NPH's episode, "The Mayhem of the Music Meister" premiered at Comic Con, where it wormed its catchy way into our hearts. UK and Canadian fans have already seen the episode in its entirety, but those looking to catch it on Cartoon Network in the US will have to wait until October 23.

[via Topless Robot]

Titan Maximum, which will premiere on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on September 27, follows Titan Force Five, a once-proud team of pilots who defend Saturn's moon Titan. Military budget cuts force the team to disband, and one of the pilots, Gibson "Gibbs" Giberstein (voiced by Seth Green), takes the news especially hard, vowing to destroy his former teammates and the whole of Titan.

Advance word on the show is that it's a send-up of classic science fiction, with a Robot Chicken twist. In other words, we can expect plenty of sex jokes and bathroom humor sprinkled in with our mecha-powered space battles.

[Sci Fi Wire]

We open, quite appropriately, with the tanks that once contained Hank and Dean's clones, emptied at the end of last season. They don't look quite empty. Is Dr. Venture growing new clones, or is there a new project running? And who'd this new bodyguard.
Now we're back to the season finale, with the Monarch's henchman running around the Venture Compound lawn, with the slaughtered Hank and Dean clones at their feet.
Rusty runs through the Venture Compound while pursued by a violet light, possibly from a certain flying cocoon?
Well, something is going down with those cloning tanks. Sadly, we still don't get a very clear picture of what's inside of them.
And there are Nazis in the cloning room. Are we having a Boys from Brazil moment? Are they looking to clone Hitler? Or Girl Hitler?
Oh, and Rusty's there, too. Hi, Rusty!
Oof. Whatever the Nazis are up to, it doesn't seem to end well for them. Or maybe it turns them into supermen in a glowy, painful way.
It looks like Rusty wastes no time replacing H.E.L.P.eR. An Astro Boy send-up kills a snake in Brock's old room.
The Sovereign of the Guild of Calamitous Attempt makes a return...
...and yes, he's still David Bowie.
An aged Phantom Limb (with his hands now clearly visible) plays the tuba. (Edit: Several commenters note that this is probably one of Phantom Limb's Fantomas ancestors, which makes much more sense given the presence of Buddy Holly. Good call, folks.)
And he appears to be trying to jam with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.
21 still lives with his mom. It's nice to know some things don't change.
And we take a moment while Pete White and Master Billy Quizboy dance and mix drinks. But what are those things around their necks? Evidence of spinal cord injuries, or mind control collars?
Evidently, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are channeling Avatar. I wonder if this could be anything other than a dream sequence, but in Venture Bros., anything is possible.
Finally, we see Brock, but what happened to his beautiful mullet?
Time has not been kind to hunchback Dean, but he still keeps around mementos of his prettier youth.
Seriously, who gave Hank a gun? I do dig the hair, though.
It looks like another showdown on the Venture lawn. Are those blotches of orange butterfly wings?
Rusty plummets from the top of the Venture compound, possibly in the same episode as image #3.
A somewhat udder-looking gun from the Cocoon. I wonder, do the different canons fire different materials?
What unholy slash fic did this come out of? Also, Billy looks kind of hungover.
General speculation is that this is Captain Sunshine, finally getting revenge on the Monarch for the death of Wonder Boy.
And there goes the Monarch screen.
Dean starts going off about how he loves Hitler. Commenter m-d suggests that he's talking about Girl Hitler, and I suspect he's right. Perhaps this is related to the Nazis in the cloning lab? Also, is that Sergeant Hatred? What is that on his face?
Hank is not only growing his hair to look like Brock's (or at least like Brock's used to), he's spending some questionable time with Dermott Fictel, who might be Brock's son.
Rusty meets 21's LARP crew. He seems less concerned about what 21 is doing there in the first place than all the graffiti on the X-1, making me wonder if he's Rusty's new bodyguard.
It looks like Sergeant Hatred is still hanging around the Ventures. Is he locked in that room to protect Hank and Dean from his urges?
This may take place after Captain Sunshine's attack, as the Monarch screen is now resting on a makeshift stand. Also, the casual way Rusty asks Dr. Mrs. Monarch for 21 suggests that whatever 21 is doing with Rusty, it's no secret from his employers.
The Monarch asks 21 to kill the cab driver downstairs. Funny, the Monarch used to just kill cab drivers himself.
Also, grief has not treated 21 kindly.
Dean really had no chance when Rusty put him in that first speedsuit. Now he's going to be wearing those things for the rest of his life. And Rusty seems be telling Dean about arch-nemeses like he's explaining the Facts of Life. At least he seems to be paying attention to one of his kids.
Commenter tnmnsquare wondered if this was a Spider Jerusalem reference, but I think the bald head just makes it look that way. Those are ordinary 3D glasses — from the future.
I have no words for what is going on here.
Really, none.
Dean's body withers into dust, and we're out. Can't wait for November.

"Night of The Huntress," the first of 13 new episodes of Batman: The Brave And The Bold, airs tonight at 8:30pm on Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network has long been a home for the quietly wonderful, whether it's Powerpuff Girls or Batman: The Brave and The Bold, and amongst the various reality shows (No, really) and Scooby Doo reboots, there are three new series that have caught our sci-fi eye:

Ben 10: Evolutions continues CN's favorite superhero franchise into another series, as Teen Titans' Glen Murakami and Justice League's Dwayne McDuffie give us a world where Ben Tennyson is now 16 and an "international mega-star super-hero," according to the network. But that's just the excuse for generational clashes as the kids love him and the adults want to control him. It's just like your childhood... but with superpowers!

Generator Rex is also from Man of Action, the collective who created Ben 10, and stars a teenage boy who's become infected by "molecular-altering nanites" that let him grow machines out of his body, and his worldwide mission to track down others infected by the same nanites.

Sym-Bionic Titan is easily the most exciting show; the new series from Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, it's described as a mix of "high school drama and giant robot battles," and centers around three aliens who try and escape their wartorn planet, only to become stranded on Earth. I foresee well-animated carnage ahead.

It's not only new shows that'll fill the network come September; the network also announced new seasons of Clone Wars, The Secret Saturdays and, thankfully, Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

A full list of the shows announced can be found here. As for the increasing amount of non-cartoons on the network, Stuart Snyder, the COO of parent company Turner Broadcasting's kids division, explained in a very unconvincing manner:

Our voice is changing... This is an evolution of our brand.

Dear Cartoon Network: Your brand is cartoons. While you may be going through brand puberty, that doesn't change the fact that non-cartoons theoretically doesn't belong with your brand at all. Still, at least we'll have new Batman....

Cartoon Network: 'Our voice is changing' [Hollywood Reporter]

Squad - based upon a toyline of the same name - has already made the jump to comic books, but this announcement of a 26-episode series to debut at the end of this year on the same network as Batman: The Brave and The Bold and Star Wars: The Clone Wars brings to mind the following thoughts: Firstly, it's interesting that this'll be on the more mainstream Cartoon Network as opposed to Nicktoons, the Nickelodeon offshoot that's currently showing Wolverine and the X-Men and is due to show the Iron Man cartoon later this year. Secondly, it'll potentially prime audiences for the start of next year's Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon... or maybe pre-empt that show altogether.

Thirdly, anyone who wants to see a giant-headed Captain America and Iron Man team up and fight crime are probably already beside themselves with the news.

Cartoon Network orders 'Squad' [Variety]

Fans of DC Comics' Blue Beetle have twice the reason to be excited about this week's episode of the Cartoon Network series; titled "Fall Of The Blue Beetle," the story centers around the origin of Jaime Reyes - and how that origin ties into the fate of Ted Kord (Wheaton), the previous superhero to call himself the Blue Beetle. For those of you who don't care about insect-themed heroes, perhaps the enticingly-named "dangerous Science Island" (complete with "legions of robots," according to the show's synopsis) will lure you in.

Batman: The Brave And The Bold airs Friday night at 8pm on Cartoon Network.

Batman: The Brave And The Bold [Cartoon Network]

The two-episode premiere started with "Ambush," which seemed like an odd choice for a debut episode, considering that it lacked main characters like Anakin, Ahsoka or Obi Wan... but it did give us a particularly bouncy Yoda, some introduction and insight into the series' status quo (that the Clone Wars are as much about diplomatic disputes than just outright fighting, although that's here as well; that the good guys use brains more than brawn - well, it is a cartoon aimed at kids, what did you expect? - and that the clones may share the same DNA but are as individual as you or I) and most importantly, lots of action scenes. When paired with the following episode, the more space-centric "Rising Malevolence" (which did feature Anakin, Ahsoka, R2-D2 and Obi Wan - and a prototype Death Star, to boot), the premiere hour pretty much set out what the show was going to be as well as could be expected, and it's definitely enough to get me to tune in over the next few weeks.

The problems with the show are pretty much the problems with this summer's preview movie - The writing is still overly simplistic and tends to substitute cliche for character, and the animation still has problems with making characters move believably - but the strengths make up for it, for now. The shorter format helps a lot, paring the writing down to a more plot-driven, speedier model that cuts dialogue in favor of action set-pieces, and the animation for that continues to impress... as do the little visual details the animators have built into the show (Ventress in particular looks amazing in every scene she appears in; I'm kind of waiting for her to kill Ahsoka so that I can love her even more).

In the end, the show works if you're willing to let it be what it is; as a CGI show that brings Star Wars back to its start as an action serial for kids, it's pretty enjoyable - but if you were hoping for something that would live up to your adult fantasy of what you remembered the series when you were younger... Well, maybe you should read the Timothy Zahn novels or something.

The day after an episode premieres on Cartoon Network, television-phobic fans will be able to buy it on iTunes, or else wait a week and watch it for free on both Cartoon Network's website and StarWars.com. In addition, StarWars.com will also be offering a regular podcast about the show as well as a weekly Clone Wars webcomic; iTunes will also have last week's Cartoon Network 30-minute behind-the-scenes Clone Wars Preview available for free.

Of course, all of this online promotion may backfire in terms of television ratings. After all, with everything that's available online, you might wonder why you'd need to turn on your television at all...

Superjail comes from animators Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber. who named classic animators like Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and John Kricfalusi as influences... which may fail to explain this series about a "psychedelic prison" run by a megalomaniacal warden (who's in love with his transvestite nurse) and staffed by a series of violent robots. But then, when you have a show like this to watch, who wants an explanation?

Superjail is on Adult Swim every Sunday at 11:45.

[Superjail]

It's not just big budget summer blockbusters anymore; now cable television is looking to the world of comics for material. Cartoon Network announced today that it's adapting three indie comics into made-for-TV movies, making sure that the adults of the future will have fond memories of warrior mice, teenage dragons and time-traveling families to look back on in years to come.

Ramsey Naito, the network's VP of Long-Form, talked up the projects:

We’re thrilled to expand our movie slate with both cinematic quality CG and live action... As we bring these and other titles into development, we’ll be seeking out projects that combine distinct voices with striking, contemporary visual worlds.

Live action, you say? Well, only two of the three movies - Mice Templar and Firebreather, both from Image Comics - will be animated, with the third, The Vanishers (based on an IDW comic from 2004), being planned as a live-action project similar to the network's successful Ben 10 movies.

The channel is clearly trying to grapple with the idea of "family friendly TV", with each of these family-centric tales: Templar has rodent hero Karic trying to save his family by reassembling a long-broken order of warrior mice, while Firebreather's teenage half-dragon, half-human hero, Duncan Rosenblatt has to wait until he's finished his chores before fulfilling his inherited destiny to save the world. Vanishers' heroes, Andy and Arvis, on the other hand, have a much less noble goal: they're just traveling through time so that their family can escape a group of robot bad guys out to enslave humanity, and who hasn't had to deal with that at least once in their life?

All projects have just moved into development; expect them to air late 2009 at the earliest.

Beloved Comic Book Titles Coming To Cartoon Network [The Futon Critic]

Based upon the Ben 10: Alien Force animated series, the new movie - again directed and produced by Alex Winter, AKA Bill S Preston from the Bill and Ted movies - will pick up with the characters from Race Against Time years later, with a teenaged Ben still using his Omnitrix to turn into multiple alien superheroes and save the day, despite the onset of hormones and potential High School Musical moments.

Cartoon Network chief content officer Rob Sorcher said that the movie will be "visually brilliant," leading Winter to respond that such pressure before he'd even started work on the project was "bogus". Personally, I'm hoping that this movie does so well that we'll see a Venture Bros. live-action movie announced before too long.

Cartoon Network does 'Ben 10' telefilm [Hollywood Reporter]

Clone Wars is "Star Wars starring an 11-year-old girl," according to George Lucas, referring to Ahsoka, the "feisty" apprentice to Anakin Skywalker in the cartoon. He showed clips of an acrobatic Yoda, a more menacing version of the evil General Grievous, Anakin and R2D2. Lucas also said that instead of making the show look like Beowulf or The Incredibles, he reached to Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds for inspiration. And he said the big advantage of doing television is that if you make a mistake, people will forget it a week later, when the next episode airs. (Clearly, Lucas doesn't spend much time on the internet.)

Clone Wars and Brave and the Bold will both be part of a Friday night "action/adventure bloc" on Cartoon. It also includes a relaunch of Ben 10 called Ben 10: Alien Force, and The Secret Saturdays, a show about "a family of world-saving adventure scientists." [TV Guide, thanks to Rich and Alex]

Inspired by Shazam, Ben 10 is about ten-year-old Ben Tennyson coming into accidental contact with a powerful alien device, The Omnitrix. Looking like a clunky wristwatch, it allows Ben to transform into one of the 10 aliens in his repertoire when he gives the dial a spin. The effects are short-lived, but each alien race has different powers that aid him in his quest to bust the alien baddies that come looking for the Omnitrix.

The show has been airing for the past year on the Cartoon Network, and its high ratings finally paid off: the channel greenlit a live-action adaptation with Alex Winter (Bill S. Preston, Esquire from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) directing, and the Six Million Dollar Man himself, Lee Majors, playing Grandpa Max. With numbers this big, you can bet they'll order up a sequel. In the meantime, if you like campy animation with cool alien tech, then you can spend some time catching up. At the very least, you'll know what one of the must-have toys for kids will be this year.

'Ben 10' A Winner For Cartoon Net [Variety]