Deals & Steals – 12/4/09 (Holiday TV Edition)

Here’s information I’ve come across about kids’ television programming during the holiday season, so want to pass along to you! 

Note: Many of these are not in my own words, but taken straight from the e-mail or press release that I received. I have re-worded or re-written where I thought it was necessary or helpful, but am not responsible for the content of these items or anything that may be posted on their sites.

Playhouse Disney will usher in the holiday season with new themed episodes of “Special Agent Oso,” “Imagination Movers” and “Jungle Junction,” beginning Saturday, December 5 (8:00–11:00 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel. The month-long programming event includes the television premiere of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

New episodes include:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5

“Special Agent Oso” (8:00 a.m. ET/PT) – In “For Your Ice Only/Coldfingers,” Special Agent Oso puts his Keeping Your Balance Training Exercise on hold and glides in to help Carina learn to ice skate in time for a friend’s birthday party, and then helps some friends learn how to make a snowman.

“Imagination Movers” (10:00 a.m. ET/PT) – In “Happy Ha-Ha-Holidays,” it’s Christmas Eve and Santa seems to have lost his jolly ho-ho-ho.  The Movers must get to the bottom of the problem and help Santa restore his laugh in time for Christmas.

“Jungle Junction” (10:30 a.m. ET/PT) – In “The Night Before Zipsmas/A Gift for Zooter,” as Miss Jolly shares a classic holiday tale, the Wheelers go on a nighttime ride to try to get a glimpse of Ellysanta, and Ellyvan sets out to give Zooter the perfect gift.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland” (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When Donald’s birthday gift for Daisy – a mechanical cuckoo bird – flies away, Mickey and pals go on a wild, imaginative “Alice in Wonderland”-styled adventure to retrieve the runaway gift.

“Imagination Movers” (10:00 a.m. ET/PT) – In “Snow Day,” when Nina and the Movers get snowed in at the Warehouse, Dave creates a Super Snow Vacuum to suck up the snow blocking the front door.  When the vacuum bag bursts, it leaves the Warehouse filled with snow and the Movers with the task of figuring out how to melt the snow.

Rosario Dawson, Giada De Laurentiis, Jim Belushi and Lance Bass will guest star in new episodes of Playhouse Disney’s hit Emmy-nominated series “Handy Manny” beginning MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel.  Dawson (“Sin City,” “Rent”) guest stars as a marine biologist, De Laurentiis (“Everyday Italian”) plays the owner of a pizza parlor, Belushi (“According to Jim”) joins in the fun as a drawbridge operator and Lance Bass (“Dancing With The Stars”) returns in the recurring role of klutzy “surfer dude,” Elliot.

The new episode schedule is as follows:

Monday, December 7

“A Whale of a Tale/Julieta’s Loose Tooth” (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – Manny and the tools are enjoying a day at the beach when a marine biologist (voiced by Dawson) approaches them with an emergency – an orca whale has washed up on the shore.  Manny and the tools build a makeshift whale-sized stretcher to assist with getting the giant mammal back into the water.  In the second story of the episode, when Julieta’s loose tooth falls out and tumbles into the sink and down the drain, it is up to Manny and the tools to retrieve the lost tooth and return it to Julieta so she can put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.

Tuesday, December 8

“Flicker Joins the Band/Paulette’s Pizza Palace”(9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When the tools form a band, Flicker has trouble finding his own sound.  Manny assures him that he indeed has one; they just have to find out what it is.  While cleaning, Flicker finds his unique sound when he blows on some dusty bottles. Then, when the automatic pizza rolling machine at Paulette’s Pizza Palace breaks, Manny and the tools must repair the machine so that Paulette (voiced by De Laurentiis) is able to fulfill all the orders for her pizza special of the day.

Pat the Hammer’s Super Duper Thin Crust Hand Hammered Pizza (Recipe adapted from Disney’s FamilyFun Magazine)

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 3 ¼ to 3 ½ cups unbleached flour

Topping

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ cups of your favorite tomato sauce
• 1 ½ cups grated low fat white cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated low fat mozarella
• Optional Toppers – lowfat meat and/or vegetables

Make the Dough

1. Pour 1/3 cup of the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Now proof the yeast by stirring the sugar into it with a fork and letting it set for 5 to 8 minutes to see if the liquid turns frothy. If it does, you know it’s active; if not, you’ll need to start again with a fresh package of yeast.
2. Combine the dissolved yeast with the remaining water, the olive oil, and the salt in a large bowl. Stir well. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat well by hand for 100 strokes. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining flour 1/3 cup at a time, beating well each time. When the dough can no longer be stirred and is firm enough to knead, turn it out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
4. Put the dough in a large, clean, lightly oiled bowl, turning it once to coat both sides. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough doubles in bulk, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Punch down the dough several times to deflate it, then knead it again on a lightly floured surface for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half. Knead each half into a ball and set them aside on the floured surface, covered with plastic wrap, to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly oil 1 very large or 2 medium-large baking sheets. Dust the sheets lightly with cornmeal.
6. Once the dough has rested, roll or pat each ball into a large circle. The dough should be quite thin, about ¼ inch, but not paper-thin. If the dough springs back as you work with it, let it rest for 2 minutes before trying again.
7. Carefully lift each dough circle onto a baking sheet. If you’re baking both on a single sheet, be sure to leave some room between them. Loosely cover the crusts with plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 425°.

Top the Pizza

1. Brush the edge of each crust with olive oil. Next, divide the tomato sauce evenly between the crusts, spreading it nearly up to the edge. Sprinkle half of the Cheddar cheese onto the pizzas. Add your choice of toppings, as thickly or as sparingly as you like, then top with the rest of the Cheddar cheese and all of the mozzarella.
2. Put the baking sheet on the center oven rack. If you’re using 2 sheets, stagger them on separate shelves so they aren’t directly lined up with each other. Switch the positions halfway through baking. Bake the pizzas until the cheese bubbles and the edges are golden brown, about 18 to 22 minutes.
3. Slide the pizzas onto large wire racks and let them cool for 5 to 8 minutes before slicing and serving. Makes 12 medium slices, or 4 to 6 servings.

Wednesday, December 9

“Which Way to the Barbeque/Back on Track” (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When Manny and the tools agree to meet Kelly and Elliot (voiced by Bass) for a picnic at Lake Nochanailin, they discover that the sign pointing to the lake shifted due to a gust of wind and that the arrow may have directed their friends to the wrong location.  In the second story of the episode, Manny and the tools get Mrs. Portillo’s sliding glass doors back on track, in order to help keep some pesky flies out of her kitchen while she cooks her famous salsa.

Thursday, December 10

“Francisco Comes to Town/Broken Drawbridge” (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When Francisco’s horse trailer gets a flat tire, Manny leaves the tools to watch the horse while he and Francisco get supplies.  When the tools take their eyes off the horse for a minute, the clever pony walks away, leaving the tools in a panic.  Then, when a drawbridge gets stuck in the up position and causes a traffic jam, Manny must help drawbridge operator, Sal (voiced by Belushi), fix it in order to get the cars moving again.

Handy Manny, a hugely popular character among the preschool set and star of Disney Channel’s hit series “Handy Manny,” highlights the importance of washing hands and offers other tips to prevent the spread of germs, especially during flu season, in a new interstitial segment premiering FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 (9:25 a.m. ET/PT) during Playhouse Disney, the learning-focused programming block for preschoolers seen daily on Disney Channel.  The interstitial will recur multiple times daily and will be available at PlayhouseDisney.com, with a link to the Center for Disease Control’s flu prevention micro-site and printable tips for parents on how to prevent and treat the flu.

A Top 10 TV series with preschoolers age 2-5, the Emmy-nominated “Handy Manny,” which is set in a multicultural, multi-generational community and follows a curriculum that models problem solving, is available in over 140 countries and in 23 languages.  (Source: NTI, 4Q09 to date (9/28/09-11/22/09, U.S. ratings, most current), ranked among preschool targeted series.)

“Handy Manny” airs weekdays at 9:00 a.m., ET/PT and weekends at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., ET/PT during Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney programming block for preschoolers. The series carries a TV-Y parental guideline.

Dora and Swiper explore the past, present and future of Christmas in Nickelodeon’s new hour-long primetime TV special, Dora the Explorer: “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure,” premiering Sunday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).  The episode, which includes a special holiday version of the Dora the Explorer theme song recorded by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, will encore on Nickelodeon on Monday, Dec. 7, at 9 a.m. (ET/PT) and on Nick Jr. on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. (ET).

In “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure,” Swiper tries to swipe the Christmas star from Dora’s Nochebuena party and winds up on Santa’s naughty list.  Dora appeals to Santa, who says that if Swiper can learn the true sprit of Christmas, he will put him back on the nice list.  Believing Swiper can change, Dora accompanies him on a journey to the past, the present and the future to help him find four missing ornaments and discover the true meaning of Christmas.

“Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure” features new, original music including the special holiday version of the theme song, performed by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, an organization providing children of all socio-economic backgrounds with a unique music education and performance program.  More than 1100 children participate annually through the chorus’ core after-school program and its satellite program in New York City schools, and its national affiliates in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Tenafly, New Jersey.

“Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure” and two other previously aired specials – “Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom” and “Dora Saves the Snow Princess” – will be available for purchase on iTunes beginning Monday, Dec. 14.

Nickelodeon’s award-winning website features an interactive game and activities to complement the premiere of “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure.”  In the game, kids can help Dora and Swiper deliver Christmas presents by relying on their shape, color and pattern recognition skills.  The site also features recipes, crafts, printables and more.

Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure is currently available on DVD in stores nationwide, and a companion CD, Dora’s Christmas, is also available in stores nationwide and on iTunes.  Created by Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, the DVD includes contains six minutes of bonus footage not airing in the TV special and two exclusive music videos.  The CD, from Nickelodeon and Sony Music, includes 16 new holiday songs performed by Dora, featuring classic carols with a Latin twist, including “Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Santa Claus Is Coming Aquí!”  The CD also features bonus songs from Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure.

TeenNick, Nickelodeon’s 24-hour TV network exclusively for and about teens, unveils the first-ever TeenNick HALO Awards – a new concept in awards shows featuring four mega-celebrities who don’t receive the awards themselves—they give them out to deserving teens in support of their philanthropic causes.  LeBron James, Alicia Keys, Hayden Panettiere and Justin Timberlake join TeenNick Chairman Nick Cannon in an hour-long special presentation that recognizes and celebrates real teens who are “Helping And Leading Others” (HALO) and working to making a significant difference in the world.  The TeenNick HALO Awards premieres Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. (ET), on TeenNick, followed by an encore presentation at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nick at Nite.  Conceived, hosted and executive produced by Cannon, the TeenNick HALO Awards, in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, also features an exclusive personal message from First Lady Michelle Obama.

“There are so many regular young people who are agents of change in their communities, and I wanted to recognize their efforts,” said Nick Cannon, Chairman, TeenNick.  “One person can make a difference, and it’s my hope that this special will encourage ongoing activism and inspire a new generation of leaders.”

The TeenNick HALO Awards highlights the unique stories of four teens–Brryan Jackson, Megan Kilroy, Darrius Snow and Leah Stoltz–who have made enormous service contributions in their communities.  The teens are each surprised by a visit from Cannon and awarded a grant for their organization, scholarship funds and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and connect with a celebrity who shares a similar passion for their cause.

“We know today’s generation of teens have a deep interest in giving back to their community, and Nick Cannon came to us with the brilliant idea of celebrating and supporting these efforts by creating an award show that flips the script and features today’s biggest celebrities giving out the awards instead of receiving them,” said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon.  “The stories of these four teens are both motivational and uplifting, and we think the HALO Awards will help to inspire other young people in their communities to get involved in service.”

TeenNick’s website will feature information on each of the teens’ and celebrities’ organizations, as well as list extensive resources on how people can get involved on local levels throughout the year.  In addition, teens are invited to share stories of others who are also making a difference.

In support of the TeenNick HALO Awards, TeenNick will run a mobile sweepstakes “Do Good in Your ‘Hood with Nick Cannon.”  The network will award one lucky winner by bringing Nick Cannon to his or her town to lead a service opportunity in the community.  Contestants between the ages of 13-24 years old may enter the sweepstakes by texting HALO to 91757 during the sweeps period from Dec. 11 through Jan. 10, 2010.

Following are the TeenNick HALO Award honorees, along with information on their organizations and their celebrity match:

• Brryan Jackson, a St. Charles, MO native, created Hope Is Vital, an organization that advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness education and outreach, after being infected with the HIV virus as an infant.  His HALO match, Alicia Keys, shares his passion for the cause with Keep A Child Alive, her charity that provides life saving treatment, care and support services to children and their families living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.
• Having grown up on the shores of Santa Monica, Megan Kilroy now runs Team Marine, an advocacy group at her high school that conducts ocean research and supports community activism, outreach and education.  Her HALO match, Hayden Panettiere, is the spokesperson for The Whaleman Foundation and its Save the Whales Again! campaign whose mission is to end all commercial whaling and dolphin hunting and to preserve and protect whales, dolphins and their ocean habitat.
• Darrius Snow, who grew up in the projects of Atlanta, successfully built up and ran BTEAM (Bankhead Teens Encouraging Action by Motivating Others), an organization dedicated to community improvement by providing kids and teens with positive physical activities as an alternative to violence, drugs and gangs.  His HALO match, LeBron James, founded the LeBron James Family Foundation in 2004, which empowers children and single-parent households through innovative programming and initiatives, strengthening the ties between family members and building hope through education, physical fitness and better health for those who are dealing with adversity.
• After living with scoliosis, Leah Stoltz started Curvy Girls of Long Island, a group that provides education, support and friendship for teen girls diagnosed with the condition.  Her HALO match is Justin Timberlake, whose charity is The Shriners Hospitals for Children, a pediatric, orthopedic healthcare system with 22 hospitals that specialize in orthopedics, burn care, spinal cord injury and cleft lip and palate.

Television host Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) and Today correspondent and former NFL superstar Tiki Barber enter the wacky world of Wuzzleburg during a week of brand-new Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! episodes Monday, Dec. 14 – Friday, Dec. 18, at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on Nick Jr.  Pennington stars as “Ty Ty the Tool Guy” on Monday, Dec. 14, at 3:00 p.m. (ET), and Barber voices “Touchdown Tiki” on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 3:00 p.m. (ET). Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, which airs daily on Nick Jr., supports preschool social skills – sharing, listening, compromising, helping and appreciating others, self-awareness and the use of humor as a coping skill.

“Playing Ty Ty the Tool Guy on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! was a unique new experience for me and I loved it,” said Ty Pennington.  “My best friend’s kids love watching the show on Nick Jr., and they call me Uncle Ty Ty, so it was really cool that the character has the same name.  Wuzzleburg is a great vacation spot and I look forward to going back!”

“I loved playing Touchdown Tiki in Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! My sons love the show and enjoy playing the Wubbzy games on nickjr.com,” said Tiki Barber.  “Most importantly, I got to convey the message about the importance of sharing and caring about your friends.”

The schedule for the premiere week of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is as follows (all times are 3:00 p.m., ET):

Monday, Dec. 14 – “Ty Ty the Tool Guy/Happily Ever After”

Widget and Wubbzy are hanging out with their friend, Ty Ty the Tool Guy (Ty Pennington), when a nearby family, the Quackers, lose their home due to the humongous sneezes of a pet elephant.  Ty Ty proposes that Widget, Wubbzy, Daizy and Walden all band together to build the Quackers a new house, and the gang learns the importance of working together.

Wubbzy and Daizy are delighted by the story of the Hopping Dipple-Dop.  When they ask Walden to read it again, Widget comes up with a better idea – a machine that can make the Hopping Dipple-Dop come to life!  But when Widget gets called away, Wubbzy and Daizy hit the wrong buttons, and the Dipple-Dop runs loose all over Wuzzleburg.

Tuesday, Dec. 15 – “What a Card/Too Many Wubbzy’s”

Both Wubbzy and Daizy need to round out their footy-football card collections with the very rare Touchdown Tiki (Tiki Barber) card, the best Footy-Football Player ever.  So when Earl unwittingly gets it, they both try to become Earl’s best friend hoping he will give one of them his coveted card.

Wubbzy agrees to go to the Cool Tool Convention with Widget, the Robotic Dinosaur Show with Walden and the Captain Wonderpants Ice Show with Daizy – but they’re all at the same time.  Wubbzy solves the problem by using Widget’s duplicating machine to create two Wubbzy clones to take his place.

Wednesday, Dec. 16 – “Mr. Unlucky/Focus, Wubbzy!”

Wubbzy is excited because he found a penny and thinks it will bring him good luck, until he accidentally walks under a ladder and encounters a string of bad luck instead.

Wubbzy gets easily distracted when trying to help his friends Widget, Walden and Daizy, so, when the Postman asks him to deliver a package, he vows to stay focused.  But when he sees a Jellygator chasing his friends around the park, Wubbzy has to decide if he should rescue them, or stay on task and deliver the package instead.

Thursday, Dec. 17 – “Rush Hour/Wubbzy’s Rainy Day”

Wubbzy, like most youngsters, is always in a rush.  When he gets into the Wuzzleburg Floaty Boat Race, he builds his boat hastily to get it done quickly, but the boat completely falls apart!  Luckily, he has more level-headed patient friends to come to his rescue.

Wubbzy’s excitement at playing Hoppity Hoop Hockey is dampened when a rainstorm spoils his plans, but he and his friends try to pass the time with inventive indoor games instead.

Friday, Dec. 18 – “Hangin’ with Mr. Gummy/Wonder Wubbzy”

Playing Batty-Ball, Wubbzy hits a ball through Mr. Gummy’s window and breaks it.  To make up for it, Wubbzy offers to hang out with Mr. Gummy for the day and keep him company.

Wubbzy and Daizy watch Captain Wonderpants on TV, and start wishing that they could be superheroes too.  They put together costumes, becoming Wonder Wubbzy and his partner Flower Power, and start looking for ordinary citizens to save.

Although Wow! Wow! Wubbzy’s world is more fanciful and imaginative than our own, Wubbzy, Daizy, Widget and Walden deal with the same social and developmental issues faced by preschoolers.  They learn how they fit into the group, how to understand their own feelings and those of others, and how to get along with one another.  As preschoolers watch Wubbzy and his friends tackle these issues, they learn the value of friendship and community, how to understand their own feelings and those of others.

That’s it, happy Friday and check back soon for more ‘Deals & Steals’!