Nickelodeon, the network behind the original show, today announced that it will air the “Avatar” spinoff series “The Legend of Korra” (a working title) starting next year.

The first series took place in a world in which supernatural “benders” have the ability to manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire and water, and focused on Aang, a young airbender who turned out to be the Avatar, a person capable of controlling all the elements. The new series takes place 70 years later in the same world and follows the new Avatar, a teen girl named Korra who has learned to bend earth, water and fire and seeks to master air under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin.

Earlier this summer, director M. Night Shyamalan released a live-action theatrical version of the first series called “The Last Airbender” that was poorly received by critics, although it posted respectable numbers in early box office returns.

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra” took the time to talk to Speakeasy today about the new series.

The Wall Street Journal: How did you come up with the idea for the spinoff?

Bryan Konietzko: When Mike and I first created “Avatar: The Last Airbender” we always knew it would have an ending to it, that particular story. But as the show really took off, and found an audience all over the world, we knew that despite our intentions of ending that story there would probably be a time when Nickelodeon would come calling and want some more episodes….When that time came we had this idea for jumping ahead and telling a story about the next Avatar, this girl Korra.

If there’s a new Avatar, that means Aang has passed on. If he died around age 70, isn’t that pretty young for an Avatar?

Konietzko: You gotta keep in mind that he was frozen in a state of suspended animation for 100 years, so he kind of burned up some of his extra Avatar time.

The new “Avatar” is a woman. What inspired you to change the sex of the protagonist of the series?

Michael DiMartino: It’s not so much about changing because we had Avatar Kyoshi before Aang. We’d established that the Avatar can be male or female and we just thought let’s explore one of those more in depth, because Kyoshi was a popular character with a lot of fans and it seemed like a great opportunity to not retread what we’d done with Aang, who was a great hero, we all loved him, but we really wanted to try something different. And we have so many great female fans out there, who really responded to Katara in the first series, we thought we have the fan base who are really going to enjoy seeing the Avatar be a female.

Konietzko: Mike and I, we love those characters too, and we’ve encountered countless fans who are male who really like those characters too. We just don’t subscribe to the conventional wisdom that you can’t have an action series led by a female character. It’s kinda nonsense to us.

The one image that you released is Korra looking out on Republic City, where a lot of the new show take place. Tell me about that city.

Konietzko: That’s kind of a piece of concept art so when the show premieres next year it won’t look exactly like that but that’s the direction we’re headed. The first series was sort of a road show where every episode they were going to some new location. That was another new thing we wanted to do is root it in one big complex location but mainly one place. We were drawing inspiration from Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s and Hong Kong and even Western cities like Manhattan and even location-wise cities like Vancouver, a city that juts out on a peninsula or an island and has these big mountains around it.

Will we see characters from the previous series pop up?

DiMartino: I don’t want to give anything away, but rest assured there’s a definite link between the old series and this one.

Republic City is a city plagued by crime. There’s an anti-bender revolt. Does this new series deal with more mature themes?

Konietzko: Mike and I like a balance of tones. We never set out to make an overtly silly show or an overly serious dramatic show. We like dealing with all those things. It’s fair to say we’re dealing with some sophisticated things and the show is growing up a bit. But that said, we’re not in a calculated way trying to target another demographic. Even in the first series, it was about a world war and some pretty serious issues.

If Tenzin is Aang’s son, who is his mother?

DiMartino: [To Konietzko] We can say that, right? [To Speakeasy] It’s Katara. It’s not a huge surprise.

What did you guys think of the live-action version of “The Last Airbender”?

Konietzko: We’re just really focused on this new show right now, and kind of taking this off in its own direction and not concerning ourselves with that right now.

So you didn’t follow the casting controversy about the movie version of “The Last Airbender”?

Konietzko: We didn’t head up that film. We’re just happy to be back generating the original content in this mythology, which is what we do.

Would you like to bring a cartoon version of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to the big screen?

Konietzko: We would love to. I think Mike and I would absolutely love to do feature animation. Either another story, or it if worked out, one in the “Avatar” world. We would be really excited.

The costume ties into an alternative history for the character devised by J. Michael Straczynski, the new writer of the series, and into a quest by DC to shine a critical and creative spotlight on the heroine, who stands with Superman and Batman in its primary triumvirate of superstars, despite her series’s modest sales.

In the reimagining of her story, Wonder Woman, instead of growing up on Paradise Island with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her Amazon sisters, is smuggled out as a baby when unknown forces destroy her home and slaughter its inhabitants.

Mr. Straczynski, who created the television show “Babylon 5” and wrote the screenplay for “Changeling” in 2008, starring Angelina Jolie, said in an e-mail message that he wanted to address “the wardrobe issue” as soon as he took the job.

“She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941,” Mr. Straczynski wrote. “If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.”

He added, “What woman only wears only one outfit for 60-plus years?”

Given Wonder Woman’s pre-eminence as a female character in the largely male superhero pantheon, her looks have always been a matter of more than casual interest, to both fanboys and feminists. In a 2006 interview about her work on the series, the novelist Jodi Picoult said: “One of the first things I did was ask if we could give her breast-reduction surgery, because as a woman, I know you wouldn’t fight crime in a bustier. But I was somehow shot down by DC.”

The new costume was designed by the artist Jim Lee, who in February was named co-publisher of DC, alongside Dan DiDio. Given the assignment, “my first reaction was, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Mr. Lee said in an interview. But he welcomed the challenge: “When these characters become so branded that you can’t change things, they become ossified.”

The new look — with an understated “W” insignia, a midnight blue jacket and a flinty fusion of black tights and boots — is darker than the famed swimsuit-style outfit, and aims to be contemporary, functional and, as Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” might say, less costumey.

Given the hope that the character will one day have her own international film franchise (a feature has long been gestating at Warner Entertainment, DC’s parent company), one test of the design was to imagine how it would look standing next to, say, Batman’s politically neutral ensemble. “The original costume was the American flag brought to life,” Mr. Lee said. “This one is a little more universal.”

Mr. Lee has drawn his share of sexy superheroines (the X-Men’s Rogue among them), some in skimpy costume, and knows what many fans will ask: “Why am I covering up her legs?” Ultimately, he wanted her to look strong “without screaming, ‘I’m a superhero.’ ”

The arrival of Issue 600 is a bit of comic-book sleight of hand, or, as DC calls it, a return to historical numbering. Wonder Woman’s first self-titled series, which begin in 1942, ended with No. 329. The character was then overhauled, her previous continuity erased, and she starred in Volume 2 as a heroine new to the world. That incarnation lasted 226 issues. Another new direction spurred a third volume (and, to collectors who care about such things, another Issue No. 1) that ran for 44 issues. Do the math, and what would have been Issue No. 45 is now Volume 1, No. 600.

The new costume will almost certainly be better received than the curveball thrown Wonder Woman in 1968, when she lost her powers, dressed mod and practiced martial arts. It took the attention of no less than Gloria Steinem to protest the change, and to help get the Amazon back into her star-spangled duds. Ms. Steinem went on to use Wonder Woman, resplendent in red, white and blue, on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine in 1972. A cover line proclaimed, “Wonder Woman for President.”

That’s the kind of attention Mr. Straczynski thinks she deserves: “Wonder Woman is a strong, dynamic, vibrant character who should be selling in the top 20, and I’m going to do all I can to get her there.”

Taken from :

Good News: Ben 10: Alien Swarm premieres on Cartoon Network tonight, November 25, at 7:00 pm.

If you watch the movie on Cartoon Network from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, you could look for a Sweepstakes call-in message to win Ben 10 Alien Swarm Kevin’s Car. The Call-In Message will instruct viewers to call the toll-free number displayed on-screen in the Call-In Message for their chance to win.

About Ben 10 Alien Swarm:

This film is based on the TV series Ben 10: Alien Force. It follows Ben Tennyson as he breaks ranks a secret organization that fights aliens (The Plumbers) to assist Elena, a girl that no one else seems to trust, unearth an alien force. Gwen and Kevin help him with their own super powers.

Learn more from here: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10movie/index.html

Aren’t they funny right?

To preserve Michael Jackson’s legacy, FOX is planning to air “The Simpsons” episode where the King of Pop contributed a voice. Michael Jackson on the Simpson on Sunday, July 5 at 8/7c, the network will re-run “Stark Raving Dad“, the first episode of season 3 that originally aired in September 1991.

Michael voiced the character of Leon Kompowsky, an overweight brick-layer whom Homer met during his stint at Mental Institution. Leon made Homer believe that he was Michael Jackson. Not recognizing the famous name, Homer brought Leon home to Springfield where many had anticipated the arrival of the star.

Michael was not credited when the episode was first aired because due to contractual reasons, he has to use the pseudonym of John Jay Smith. There is a time where Leon sings, but the singing voice was provided by impressionist Kipp Lennon.

However, Michael’s contribution is beyond just making a guest voice on the show. He also composed the song “Do the Bartman” which was performed by Bart’s voice Nancy Cartwright. The song appeared on The Simpsons’ 1990 album “The Simpsons Sing the Blues” but again, Michael was not credited because he was under contract with another label.

“It was always amazing to me that no one ever found out that Michael Jackson wrote that song,” creator Matt Groening said in 1998. “He was a big fan of the show.”

A sneak peek of “Stark Raving Dad“:

“Do the Bartman“:

Episode Synopsis: NBC’s MERLIN Season Premiere “The Dragon’s Call” – With a letter from his mother revealing his innate ability to practice magic, Merlin (Colin Morgan) arrives in the city of Camelot to find Gaius (Richard Wilson), the Court Physician. Gaius takes Merlin under his wing to keep him out of trouble. Eager to discover his new surroundings, Merlin sets out to see the sites of Camelot and meets Arthur (Bradley James), a young bully who challenges him to a duel. After being thrown in jail for standing up to Arthur, Merlin attracts the attention of others in Camelot, including Gwen (Angel Coulby), Morgana’s (Katie McGrath) young maid and most importantly, King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), who will forever change the course of Merlin’s destiny.

Show Cast: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Richard Wilson II, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head

It was a time of great love and adventure where King Stewart reigned supreme, the smartest dog in the room was the court jester, army lieutenants were merely boys and even old England loved “How I Met Your Mother”.

Official info :
“Sunday, May 17

FAMILY GUY (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) – “Three Kings” – Season Seventh Episode Fifteenth

After Peter discovers the writing of Stephen King, he imagines his family and friends in three of King’s most famous works. First, Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe – as 12-year-olds – travel along a railroad track on a journey of self-discovery narrated by Richard Dreyfuss (guest-voicing as himself). Second, Brian is injured in a bad car crash only to be “rescued” by his “number one fan,” Stewie. Finally, Cleveland and Peter become fast friends in prison.”

“We Love You Conrad” has a number of A-listers dropping in for voiceover work. They include: Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Drew Barrymore, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, and Craig Ferguson.

You can catch “We Love You Conrad” when Family Guy airs this Sunday, May 3rd, at 9:00pm ET on Fox.

Family Guy Season 7 Episode 13 synopsis – After Stewie gets his baby butt kicked by Joe’s infant daughter, he starts hitting the gym with Peter. It seems like all of Stewie’s hard work is paying off until Peter drops a bombshell when he reveals just how Stewie got those six-pack abs. Meanwhile, Chris starts to date a popular girl at school and quickly realizes that popularity is like physics as in what goes up must come down in the “Stew-Roids” of FAMILY GUY SEASON 7 EPISODE 13.

Don’t worry if you miss this episode, we will give you the video or link on this post, so you can Watch Family Guy Family Guy Season 7 Episode 13 Stew-Roids S07E13 Online Free Stream HERE.