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Animation

G.I. Joe resumes fight for freedom with “Renegades”

The end of the Cold War might have been good for the world, but it didn’t do any favors for the spy/military genre. The United States and the Soviet Union made for such great and easily defined enemies that it was never a mystery who the heroes or villains would be in any particular story. G.I. Joe, while always posited as a “Real American Hero,” never explicitly fought the Russians. Instead, the enemy was Cobra, which the 1980s cartoon series labeled “a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.” That, and they loved them some snakes. But with the […]

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Animation

Review: “Transformers Prime”

By Stacey Harrison Judging an updated version of a childhood favorite is always dicey. If you go in wanting from it that same feeling it gave you as a 9-year-old, when a somewhat crudely animated show about giant robots that transformed into automobiles could stoke the fires of your still-impressionable imagination, you’re setting up an impossible standard. If the new show is too similar, it’s likely to just make you want to go watch the original. Yet if it’s wildly divergent, that can be hard to get past, too. So it’s best to try to take a show like The […]

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Animation

Hub-ba Hub-ba: New kids’ network The Hub aims to bring families together

By Stacey Harrison The Hub may be a kids’ network, but it’s certainly not taking any baby steps when it comes to launching itself into the TV landscape. Having premiered Oct. 10 — or as it’s known in catchy marketing lingo, 10/10/10 — the joint venture between Discovery Communications and toy- and game-maker Hasbro replaced Discovery Kids and is available 24/7 in 60 million homes. While it will fill some of that time with existing programs, including Fraggle Rock, Meerkat Manor and Doogie Howser, M.D., The Hub is also rolling out 11 original shows over its first few months — […]

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Horror

What to Watch: Halloween season 2010

Whether you like your Halloween scares terrifying, gory, classic, humorous, family-friendly — or all of the above — there are plenty of options to tune in to this season, and following are some highlights listed in airdate order. Programs are subject to change; check back throughout the month for updates and additions. For more info on the movies listed here, or to search for other scary titles airing this month, visit our Movie Database. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation— CBS, Oct. 7 at 9pm ET/PT. In the new “Blood Moon” episode, a vampire and werewolf convention is at the heart of […]

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TV News & Program Updates

“The Office” edition of Clue coming this fall

The classic whodunit game Clue will be available this fall in a collector’s edition based on the hit comedy The Office. In the mystery game, players find themselves being called into work by Michael Scott on a Saturday. Upon arrival, they discover that Toby, Michael’s nemesis from HR, is “dead” in the lobby. Along with Toby are instructions for a mandatory Team Building game of Clue. The employees must determine who “killed” Toby, what office weapon was used (nine potential weapons include the Dundee Trophy, a ream of Dunder Mifflin paper, a World’s Best Boss coffee mug, a rabid bat, […]

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Action

“G.I. Joe” … “Monopoly” … I Guess Nostalgia Has Its Place

by Karl J. Paloucek Last weekend, one of our dinner guests hinted at the power of branding on the American psyche. The topic at hand was a famous German chain of grocery stores that had to concede to carrying brands it had never previously considered so as to guarantee success in the U.S. market. The story underscored the brand loyalties that are so much a part of the American-consumer mentality. We’ve all heard that studies show that those loyalties start early and can last a lifetime, but why make a study when you can make a movie to prove your […]