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Television Show for Cats Set to Debut
2003-05-29
This is insane...the Apocalypse IS coming. Soon, I think.
Balls of yarn, little plastic toys with bells inside and the occasional whiff of catnip simply aren't enough to satisfy the entertainment needs of today's sophisticated, high-tech felines. Cats need television. And now they have it. "Meow TV," which bills itself as being for cats "and the people they tolerate," debuts at 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday on the Oxygen network.
OH! How did I KNOW!!!! Oprah's got cats, right?
The tongue-in-furry-cheek comedy mixes video of squirrels and fish with segments titled "Cat Yoga" and "Cat Haiku." An interminably perky host on "The House Cat Shopping Network" urges kitties to "use those paws — you've seen your owners do it, you know how to dial a phone." And an ad for a collection of favorite feline songs includes "Spay You, Spay Me" and "Mice, Mice Baby."
Lazy, lasagna-loving Garfield had his own animated series for a while. So did the cranky comic-strip cat Heathcliff and the animated troublemaker Felix. Then there was Salem, the spooky animatronic talking cat on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." And of course, there was the "Toonces the Driving Cat" sketch on "Saturday Night Live."
The ones I've heard of, I'm trying to forget...
"Meow TV" executive producer Elyse Roth likened her show to "Cat-urday Night Live," and said at least two more episodes are in the works. Actress Annabelle Gurwitch, formerly of TBS' "Dinner and a Movie," plays host while sitting on the couch with her 9-year-old black cat, Stinky.
You two women should be committed. Or on very strong medication.
Isn't that what they used to come up with the idea?
"The artistic mission was to create programming you could watch with your cat," Roth said. "I don't know that you're going to park your cat and do whatever." A recent advance showing of "Meow TV" at a Brooklyn loft, however, failed to hold the attention of a certain pair of overfed 11-year-old cats. Cali, the calico, licked herself the whole time, while Silver, who's gray and white, stared blankly out the window, then slinked away for food about halfway through.
NO SHIT!!!!They're FRIGGIN' CATS!!!!
But some cats really do watch television, insisted Pat Marengo as she cuddled her brown-and-orange Persian, Maggie. "She watches anything that's fast. She likes sports, she likes cartoons. She likes to see other cats on TV," said Marengo, who lives on Long Island with her husband and a family of cats who act and model. "We have a cat perch near the television, and she goes up, looks at it and tries to touch it."
Pat, get in the meds line with the other two.
Marengo and Maggie were at the "Meow TV" launch party on Tuesday night. Also in attendance was Vincent Pastore, who starred in "The Soprano" as Big Pussy.
Usually, I'm a big proponent of free speech. But this? What's next, Dog TV? Bird TV? Gerbil TV? EEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!
Posted by:tu3031

#10  What -- no mention of Ren and Stimpy or Itchy and Scratchy? Has this writer no class?
Posted by: JP   2003-05-29 15:54:36  

#9  Turns out that the Oxygen network, geared for women (says Oprah) is going to have some competition. Bruce Willis, Arnie, Tom Arnold and a couple other actors are starting a network by and for men. In keeping with the same naming theme, this network will be called, "Methane."

That's a joke, LH, and perfectly on topic :-)
Posted by: Steve White   2003-05-29 15:41:09  

#8  im mellow today.

Let a thousand flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-05-29 15:24:50  

#7  Gerbil TV - Richard Gere's new gig?
Posted by: Raj   2003-05-29 15:15:58  

#6  But wait! There's more!

Actress Sandra Bernhard narrates mock infomercials geared toward humans, such as "The House Cat Shopping Network."

Tough getting work these days, you piece of skank meat?

Posted by: tu3031   2003-05-29 15:14:35  

#5  This is exclusionary and discriminatory. I am deeply offended.
Posted by: A Dog   2003-05-29 14:45:07  

#4  "Okay. This is WMEW News. Our leadoff story is the debate on catnip... Coming up next on WMEW, sixty-four different ways to have fun with yarn... Dogbusters! Premiering Saturday!...Tom and Jerry: Revenge of the Food! On Friday, October 31st!... Only on WMEW!"
Posted by: Katz   2003-05-29 14:32:50  

#3  Sorry, LH, but this insanity must be exposed!
Posted by: tu3031   2003-05-29 14:21:25  

#2  Liberalhawk won't like this posting one bit.
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-05-29 14:12:29  

#1  I used to have a snake that watched television. For some reason, it would only watch Star Trek (original series). Anything else on the TV, it ignored.
I think it was the jerky acting that attracted attention. (It was a black racer, if anyone cares.)
I demand equal time for snakes! All Star Trek, all the time. (I can think of some humans that would probably go for that too...).
Posted by: Kathy K   2003-05-29 18:06:05  

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