e.tv Updates: Annika Larsen Is Getting Her Own Talk Show, Corn And Peg Rip-off Series Coming Soon To The Craze Block And A Rebroadcast Of The Family Drama Wrede Stad Surfaces On Weekday Mornings

Annika Larsen is getting a late night talk show

e.tv is adding a new late-night interview talk show, with reporter and TV news anchor Annika Larsen who will debut My Guest Tonight with Annika Larsen on Tuesday 11 October at 22:00 on the red letter channel.

In the new half-hour interview show the veteran journalist will "take an intimate behind-the-scenes look at her interviewees, exploring their public and private personas" e.tv says about the new programme, noting that "she will ask the questions you always wanted answered".

Annika Larsen who also worked at Eyewitness News and M-Net's Carte Blanche, has been a journalist for 22 years and has reported for international radio and television news programs on the BBC, Associated Press and ITN Television News.

Powerbirds sets its co-ordinates on Craze

Earlier in the year, eMedia Investments picked up rights to NBCUniversal original Powerbirds for their eToonz channel which happens to be one of the last originals which were produced for Universal Kids alongside other already seen series like Where's Waldo.

After several months, e.tv has scheduled a rebroadcast to the preschool series on Thursday at 15:45 from 20 October.

Polly and Ace are 2 birds who are owned by Max, a superhero-loving 6 year old boy, but when he leaves for school, they become Powerbirds, superhero birds who use their numerous powers to stop animal villains from ruining the neighborhood.

Wrede Stad makes a comeback on e.tv

Last year, eMedia Investments acquired broadcasting rights to the family drama, Wrede Stad (Zalim Istanbul) for their eExtra channel which concluded earlier in the year. Now consumers without the channel can witness the drama unfold from 20 October at 8:30.

Wrede Stad follows the life of Seher and his children. When Seher and Agah make an encounter, the lives of their families become complicated as tension and scandal arises between the two families. The series is headed by Fikret Kuşkan and Deniz Uğur.

Ay Yapım is the producer of the show and has worked on several other projects for the channel including Stiletto Vendetta, Elif, Kuzgun (Voelvry), Impak and several others.

 

BBC Brit Vs. BBC UKTV: Recommendations And Major Improvements

Last month, BBC Studios and eMedia Investments unveiled a new free-to-air channel BBC UKTV which comes out of an existing brand which was later adapted to South Africa in order for more consumers to have access to the bouquet of content currently seen on DStv.

BBC UKTV is set to be a mashup of most other channels carried exclusively on DStv as it features reality shows like Top Gear and The Great British Cook Off, drama series like Doctor and Casualty and even a dedicated kids block so what's not to love about the channel.

While others may view it's seperate counterparts as repetitive but this one on the other hand comes with limitations as it means viewers would have to wait a while longer to view certain content. Of course, if there's one thing I guarantee makes it a winner is the quantity on the channel.

BBC UKTV had me thinking about the current linear offering on the DStv platform. As it is BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth, CBeebies and BBC World News have been met with a lot of praise from families and kids alike but if there's one thing a lot of consumers would have mixed feelings for its BBC Brit.

BBC Brit has been active since 2015 following the termination of BBC Entertainment and offered several shows like The Graham Norton Show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Wipeout and Top Gear. Following the termination of BBC First, it's the exclusive home to dramas such as EastEnders and Downtown Abbey.

Point being made, BBC Brit was viewed more as a waste to DStv customers before inheriting the BBC First offering and even after welcoming that content viewer's interpretation of the channel hasn't seen much improvement and I mean the reasons are very much justified.

We all know certain channels have that mascot that takes most of the spotlight with BBC Brit it has to be Wipeout and Top Gear and I know these are popular franchises but is it really the version that got anyone excited.

And on to the drama slate, BBC First was able to offer at least 6 hours of entertainment with BBC Brit it's a mere two hours with 1 show getting more of the attention but anyone whose viewing the channel isn't a fan on how the channel chooses to rollout most of their content which is where I'm involving BBC UKTV.

Honestly, I feel it's high time that BBC Studios looks into perhaps merging or making BBC Brit adapt a similar form as it is not a lot of BBC Lifestyle and Earth is available on the channel just selected content unlike the one viewers will be getting from BBC UKTV.

Roundups 101: Disney Animation Television Unveils Upcoming Series Kiff, First Look At HBO Max Upcoming Series Velma And Chris Pratt Is Super Mario In Explosive Sneak Peek

Kiff currently in production, slated for 2023

Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and H. Michael Croner (“Craig of the Creek”) have been cast as voice-over co-stars in Disney Branded Television’s upcoming animated series “Kiff,” which will premiere in 2023 on the Disney Channel.

“Set in a world where animals and magical oddballs tackle day-to-day life alongside one another, the series follows Kiff and Barry as they navigate school, relationships and their often eccentric community,” according to the show’s longline. Music will also play a role in the series, with a new original song in every episode.

Besides Heavens and Smal, the show’s creative team includes co-producer and story editor Kent Osborne (“Phineas and Ferb” “Adventure Time”), who will serve as co-producer and story editor, and Winnie Chaffee (“Captain Planet and the Planeteers”) as producer. “Kiff” is produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Channel.

Velma is getting an origin story

There's been a lot of chat about Scooby Doo's Velma Dinkley lately, largely because the release of Amazon Prime's Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!(opens in a new tab) revealed that the character is gay. Fans rejoiced, and so did Google.

So there's more than enough intrigue to fuel HBO Max's Velma, an entirely separate work that intends to play out as an origin story for Velma and the rest of the gang. The adult animated series will not feature the beloved, mystery-loving dog Scooby.

The titular character is voiced by Mindy Kaling, whose sass and signature charm do wonders for the role, at least from what the teaser suggests. Kaling co-created he series alongside Charlie Grandy.

Nintendo is launching another feature film

Start gearing up your (animated) engines, because another film based on Nintendo’s Super Mario video game franchise is coming out soon. The movie, which is officially titled The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is an animated project with a voice cast made up of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Plans for the next Mario film started way back in 2016, but production didn’t officially kick off until 2020. This is the third feature film adaption of the video game franchise. The first was the 1986 anime film, Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! That was followed by the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis.

The Super Mario film will be released in theaters on April 7, 2023 in the United States. The movie was previously scheduled to come out December 21, 2022, but it was delayed by a few months.

 

Update: Da Vinci Kids To Remain Aboard The DStv And GOtv Platform

During the week, it was reported that MultiChoice was planning to remove Da Vinci Kids after placing a channel terminaton banner on all their platforms on top of providing a detailed statement with the channel that was initially slated to end on 15 October.

Now that won't be the case as MultiChoice confirmed to sources that after seeing feedback from several customers that they opted to keep the channel onboard meaning consumers will be able to view Operation Ouch and Xploration DIY SCI.

Moonbug Kids is still slated to launch on their platforms in the coming weeks as MultiChoice has shared several adverts regarding the brand. But questions amount to the positioning of the channel.

We all know now that Da Vinci Kids will stay put and Moonbug Kids won't be taking anyone's spotlight but how are we not sure that MultiChoice or any of their partners don't have another channel up their sleeve that is set to leave the platform.

As seen these past months, Paramount has further distanced themselves from Nicktoons only referencing them on the basis of NickMusic. Their partners, AMC International has been reviewing their linear offering which could spell trouble for consumers in Africa mostly for CBS Justice.

 

NBCUniversal International To Close E! In Germany, Austria And Switzerland By The End Of 2022

During the week, Broadband TV shared the news that NBCUniversal will be axing their female skewed celebrity based E! channel by the end of 2022 for strategic purposes.

“For strategic reasons, the channel E! Entertainment will be discontinued at the end of the year,” a Sky Deutschland spokesman confirmed to Broadband TV News. “We are fully concentrating on our very successful pay-TV channel brands 13th Street, SYFY and Universal TV, providing our customers with an exciting and broad entertainment portfolio,” said the Sky spokesman.

Both NBC Universal and Sky Group are part of US media company Comcast.

Of course this entail doesn't state what fate awaits the rest of NBCUniversal's linear offering globally or in this case E! Entertainment as traditional TV is becoming a waste for OTT platforms like Disney+ and Netflix.

NBCUniversal will be rolling out a new streaming service Universal+ in South Africa from October 14th exclusively on MultiChoice's Explora Ultra supplying content already viewed on various channels including Telemundo, Universal TV and DreamWorks Channel.

Recommended Games #7: Rich Knight's Horror Show Moonwalker Can Also Be Playable Through Your Device

The gameplay is focused on finding children, all of whom resemble Katie from the movie, who are scattered throughout the levels, some behind objects such as doors. Most of the objects are empty or contain enemies. Jackson's standard attack is a stylized high kick that is commonly incorporated into his dance routines; in the Sega Genesis version, Jackson's attacks fire off blue sparks, giving him greater offensive range. If the player continues to hold the attack button, and moves Jackson backwards, he performs his Moonwalk dance move. Jackson also has a special attack button which, when held, will cause him to start spinning; releasing it will cause him to throw his hat at enemies, destroying them instantly, but if the button is held for longer, Jackson will bring all on-screen enemies together to start dancing to his music. Once the choreography is finished, all enemies are damaged or defeated. These special attacks cost Jackson some health, sapping up to half his full life bar at full charge. Rescuing children restores some of Jackson's health. Once all children are rescued, Bubbles will mount on Michael's shoulders and point him in the direction of the level's final confrontation, where Mr. Big taunts him before sending waves of enemies for Jackson to defeat (on the Master System version, Bubbles is absent, and the levels cut straight from the final child to the enemy rush).

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#BoycottMoonbugKids: The Possible Outcome To The Demise Of Da Vinci Kids On The DStv And GOtv Platform

With only a few days left on the DStv and GOtv platforms, MultiChoice has decided to axe the educational channel, Da Vinci Kids and this comes after unveiling a new preschool channel, Moonbug Kids. Thanks to our sources we were able to get an official statement.

MultiChoice constantly reviews its channel offering to ensure we continue to bring our customers the best quality local and international content that adds value to our customer's viewing experience. As such, Da Vinci (DStv channel 318 and GOtv channel 66/157/359) will no longer be available to DStv packages, effective 15 October 2022. We continue to look for fresh content that resonates with our viewers. Customers can look forward to more exciting content announcements such Moonbug Kids channel launching soon - and we've launched another kids channel, DreamWorks Channel earlier this year.

As mentioned in a previous post, Moonbug Kids will be added as a replacement to Da Vinci Kids and with MultiChoice battling transponder constraints it's led the brand to scrap a couple of channels in order to allocate more channels.

Unlike most replacements, Moonbug Kids is like when you slide BET with Travel Channel - random. As the two don't have much in common aside from the demographic with a bit of variation.

Da Vinci Kids audience range from 8-12 years with shows like Siesta Z, Operation Ouch, Horrible Histories and Wild Kratts. Accompanying the lineup is a dedicated family block filled with mostly documentaries and other factual content.

I mean after its acquisition the channel has become less of a Discovery Channel but more like a CBeebies and PBS Kids I mean there's more animation and the live-action puts it in a competitive spot with Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

But that's the thing, not a lot of people are familiar with this version of the channel as amazing as the improvements have been we have to face the facts. Not everyone is familiar with this version as opposed to the one from few years back.

The same can be said about its replacement Moonbug Kids as its audiences is further limited from Da Vinci Kids while the channel catered to 8-12 years then 6-12 years with Moonbug Kids it's like mixing Baby TV and JimJam to form this fresh smoothie.

Moonbug Kids has managed to redeem themselves and I have no doubt about that but the audience doesn't match up to Da Vinci Kids I mean the channel carried preschool just like Boomerang it doesn't come full-time as seen here.

Moonbug Kids is home to CoComelon a show featuring music, dance and nursery rhymes again something you'll typically see on Baby TV and the only thing that's less Baby TV about the channel is Supa Strikas and beside the point it's not something you'd expect on Da Vinci Kids.

But Supa Strikas being on a brand that is dedicated to preschoolers has me wondering how such a franchise can be reduced to preschool even that of Baby TV. I mean most of the company's property is preschool just kind of curious how Supa Strikas ended up in that predicament.

And even more curious on who still has the energy for this soccer legend I mean I believe everyone needs a break every now and then but Supa Strikas has been all over the place SABC, e.tv, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and now Moonbug Kids.

Da Vinci Kids doesn't have much alternatives aside from National Geographic and Curiosity but they aren't kid based and the channel kind of set up its offering in a way that would appease their target audience and those accompanying them and these brands cater for a much wider spectrum.

 

New Series Alert: Zee Rush Kicks It Into High Gear With Never Kiss Your Best Friend Coming Soon To Zee World

Last month, Zee World is a general entertainment channel home to various Bollywood shows and movies from Zee Enterprises unveiled a new block Zee Rush home to various web shows and to start off the new slot will be Never Kiss Your Boyfriend.

Never Kiss Your Best Friend revolves around two best friends, Tanie and Sumer, who meet after 5 long years of separation. A heart-warming story that redefines the rules of friendship. The romantic drama stars starring Nakuul Mehta, Anya Singh, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, Niki Aneja, Rituraj Singh, and Vivek Mushran.

Based on the book of the same name, the author Sumrit Shahi has worked on several shows including  Pyar Tune Kya Kiya on Zing and Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera on Star Plus. He has even written screenplays for web series Black Coffee and another StarPlus show, Tu Suraj Mein Saanjh Piya Ki.

Heer Kothari from The Free Press Journal gave four star stating "A refreshing web series". Shubham Kulkarni from Koimoi wrote " Nakuul Mehta & Anya Singh Starrer Is A Staple Drama With An Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Hangover To It". Ruchita Mishra from Peeping wrote " Kya pyaar dosti hai?' Nakuul Mehta’s and Anya Singh's friendly rom-com is totally relatable". Arushi Jain from Indian Express wrote "An easy-breezy show on love and friendship".

The series is set to replace I'm On The Edge weekdays (excluding weekends) at 22:00 CAT from 17 October.

Rich Knight: 5 Reasons Michael Jackson's Moonwalker Was A Childhood Horror

A lot of people talk about how that boat scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or the Wheelers in Return to Oz, really messed them up as children. And most of the time, those people are joking. Yes, those scenes and characters were bizarre and didn’t really fit in a “kid’s movie.” But they didn’t really mess anybody up, either. They were just creepy. Well, I’m here to tell you that the Michael Jackson movie, Moonwalker, which came out in 1988, and pretty much consisted of a few music videos strung together, legitimately did mess me up as a child.

And it’s because it slipped into my subconscious. Growing up, there are a lot of things connected to Moonwalker that I didn’t even realize were from this film that seriously freaked me out as a child, and I didn’t even know why. You might be wondering how this happened, and I can tell you. But do I want to? Yes. Yes, I do. Because it will be therapeutic for me, and I have to start somewhere, right? Annie, am I okay?

I Used To Think I Dreamt This Movie

There are two movies that I thought I dreamt but could have sworn were real. One was a sequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that actually turned out to be a live-action version of The Little Prince, starring Gene Wilder. And the other was Moonwalker . Strangely enough, I was more convinced that the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory sequel was real since there is actually a sequel to the book called, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

But Moonwalker was the movie that was too weird to be real. In my dream of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sequel, Willy Wonka and Charlie land in a forest with their elevator, and these little creatures pop out behind trees. That’s all that I “remembered”. But in Moonwalker, I could have sworn I remembered these clay figures chasing Michael, and him turning into a robot. Obviously, that was all just a dream…wasn’t it?

Segments In The Movie Became Actual Music Videos

And here’s why my lizard brain almost believed it was all just a dream. It’s because many of the segments in the movie actually became music videos. This is because Moonwalker isn’t really a movie, per se, as it is just a bunch of music videos that are loosely strung together. “Man in the Mirror,” “Speed Demon,” “Leave Me Alone,” and of course, “Smooth Criminal,” are all featured in this film.

And it’s weird that I didn’t believe this was a movie since I had the Michael Jackson Moonwalker video game for my Sega Master System. I played the hell out of that game, and I loved it. It was a platformer (of sorts) where you had to rescue children by opening doors. It was really fun, but something didn’t quite sit well with me when it came to a trench-coat-wearing bad guy with sunglasses. There was nothing really scary about this character. But then I saw the movie…

Joe Pesci Always Scared Me As A Child And I Didn’t Know Why

I found out that Moonwalker was a movie while watching an episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd . In the episode, which was about the Moonwalker game, the Nerd briefly mentioned that the game was based off of a movie, which made my heart leap into my throat. All those years where I just thought I imagined the movie finally came crashing home. I got goosebumps and had to see if it was real. When I found out that it was, I watched it and finally understood why I had an irrational fear of Joe Pesci growing up.

Because while most kids of a certain age found Joe Pesci to be funny as the short-tempered thief, Harry, in Home Alone, I always found him terrifying. For some reason, I thought he was either going to kill Kevin, or take him hostage and pump him full of drugs, which didn’t make any sense. Why would he give Kevin drugs? Well, it turns out that Joe Pesci plays a character named Mr. Big in Moonwalker, and he’s the main antagonist. And get this. He wants to make all the kids in America drug addicts, and even kidnaps a child. It gets worse…

I Had An Irrational Fear Of Being Kidnapped When I Was Growing Up

Parents always try to scare their children when they tell them about strangers so their kids don’t get kidnapped. So of course I had a fear of being taken. But my fear of being kidnapped was really bad. So much so that I had several nightmares about being taken to a lair where armed guards stood watch while my captor lurked in the shadows. Well, I now realize it was all because of this stupid movie that I was so afraid of being kidnapped.

In the film, there’s a segment that eventually became the video “Smooth Criminal.” I’m sure you’ve seen it—the white suit, the bending forward, the pool hall. All that good stuff. Well, in the movie, after the big music number, Mr. Big (Joe Pesci) kidnaps an orphan child and ties her up, threatening to inject her with drugs. And after I saw that, it all made sense to me why movies like Goodfellas and even My Cousin Vinny always gave me intense anxiety. But that wasn’t even the worst part…

Robot Michael Jackson Is Nightmare Fuel

No, the worst part, and the part that actually made me scream as a grown ass man, was when Michael Jackson turns into a robot. It was something of a primordial, distant memory that struck me right in my heart when I saw him transform into a robot and shoot down people dead. Dead!

And what’s really strange is that this scene is also in the video game, but my mind didn’t make the mental leap. Seeing it on the screen just cleared up so many holes for me as to why I always loved MJ growing up, but was also really, intrinsically frightened by him. So much so that I couldn’t look at his picture for too long or I would feel really unsettled. I always thought it was because of his “Thriller" video, but no. It was Moonwalker and Robot Michael Jackson. 100% Robot Michael Jackson . That scene is terrifying. And those are my 5 reasons.