You’ve got to hand it to the FCC. It only took them six years (six years!) to fine station KMTV in Hutchinson, KS, $16,000 for exceeding children’s TV commercial limits.

On six separate occasions between 5-31-02 and 7-10-02 (you remember: back when gas only cost, oh, $1.98 a gallon?) KMTV apparently aired a commercial featuring the character Buzz Lightyear during the “Buzz Lightyear” program.

According to the Media Law Prof Blog, Congress was particularly upset about this because young kids have difficulty distinguishing between “commerce” (ie, ads which hypnotize kids with their toyful goodness) and programs meant to entertain.

We’re all for that. But what took the FCC so long to proclaim that these were “extremely serious violations”? Isn’t this sort of like grounding your first grader for something he did as a toddler? It’s so after-the-fact, we can’t imagine it’ll get any sort of desired result.

Good intentions…embarrassing lag time. If we worked for the FCC, we’d probably just pay the fine out of petty cash so we wouldn’t have to endure all those inevitable jokes from the media. You know, like: “How long does it take the FCC to crack down on Children’s Television Act violators?” “Infinity and beyond!”

Enjoy legalese? Read the official notice.

Listen up, Captain Hook/princess/Jonas Brothers fans! For the first time ever, Disney’s streaming full-length movies online. The flicks will first air on ABC as part of the network’s Wonderful World of Disney presentation on Saturday nights throughout the summer. Then, the following week, the films will be available for free copying streaming on Disney.com.

Here’s the line-up:

Catch Monsters Inc. from now until June 20.

Haunted Mansion: airs on ABC Saturday, June 28, at 8 p.m.; available on Disney.com June 30-July 4.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen: airs on ABC Saturday, July 5, at 8 p.m.; available on Disney.com July 7-11.

Princess Diaries 2: airs on ABC Saturday, July 12, at 8 p.m.; available on Disney.com July 14-18.

Freaky Friday: airs on ABC Saturday, July 19, at 8 p.m.; available on Disney.com July 21-25.

Peter Pan: airs on ABC Saturday, Aug.2 at 8 p.m.; available on Disney.com Aug. 4-8.

It’s not necessarily a classic…yet, but Disney will also stream its sure-to-be-a-mega-hit movie Camp Rock on Monday, June 23, following its TV premiere on June 20…and additional airings on ABC on June 21 and ABC Family on June 22. This “online event” will even let fans chat and play games while watching. Because of course, just watching the movie is so well, early 2000’s.

It blows our minds — really — when parents accuse television of ruining their children. It’s one thing to request better programming (like, of course, we at the STA do) but to demonize the small screen because it’s not parenting for you? That’s just lazy.

And because we’re feeling a little sleep-deprived and cranky today, we’ll spell out why.

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This Saturday, June 21, Playhouse Disney’s kicking off its “Super Duper Summer Saturdays.” New episodes of the channel’s most popular animated series (think Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the like) will air every weekend throughout the entire summer.

At the very least, tune in at 9:55 a.m. ET on Saturday to catch the premiere of Can You Teach My Alligator Manners?, Disney’s cute new cartoon about a kid named Mikey who desperately needs help teaching his pet alligator (Al E. Gator, get it?) some social skills. We’re always for programs that teach kids not to sneeze on Nana.

The show’s super-short, since it fills space between programs. You can catch an even teenier, tinier view of it here.

Headed to the beach tomorrow? Better set the DVR or your tween may never forgive you. Nickelodeon’s premiering an all-new primetime special, iCarly Saves TV, at 8pm ET/PT.

The gist of the show: Carly, Sam and Freddie are thrilled when a big-time broadcaster wants to adapt their popular web show for TV…but the trio quickly clashes with clueless network execs who want to retool (i.e., ruin) the iCarly they know and love. (Don’t you wonder what network execs are thinking when they read scripts like this? Do they really just not get that they’re being made fun of?)

We’re betting Carly and co. save the day (and the show). This special will cap a four-hour marathon of the live action series hosted by tween wunderkinds Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor.

Need more? Really? Well then, direct your offspring here to see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and music videos from the recently released iCarly album. There’s even a Karaoke element so they can belt out their own version of “Leave It All to Me,” the show’s theme song.

Strawberry Shortcake, among other “beloved” kids’ characters, is gettin’ a makeover, according to The New York Times. Apparently, it’s partly due to the dismal economy; no one — not even Wal-Mart! — wants to take a chance on brand new characters these days. (But redesigns aren’t necessarily a sure thing, either. Everyone, apparently, remembers “Earring Magic Ken” of 1993, who is pityingly referred to in the article as “the industry’s nightmare.”)

Here’s the rundown of extreme kids’ character makeovers in the works:

*Strawberry Shortcake now very closely resembles The Little Mermaid (except with legs.) The good news? She now prefers fruit over gumdrops and those awful bloomers and apron are gone.

* The Care Bears are getting longer eyelashes and a little lipo around the mid-section.

*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are to be resurrected with “less attitude.” (Note to TMNT people in charge: That still won’t help.)

* Angelina Ballerina, when she appears on a new PBS KIDS show in the fall, will be taller, slimmer, and well, less mouse-like.

* Mickey Mouse is also in line to get a little work done, although no details are known.

Any suggestions?

You know how sometimes you get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of a TV show and it just kind of ruins the whole thing for you? It seems so tedious, or machinated, or worse, the “likable” actors on screen reveal themselves to be complete train wrecks.

Well, if you love Yo Gabba Gabba! (and oh, how we do), rest assured. You’ve got nothing to worry about.

Kori Gardner and her husband, Jason, make up the band, Mates of State, and write about juggling tour dates and two young daughters on Babble’s perfectly-named blog, Band on the Diaper Run. They recently shot a musical guest spot on YGG, and Kori’s on-set descriptions will only make you dig the show (and its creators) even more.

We’ve got seven words for you: grilled peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches.

In this animated show which premiered yesterday, 12-year-old Carson Heartwood sets out to solve environmental mysteries in her community. Naturally, her nemesis, 12-year-old Shamus Dummkopf (love it!) will use every weapon and dirty trick at his disposal to stop her. That’s because his dad, who owns everything in town, stands to lose cash, prestige and power if forced to stop his hard-core pollutin’ ways. In other words, Heartwood is all about Green politics…with a dash of necessary silliness thrown in. (The pilot ep, “Cow-A-Dunga!”, tackles climate change and environmental science via cow farting.)

But wait! It gets better. Here’s the show’s “creed”:
Kids aren’t stupid.
Adults care.
Bullies suck (especially political bullies.)
Laughing helps.

We’re so excited about this show, and urge you to check it out, especially if you have green-minded tweens (say, 8+ years.). The Huffington Post raved about it, too, if you’re one to succumb to peer pressure.

So what fantastically brave TV network’s taken on this intelligent, shockingly well-done show?
If you guessed the Internet, you would be right.

Watch an ep at the official site, heartwoodusa.com.

Parents blogging about television? What their kids watch, how much, and when? We are so there. And we’re assuming (hoping?) you’re just as nosy as we are and will, too, find this fascinating.

At A Daily Dose of Toni, this stay-at-home mom explains why she doesn’t think having a TV in your kids’ bedrooms is a bad idea. (One of her kids has had his own TV since he was eighteen months old.) Go ahead, gasp with horror, but read what she has to say. It does make sense. The gist of her argument? The TVs are almost always turned off.

Over at Nicky’s Family Blog, a mom of three describes how she’s treating her kids’ “TV overload.” The kids now have to do specific tasks around the house to earn screen time minutes.

And finally, an anecdote we can all relate to. Cassie meant to cut back on television time…but then her daughter got strep. Hello, Fetch with Fetch Ruffman!

Have car-and-truck loving kids? We hear you. (Or well, we hear them playing in the background.) Read on for what to watch when you just can’t view Cars, I Dig Dirt, or one of those tedious Hard Hat Harry videos one more time.
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