Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network has dusted off one of Hanna-Barbera's worst-conceived superhero characters, Birdman, and given him new life, as was done for Space Ghost before him. Instead of a clueless, argumentative talk-show host, Birdman has been reincarnated as the loopy Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. His cases are those that cartoon fans have pondered for ages: Were Scooby-Doo and his crew stoned all the time? Is that what caused the constant hunger for snacks? What exactly was the relationship between Dr. Quest and Race Bannon on Jonny Quest?

The Cartoon Network continues its conversation with kids and families about speaking up against bullying with a special presentation of "The Bully Effect" at 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. Produced as part of the Cartoon Network's "Stop Bullying: Speak Up " initiative and presented commercial-free, the show is a half-hour CNN original documentary abridged for family audiences featuring additional original content, including a...

HOLLYWOOD -- In the many-stationed world of cable television, where every niche channel is an isolated island or remote valley, new species of programs are born and new forms emerge. When Ted Turner had the idea to recycle cartoons from the massive film and TV libraries that he had acquired and use them for a 24-hour, all-animated network, he surely could not have imagined that he was creating the soup from which would crawl Adult Swim. That programming block of funny-strange and even antisocial series now occupies 45 hours a week of Cartoon Network real estate and consistently leads ad-supported cable stations in delivering to advertisers the prized youth demographics.

Adapted from the popular video game, Tak and the Power of Juju follows teenage jungle boy Tak and his fellow Pupununu villagers as they face various wacky challenges. They are sometimes helped, sometimes hindered by the strange and mystical Jujus, magical beings with whom Tak has a bond. With computer-generated animation and top-notch voice talent (including Maurice LaMarche, John DiMaggio and Patrick Warburton), Tak is colorful, chaotic fun (8 p.m.-9 p.m., Nickelodeon). Network MLB BASEBALL -- 7 p.m.-10 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13 / The Orioles face the Red Sox in Boston.

The Cartoon Network continues its conversation with kids and families about speaking up against bullying with a special presentation of "The Bully Effect" at 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. Produced as part of the Cartoon Network's "Stop Bullying: Speak Up " initiative and presented commercial-free, the show is a half-hour CNN original documentary abridged for family audiences featuring additional original content, including a...

LOS ANGELES -- All toons, all the time.That could be the slogan for Turner Broadcasting System's planned Cartoon Network, a round-the-clock basic cable service announced in Atlanta on yesterday by Ted Turner.An Oct. 1 debut has been set for the channel, which would be Mr. Turner's fifth on basic cable following TBS, Cable News Network, CNN Headline News and TNT."Nobody we've talked to doesn't think this is a great idea," Mr. Turner told reporters during a telephone news conference from CNN headquarters.

Have you checked out the new Cartoon Network on cable television, which on Oct. 1 began screening a collection of old series such as "Yogi Bear," "The Jetsons" and "The Flintstones"?How about the Sci-Fi Channel, which launched a week earlier with such oldies as "Lost in Space," "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Twilight Zone," as well as original new programming?Of course you haven't, because no Baltimore region cable systems yet carry the two newest national cable networks. And for viewers in some areas, including Baltimore, Howard and Harford counties, it will be a long time before these services are available.

You got cable TV? You want choice?How about a station devoted to uncut, uninterrupted movies from the 1920s through the '70s? How about a network that shows nothing but cartoons? How about a channel featuring nothing but science fiction, from "Lost in Space" to "Star Trek" and a Boris Karloff film festival? How about dawn-to-dusk travel information?How about moving somewhere else?Unless you have a satellite dish, chances are you don't get all the cable channels you could. In the Baltimore area, no single cable system offers packages that include American Movie Classics, the Cartoon Network, the Sci-Fi Channel and the Travel Channel -- not to mention Bravo, E!

Japanese pop stars Ami and Yumi seem like the cartoons that depict them - incredibly bubbly, wacky and hyperactive. The two singers from Japan have star power that has amplified beyond the music scene. While they may be known best for performing the energetic theme song for Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, they've also reached into fashion and now have their own cartoon, called Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. Over the phone, they play-fight, finish each other's sentences and create (at least in some)

Comcast Cable viewers can now tune into more classic movies, science fiction, education programs and cartoons with the addition of four channels.Harford County's largest cable provider added Monday the American Movie Classics, the Sci-Fi Channel, the Learning Channel and the Cartoon Network, shown on channels 51 through 54.The entire package, dubbed People's Choice, is being offered free on a 25-day trial to all 39,732 Harford Comcast customers. The package will add $2.95 a month to the preferred basic fee after Feb. 25.American Movie Classics is the only cable channel featuring 24 hours of classic movies -- uncut, black-and-white and commercial-free.

HOLLYWOOD -- In the many-stationed world of cable television, where every niche channel is an isolated island or remote valley, new species of programs are born and new forms emerge. When Ted Turner had the idea to recycle cartoons from the massive film and TV libraries that he had acquired and use them for a 24-hour, all-animated network, he surely could not have imagined that he was creating the soup from which would crawl Adult Swim. That programming block of funny-strange and even antisocial series now occupies 45 hours a week of Cartoon Network real estate and consistently leads ad-supported cable stations in delivering to advertisers the prized youth demographics.

Japanese pop stars Ami and Yumi seem like the cartoons that depict them - incredibly bubbly, wacky and hyperactive. The two singers from Japan have star power that has amplified beyond the music scene. While they may be known best for performing the energetic theme song for Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, they've also reached into fashion and now have their own cartoon, called Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. Over the phone, they play-fight, finish each other's sentences and create (at least in some)

Cartoon Network has dusted off one of Hanna-Barbera's worst-conceived superhero characters, Birdman, and given him new life, as was done for Space Ghost before him. Instead of a clueless, argumentative talk-show host, Birdman has been reincarnated as the loopy Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. His cases are those that cartoon fans have pondered for ages: Were Scooby-Doo and his crew stoned all the time? Is that what caused the constant hunger for snacks? What exactly was the relationship between Dr. Quest and Race Bannon on Jonny Quest?

Bugs vs. Hitler? Heck, der Fuhrer never had a chance. During World War II, producer Leon Schlesinger and his crew at the Warner Bros. animation studios rallied 'round the flag in a major way, producing a steady stream of cartoons aimed at promoting the war effort and boosting morale. That in itself wasn't unusual; all the major studios did their share of flag-waving during the war. But no one did it as hilariously as the animators behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and all the other Looney Tunes characters.

Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. These are the ingredients used to create the hottest, hippest cartoon show for girls since, since -- well, since maybe ever. You can keep your Transformers, your X-Men and your Pokemon. At the Fullerton home of Chelsea and Tess Larichiuta, ages 8 and 9, the only must-watch TV show features three kindergartners with peculiarly large eyes who thwart evil-doers during recess. Namely, "The Powerpuff Girls." The show's main characters, Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles, were created in a lab by the kind-hearted Professor Utonium in a quest to create the perfect little girls.

Music store grand opening includes a seminar on soundCoffey Music is having a grand opening event for its new location at 31 E. Main St., Westminster, the former Mather's Department Store.Starting Thursday, patrons can meet the Peavey representative. Peavey is a new line of products for Coffey Music.Bill Cooper of St. Louis Music will present a free seminar, "Reality of Sound," at 7 p.m. Friday. Musicians will be offered the theories of how to run sound and what the specifications mean.Saturday's grand opening starts with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m., presided over by State Treasurer Richard N. Dixon.

Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. These are the ingredients used to create the hottest, hippest cartoon show for girls since, since -- well, since maybe ever. You can keep your Transformers, your X-Men and your Pokemon. At the Fullerton home of Chelsea and Tess Larichiuta, ages 8 and 9, the only must-watch TV show features three kindergartners with peculiarly large eyes who thwart evil-doers during recess. Namely, "The Powerpuff Girls." The show's main characters, Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles, were created in a lab by the kind-hearted Professor Utonium in a quest to create the perfect little girls.

A world-renowned scholar on T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound writes a book about the guy who created Wile E. Coyote. A cable channel that shows nothing but cartoons says a third of its audience is old enough to vote. Animation cels -- the hundreds of individual drawings that make up a six-minute cartoon -- sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars.Even Yasser Arafat decides against moving to the Gaza Strip when he learns its cable system doesn't include the Cartoon Network.Cartoons may have a reputation for being kids' stuff; in fact, they're anything but. Just ask Ken Dennison, who regularly sits down in his Bel Air home to watch episodes of "Johnny Quest" with his 3-year-old son, Drew.

A pair of women-in-danger-at- the-hands-of-particularly-nasty- men movies dominate the network programming tonight."Dangerous Minds" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Superteacher Louanne gets together a group of volunteers to build a house for a student and her family -- only to learn the site is on territory claimed by rival gangs. ABC."Mr. Rhodes" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Teacher Tom gets into a bit of a scuffle, finds himself in court and has to depend on up-tight teacher (and former attorney and Teacher Tom adversary)

Today's schedule includes three noteworthy films, one pretty awful; one OK, but with legendary star power; and one creepy in the extreme. Watch on"The Opposite Sex and How to Live With Them" (2 p.m.-4 p.m., WNUV, Channel 54) -- This lame flick was Roger Ebert's pick as the worst film of 1993. Richly deserving of such honor, the film has only two things going for it: 1) It stars Courteney Cox, who doesn't exactly rise above the material, but is at least pretty to look at; and 2) I have a friend whose back appears in one of the Fenway Park crowd scenes.