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Today's Youth Advisory Board post comes from Alyx who was among the record breaking number of eager moviegoers storming theaters (regular, IMAX and 3-D alike) for the opening weekend of James Cameron's long awaited, hyper marketed "Avatar."... Read the rest of this post

Pepsi teams with Foursquare (to fund youth mentoring program CampInteractive. Also new research confirms tweens and teens flock to the iPod Touch, drawn in by games and access to social networks. Plus, at the University of Michigan students learn... Read the rest of this post

'Twilight' mania at Comic-Con (ensued as expected at the "New Moon" panel where the cast and director Chris Weintz rewarded fans with exclusive clips from the upcoming film. Meanwhile in non-Twilight Comic-Con news, studios seek to escort in a new... Read the rest of this post

Avatar returns, The Prisoner is in the works, and there’s something strange going on around The Fringe. It’s a quick look at the fannish TV news.

IN THE WORKS
AMC is developing an American version of the cult British classic The Prisoner. Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are slated to star in the series about a government agent who finds out the hard way that there’s no quitting the biz. He’s drugged, kidnapped and dropped in “The Village,” a mysterious community where people are just numbers and from which there is no escape.  The original was known for its perplexing plot and highly metaphoric imagery, a style that is much more popular today in TV. I expect the new series will be highly ficable!

CASTING COUCH

Clea DuVall is taking over co-pilot duties on Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality.

WATCH THIS

Calling all Avatar: the Last Airbender fans! The last 10 new episodes of book three, including the showdown between Aang and the Firelord, are about to begin. 

Nickelodeon bows the new Avatar episodes beginning Monday, July 14, with an hour-long special, The Boiling Rock, on Wednesday.  The week will end with the debut of the 2-hour TV movie Sozin’s Comet, Saturday, July 19, 8-10p.   Meanwhile, that same week, Nicktoons Network will host daily Avatar 5-hour marathons each day, Monday-Saturday, July 14-19, featuring 10 episodes of Avatar each day.

And don’t forget, Stargate Atlantis returns for a fifth season this Friday, July 11.

READ THIS

Need a Lost fix?  ABC.com is here to help with their new “Lost Book Club.”

The club gives fans a new insight to a number of books that have been referenced or seen on episodes of Lost. Each week, a new book will be introduced with a synopsis and reference of how it fits into the show. Then a message board area will be created for the discussion.  Books include Sawyer reading Watership Down, Juliet’s book club reading Carrie and an orientation film hidden behind The Turn of the Screw.

LISTEN TO THIS
Fox’s new radio ads for their upcoming X-Files-ish series, Fringe are leaving many people scratching their heads in wonder. First up is a typical auto dealership radio spot which is disrupted first by static and then the words “find the pattern.” Next up is a news report that is disrupted and finally a strange report over a police scanner about a wedding party who can’t remember a thing.

The commercial spots make no mention of Fringe, though there is a whispered “Fox” at the end of each indicating that it’s likely a promo for a TV show.  Listen in:

According to Fox, these radio ads are just the start of the convoluted and cryptic campaign they have planned. Have you spotted “the pattern?” If you have a link to a part of the Fringe puzzle, post it in the comments below.

SITE OF THE WEEK

Tired of seeing your favorite show canned because of a ratings system that is horribly outdated? Viewers with Voices agrees with you and they’re banning together to give Nielsen what for.  The forum is hoping to united the fannish communities for shows such as Jericho, Moonlight and Dark Angel into one, loud and proud force to be reckoned with. The long term goal? To rework the method of collecting TV ratings so it gives a more accurate sampling of how many people are actually watching a show.

Sadly, the one thing ratings will never be able to evaluate is the level of enthusiasm fans have for any given show. Grey’s Anatomy might be one of the highest rated programs on TV, but how many fans of that show will buy the mug, the books, the TV shirt and convention tickets to see the stars?

YOUR TURN

I can’t do this alone people. Use the comment section to add your casting news, production news, con reports, vids, podcasts, charity efforts — if it’s about a fan favorite TV show we want to hear about it.  NO SPOILERS in the comments please, but feel free to link to them with a proper spoiler warning.

I've been finding lots of great Avatar usericons through various links from my friend and fellow Avatar fan yedijoda (particular users credited on each icon). But I kept forgetting to upload them! Finally tonight I was thinking I should finally upload the icons I've made of my cats, and saw the Avatar icons. So, this is a gratuitous post to use at least one of them. :D

I love Avatar: The Last Airbender! Can you tell? I've been searching for good ones--by the way, still on the lookout, so could always use more links!--but my favorite has to be this one. I got it from the_paper_nun, but it turns out that Adrasteia actually made it. At any rate, I love it! (And you have to watch the show to know why this picture is absolutely HILARIOUS.)

And if you don't watch the show, go. Now. Best middle grade fantasy on TV right now. Season one is on DVD, and also on Itunes. Or you can watch it free on NickTurbo, too. Just go! :)