Tot TV Watch

Below are the winners of this year’s Kid’s Choice Awards. I wish I had been able to catch the show and could give a more interesting blog post on how the show went, but instead I was at the Washington Nationals Exhibition Game in order to produce an interesting post for my D.C. blog. Sorry, but the annual Kid’s Choice Award Show just cannot beat a rare chance to attend (and blog first hand) the first game at a new stadium.

Movies

Favorite Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks

Favorite Animated Movie: Ratatouille

Favorite Male Movie Star: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End)

Favorite Female Movie Star: Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Music

Favorite Song: “Girlfriend” (Avril Lavigne)

Favorite Music Group: Jonas Brothers

Favorite Male Singer: Chris Brown

Favorite Female Singer: Miley Cyrus

Television

Favorite TV Show: Drake & Josh

Favorite Television Actress: Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana

Favorite Cartoon: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Favorite Reality Show: American Idol

Favorite Television Actor: Drake Bell/Drake & Josh

Sports

Favorite Male Athlete: Tony Hawk

Favorite Female Athlete: Danica Patrick

Other

Favorite Video Game: Madden NFL ‘08

Favorite Book: Harry Potter series

Kids Choice Wannabe Award: Cameron Diaz

This new show H2O started a few weeks ago on Nickelodeon. The first episode was about them getting mysterious powers that turn them into mermaids whenever they come in contact with water. This, of course, can be quite problematic with water being everywhere. Now they have to deal with trying to be normal when they are not at all normal. Beyond their power of turning into mermaids they also have special control over water. One can control water as a liquid, one can turn it into steam, and the third can freeze the water.

The three main characters of the show are Emma, Cleo, and Rikki. Emma is competitive and before the incident that gave them their powers she was a swimmer. Rikki is a new girl in town, as well as a rebel and a risk taker. Both Emma and Rikki easily come to enjoy their new powers. Cleo on the other hand has trouble with them. First off, she has always had a fear of water. Thus she is hesitant at first to discover the depth of her new powers, but this changes when she finds out turtles are getting caught in nets and she could use her powers to save them.

Overall this is an interesting show that so far has them beginning to use their powers for good almost becoming underwater superheroes. I guess they could be called environmental superheroes, but that is just based on Cleo saving the one turtle in one episode so far. It certainly seems the focus is going to be another show about kids for tweens about kids trying to fit in when they are not normal and keeping the true them a secret (not really sure how this makes it a great show, as should not kids be learning to be themselves, although I guess sometimes there are extremes where you just have to keep things secret).

The Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards will air on Saturday, March 29, with Jack Black as the host. The voting, however, is already open. You can vote for your choices for the different categories one the Nick website here. Below is a list of the categories and this year’s nominees with some of my own opinions mixed in. Anyone care to share their predictions?

Movies

Favorite Movie:

Alvin and the Chipmunks
Are We Done Yet?
The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
The Transformers

Favorite Animated Movie:

Bee Movie
Ratatouille
Shrek the Third
The Simpsons Movie

Favorite Male Movie Star:

Ice Cube (Are We Done Yet?)
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (The Game Plan)
Eddie Murphy (Norbit)

Favorite Female Movie Star:
*Assuming kid’s are doing the voting and Drew Barrymore wins, I really wonder how many kids saw her in Music and Lyrics. It is not at all a kid’s movie and I cannot even imagine many kids being interested in the plot.

Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
Drew Barrymore (Music and Lyrics)
Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman 3)
Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End)

Music

Favorite Song:

Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston)
Big Girls Don’t Cry (Fergie)
Don’t Matter (Akon)
Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne)

Favorite Music Group:

Boys Like Girls
Fall Out Boy
Jonas Brothers
Linkin Park

Favorite Male Singer:

Bow Wow
Chris Brown
Soulja Boy
Justin Timberlake

Favorite Female Singer:

Beyonce
Fergie
Miley Cyrus
Alicia Keys

Television

Favorite TV Show:

Drake & Josh
Hannah Montana
iCarly
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Favorite Television Actress:

Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana
Emma Roberts/Unfabulous
Jamie Lynn Spears/Zoey 101
Raven-Symone/That’s So Raven

Favorite Cartoon:
*I do not like any of these cartoons, but I would find it very disappointing to see The Simpsons win in an award show supposedly voted on by kids.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ed, Edd and Eddy
The Simpsons
SpongeBob SquarePants

Favorite Reality Show:

America’s Next Top Model
American Idol
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
Deal or no Deal?

Favorite Television Actor:
*Some sibling rivalry going on here.

Drake Bell/Drake & Josh
Josh Peck/Drake & Josh
Dylan Sprouse/The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
Cole Sprouse/The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Sports

Favorite Male Athlete:

Tony Hawk
Shaquille O’Neal
Alex Rodriguez
Tiger Woods

Favorite Female Athlete:
*Another sibling rivalry here.

Cheryl Ford
Danica Patrick
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

Other

Favorite Video Game:

Dance Dance Revolution
Guitar Hero
High School Musical: Sing It!
Madden NFL ‘08

Favorite Book:
*The first one sounds like a DVD title, but really it is a comic, so kind of a book.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume One: The Long Way Home
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Harry Potter series
How to Eat Fried Worms

Welcome to this week’s edition of Beyond Watching the Show, where I give some ideas of activities for kids that enjoy a particular show that go beyond just watching the show. If you have more ideas of activities for this show please comment and share your ideas. Also, please comment here if you have a request of a show to feature in an upcoming edition of Beyond Watching the Show.

This week’s show is Blue’s Room. This show is a spin-off of Blue’s Clues and shows on Nickelodeon.

Blue’s Book Club: This Book Club listing of books is updated monthly on Nick Jr’s website. Each month there are five new recommended books. On the site there is a parent’s guide to doing the book club from a printable membership card for kids to a play date spinner for choosing which book to read to printable certificates for giving the kids for reading the books.

Blue Games: This part of the Nick Jr. website has several online games featuring Blue and other characters from the show, although it is more Blue’s Clues related, they still fit in pretty well with Blue’s Room as many of the characters are the same. This site also has several off line game ideas including outdoor, indoor, party, and car games.

Blue’s Banana Pops: This recipe is a fun healthy recipe for kids to help make. The recipe prints out on a page and is very colorful with images for the ingredients making it easier for kids with minimal reading skills to follow along.

Make Your Own Blue’s Room Calendar: This is a fun calendar for preschoolers to keep track of their activities and when their favorite shows are on television, such as Blue’s Room. There are printable calendar pages with a special Blue’s Room image. There are also printable date and event stickers that are Blue’s Room themed.

Remember this?

I’m sure you’ve heard the hype about this:

Well, get ready for even more racing action when an all new Speed Racer cartoon hits Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons channel. The new show is set to launch in 2008, around the same time that the live-action movie hits theaters.

The new Speed Racer will follow a young Speed Racer entering a racing academy for the fastest kids on earth. At the academy, he discovers not only that he is the son of the legendary (original series’) Speed Racer, but also that he has a brother, Racer X, that he didn’t know even existed. Speed and X quickly team up to fight off villains and figure out who’s behind the mysterious disappearance of their father.

Speed Racer, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons

It occurred to me today that I had not followed up on this post regarding the future of The Upside Down Show. I originally posted about the speculations of whether the show would be canceled or not back in January, with promises of an answer in February. A little bit of quick research gave me the answer I was searching for. Previous reports made it sound like the show’s stars were debating whether they wanted to continue, but according to the June 1st post on The Umbilical Brothers‘ home page, Nickelodeon made the final decision. Here is the note from Shane and David:

To all the fans of The Upside Down Show, we reluctantly have to give you some bad news. We have received word from Nickelodeon/Noggin USA that they don’t want to do a second season. After all of the positive feedback we’ve received from around the world, and the show’s critical success, this decision is somewhat mystifying. Our executive producer Michael Bourchier has looked into other avenues to get another season off the ground and keep the show alive, but unfortunately he has run out of options. So we’d like to thank everyone involved in the show at Sesame Workshop and Blink Films, from conception (thanks Kurt and Belinda) right through to production here in Oz. The production team was brilliant, and we couldn’t ask for a better crew. And now we must move on to other challenges. Thanks for watching!

~ Shane and David

I have to say that I’m really upset about this. My son absolutely loves The Upside Down Show. It was one of the few shows that we really enjoyed watching together. What I’m even more upset about is that we deleted most of the saved episodes that were on the TiVo not too long ago. I guess now we just have to hope that the first (and only) season will be released on DVD.

The Upside Down Show, The Umbilical Brothers, Shane Dundas, David Collins, Nickelodeon, Noggin, cancellation

Wayside, a new animated series based on the books series by Louis Sachar, premieres June 25th on Nickelodeon. The first season of 26 episodes will air weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Wayside is a 30-story grade school where wacky occurrences are just part of every day life. Somehow, when Wayside school was built, each classroom was mistakenly built on a separate floor instead of built side by side on one floor. The series focuses on the adventures of Mrs. Jewls’ class held on the 30th floor. It follows Todd, the new kid at school, and his new friends Maurecia, the tough girl who uses physical actions to express herself, Dana, the slightly emotional over-achiever, and Myron, the politician of the school. You can also catch a glimpse of the class weirdos including the boy who wears an elf costume every day, the kid that is always upside down, and the girl who is always asleep (boy does that bring back memories!).

The stories presented in each episode deal with issues that kids are faced with in every day life but are presented in a humorous way. Somehow, even the most twisted and wacky scenarios can can teach a great lesson.

Don’t forget to tune in on Monday, June 25th, when all the wackiness begins!

Wayside, Nickelodeon, Louis Sachar, Mrs. Jewls, Todd, Maurecia, Dana, Myron

The second installment of Nickelodeon’s Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge, airs on Sunday, May 27th, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.  St. Louis Rams Running Back Steven Jackson will make a special appearance during the “Workout Like a Pro” segment, and teach kids how to strengthen their bodies doing basic exercises like push-ups.  Kenderick and April, this year’s challengers, have already made progress by making small changes in their everyday lives.  The second episode will follow Kenderick as he trains for the Arkansas Invitational Kids Triathlon and April as she begins training for volleyball tryouts.

The first installment of the challenge had more than 1 million viewers and was the number two video on TurboNick, with 1.8 million streams.  The previous “Workout Like a Pro” segment was downloaded on iTunes 6,400 times.  With over 250,000 kids signing up for the challenge in the last year, the program appears to be a success.   I’m thinking I should tune in and get a few tips myself.

Nickelodeon, Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge, Workout Like a Pro, Steven Jackson, Kenderick, April, TurboNick

Nickelodeon has teamed up with media content company Chorion to bring Olivia, a new animated series based on the best-selling children’s books, to Nick Jr.  Originally created by author/illustrator Ian Falconer, Olivia is a precocious piglet full of energy, self-confidence, and exuberance.  As the books portray, Olivia is good at many things, but mostly she is just good at wearing out those around her.

There is no word yet as to when the series will premiere, but the first season will include 26 half-hour episodes in the US, as well as a 44 minute special.  The CGI animation will stay true to Falconer’s minimalist illustrative style using the red, black, and white color scheme.

Nickelodeon, Chorion, Olivia, books, Ian Falconer, piglet, CGI animation

(Source: Nickelodeon)
One of the most common complaints I hear about children’s television is that it encourages kids to sit in front of the TV instead of being active and using their imagination.  TV shows and video games are often cited as some of the leading causes of childhood obesity and other pediatric health problems.

In 2005, Nickelodeon partnered with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to try to combat this problem.  The “Let’s Just Play” initiative was formed to encourage kids to engage in healthy and active lifestyles.  Using Nickelodeon’s multimedia platforms, the group has been able to spread their message and reach millions of kids.

Beginning Sunday, April 29, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, Nickelodeon will premiere the second season of its Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge.  The six month series, airing during TeenNICK, will showcase real kids participating in a challenge to live a healthier lifestyle.  It will feature two 12-year-olds, Kenderick and April, as they participate in the challenge to become healthier.  It will also include a revolving third storyline each month that will focus on an individual or group of kids working to improve health and wellness in their personal lives or communities.  Various NFL players will also appear in the new “Workout Like a Pro” segments, where they will provide fitness tips.

This year’s challenge will include all new multimedia content and tools online to help kids participate.  Beginning April 5th, kids can download a personalized tracker to their desktops to help them track their progress during the Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge.  The tracker includes a list of favorite activities and healthy food options.  Kids can use the tracker and an online e-calendar to keep their activities and healthy habits organized.

In order to reach the most viewers, the Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge will be available on multiple platforms.  TurboNick will be streaming the full episodes, along with behind-the-scenes footage of the challengers.  Episodes will also be available as free downloads from iTunes and made available  on video-on-demand platforms.  Profiles of Kenderick and April will also be featured in the April and May issues of Nickelodeon Magazine.

While the television segments may be aimed at the elementary and tween/teen crowd, I think parents can also adapt many of the healthy habits showcased for the younger audience as well.  There is no reason that your toddlers and preschoolers can’t start learning healthy habits early on.

TV, television, video games, childhood obesity, health, Nickelodeon, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Let’s Just Play, Go Healthy Challenge, TeenNICK, Kenderick, April, NFL, Workout like a Pro, multimedia, TurboNick, iTunes, Nickelodeon Magazine

On Friday, April 13th, Nickelodeon will finally reveal the origins of the biggest feud in Bikini Bottom.  We all know that Plankton and Mr. Krabs are sworn enemies, but do you also know that they used to be the best of friends?  The whole story will come out on the SpongeBob SquarePants “Friend or Foe?” episode.  According to Nickelodeon:

In the new episode, Mr. Krabs recounts the origin of his bitter rivalry with Plankton following one of Plankton’s failed attempts at stealing his Krabby Patty formula. He reveals that there was a time when the two were actually the best of friends, and through a series of flashbacks, tells the tale of how their friendship turned sour. Patchy the Pirate hosts the show and joins in the fun by attempting to create his own Pirate version of the Krabby Patty.

Leading up to the new episode, Nickelodeon will be airing an interactive SpongeBob marathon from 5:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT, with the “Friend or Foe?” episode airing at 8:00 p.m.  Nickelodeon will also be holding a live-action contest from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m., where two teams of kids will compete in a series of funny and messy physical group challenges.  It will air during a special edition of ME:TV.  Each team will be infiltrated by a secret “foe” who is working for the other team.  Kids can play along at home by signing on to Nick.com and entering clues and statistics about each team member to determine who might be the “foe”.  Kids can log on to TurboNick now for a sneak peak.

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Friend of Foe?” will also be released nationwide on DVD on April 17th.

SpongeBob SquarePants, Friend or Foe, feud, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Nickelodeon, Nick.com, TurboNick, ME:TV, marathon, new episode

The 20th Annual Kids Choice Awards pulled in the highest amount of viewers ever in the history of the show. It also had the most votes ever recorded with over 40 million. If you missed out on the show Saturday night, don’t miss out on your chance to be a part of the slime. Nickelodeon will be airing a 30-minute condensed version of the program highlights called “Kids’ Choice Awards: Best of the Mess”. It will air Tuesday, April 3rd at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, April 5th at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, April 7th at 12:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 8th, at 5:30 p.m. (all times ET/PT). TurboNick will also be offering the 30-minute episode all week long.

If you missed the show and just want to find out who won, here is the list of winners:

Wannabe Award
Ben Stiller

Favorite Movie
“The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

Favorite Female Movie Star
Dakota Fanning

Favorite Male Movie Star
Adam Sandler

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
Queen Latifah/Ice Age: The Meltdown

Favorite Animated Movie
“Happy Feet”

Favorite TV Show
“American Idol”

Favorite Television Actress
Miley Cyrus/”Hannah Montana”

Favorite Television Actor
Drake Bell/”Drake & Josh”

Favorite Cartoon
“SpongeBob SquarePants”

Favorite Music Group
Black Eyed Peas

Favorite Female Singer
Beyonce

Favorite Male Singer
Justin Timberlake

Favorite Song
“Irreplaceable” (Beyonce)

Favorite Athlete
Shaquille O’Neal

Favorite Video Game
“SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab”

Favorite Book
“Harry Potter” (series)

Kids’ Choice Awards, Best of Mess, results, awards

If you watch nothing else on TV this weekend, you should definitely tune in for the 20th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards Saturday night. The Kids’ Choice Awards show has become probably the most entertaining awards show on TV over the last few years. You certainly don’t see any burp contests or celebrity slimings on the Oscars!

This year’s Kids’ Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, will feature musical guests Gwen Stefani, Akon, and Maroon 5. Gwen Stefani and Akon will perform the song “The Sweet Escape” off of Gwen’s recent album. Maroon 5 will be performing their brand new single, “Makes Me Wonder,” from their soon-to-be-released album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.”

The numerous celebrities expected to attend will be anxiously waiting to see just who ends up being the recipient of the annual celebrity sliming. For the first time ever, kids will get to vote online at Nick.com to determine how the slime will be dispersed. In other slime-related festivities, Ryan Seacrest will be hosting a breathtaking, never-before-attempted World Record Slime Stunt featuring bungee jumping.

The awards show will start at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, so pop some popcorn, gather the kids, and enjoy the show. If you have any SpongeBob fans in your house, you might also want to catch the brand new episode of SpongeBob Squarepants that will be airing just before the awards show at 7:30.

Kids’ Choice Awards, Nickelodeon, burp contest, slime, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Akon, Maroon 5, Ryan Seacrest, Nick.com, SpongeBob SquarePants

Voting for Nickelodeon’s Annual Kids’ Choice Awards is now well underway, but you still have time to cast votes for your favorites before the show airs on March 31st. Rumor has it that this year’s KCA’s will be the best yet. Justin Timberlake will be hosting the festivities. Nickelodeon has also lined up Beyonce, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Queen Latifah, Mike Myers, Zac Efron, Bindi Irwin, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba, Jamie Lynn Spears, George Lopez, Jon Heder, Chris Evans, Drake Bell, Emma Roberts, Jesse McCartney, Nelly, Ciara, Shia LaBeouf, Hayden Panetierre, Ice Cube, Masi Oka, Ty Pennington, Tyler James Williams, Devon Werkheiser, Lil’ JJ, Nat Wolff, Alex Wolff, Chris Brown, Tom Kenny and Ryan Sheckler to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the awards show. If that isn’t enough to be excited about, Gwen Stefani will also be teaming up with Akon for a musical performance of her song, “The Sweet Escape” during the show.

The Slime Across America Tour is going full force, with the next stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 21st. You can get a taste of what’s happening on the slimey tour by checking out the tour’s photo album. You can also catch clips of the tour during Nick’s Me:TV segment. There are only six more stops before they arrive at the Kids’ Choice Awards, where the truck will serve as a stage for celebrity interviews during the pre-show telecast hosted by TEENick’s J. Boogie.

Besides the regular coverage of the KCA’s, Nicktropolis will offer a new virtual Kids’ Choice Awards themed world for kids to explore and chat about the awards in real time. They will also be able to watch the live TurboNick webcast together in viewing parties. TurboNick will be covering the Orange Carpet, backstage, and the Kids’ Choice Awards after party. The TurboNick segments will be hosted by ME:TV’s Alex and Jordan.

Nickelodeon, Kids’ Choice Awards, Justin Timberlake, 20th anniversary, Slime Across America Tour, Beyonce, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Queen Latifah, Mike Myers, Zac Efron, Bindi Irwin, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba, Jamie Lynn Spears, George Lopez, Jon Heder, Chris Evans, Drake Bell, Emma Roberts, Jesse McCartney, Nelly, Ciara, Shia LaBeouf, Hayden Panetierre, Ice Cube, Masi Oka, Ty Pennington, Tyler James Williams, Devon Werkheiser, Lil’ JJ, Nat Wolff, Alex Wolff, Chris Brown, Tom Kenny, Ryan Sheckler, Gwen Stefani, Akon, J. Boogie, ME:TV, TurboNick, Nicktropolis

Nickelodeon has announced yet another new interactive series that will include viewer uploaded content. Premiering in September of 2007, iCarly will join ME:TV as one of the numerous convergent entertainment experiences recently launched by Nickelodeon. iCarly is a comedy about a young girl who produces her own home-grown web show. Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove (of Nick and Jake fame), will give viewers a specific assignment and direct them toward the web site to upload their creations. The uploaded content may be included in a future episode, or as part of Carly’s online web cast.

The description from Nickelodeon is as follows:

In iCarly, Miranda lives with her twenty-something brother/guardian Spencer (Jerry Trainor) and produces her web casts from a makeshift third- floor loft studio. Grappling with adolescence, she never aimed to gain fame as a rising star/underground celebrity to kids. As events unfold in the pilot, it all happens by accident when a teacher (guest star Mindy Sterling, Austin Powers’ Frau Farbissina) puts her in charge of the school talent show. She and her sassy best bud Sam (Jeannette McCurdy) turn the audition process into a show, which Carly’s tech savvy smitten friend Freddy (Nathan Kress) tapes — including their hilarious banter and great chemistry — and posts on the web unbeknownst to them. The online audience clamors for more, and a pop phenomenon blooms, with Miranda and sidekick Sam’s regular web casts ultimately featuring everything from comedy sketches and talent contests to interviews, recipes and problem-solving.

iCarly is set to begin taping the first thirteen episodes in March of 2007. Personally, I can’t wait to see this show take off. Nickelodeon has found a fresh new way to foster creativity in kids and I think we’ll be seeing a lot more shows combining television and user-uploaded content in the future.

iCarly, Nickelodeon, Miranda Cosgrove, ME:TV, interactive, user-uploaded content, web cast, Jerry Trainor, Mindy Sterling, Frau Farbissina, Jeannette McCurdy, Nathan Kress