Screen Scene Newsletter If you believe you are receiving this newsletter in error or wish to stop getting it, scroll down for the unsubscribe link. In This Issue: There are all kinds of things to do and preparations to make, from Thanksgiving Dinner/Help Lines & Websites to watching Thanksgiving Day Parades, Thanksgiving specials and marathons, and DVDs. Take a minute to learn 10 Fun Facts about Thanksgiving Day. Find outdoor cooking and recipes for Grilled, Smoked, or Fried Turkey, including Grilled Apple Slices with Brown Sugar Butter. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs from 9:00am to 12:00 noon ET on NBC and CBS. In Detroit, insteady of Macy's Thanksgiving Day, the NBC Affiliate, WDIV Channel 4, will air America's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 9:00am - 12:00 noon ET. The latter will be syndicated across the nation beginning around 10:00am ET (check local listings for the channel carrying it where you live.) Truthfully, the Detroit parade has a more 'hometown' feel to it. Nickelodeon kicks off its Superstuffed Weekend with an encore of iCarly: iGo to Japan, 7:00-8:30pm e/p. Then, it's the premiere of the Naked Brothers Band's first animated special, The Supetastic 6, at 8:30pm e/p. Rosie Live! features comedy, music, and celebrity guests, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 8:00pm e/p on NBC. Part 2 of Deal or No Deal's Thanksgiving special episode airs Nov. 26 at 9:00pm e/p on NBC and E! Canada. A Minnesota woman tries to outsmart the banker, but her nerves may get the best of her when her family is placed in a cage with turkeys - the animal she is most afraid of. Nov. 27, Food Network will repeat "Dear Food Network" episodes focusing on holiday cooking tips, problems, failures and successes: "Thanksgiving Disasters" - 10:00am e/p; "Thanksgiving Turkey" - 11:00am e/p; "Thanksgiving Desserts" - 12:00 noon e/p; and "Thanksgiving Leftovers" - 1:00pm e/p. Survivor: Gabon - I Was Put On The Planet For This Show is a special behind-the-scenes episode airing on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 8:00-9:00pm e/p on CBS and Global. At 9:00pm e/p, it's a repeat of last year's "Grissom's Divine Comedy" on CSI and CTV. Eleventh Hour: Resurrection, the series premiere, repeats at 10:00pm e/p on CBS and 'A' in Canada. ABC repeats A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at 8:00pm e/p, followed by Grey's Anatomy: Dream a Little Dream, 9:00-11:00pm e/p. For a truer picture of the Pilgrims and their quest than tradition provides, watch Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower, Thanksgiving Day, 9:00-11:00pm ET on History International. ABC Family airs a marathon of Christmas movies Nov. 27 beginning at 12:00 noon e/p. Then, The Notebook airs at 8:00pm e/p. Four new episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants air Nov. 28, 8:00-10:00pm e/p on Nickelodeon. During the 8:30 episode, catch a sneak peek at Nick's new cartoon series, The Penguins of Madagascar Based on the characters from the movies, this series will premiere in 2009. A one-hour episode of Back to the Barnyard will air Saturday, 8:00pm e/p on Nickelodeon, followed by two new episodes of Mighty B! at 9:00pm and 9:30pm e/p. Sunday, Fairly OddParents airs new episodes at 8:00pm and 8:30pm e/p on Nickelodeon. Check out our Thanksgiving Weekend TV Highlights for more marathons, movies, sports, and holiday ideas episodes. 12 Eco-Friendly Gifts for Kids & Families >> The Christmas Toy Movie is a holiday classic available for the first time on DVD. Filled with wonderful songs by Jeff Moss, the heart-warming movie is still a delightful Christmas story from the master puppeteer, Jim Henson. It is filled with laughter, a few tears, thrills, and adventure. As the Jones family toys try to rescue one of their own from being frozen forever, they learn that there are more important things than being a child's favorite toy: love, friendship, and helping others. The Christmas Toy Synopsis >> Peggy Smith
Vol. VII, Issue No. 9
Nov. 26, 2008
* Barbara Walters Special
* Thanksgiving
* TV Highlights
* Green Toys and Games
* Kids & Family DVD Reviews
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A Bit of Inspiration: If the Pilgrims in Plymouth and the colonists at Jamestown could survive hunger, famine, scurvy, and a lack of shelter, we can face and overcome our current economic crisis. Many thanks to the Native Americans who helped the European settlers.
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Barbara Walters Special
You have to give Barbara Walters credit for her ability to interview anyone about anything. Wednesday at 10:01pm e/p, tune in to to ABC for "Barack Obama: The Barbara Walters Interview." President-Elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, will talk about their future in the White House. Most importantly, Obama will discuss the economy.
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Thanksgiving Day!
On the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It's a time for family - not just parents, brothers and sisters - but grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, too, not to mention our friends! It's also a wonderful day filled with humongous balloons, big stars, beautiful floats and marching bands!
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TV Highlights
Watch a rebroadcast of "Modern Marvels: The Turkey" Wednesday at 7:00pm e/p on The History Channel.
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Green Toys and Games
Family Screen Scene has selected 12 toys, games, kits, and books that encourage an understanding of nature and the environment, or are manufactured to be as "green" as possible. Each is a traditional favorite of kids, whether a science set, arts and crafts kit, board game, doll house, vehicle, or activity book.
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Wintry Children's DVDs
Hit Entertainment and Lionsgate released two cool family DVDs: Pingu's South Pole Adventures and Shaun the Sheep: Off the Baa!. Both are slapstick comedy for all ages. They are almost silent and the dialogue is grunts, baas, or penguenise. As children watch, they create their own narrative for the action, which helps develop language and communication skills. But, really, the comic adventures on both DVDs are just plain funny! Bonus features include character galleries for both series. Pingu also includes a DVD-rom computer game.
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Happy Birthday Anne and Mike!
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Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Family Screen Scene
http://familyscreenscene.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008 Newsletter
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Smurfy Blue Skies
On the eve of the 50th Smurfday of the Smurfs, Macy's and Sony Entertainment announced that they will have their own balloon in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeR. It will be the beloved Belgian cartoon characters' first appearance in the famed event.
The tiny blue gnome will grow from three apples tall to 47 feet high, 38.7 feet wide, and 57.6 feet long. The body of the balloon will be filled with 15, 050 cubic feet of helium.
A "smurfariffic" float will follow on the heels of the balloon. Papa Smurf and Smurfette will ride on the float, which will also feature one of the Smurfs' legendary mushroom shaped homes from Smurf village. The house will be an inflated balloon.
"Without a doubt, the sky will be blue this Thanksgiving," said Amy Kule, producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "We are thrilled to help The Smurfs celebrate their 50th Anniversary with a new giant balloon that will be one of the highlights of this year's Parade. Following closely behind this flying wonder will be the ubiquitous mushroom village float holding the classic characters everybody remembers so well: Papa Smurf and Smurfette." Kule continued, "We are pleased that following this inaugural flight, a whole new generation will have a chance to get to know and love the Smurfs for many more decades to come."
Hendrik Coymsan, CEO of Lafig Belgium s.a., added, "To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Smurfs have been touring throughout Europe with the 'Smurf Happy Birthday Project,' supporting UNICEF's mission to 'bring education to all the children of the world'. At this coming Thanksgiving, the Smurfs will appear for the first time in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. This will be one of the highlights of their 50th anniversary year. The Smurfs are proud to have been invited to make this special appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and to greet three generations of fans in America. Smurfs are only three apples high, but in
the Big Apple at Thanksgiving they will be super-sized! It will be a unique experience."
Juli Boylan, senior vice president, worldwide consumer products for Sony Pictures Entertainment, commented, "We are thrilled to be celebrating the Smurfs' 50th Smurfday in America, and the giant character balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the perfect highlight for this milestone. People all over the world love the Smurfs and the parade is the perfect time and event to celebrate 50 years of Smurfing."
The first Smurf appeared in a cartoon on October 23, 1958 in the Belgian magazine Spirou. The cartoon was set in medieval times and featured Johan and Peewit. The heroes suddenly hear a voice, "Can't you look where you smurf? You nearly smurfed me!" Just then, a small, blue gnome stepped out from behind a rock.
The 82nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationally on NBC from 9:00am to 12:00 noon in all time zones. The telecast reaches more than 50 million viewers, while approximately 3.5 million spectators watch it from the streets of the Big Apple.
Macy's Department Stores are celebrating their own anniversary, as it marks 150 years in New York City.
The 2008 Macy's Holiday Ambassador is none other than the environmentally-conscious, helpful elephant, Horton from Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Source: Macy's press release.