Save Kids TV campaign - Petition the PM!

Pact has set up a petition on the Number 10 website to highlight the plight UK kids TV is under, highlighted by the Save Kids TV campaign who have a comic about the issue on ROK Comics, republished below. To add your voice to the petition click here.



Ofcom this week reported on the issue of kids TV, and its findings essentially support the SKTV position that something needs to be done to replace the loss of UK-commissioned output.

"In the end it’s our kids who will suffer, from lack of choice, lack of their own stories on TV, lack of their own voices and lack of a perspective which helps them understand the society in which they live," argues SKTV. "For the past year we’ve been saying that a country which fails to tell its own stories is a country which could just quietly fade away. Our kids deserve the best TV – from everywhere – and that includes from the UK too."

Ofcom’s report backs up this concern with real figures. For the full detail you can download the short version of the report here: www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/kidstv/

New Dennis the Menace animation in the works

Beano character Dennis the Menace is being updated in a new animated version for CBBC.

Trade magazine Broadcast and other sources report DC Thomson is working with animation company Red Kite to deliver the 52 x 12-minute Dennis & Gnasher by autumn 2009. Further co-production partners will be announced shortly.

The cartoon, revolving around Beano star Dennis and dog Gnasher, will have a modern look and contemporary storylines aimed at five to 10 year-olds.

The series is currently in pre-production and will aim to retain Dennis's classic streak of schoolboy naughtiness and charm.

"The BBC said it was really interested in a new series but wanted the format to be more compact and exciting," Benjamin Gray, DC Thomson's executive manager, revealed, referring we assume to shows such as the 1996 Dennis and Gnasher animated series, which ran to 25 minutes per episode. "We feel we have got that with this new series."

DC Thomson is also showcasing two new animation properties at TV trade fair Mipcom.

Wendy, the comic strip charting the adventures of a teenage girl and her horse, based on DC Thomson's shared property (with Egmont) created in English but published in Germany, is to be made into a 26 x 26-minute animation series, aimed at pre-teen girls. This could potentially mean the title may finally see UK publication, with DC Thomson already publishing Bratz Magazine for girls.

Another animated show, Marvo the Wonder Chicken ("The world's most accident-prone daredevil"), based on the Dandy strip of the same name, is also on offer at Mipcom, described a 52 x 2-minute comedy shorts series in the tradition of Looney Tunes and Tex Avery.

Happy Birthday Sputnik!

Space flight is 50 years old this week and although the space race may well have been borne by the desire to develop bigger and better nuclear weapons - according to the accounts of Russian scientists reported in USA Today - the actual exploration of space, which began with the launch of Sputnik on 4 October 1957, continues to capture the imagination of many.

For me, it continues to inspire new writing - I'm working with ace artist Bill Storie on a new SF series, Ex Astris, which you can read via ROK Comics.

• There's more information on the project at www.exastris.co.uk

• New Scientist magazine has a special web section on the legacy of Sputnik here

Wallace & Gromit Return

Huzzah! Variety reports Aardman Animation's Wallace & Gromit are back at work, with a new film to be shown on BBC1 at Christmas next year.

Trouble at' Mill, co-written by Nick Park and Bob Baker, sees Wallace and Gromit open a bakery but Wallace again becomes sidetracked by a love interest, Piella Bakewell. With his master distracted, Gromit is left to solve a murder.

The film, which is the same length as productions such as The Wrong Trousers goes into production at Aardman's Bristol base inin January and will run for 30 minutes and

"I love making films for the cinema, but the production of Chicken Run and Curse of the Were-Rabbit were virtually back to back, and each film took five years to complete," Park told the BBC. "Trouble at' Mill will be so much quicker to make, and I can't wait to get back into production.

"It's nice to be out of that feature film pressure now. I'm making this for myself again and the people who love Wallace and Gromit."

• There's an interview-style short film about the new project on Wallaceandgromit.com and Aardman will be delivering regular video blogs from the Aardman crew as the production progresses.