Entries Tagged as 'Family'

Are you ready to “Cookalong Live” with Gordon Ramsay?

cookalong-ramsay_0110by Karl J. Paloucek

It’s coming up — your opportunity to cook alongside one of today’s loudest celebrity chefs, Gordon Ramsay — and since you have to know in advance what you need to make the mouthwatering meal, we’re going to tell you about it right now.

But first, we probably should explain for those of you who don’t know what this is about. Based on the hit British show, Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live will air on FOX Dec. 15 at 9pm ET and will feature television’s most assertive chef — along with celebrity guests Cedric the Entertainer, Alyson Hannigan and LeAnn Rimes — taking you through the steps to preparing a sumptuous feast for four. The menu for this event will include:

Angel-hair Pasta with Shrimp, Chili Peppers and Tomatoes

Steak Diane with Sautéed Potatoes and Peas

Quick Tiramisu

Of course, to properly prepare for this dinner, you’re going to need a shopping checklist, as well as a modicum of prep time beforehand. [Read more →]

“Disney Prep & Landing” finally lands on ABC

By Elaine Bergstrom

Originally scheduled to air last Tuesday but preempted by the presidential address, Disney Prep & Landing will finally be making its debut tonight on ABC at 8:30pm ET (following A Charlie Brown Christmas).prep

The best holiday specials appeal to children and adults alike. With the animated Prep & Landing, all-ages appeal is achieved through a healthy dose of cynical zingers that will likely fly right over your little tykes’ radar like Santa’s sled. [Read more →]

“Sonny” star Thornton in Christmas music video with Kermit the Frog

Tiffany Thornton, who plays Tawni on Disney Channel’s hit series Sonny With a Chance, sings a Christmas duet with legendary Muppet star Kermit the Frog in a new music video premiering Friday on Disney Channel. The pair sing the song “I Believe,” which is performed as they prepare for the holidays by wrapping gifts, trimming the tree and making paper snowflakes. Kind of cute for its target audience.


ABCFamily.com gets into “25 Days of Christmas” spirit

From ABC Family:abcfamily

Burbank, Calif. (December 2, 2009) - ABCFamily.com gets into the holiday spirit in support of ABC Family’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” programming event. This year the site offers an abundance of rich, interactive applications and features designed to get viewers into the holiday spirit. [Read more →]

20 Pixar shorts air on ABC Family

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Set your DVR — as part of its 25 Days of Christmas celebration, ABC Family is showing 20 of Pixar’s animated sluxohorts in a two-hour programming special on Dec. 2 at 7pm ET, with replays Dec. 18 at 10pm ET and Dec. 19 at 6pm ET. This is the first time that the legendary animation company’s short films have been shown on television all at once. It’s wonderful to look back at how brilliantly even the older films create such vivid and expressive characters — even out of normally inanimate objects — that we quickly relate to.

Highlights include:

The Adventures of André and Wally B. — This 1984 short was actually created by Lucasfilm’s Computer Graphics Project, which eventually spun off to become Pixar. It was animated by John Lasseter, who became a major player at Pixar. This quick and cute little film still looks good, as it finds André being awoken from his forest nap by a pesky bee.


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“Sesame Street” turns 40

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Gen-Xers might be feeling a little older today as the classic children’s show Sesame Street begins its 40th season. The series debutesesamed on Nov. 10, 1969, and since then has continued to educate, inspire and entertain generations of kids  through clever songs, animation and, of course, Jim Henson’s Muppets.

The new season will feature some changes. While maintaining an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, Season 40 also kicks off “My World is Green & Growing,” a two-year science initiative designed to increase positive awareness towards nature and encourage behavior that shows respect and care for the environment. Along this line, First Lady Michelle Obama appears in the season premiere to teach the Street’s residents about the benefits of planting a garden and healthy eating.

Also this season, the show will be reformatted to resemble a typical broadcasting block. Murray the Monster hosts each episode from different locations linking four longer segments with interstitials throughout the hour. The block format begins and ends with a brand-new show open and close, integrating chalk-art animation with the Muppets, set to a new version of the classic title tune. [Read more →]

Nickelodeon’s “Big Time Rush” poised to be a music cash cow

big-time-rush-lrby Karl J. Paloucek

Having launched so many showbiz careers (of admittedly variable quality), American Idol and its producers are enjoying success not beyond their wildest imaginations, but exactly as they imagined it. In addition to the usual advertising revenue generated by the show, money is sluicing in via the ongoing synergy with AT&T, album and download sales, licensing and so forth, not to mention the ongoing careers of its participants. In the wake of that kind of success, it was certain that other shows would come along and do their emulation act. Shows like Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, Nickelodeon’s Instant Star and, most notably and recently, FOX’s Glee, have integrated music product into their plot lines that’s designed to serve as an ancillary revenue generator.

Hot on Glee’s heels comes Nickelodeon’s next big thing, Big Time Rush, created by Scott Fellow, developer of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. In a partnership with Sony’s Columbia/Epic imprint (the announcement of which implicitly heralds the expectations both companies have for the project), Big Time Rush will be a new music/comedy series centering on the lives of four young friends as they [Read more →]

SpongeBob’s 10th anniversary celebration concludes with “Truth or Square” special

spongebobOn Nov. 6 at 8pm ET/PT, Nickelodeon culminates its celebration of the 10th anniversary of its pop-culture hit series SpongeBob SquarePants with a star-studded, one-hour special called Truth or Square. Celebrity guests Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, Pink, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Robin Williams will appear as themselves in live-action sequences throughout the special, which follows SpongeBob and the Bikini Bottom gang as they reminisce through a series of original flashbacks. (Flashbacks include Spongepink1Bob’s first visit to the Krusty Krab as a baby, a vintage Krusty Krab TV commercial, how SpongeBob found his beloved pineapple house, and the time that SpongeBob and Sandy got married.) Ricky Gervais narrates the special, and Cee-Lo Green (Gnarls Barkley) performs a cover of the SpongeBob theme song to an all-new stop-motion opening title sequence.

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SpongeBob: Credit Nickelodeon

Pink: © 2009 Viacom International, Inc. Credit: Lester Cohen/Nickelodeon

What to watch this Halloween season

Whether you’re looking for hardcore horror, family-friendly frights, or something in between, here’s a selection of some of the shows and movies to get you in a macabre mood this Halloween season. For more detail on the scary movies listed here, and to search for others throughout the month, visit our online movie database.treehouse-of-horror

GoosebumpsCartoon Network, weekdays at 4:30pm ET through Oct. 29. Episodes from all three seasons of the show that adapted R.L. Stine’s spooky book series for television.

The Othersiders Cartoon Network, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30pm ET; entire week of episodes Oct. 26-30, culminating in special episode Oct. 30 at 9pm ET. Twelve new episodes of this series, in which five young friends investigate haunted locations, air this month. In a one-hour presentation on Oct. 30, the gang visits the abandoned prison Alcatraz to check out reports of ghostly activity. [Read more →]

Minus Jon: TLC announces retooled “Kate Plus 8″

By Lori Acken

Looks like Papa Gosselin is about to get his much-vocalized wish for more time [to party it up] away from the watchful eyes and lenses of TLC film crews … but possibly with much less cash in the bargain.

jon_kate_8_09082TLC announced today that — no doubt in light of the show’s plunging ratings and Jon’s escalating affection for the lifestyle of an indulged frat boy — it will relaunch Jon & Kate Plus 8 in November minus its prodigal patriarch.

According to the network, the newly named Kate Plus 8 will “adapt to the changing Gosselin family” and “continue to capture the incredible lives of the eight Gosselin children and their family, but will now include a deeper focus on Kate’s role in the family and her journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life.”

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