mental and emotional health and many more
topics.
In addition to the Web re-launch, PBS KIDS
and Family Communications selected the top 26 favorite MISTER ROGERS'
NEIGHBORHOOD episodes to air on PBS KIDS Saturday mornings this fall. These
episodes will also be featured on PBSKIDS.org in the coming months. The 26
iconic episodes feature classic moments including:
· Appearances by Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Dance Theater
of Harlem and performers of STOMP;
· Visits with author-illustrator Eric Carle
(best known for The Hungry Caterpillar) and beloved folksinger Ella
Jenkins;
· Favorite visits to factories showing how
people make everyday things like crayons, construction paper, erasers,
flashlights, macaroni, and zippers;
· Field trips to a recycling center and the zoo,
as well as a ride on a school bus and a visit to the pediatrician's
office;
· Two operas, "Windstorm in Bubbleland" and
"Spoon Mountain";
· Songs, Make-Believe stories, and conversations
about kindness, anger, frustration, making mistakes and even the most difficult
feelings surrounding divorce.
MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD can also be experienced at PBS KIDS PLAY!
(PBSKIDSPLAY.org), an award-winning subscription service that includes
curriculum-based games featuring characters from the Neighborhood of
Make-Believe. A new Mister Rogers game, Daniel's Musical Band, launched
on PBS KIDS PLAY! in August. The first MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD mobile
application, My Journal, will also debut this fall. The application will
encourage children to identify and talk about their feelings about their every
day experiences like school, playtime and friends. Both the new game and the
application feature an animated version of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe
character Daniel Striped Tiger.
About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!
PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early
elementary school kids, offer all children the opportunity to explore new ideas
and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs. With
positive role models and content designed to nurture a child's total well-being,
PBS's children's media and family and educator resources - including PBS KIDS
and PBS KIDS GO! television series, PBSKIDS.org, PBSKIDSGO.org, PBS Parents
(PBSPARENTS.org), PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and
literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media,
technology and community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and
curiosity. Empowering children for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS
and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children,
industry leaders and teachers. In September 2008, PBS KIDS GO! launched its
video player (PBSKIDSGO.org/video), featuring hundreds of video clips and dozens
of full-length episodes. Since launch, the site is averaging 1.3 million streams
per week. PBSKIDS.org averages 9 million unique visitors a month. PBS is a
nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 356 public
television stations, serving more than 115 million people on-air and online each
month. For more information on specific shows supporting literacy, science,
math, and more, visit PBS.org/pressroom.
About Family
Communications
Founded by Fred Rogers, Family Communications,
Inc. is a non-profit company that creates a wide range of materials dedicated to
young children, their families, and those who support them. From its roots as
producer of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, it has expanded to design educational
materials in many media that support healthy emotional, social and intellectual
growth at all ages, and embody the philosophy and values of Fred
Rogers.
About FableVision
Located at the
Boston Children's Museum on
Children's Wharf, FableVision
was founded and is led by New York Times best-selling children's book
author illustrator Peter H.
Reynolds (The Dot, Ish, Tess's Tree, The North Star, Judy Moody)
and is recognized as a leading provider of best-in-class Web, gaming, animated
films, and educational software for creative learning organizations around the
globe.
Aug 31 2009
It was just about a month ago during the TV critics press tour that I wrote about a then-upcoming TV series hosted by Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, a music producer who survived a plane crash and his own battle with addictions. Set to debut in October, "Gone Too Far" was to follow addicts on their road to recovery. Now the show might never air. Goldstein, 36, was found dead in his New York apartment Friday.
Last month, Goldstein described his own story:
"I would gorge on food. I'm a gluttonous person. I didn't look in
the mirror. I had the same routine, swearing I'd never do this again,
going to my mom and crying. One of those nights, I looked at myself in
the mirror and saw myself for what I was and I just knew I couldn't go
on. I had a .22 from when I was a paranoid crackhead and I grabbed the
gun off the top of the dresser, put it in my mouth and pulled the
trigger. And it jammed. And I sat there thinking, I can't even kill
myself. One of my friends who was a recovering addict stopped by to
check on me and said, 'Dude, you're coming with me. Let's go. And that
was 11 years ago."
Variety notes the similarities to a predicament Spike TV found itself in three years ago after the death of a Wu-Tang Clan member impacted plans for a reality show.
Aug 28 2009
As mentioned in my story earlier this week about high HUTs in Pittsburgh, Nielsen released its 2010 market rank list and Pittsburgh remains as the 23rd largest TV market in the country.
But -- and you knew there was a but -- the number of TV homes in the market dropped from 1,156,460 to 1,154,950.
Charlotte, hot on our heels at No. 24, was up from 1,122,860 homes to 1,147,910. That's a 25,000 home increase for a city that's had a bad year, I'd imagine, due to the banking economy. If Charlotte grows by the same amount next year, Pittsburgh will drop to No. 24.
It's unlikely we'd fall beneath Indianapolis, No. 25 in 2010, which has 1,019,010 TV homes and grew by only 2,790 homes. Our rank in the future is more likely to be endangered by Raleigh-Durham (No. 26), which grew by more than 27,000 homes in a year.
To see a full list of local markets, click here.
Aug 28 2009
My initial reaction to this news is it's a bad sign: ABC has shut down its "V" remake for a two-week creative hiatus before resuming production. The studio would not tell TheWrap.com the reason for the shutdown but it appears none of the show's producers are being fired, which gives me some hope. I genuinely enjoyed the pilot and speaking to producers earlier this month at press tour I got the impression they had sound plans for subsequent episodes.
And there is some evidence that shutting a show down can help it in the long-run. "Dollhouse" took a creative hiatus after its first few episodes and it's widely agreed that the later episodes in that show's first season were far superior to the pre-shut down shows. Similarly, re-tooling on "Brothers & Sisters" before its premiere helped build that show into a hit series. Or maybe I'm just being optimistic because I want the new "V" to be good. It still is set to premiere Nov. 3.
***
NBC has delayed the return of Friday night cop drama "Southland" from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23. Selfishly, I'm thrilled about this development. I liked the show and would like an opportunity to write about it again and that's a lot more likely to happen in October than it would have been with a September premiere in the midst of so many new series.
NBC's reason for the delay is to give "Southland" more promotion so it doesn't get lost in the new series shuffle.
Aug 27 2009
ABC's "Lost" won't return with its final season of new episodes until early next year, but articles from the official "Lost" magazine have been collected in a new paperback book, "Lost: Messages from the Island" ($14.95, Titan Books).
If you haven't been buying the magazine and are a fan, it's probably worthwhile. "Messages from the Island" is filled with interviews with the cast, but even better are behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards and set plans.
Much of the material seems to be culled from the early seasons of the show so if you're looking for more recent "Lost" intel, the book may not satisfy. But if any "Lost" minutae is good minutae to you, then it's worth tumbing through.
Aug 26 2009
TV will continue to cover the death of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy in prime time tonight. Here are the programs announced so far:
7 p.m.: "Teddy: In His Own Words" (CNN).
8 p.m.:"Ted Kennedy, The Last Brother" (CBS).
8 p.m.: "The Kennedys: American Experience" (PBS).
9 p.m.: "The Kennedy Brothers: A Hardball Documentary" (MSNBC).
10 p.m.: "Remembering Ted Kennedy" (ABC).
And on Thursday: "Bio Remembers: Ted Kennedy" (9 p.m., Bio).
I'll add more programming updates as they become available.
Aug 26 2009
Local newsies, wanna be a STAR? One of the many movies shooting locally this fall -- "Next Three Days" starring Russell Crowe --- is seeking real reporters to play, um, fake reporters.
Here's the casting release:
Donna Belajac Casting is looking to audition REAL male and female television
reporters and weather reporters for a film. Please call the office at
412-391-1005 if you are interested in auditioning.
***
Or maybe they can sell their clothes. Online.
That's right, there's now a Web site where newsies can get rid of their on-air attire:
TVNewsCloset.com is an online clothing consignment boutique
designed for newscasters and other TV broadcasters. Whether you are an anchor,
reporter, meteorologist, sportscaster, or host, you can make money and save money with
TVNewsCloset.com.
In our virtual closet you'll find clothes previously worn on the air by some
of the top broadcasters in the business. Building your wardrobe as you build
your career? Have trouble finding broadcast-appropriate clothes in the stores
in your market? Save time and money by shopping with us!
TVNewsCloset.com is brought to you by the TV News recruiting and
coaching experts at Talent Dynamics.
Aug 25 2009
Deadline Hollywood Daily had an interesting report on survey results that track viewer awareness of new fall series.
CBS's Pittsburgh-set drama "Three Rivers" is in the back-of-the-pack, which is interesting because the only fall promos I ever see during news on KDKA are for this show. Must be local spots.
I was surprised to see "Cougar Town" on top at ABC, but with Courteney Cox as the star, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Show did not seem to get much critical love at press tour.
It's not at all surprising to see Fox comedy "Brothers" at the bottom of the heap. At press tour, it became clear most critics hated this one.
NBC's "Trauma" has high awareness, but the winning comedy, "Community," does not. Bummer.
Aug 24 2009
If you watched "Mad Men" last night, you may be wondering about Patio Diet Cola, a "new" product from the Pepsi company. On "Mad Men," currently set in 1963, the Sterling Cooper ad agency was tasked with creating an ad campaign for the beverage.
I'd never heard of Patio either, so I looked it up and, like everything else on "Mad Men," it was a true product of the era.
Aug 24 2009
As lousy as this summer TV season has been on the broadcast networks, cable outlets have more than made up for it, especially Showtime's "Nurse Jackie," which has its first-season finale tonight at 10:30.
What most impressed me about this dark comedy was how quickly the show felt whole. The supporting characters quickly began to feel like real characters with the possible exception of Mrs. Akolitis (Anna Deavere Smith), who's depicted as too much of a comic buffoon for my taste. Otherwise, I love them all but most especially I adore just about any scene that features innocent, daffy Zoey (Merritt Wever), a wide-eyed, naieve young woman who allows the funniest strings of words to escape her lips.
Of course, the show would not be as grounded if not for the no-nonsense title character, played to brilliantly flawed perfection by Edie Falco. In tonight's season finale, the chickens look like they come home to roost for Jackie. Last week, her lover, Eddie (Paul Schulze), discovered she's married. You can bet that will have consequences.
And yet that's the one thing about the show I do not understand and that the writers seem to have purposefully kept from the audience: Why is Jackie cheating on her nice-guy husand, Kevin (Dominic Fumusa)? It can't be just that Eddie supplied her with pills; they seemed to have more of a connection than that. As much as I appreciate that the reason does not appear to be a TV cliche -- he beats her when he's drunk! -- it also drives me nuts that we don't know. It's Jackie's worst flaw, more disturbing than her pill habit. (Falco addressed her character's motivation in a story yesterday in Sunday Magazine.)
Maybe the writers will shed more light on Jackie's motivation in season two -- which can't start too soon, as far as I'm concerned.
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