Jim Henson

Celebrity

Thursday TV in Review: Scandal, Community, Being Elmo and More

Henry Ian Cusick, Kerry Washington

With a title like Scandal, surely you didn't expect subtlety to be on the menu of Shonda Rhimes' latest ABC potboiler. But as a companion piece to her enduring and still entertaining breakthrough Grey's Anatomy, it's just what the doctor ordered. If your doctor happens to be an indulgent "Dr. Feelgood" ...
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The Hub Provides Christmas Chills

R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour

The Hub, a cable-TV network for kids and their families that launched in October, decks its lineup with Christmas Day programming. There is something for everyone, including those in the mood for some chills, which is exactly what the first episode of the new series R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour delivers. Based on the horror anthology of the same name, this Twilight Zone for viewers ages 7 and up begins with a fright-astic tale called "A Creature Was Stirring," about a little boy who finds an acid-spitting monster under the tree when all he asked for was some bonding time with his unmerry relatives... read more

Henson Family Donates Original Kermit the Frog to Smithsonian Museum

Kermit the Frog

Jim Henson's original Kermit the Frog puppet has a new home at the Smithsonian, The Associated Press reports.

Henson's widow, Jane Henson, donated 10 characters from... read more

TBS Engages in More Funny Business

Just as sister cabler TNT disclosed its own plan to pump up the volume of original content, TBS unveiled its own development slate. Among the series to one day join the ranks of My Boys, The Bill Engvall Show and Frank TV:• A sitcom based on Jane Ganahl's memoir Naked on the Page; The Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife. Betty Thomas (Dream On) will direct.• A series penned by Dave Caplan (The Drew Carey Show), about a jilted single mom with two kids and a struggling lumberyard. (Note to TV execs: Enough with the shows set at a lumberyard!!)• A domestic comedy about a low-level judge and her prosecutor hubby.TBS has also ordered pilots for a Match Game reboot (previously reported on here) and Stay Tuned, in which animated couch potatoes channel-surf through animated offerings.Late-night shows in development include a sketch series fronted by Robert Townsend and one puppet-ulated by The Jim Henson Company. read more

Avenue Q's John Tartaglia Sings a New (Kid-friendlier!) Tune

John Tartaglia, Johnny and the Sprites

While Tony-nominated actor John Tartaglia rocketed to fame for his roles in the adult-themed puppet show Avenue Q, he has recently returned to his children's-television roots with a role starring as Lumière in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and with a new Disney Channel show read more

Short Cuts: Al Jazeera, Heroes, Dora and More!

After a delay of more than a year, the Al Jazeera network will launch an English-language news channel on Nov. 15, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of its Arabic-language sister outlet. Or so the propaganda-filled American press would have us believe.... The cast of NBC's Heroes is hosting an online charity auction (at HeroesAuction.com), starting Nov. 6, to benefit Greg Grunberg's Pediatric Epilepsy Project.... Nickelodeon's famous Latina explorer embarks on her first global journey on the hourlong prime-time special Dora's World Adventure, premiering Nov. 19 at 8 pm/ET. Vamanos!... TBS premieres The Jim Henson Company's Puppet Up! — Uncensored, an hourlong improv special starring puppets, on Nov. 20 at 11 pm. read more

I desperately need to find ...

Question: I desperately need to find out the name of Clarence the Angel's book in It's a Wonderful Life — it's driving me crazy and no one can tell me.   I've heard that James Stewart wasn't the first choice to play George Bailey — is this true? I can't imagine anyone else in the role.Is it true that the Sesame Street Muppets Bert and Ernie are named after the policeman and cabdriver from It's a Wonderful Life?Answer: The It's a Wonderful Life (1946) questions always come thick and heavy at this time of year, and why not? It's a wonderful movie, and it's not nearly as sappy as you might think if you've only seen the snippets used ad nauseum in TV spots. Clarence's book is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. Director read more

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