Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Start your television and rev up your excitement this fall, because a comical cast of canine friends is bringing high-octane fun to qubo this October with the world television premiere of TURBO DOGS. This new innovative 3-D CGI animated series debuts on qubo’s broadcast blocks on NBC, ION Television and Telemundo (**see network specific airtimes listed below**) on Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4 and follows the hilarious antics of Racerville, a wacky dog-filled community that’s wild about racing. TURBO DOGS features colorful canine characters who take children on an accelerated adventure filled with comedic high jinks, and fast racing action. TURBO DOGS will also air Sundays on qubo Channel.
Racerville is a world filled with dogs of all different shapes, sizes, temperaments and pedigrees – a lot like the human world! Only a paw-ful of Racertown’s dogs are Turbo Dogs: Dash, the selfless, enthusiastic competitor; GT, the natural-born mechanic who can build an engine from a leash, a collar and empty dog food cans; Mags, the less-than-girlie poodle; Strut, the dashound who always tries taking shortcuts that backfire; Stinkbert (aka “Stinky”), the dog who spends as much time rolling around at the garbage dump as he does with friends; and Clutch, the good guy with a penchant for klutziness. The rest of the community holds down “normal” jobs. There’s a Highway Patrol Dog, a TV Announcer Dog, a Concession stand Dog, avid Fandogs, and even a Master Mechanic Pit Crew Dog, to name a few. What brings this canine-based community together faster than a turbo-charged engine is their shared passion for motor sports. While TURBO DOGS features captivating storylines and non-stop fun – its emphasis on friendship, fair play, and teamwork, will help kids zoom away with somevaluable ‘rules of the road.’

“qubo will go full throttle when TURBO DOGS joins our schedule in October,” said Rick Rodriguez, president and general manager, qubo. “Not only will this original new series about racecar-driving dogs appeal to both boys and girls, and even their parents, it’s also perfectly geared towards qubo’s mission of delivering high-quality family entertainment that promotes literacy and pro-social values.” Added Deborah Forte, President Scholastic Media, “Scholastic Media is committed to bringing quality programming to children and families – and we are delighted to be able to deliver TURBO DOGS to qubo this fall. The show’s ability to uniquely portray teamwork, friendship and community, while at the same time deliver great stories and endearing characters contribute to making this a terrific family entertainment experience.”

TURBO DOGS is based on award-winning author-illustrator Bob Kolar’s picture book, Racer Dogs. TURBO DOGS is provided by Scholastic Media and is a CCI Entertainment/ HuHu Studios production. Executive producers are Arnie Zipursky (CCI/Can), Trevor Yaxley (HuHu/NZ), Rodney Macdonald (HuHu/NZ) and Jef Kaminsky (Scholastic/US). Producers are Kristine Klohk (CCI/Can) and Trevor Yaxley (HuHu/NZ).

BROADCAST NETWORK SCHEDULES FOR TURBO DOGS:

TURBO DOGS premieres on ION Television on Friday, October 3 and will air weekly on Fridays at 3:30 PM (ET)

TURBO DOGS premieres on NBC on Saturday, October 4 and will air weekly on Saturdays at Noon (ET)

TURBO DOGS premieres in Spanish on Telemundo on Saturday, October 4 and will air weekly on Saturdays at 8 AM (ET)

TURBO DOGS premieres on qubo Channel on Sunday, October 5 (at 9:30 AM, 3:30 PM, 9:30 PM, 3:30 AM ET)

I am so excited about our upcoming KIDS FIRST! Best Day and Awards Celebration, Saturday, October 9th at the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles. Beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 5:30 p.m, we are premiering three new films designed for a tween/teen audience, plus announcing the first, second and third place winners in 30 plus different categories. Plus, we have an awesome group of talent scheduled to appear: Emily Osment from “Soccer Mom,” Brittany Curran from “The Adventures of Food Boy,” Aria Wallace from “Roxy Hunter: Myth of the Mermaid” and Kay Panabaker from “Moondance Alexander” “Prince and the Pauper.” Plus, last year’s Palmer-vision award recipient and ventroloquist, Mallory Lewis will be there to enterain along with her puppet Lamb Chop. Here’s a summary of our schedule:

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Welcome and presentation of KIDS FIRST! Best Awards

10:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Premiere screening of “Adventures of Food Boy,” starring Lucas Grabeel. Brittany Curran,and Kunal Sharmaare scheduled to appear.

12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Premiere screening of the new film, “Soccer Mom” starring Emily Osment who is scheduled to appear.

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Continuing presentation of KIDS FIRST! Best Awards

3:00 – 4:30

Premiere screening of the new film, “Roxy Hunter: Myth of the Mermaid” starring Aria Wallace who is scheduled to appear.

4:30 – 5:30

Continuing presentation of KIDS FIRST! Best Awards

For more details and tickets go here.

This fall, the hit PBS KIDS series FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman bursts on to the TV scene with a thrilling third season. Boasting an all-new team of kids, 20 new episodes, over 30 mind-bending challenges, and a new assistant for Ruff, FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman harnesses the power and appeal of reality television to teach six- to ten-year olds about science in an utterly fresh and unique way. Each episode follows the show’s six tween contestants as they compete for points in wild and wacky challenges inspired by a variety of themes, including the scientific principles of structures, habitats, and chemistry.

This season’s contestants–DJ, Harsha, Jay, Noël, Sam, and Sammy – will need planes, trains, automobiles and their brains to succeed at Ruff’s challenges. The season features four special episodes – Tune in to find out which FETCHer embarks on a top-secret mission to Washington D.C.’s International Spy Museum in “Mission Improbable,” and who will unlock the mystery in “Dog of the Rings,” a Lord of the Rings-inspired episode that takes place at a real castle. Find out how the kids discover the reason behind Mona Lisa’s smile in “The DogVinci Code,” and watch as the FETCHers take the law into their own hands when Grandma Ruffman winds up in jail in “The People vs. Grandma Ruffman.” From a run-in with Bigfoot® The Original Monster Truck®, to a trip to Spanish Harlem, to visiting the Washington, D.C. offices of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, Ruff has the kids criss-crossing the country in search of scientific enlightenment! All the action culminates in a nail-biting finale with one FETCHer winning the coveted title of “Grand Champion.”

While the FETCHers are off solving challenges, Ruff’s got one of his own to contend with – getting used to his new assistant, Chet, who just so happens to be a mouse! Now that Blossom von Yum Yum, Ruff’s former intern and FETCH!(TM)’s resident feline, has been promoted to being Ruff’s supervisor, Ruff has to warm up to a new right-hand man. But Chet’s unconventional work-style has Ruff in a tailspin. Is Chet up for the challenge of working for the top dog? Ruff is wondering the same thing.

“This season is full of fun and surprises!” said Executive Producer Kate Taylor. “Ruff has brainstormed a bunch of exciting challenges that take the kids to new places, introduce them to new faces, and have them exploring brand-new science concepts. And with Chet keeping Ruff and Blossom on their toes, there’s plenty of excitement happening behind the scenes, too!”

The new season premieres the first of 20 all-new half-hour episodes Monday, September 29, 2008 on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings).

Funded in large part by the National Science Foundation, FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman teaches real world science as it challenges cast members and viewers to ask questions, conduct experiments, and investigate the world around them. The series also has an extensive outreach initiative that highlights the show’s three science themes (structures, habitats, and chemistry) and a Web site, pbskidsgo.org/fetch, that gives viewers a chance to play along with the show even after the TV is turned off.

FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman is produced by WGBH Boston. The executive producer for the series is Kate Taylor. Funding for FETCH! is provided by the National Science Foundation and public television viewers. Corporate funding is provided by Greendog®.

Photo Credit: 2008 (c) WGBH/ Anthony Tieuli

For art collectors or die-hard Disney fans, here’s an interesting tidbit I learned about this morning. The Sanders Art Studio.com in Ogden, Utah announced a new exhibit called:  “The Magic of Disney Fine Art Exhibition.” This exhibit features Artists Trevor Carlton, Tricia Buchanan-Bensen, James Coleman, Mike Kupka, Harrison Ellenshaw and Peter Ellenshaw, among others.

The exhibit showcases over 30 Disney Classic Film moments such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, Pirates of the Caribbean and Mary Poppins.
Along with the exhibit, there will be some live events, including a Disney Fine Art Live Performance Event by Disney Artist Trevor Carlton on September 20, 2008 at Radio Disney 910’s Safety Safari at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.  In addition to the exhibit, over 500 limited-edition Disney Fine Art Giclee’s on canvases are available for purchase on a new website and virtual gallery at Sanders Art Studio.com. The website will be showcasing work from the below listed artists: John Alvin – Toby Bluth – Tricia Buchanan – Bensen James Coleman – Dick Duerrstein – Harrison & Peter Ellenshaw – Michael & Inessa Garmash – Manny Hernandez – Mike Kungl – Mike Kupka – Allison Lefcort – Stephen Reis – Tim Rogerson – John Rowe – Jim Salvati – Jim Warren – Trevor Carlton.  Quantities are limited. Limited-Editions vary in size.

Sanders CC – established in 1960, is Northern Utah’s leader in Numismatic Coins and Collectibles. They carry a wide selection of US Coins, including the US Presidential Coin program, and World Coins. The Managing Director of Sanders CC is KC Sanders; KC has a long history working for the Walt Disney Company. He worked in the Disney Specialized Businesses area for over five years, creating Disney Fine Art Exhibitions at the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, and Disneyland Paris Resort. He is bringing his knowledge, expertise and passion back to Utah to showcase the magic of Disney for the community.

For more info, go to http://www.sandersartstudio.com/servlet/StoreFront

Lisa Guernsey, writer for the New York Times has a new article up about children’s media usage. She reminds us of both positive and negative attributes of children’s media use, pointing out that “positive choices take forethought.” She also quotes a pediatrician and spokerperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Donald L. Shifrin as saying: “Remember that TV has a lot of public health implications as we get older.” His concerns include weight gain, smoking, aggression and risky sexual behaviors that may follow from children seeing years of the media glorifying junk food, cigarettes, violence or teenage sex.

Lisa Guernsey is the author of “Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5.” For the complete article, go to here.

Created by the revered Jim Henson Company, Prana Animation Studios and Flame Ventures, the second CGI animated film in the irreverent and delightful “Unstable Fables” collection, TORTOISE VS. HARE is a fun, modern retelling of the classic Tortoise and the Hare story.

UNSTABLE FABLES: TORTOISE VS. HARE features a celebrity cast including the voice talent of Emmy Award winner Jay Leno, Danny Glover, Vivica A. Fox, Keke Palmer and three-time winner of Kid’s Choice Award for Best Actor, Drake Bell. The feature fast-forwards 15 years beyond the original fabled race to reveal that the rivalry between Walter the Tortoise and Murray the Hare is alive and well. Ready for a rematch, the competitive duo makes the event a family affair by recruiting their kids to join the race.

Continuing the adventure beyond the finish line, the DVD boasts exclusive bonus materials including a special tutorial on how to draw a character from the movie, as well as an exclusive behind the scenes look at the animation process, voice recordings and more.