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First off, since the nice folks at Hallmark Channel went to a great deal of trouble to rush me a last minute screener, I want to take note of their special Halloween on Ice, tonight at 8 p.m.  The problem is, the screener had no sound, so I have no idea how good it is.  It’s Hallmark Channel, so safety is probably not an issue, but there may be some scary stuff for the really little ones.

And speaking of those little ones.  Let me guess.  They’re on the ceiling and have been there almost all week.  They’re coming home from school today all tanked up on a sugar high from the parties at school.  But they still have to wait ’til tomorrow night to go trick or treating!

Planning is everything in these cases.  For the morning, I recommend some fairly active fun.  Ride bikes together through the neighborhood to see all the different decorations.  Or if your little one is still on a trike, you walk and let them ride their trikes.  Nothing too wild, like an intense game of tag, that will get them even more wired.  Just enough energy expended to take the edge off.

For the afternoon, this is one of those rare occasions when vege-ing out in front of the TV is worth considering.  I do not like using TV as a babysitter.  I am death on the concept.  But with a very long day of anticipation building in little kids whose concept of time is sketchy, it’s time to plop them down in front of their favorite movies or TV shows and let it go for a few hours.

Intense video games may lead to more wiredness and block-throwing.  Or it may not.  You know how your kids react to these things under normal circumstances.  Figure it will be magnified.

I do not recommend commercial television.  You’ve got kids running on a sugar high that’s only going to get more intense over the next day or two.  You don’t need an advertising-induced case of the gimmes.

But most important of all, while it’s true that wired kids are not a lot of fun, generally, holidays like this only happen a few times a year.  And sharing that excitement, seeing it through the eyes of your kids and remembering how much fun it was for you, that’s what it’s about.  You can get through this.

And on Sunday, on PBS’ venerable series Nature, they’re doing a doc on infants in the wild.  It could be a little rough for pre-schoolers.  There is some predation, albeit, not bloody, and there are some parents who kill their young (the lion scene was a little hard to watch) and there are plenty of babies that don’t survive.  And several birthing scenes.  But overall, it’s an excellent introduction to the nature documentary for younger school age kids.  Check your local listings for times, but it should air about 8 p.m.

With any luck at all, the tummy aches will be past and they’ll still be glassy-eyed from all the candy.  Which is when you declare open season on the leftovers and enjoy.

Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer

Courtesy NBC

I know NBC is desperate, but I can’t see why they’re running the same half hour special back to back tonight.  That being said, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space is a lot of fun.  It airs at 8 p.m. and then 8:30 p.m.

It’s not the easiest thing to follow if you haven’t seen the movie, and I have not.  But I’m guessing what was good, but not great (as I read in one review) on the big screen is a lot better in the half-hour format.

In the show, the monsters are all now working special ops for General W.R. Monger, and naturally, there has been an alien incursion – on a pumpkin farm near giant Susan Murphy’s native Modesto neighborhood.  Actually, it wasn’t actually an alien invasion so much as an aliens using the local pumpkin patch as a dump station.  It is toilet humor, but pretty funny.

The cast is spectacular – yes, that is Hugh Laurie as the voice of Dr. Cockroach.  Odd how that British accent seems totally put on when it is, in fact, Laurie’s natural accent.  Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, even Kiefer Sullivan and Rainn Wilson are all back from the movie, as well.

But the best part is that it moves quickly.  There are plenty of in-jokes for the parents, too.  The poor Missing Link keeps getting mistaken for everything but what he is, including Kermit the Frog, a fat mermaid, Shrek.  Then there’s the scene where B.O.B. goes to the doorbell to trick or treat, only he can’t remember the phrase and looks up at the woman who has opened the door with a very familiar perplexed look.  You know, the one you see on the little three year old in the clown suit as she tries to remember what the heck she’s supposed to say, and when you prompt her she finally whispers, “Thank you,” instead of “Trick or treat.”

The thing is, ABC is offering the half hour of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown tonight at 8 p.m., so if you missed it last night, you can watch it at 8, then Monsters vs. Aliens at 8:30.

Oh.  Scary factor.  Sensitive three and four year olds might have a problem.  This is definitely a situation where you know your kids best.  It’s pretty tame, but you do get stuff popping out here and there and monsters can be scary.  So be warned and have fun otherwise.

Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer

Oh, boy, oh, boy.  Yes, that’s me doing the happy dance.  ABC is airing It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown at 8 p.m. tonight (with a bonus cartoon, You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, right afterwards).

I don’t care about the other cartoon.  The Great Pumpkin is the one that counts.  It’s the one that exemplifies why a classic is a classic.  It’s truly timeless.

I’m sure there’s some do-gooding Scrooge out there ready to fuss because the kids go out trick or treating, thus exposing themselves to all kinds of horrible danger – never mind that the percentage of candy tampering cases is almost nil.  Kids stand a far better chance of getting hit by an adult party-goer’s car.  Also, the kids in the show call each other names, like blockhead.

I grant you, name calling is not appropriate behavior, but as Linus observes (after getting soundly yelled at by Sally, having forgone a party and tricks or treats to spend most of the night in a pumpkin patch with Linus waiting like Godot for The Great Pumpkin), there is no fury like that of a little girl who missed out on tricks or treats.  Sally was justifiably angry, and there has to be a way to express that.  And if blockhead is as bad as it gets, then we will be living in a golden age, indeed.

The special will also repeat on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., half hour format only.

And I am doing my happy dance.

Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer

It’s been a miserable week here at the old homestead.  Some of you may recall that earlier this week, I mentioned some plumbing going wacky.  Trust me.  Not fun.  But it seems to be resolved for the moment.

First up, let’s mention that Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel are all starting their Halloween programming – mostly holiday-oriented episodes of their current shows – tonight and Saturday.  This is either exciting news or a solid warning, depending on your kids.  And, believe me, I understand.  As I have said before, I have the intestinal fortitude of a 5-year-old when it comes to things that go bump in the night.

But the advantage to shows with scary themes is that they do give kids a way to get a grip on their fears.  One of the reasons folks like being scared – or rather some folks like being scared – is that it provides a cathartic effect.  If you can deal with a scary movie, then you can deal with your scary boss.  Me, I’ll take the scary boss.

Either way, if your kids are young and/or sensitive, you may want to monitor their viewing a little more closely than usual.  And if they really want to see something they might find frightening, watch it early in the day so they have plenty of time to get distracted and forget they saw something scary.  That’s what I do.

But if your kids are older, say, middle school, they might get a kick out of White Collar, USA Network’s new series premiering tonight at 10 p.m.  It stars Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey, a con man and art thief of unusual skill, who was caught by FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), a fed of unusual skill.  When Caffrey’s lady love takes off, Caffrey offers Burke a deal.  Caffrey will help Burke with his really tough cases in exchange for freedom.

It’s not like we haven’t seen the whole clever thief helping the cops theme before.  But White Collar has a charm about it that makes it fun to watch on several levels.  It’s also reasonably family-safe, as well.  Almost no violence – one scene with the Feds invading a warehouse loaded for villains, but not a shot is actually fired.  No sex – some hints at it, but mostly in reference to a husband and wife’s love for each other.  No bare bodies, even.  Oops.  There are a couple references to a couple women being hot.  But that’s it.  I don’t even think there were any language issues, but I could have missed something.

Why?  I was engrossed by the characters and the story.  Bomer is adorable, not quite the same sweet insouciance of George Clooney.  But he’s got the whole trickster psyche down and it’s fun to watch.  Plus he, like George, can play the serious moments well.  DeKay is a whole different kind of adorable as the upright good guy.

Yes, there are role model issues here.  Caffrey isn’t trying to good out of the goodness of his heart, but to serve his won ends.  But he’s balanced out by Burke, who isn’t going to put up with any of Caffrey’s shenanigans, but is still open enough to recognize the Caffrey has more than just his thieving knowledge to offer.  You can ask your kids about what an anti-hero is and why Caffrey is appealing as a character even though he is a scoundrel.

Finally, Saturday night at 10 p.m. on Investigation Discovery is a short doc called Blackboards and Bullies: Are Your Kids Safe?  Okay, they probably are.  Nonetheless, bullying has always been a problem in schools and is becoming more pervasive with kids mis-using the Internet and cell phones.

My problem with the show is that there’s a very heavy emphasis on the problems of bullying, gang violence and sexual assault on our campuses.  But while there is some crossover, these are three different problems.  Gang violence, in particular, has its roots in poverty and parental inattention, rather than a need to dominate other kids.

There are some excellent facts in the show and its well worth looking at from that perspective.  My concern is that it is a little hyped up.  Part of the problem is that it’s focus is on the problem, and until the last 10 minutes of the program, no one says word one about solutions or what can be done about it.  And the solution part of the program only focuses on what one school is doing.  Which is why I’m a little concerned about the hype factor here.  Your mileage may vary.

Either way, it is ironic when one of the talking heads talks about how kids get the idea from watching TV that that’s all there is out there, on a show where the hype might lead you to believe the gang violence problem is worse than it is.  It’s bad, don’t get me wrong.  But the what the problems are presented, you could get the idea that every kid is either a victim or a bully.

Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer

With little that’s new and/or significant on tonight, I thought I’d ask a few questions, instead.

Basically, we’re gearing up for a site re-design, but before we do that, we want to know what you, the readers think.  What’s missing from the site as it stands now?  What would you like us to keep?  How do you think the site should be supported?  Are you okay with ads?  Would you rather support it via donations?

And, yeah, we do have to find a way to support the site, especially with the plumbing going wacky at the old homestead.

But we also want to know what would make your lives easier vis a vis this whole media thing, so kindly speak up.  Let us know.

Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer