disney

It's been weeks now, and still, President Barack Obama has had nothing to say about two of the greatest threats to American security.

We're speaking, of course, about Snooki and The Situation, from MTV's new series 'Jersey Shore.' Alas, according to First Lady Michelle Obama, it's a show the First Family does not watch. "I've heard about it," Mrs Obama tells People, in an interview all about the Obamas' TV viewing preferences. "Not seen it."

The Disney Channel has confirmed that this upcoming fourth season of the popular tween sitcom Hannah Montana will be the last. The final season will have guest-stars such as Ray Liotta and Two and a Half Men's Angus T. Jones.

Gee, what was the first clue that this would be the final season, Disney? Was it Miley Cyrus' increasing star power? Was it her singing career (which is for Disney records so it's not like the relationship is ending)? Was it the fact that she's getting older and before too long won't be able to pass for a high school student anymore? Or is she just fed up with the role?

Funny or Die has become one of the top destinations where TV and movie stars can go to make fun of themselves. Tim Allen spoofs himself and Disney films in general with this trailer for the fake movie Arbor Daze. From the plot to the narration, this is all too real.

Hey, we've already had a movie where Michael Keaton comes back to life as a snowman, so is this so far-fetched?

The world might be all moonbeams and rainbows about the prospects of a TV-less show world thanks to Apple's possible deal with Disney and CBS, but The Hollywood Reporter has swooped in to crush everyone's dreams.

A commentary from THR's Andrew Wallenstein states rather bluntly in the headline that "Apple can't kill cable."

His argument is varied and well-thought-out in several areas, from a lack of adequate company backing to fill Apple's show roster to basic economic principals that I could have understood if my college economics professor didn't make brains bleed with the power of his voice.

Then again, never-say-never. For instance, a certain entertainment newspaper once said in 1955 that rock 'n roll music would be "gone by June." Do you know which newspaper that was? Well, it was ... um, Variety, but that's beside the point.

Any attempt to break new barriers in television accessibility is nothing without content and Apple's latest attempt to corner TV has two big names in its front pocket.

CBS and Disney are in talks with Apple to join their latest iTunes TV project, a monthly subscription that would give viewers access to a whole range of TV shows.

Of course, none of these deals are set in stone and everything can fall apart at a moment's notice, but imagine the effects this project would have on television. Are you excited about it or does it scare you down to the very core of your being?

• Lifetime has an Army Wives marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has Dreams Come True: A Celebration Of Disney Animation, followed by new episodes of Ugly Betty and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Medium and Numb3rs.
• NBC has A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa at 8, followed by new episodes of Dateline and The Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has two new episodes of Dollhouse.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Food Network has Paula's Southern Christmas at 8.
• Hallmark has the movie The National Tree at 8.
• Also at 8: Disney has a new Wizards of Waverly Place, then a new Suite Life on Deck.
• At 8:30, Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force, followed by a new episode of The Clone Wars.
• At 9, The CW has Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.
• USA has the series finale of Monk at 9, followed by the fall finale of White Collar.
• Syfy has a new Stargate Universe at 9, then a new Sanctuary.
• At 10,Food Network has a new holiday-themed Unwrapped.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• At 10:30, Fine Living has a new Bartender Wars.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Although its all-superstar cast practically guarantees that the film adaptation of the musical 'Nine' will be at the top of most moviegoers' Christmas list, the Weinstein Co. has developed a ground-breaking marketing plan that goes far beyond the reach of television and includes some help from Disney.

Due in wide release on December 25, 'Nine' will have canvassed most of modern technology two weeks beforehand, infiltrating every media platform from prime-time TV to smart phones with a cross-format campaign beginning on November 17 with a stint on 'Dancing with the Stars.'

It's the season for scary movies - bad scary movies, good scary movies, campy scary movies, any kind of scary movie. And depending on what cable company you subscribe to, there are plenty of free offerings right now on demand.

FearNet is the obvious go-to place for freebies, although it has its detractors hanging around this blog. One of the best choices available now is Return of the Living Dead III. Unless you're a hardcore horror geek, you may not know this one. And the plot -- a young couple near a military base are torn apart when she becomes one of the living dead -- may not sound exciting. But the first zombie onscreen is convincingly freaky, and the surprise ending is actually kind of a surprise.

FearNet also has Severed Ties, in which a severed arm comes back to life as a reptilian killing machine. And who doesn't like a good Garrett Morris/Oliver Reed team-up? And there are a couple of bigger movies, like Brian DePalma's Body Double and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, and Sleepaway Camp II and III, featuring Pamela Springsteen (Bruce's sister).

The male nerd interest quotient just shot way up for Legend of the Seeker.

Actress Jolene Blalock (Vulcan T'Pol in Star Trek: Enterprise) is joining the cast of the New Zealand-based, Disney produced fantasy series as a recurring villain. According to a Disney press release, Blalock begins filming this week as "a mysterious Sister of the Dark who possesses very powerful magic."

It'll help you a lot to understand this next but if you're a fan of the show, but Blalock will not only threaten heroic Richard (Craig Horner) and "his quest to defeat evil forces," but her real goal is to destroy the lovely female lead, Kahlan (Bridget Regan).

One question I've had with the Disney acquisition of Marvel is how the House of the Mouse is going to deal with certain un-P.C. franchises. The one which came to mind was the comic series Marvel Zombies, which deals with an alternate Earth in which all superheroes were turned into flesh-eating undead and consumed the rest of the world's populace.

While I don't think I"ll be getting my answer anytime soon (perhaps the zombies will simply get locked in the Disney vault), some animator decided to redo the introductions to the 1960's Marvel Comics television cartoons in the zombie style. The original cartoons were essentially stop-motion comics of the original Lee/Kirby works. It's rather impressive how accurately the animator duplicates and parodies the original intros.

These videos can either be taken with humor or disgust as Zombie Captain America decapitates several soldiers and the heads of Norse Gods are thrown around. I leave it to you to judge for yourself. The videos are after the jump.

[via Topless Robot]

Disneyland hosted its own Disney Convention, called D23, in the style of Comic Con this past weekend. The name comes from the year Walt Disney moved to Hollywood and the event was held at the Anaheim Convention Center across the street from Disneyland . Among other announcements was that of a new Muppet movie called The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made (hopefully it's a working title). There was also a live performance by Miley Cyrus, whom Disney owns the soul of.

Admittedly, it's a pretty good idea which caters to the real Disney enthusiasts out there (having met a few, I know they certainly exist). Disney is one of the few companies that is large enough to have its own version of Comic Con. While the convention had announcements for most of its franchises, I noted the absence of any mention of the recently-acquired Marvel Comics.

On the other hand, the company already has a Disney convention open all year round. It's called Disneyland (or Disneyworld for the East Coast). What do you think of this development?

While this news doesn't only affect television, it does affect the industry enough to warrant a mention since both companies have historically had a television presence. Disney has purchased Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.

So does this mean we'll be seeing Spider-Mickey cartoons in the near future? Beats me. There are certainly benefits to Disney's acquisition. Marvel is predominately known as a comic book company and that market has been shrinking. However, the visibility of its characters has been growing due to the myriad of Marvel movies out there.

I'm sure words like 'synergy' and 'downsizing' are going to be used when describing this situation in the future. Will there be layoffs at Marvel? Should editor-in-chief Joe Quesada fear for his job?

My biggest concern is content interference on the part of Disney and the "toning down" of the more adult storylines and characters at Marvel in an effort to maintain the corporate image of its new parent. One can only hope that Disney lets Marvel be Marvel.

If Disney was still not sure what their next super-series was going to be once Hannah Montana goes to bed after next season, they know now. The Wizards of Waverly Place movie just nailed down the highest cable ratings of the year. This in a summer full of ratings records on cable. Only High School Musical 2 has bested it on Disney, and we know what a phenomenon that franchise became.

Even more outstanding, the movie stands a decent chance of being the highest rated show on television this past week, including the broadcast networks. Tuesday's America's Got Talent, the summer leader, had 11.2 million viewers per the overnight ratings. Wizards of Waverly Place got 11.4 million.

Maybe it's time to combine the viewership numbers for cable shows and the broadcast networks. I think the cable channels have proven they can compete with select shows, so why not show it? While there are comprehensive, albeit flawed, ratings numbers from Nielsen for the broadcast networks, the consumer gets far less information about cable ratings. It's all television, right?

The video below features a group of gay dudes in speedos dancing on the beach to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA." And Disney loves it.



Seriously. In a surprising move, Disney, who owns Miley's music (as well as her soul), has allowed the video to become a hit on YouTube, and Disney employees have reportedly been e-mailing it to each other all week. It even got the seal of approval from Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide. Mr. Ross recently placed a phone call to the maker of the video, Esquire marketing exec Dave Fudge, just to tell him he "loved it."

A long-awaited merger between two cable channels has been finalized...uh, finally.

A&E Networks aquired Lifetime as part of a deal between Hearst, Disney and NBC Universal. The deal makes Lifetime a sub-company in the A&E empire.

The deal puts Disney and Hearst in the front row seats of both networks with NBC in a distant third. This means that NBC can sell its holdings in Lifetime to the other two parties within the next 15 years.

There doesn't seem to be any serious announcement or confirmations of a name or brand change under their new owners. Lifetime will still be called Lifetime.