LITTLE ROCK — Forget all the razzle-dazzling computer-generated state-of-the-art animated movies. Forget all the 3-D special-effect cartoons featuring voices from Hollywood’s A-list.
If you really want to see magic in a kid’s eyes, go old school and plop him down in front of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The animated special airs at 7 p.m. today on ABC. To fill out the hour, ABC will have a bonus Peanuts cartoon in which Linus runs for class president.
Great Pumpkin has been a family favorite since 1966. It’s the tale of a sad and forlorn pumpkin with one lone decoration on it that.... Wait. No. That’s another Peanuts special.
In this one, Linus waits and waits in the pumpkin patch hoping that this will finally be the year that the Great Pumpkin puts in an appearance.
The kids will love the laughs. Deeper-thinking adults might wander off into the existential aspects of the cartoon with its religious overtones and philosophical possibilities.
Me? Good grief, I like thepretty colors.
Runway
finale:
Tonight’s the night we crown the next designer champ of Project Runway. Season 8 concludes at 8 o’clock on Lifetime.
Raise your hand if you still believe Korto Momolu was robbed.
Crying wolf:
What ever happened to Little Red Riding Hood after her encounter with the wolf? I suppose she grew up and had children.
Turns out one of her descendants became a mighty slayer of werewolves after her fiance was bitten by one of the critters.
Watch the adventure unfold at 8 p.m. Saturday on Syfy when Felicia Day (Violet in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stars in Red: Werewolf Hunter. Put your tongue firmly in your cheek and enjoy the cheesy movie.
NBC survivors:
NBC has announced several more shows have been spared the quick ax. The police procedural Chase (9 p.m. Monday) has gotten the green light for the rest of the season. Chase is averaging 6.5 million viewers. That’s hardly impressive, but NBC can’t be too picky.
By way of comparison, the new Tom Selleck police drama Blue Bloods (9 p.m. Friday) is averaging more than 10 million viewers. Ten million viewers on a Fridaynight? CBS is thrilled.
NBC’s new spy drama Undercovers (7 p.m. Wednesday) only got an order for four more episodes. That’s not a ringing endorsement, but it’s better than being kicked to the curb.
Meanwhile, Chuck (7 p.m. Monday) continues to improve and gets a go for 11 more episodes to round out the season at 24.
Other NBC series previously tagged for a full season are The Event, Law & Order:Los Angeles and Outsourced.
Save the date:
President Barack Obama will be featured in the Discovery Channel Mythbusters episode “Archimedes Solar Ray.” It’ll air at 8 p.m. Dec. 8 if you want to mark your calendar.
In the episode, the president will challenge hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to examine the legend that Greek scientist and inventor Archimedes set fire to an invading Roman fleet using only mirrors and the reflected rays of the sun.
Obama recently kicked off the White House Science Fair, which celebrated the winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AETN presents Telling Amy’s Story at 7 p.m. today as part of its participation in Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The hour-long program will be followed by a live Arkansas domestic violence crisis hot line segment from 8 to 9 p.m. for survivors and families who need help.
Jayne Ann Kita, executive director of the ArkansasCoalition Against Domestic Violence, notes, “In the past 10 years, Arkansas has had an average ranking of ninth nationally for domestic homicides per capita, ranking as high as third for two years and first in deaths of African-American women in 2002.
“Reaching out to victims, providing resources and hope, and educating the public about the prevention of domestic violence are all vitally important to the state to help diminish this disturbing trend.”
Telling Amy’s Story is set in Pennsylvania and is gripping drama made all the more poignant because it is true. The special chronicles the life and death of Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two who was shot and killed by her husband.
The film is hosted by Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit). For more information, AETN has created a domestic violence resource website at aetn. org/domesticviolence.
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Weekend, Pages 34 on 10/28/2010