Disney Channel Fans

Finally! Good Luck Charlie is scheduled to premiere in only four more weeks!

They’re gonna air the show immediately following the DC premiere of High School Musical 3. A year ago I would have considered that a major event, but it’s been loon enough that I think most HSM fans have already watched their DVD copies several hundred times.

Personally, I would have gone with a Wizards marathon or a Minutemen & Hatching Pete double feature lead in, but for some strange reason, Disney Channel programing never seems to ask my opinion…

Disney’s press release follows:

“Good Luck Charlie” — Disney Channel will premiere this sitcom designed for the whole family to enjoy together – an original live-action series about a family whose lives are turned topsy-turvy with the arrival of a new baby sister — on SUNDAY, APRIL 4 (8:30 p.m., ET/PT). In each episode, big sister Teddy creates a personalized video diary for baby Charlie, with each installment chronicling daily adventures and mishaps for Charlie to use as advice when her big sister is no longer living at home. Created and executive-produced by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen (“Suddenly Susan” and “What I Like About You”) and executive-produced by Dan Staley (“Cheers,” “Love & Money”), the series stars Bridgit Mendler (“Wizards of Waverly Place”), Jason Dolley (“Cory in the House,” “Hatching Pete”), Bradley Steven Perry, Eric Allan Kramer (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “My Name Is Earl”) and Leigh-Allyn Baker (“Will & Grace).

Save Disney Shows March 2010 Events

Save Kim Possible Day – 03/07/10

Save Lilo & Stitch Weekend Bash – 03/12-15/10

Save Wizards Day – 03/19/10

Save Jake Long Day – 03/25/10

It’s important to remember that paper letters are the key to our efforts, and events are spaced out so you have at least a week to prepare as many as you can. Please refer to our how to help section for addresses: http://help.savedisneyshows.org

Then on the day of the event, you can also send faxes, make phone calls, and use our email program at http://sdsmail.org

Save Wizards Day & The Work Ahead

Our first Save Wizards day was this past friday the 26th. The email stats show a 10% increase over our unofficial Wizards email day earlier in the month, which is an encouraging sign, but no where near what we need!

To those of you who are doing your part, thank you, please keep it up. But we need the rest of you to step up! Wizards of Waverly Place will stop filming this month. And the show still hasn’t been renewed!

I know a lot of fans of the show are skeptical that the show needs our help, but IT DOES. Look at our track record, SDS has always been out front trying to raise awareness of these problems so that the fans have an opportunity to fight back. Even if you’re not a fan yourself, we need your help to get the word out. Once the show stops airing new episodes people will catch on, but history has shown us that by then, it might be too late.

Our next Save Wizards day is March 19th. This is our last best chance to save the show. We need it as big as possible.

To help, visit our save Wizards website: WizardsOfWaverlyPlace.org Thank you!

Disney Channel March Highlights

Sonny with a Chance Season Two Premieres March 14th!

“Walk A Mile In My Pants” – Sonny rallies everyone together for a “Walk-A-Thon For Books” and gets Tawni to donate her “Tawni Hart’s Extreme Skinny Jeans” for all of the participants to wear. Eventually everyone starts dropping out as a result of SPS – Skinny Pants Syndrome, in a new episode of “Sonny With A Chance,” SUNDAY, MARCH 14 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

Can’t wait? See more promos here and discuss the show at the SWAC Fans Forum!

Also premiering in March are two more new Sonny episodes, two new On Deck episodes, a new Wizards, a new JONAS, and the Hannah Montana season three finale.

You can read the complete episode descriptions at DC Fans.

On a related note, Meaghan Martin’s ABC Family series 10 Things I Hate About You is returning March 29th.

Aly & AJ Split with Hollywood Records

Phil of the Future fans are probably interested in the fact that Aly has broken her last official ties with Disney and have left Hollywood Records!

Hey guys…so we know it’s been quiet in the 78violet camp but we want to first off thank you for sticking with us. We have some big news and wanted to make sure you hear it first.

Now that it’s official, we can tell you we’re no longer a part of Hollywood Records. What does that mean exactly??? Now we have the freedom to take 78violet in the direction we want. We’re writing and recording new music and are really excited on what’s next.

So…what is next? As for the album we recorded for Hollywood, honestly, we don’t foresee it ever being released. But…we are continuing to write and record new songs that we hope you’ll love as much as we do.

We’re going to be taking the Aly & AJ website down in the meantime which means the current message board will be removed and the accounts you created on the site will be put on hold. Yes…major bummer. But we’ll have a new message board and a new temporary site up in a few days that will serve as our main communication with you for the time being.

As always, you can get a hold of us on Twitter or Facebook.

We love you and are excited to share the new 78violet with you. Xoxo.

A+A

78violet

I obviously don’t know all the details, but something here just doesn’t add up. Why not release the third album with Hollywood, make a good deal of money from it, and then shop for a new record deal while riding the wave of that album? This sounds a lot like when Aly and her mom walked away from Phil of the Future for a new show with AJ that eventually never happened.

Read more and leave your comments at DC Fans.

Good Luck Charlie Update

Most will probably remember that Webmaster Greg went to a filming for Good Luck Charlie last December. At that filming, he got to see the first episode and the one they shot that day, #111 “Kit and Kaboodle.” Well, he decided once wasn’t enough and went again on February 12th. That Friday’s episode was #118, “Butt-Dialing Duncans.” We don’t want to give too much away, but we will say that Teddy and PJ get new phones which get themselves in a little bit of trouble.

You can read more about the episode and the filming at DC Fans.

You can also see the new GLC promo that’s currently airing on Disney Channel, here.

Emily Osment on Tour

Emily Osment, of Hannah Montana fame, is on tour this month to promote her EP All the Right Wrongs and upcoming full album.

March 7, 2010: House of Blues Anaheim, CA

March 20, 2010: Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN

March 21, 2010: House of Blues Chicago, IL

March 27, 2010: Theater of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA

March 28, 2010: The Fillmore New York, NY

April 10, 2010: House of Blues Houston, TX

April 11, 2010: House of Blues Dallas, TX

May 1, 2010: House of Blues Los Angeles, CA

May 2, 2010: House of Blues San Diego, CA

Is anyone else going to see her? Let us know at DC Fans!

This new promo for Bridgit Mendler and Jason Dolley’s new series Good Luck Charlie just started airing on DC.

Okay, this promo isn’t much different than the last one, but we do finally have a real logo for the series.

I’ve also replace the previous promo screencaps with new higher quality caps from this promo.

Click either screencap to see the rest of the stills.

Frequent readers will remember that I went to my first GLC filming last December. At that filming, I got to see the first episode and the one they shot that day, #111 “Kit and Kaboodle.” I decided that wanted to go again towards the end of the season, and I was able to this past Friday (02/12/10)!

Before I went to the filming, I checked my usual sources and I found a high Quality promotional picture of the whole Duncan family!

Friday’s episode was #118, “Butt-Dialing Duncans.” I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that Teddy and PJ get new phones and they get themselves in a little bit of trouble. I learned that Teddy does have a best friend in the series named Ivy. And the mom in this series is hilarious. You’ll see what I mean, eventually.

Our audience warm up guy, Roger, was a lot of fun. He didn’t do raffle tickets, and instead just handed out candy, signed script covers, and valentines bears. I got a box of candy. My mom said afterward that I should have gotten Bridgit to autograph it. I replied that I should have just given it to her. I met some really awesome people in the audience too. I told them about the site, and if you’re reading this now, well you know who you are.

This episode took a little longer to film than the first one I went to. Leigh Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer (Amy and Bob Duncan) had this one very serious scene, and they just couldn’t stop laughing! One would be okay and the other would laugh, or someone in the audience would, and it was just contagious! We must have wasted 10 minutes – and it’s all on tape. I hope it makes the blooper reel on the eventual DVD. There where some other flubs as well, most of them Bridgit’s. But she’s the star, so she can get away with it.

After the episode wrapped, we got to meet the cast and get our autographs. From Eric’s reaction to my cast photo, I think it’s safe to say that I was the first person to ever bring in that particular cast photo. Cool. I got the whole family too, well, except the baby. LOL

I also brought two copies of the photo of Bridgit and myself from the wizards taping two weeks ago. I asked her to sign one of them for me, and I gave the other one to her. Seems fair to me. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask her if she had a chance to check out the website. But I did write it on the photo, just in case she forgot. But I did tell all the other cast members about the GLC fansite, so maybe someone will check it out.

And for the record, Bridgit and Jason did till remember me. Although Jason didn’t remember to check out the site. This time I wrote it down for him.

It’ll be a couple more months before the show premiers, and I’m already a big fan! I said before that “my rule is always to see three episodes before I judge a new series” and now, I have. The thing I love most about this series is that it’s a normal family with normal issues that is explored in a very well written way. I hope the naysayers actually watch a few episodes, ’cause I’d like to see this show stick around for a good four or more seasons.

I’d like to thank Emily for asking Bridgit for Wizards vs. Werewolves was her last appearance on WOWP when she went to the GLC filming on Friday (1/29/10).

Bridgit answered “I don’t know”, with a wink. Unfortunately, Emily didn’t have the chance to ask her about why Wizards hadn’t been renewed.

Friday’s episode was #117 “Girl Bites Dog” directed by Eric Dean Seaton. GLC is taking a break from filming and will resume the week after that. Meanwhile, Eric is going to be back to work on SWAC.

“Last GLC until Mid February. Busy week then back to SWAC.”

And if you where wondering, Eric’s also given us the past few GLC titles:

Episode 117 “Girl Bites Dog”
Episode 116 “Kwikki Chick”
Episode 115 “Duncan Talent”
Episode 114 “Charlie Goes Viral”
Episode 109 “Boys Meet Girls”
Episode 108 “Dance Off”
Episode 106 “Curious Case of Mr. Dabney”
Episode 105 “Up a Tree”
Episode 104 “Double Wammy”
Episode 103 “Take Mel Out to the Ball Game”

Looks like only a couple months until they’re finished filming. Then maybe we’ll all get to see it!

Once the show premieres, we’ll be adding a gallery of Good Luck Charlie screencaps to the site. But until then, we have a few caps from the first promo.

As frequent readers know, I went to a GLC taping and saw the first episode of the show. And most of the scenes in the promo are from that episode.

This is Charlie. The baby and title character.

Bridgit is the star, and the stories are framed from her character’s point of view.

Also of importance is Jason, whom plays her brother PJ.

Most of the show takes place in the Duncan house. The living room, family room and kitchen being the primary sets.

After years of expressly “not caring” about fans outside the tween demographic, now Disney is expressly courting older viewers, while at the same time not alienating younger ones. At least, that’s what Gary Marsh is quotes as saying in this new article from the LA Times.

The article makes some very good points, and based on the episodes I saw, I think it’s fairly good reflection of the tone of the show. But before I get to the article, I also wanted to post the very first 90 second promo for the series.

If dying is easy and comedy is hard, then writing comedy for Disney Channel must be harder still.

Take the biology joke originally considered for the network’s new sitcom “Good Luck Charlie,” which is slated to premiere in the spring. A teenage girl and her “hot” classmate are snuggled on the couch during a study date. When he reaches to turn off the light, she was to say: “Now I’m in the mood for some biology.”

The line received a hearty laugh at a table reading but also raised the eyebrows of Adam Bonnett, Disney Channel’s senior vice president of original series, who jokingly asked the show’s creative team if they could convey the same information without being “so . . . biological.” The dialogue was eventually replaced by a chaste glance. “There was sensitivity that she was being a little too forward,” Bonnett said.

At most other networks, where many sitcoms swim in the muck of lowbrow humor, the joke in question might well have been thrown out too, but for an entirely different reason — namely, that it wasn’t “biological” enough. And even with most other programs on Disney Channel, which courts and still has a dominant hold on the tween audience, the line probably wouldn’t have made it to the table read stage.

But Disney is trying something different with “Good Luck Charlie,” a show it hopes will reach across generations in the same way that NBC’s “The Cosby Show” and ABC’s “The Wonder Years” once did. In seeking out this older demographic, however, the network faces a dilemma: Can it craft a comedy sophisticated enough — and realistic enough — to appeal to adults without alienating its core viewers, who, after all, come to Disney to avoid racier programming?

“What ‘Good Luck Charlie’ represents is an evolutionary step to really put the family into our kid-driven family brand,” said Gary Marsh, Disney Channel’s entertainment president. “Do I think this will be a first choice for 35- to 40-year-old moms? Not necessarily . . . . But if we do our jobs properly and we create the authenticity we’re talking about, it will allow us to tackle stories in a more grounded way that will be more appealing to parents than other shows we’ve done before.”

Disney Channel’s attempt to capitalize on the timeless appeal of the family sitcom in hopes of luring children and adults reflects a larger industrywide return to more inclusive comedies — such as ABC’s “Modern Family,” CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” and Fox’s high school-centered musical comedy “Glee.”

For now, Disney Channel maintains a prime-time ratings edge over its principal cable rival, Nickelodeon, among tweens on the strength of shows such as “Sonny With a Chance,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “The Suite Life on Deck.” The shows, which appeal to adolescents ages 9 to 14, revolve around the exploits of teen stars Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Dylan and Cole Sprouse. But Nick is gaining momentum at night, airing reruns of such sitcoms as “Malcolm in the Middle” and ” George Lopez.”

Like those programs, “Good Luck Charlie” seeks to mine the mirth of the everyday. But unlike the traditional, adult-centric family sitcoms, the series is told principally through the eyes — and video diary entries — of the show’s 17-year-old protagonist, Teddy, played by Bridgit Mendler. Together with teenage brother P.J. (Jason Dolley) and 10-year-old brother Gabe (Bradley Steven Perry), Teddy pitches in to help their working parents care for their new baby sister, Charlotte (a.k.a. Charlie).

“I like the realness of it. I like the more authentic tone,” said Dolley, who has been in the Disney Channel films “Hatching Pete” and “Minutemen.” “I like the family sitcom. That’s something different for Disney, which also appealed to me.”

The new comedy makes a calculated departure from the cruise ship and rock star fantasies of the channel’s other shows, which can seem off-puttingly opulent in today’s anxious financial times. Instead, its creators — Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, the forces behind “Suddenly Susan” and “What I Like About You” — opted for the living room.

“What we want to do is acknowledge the reality of the times in which we live, where two parents work, where kids are expected to help out around the house in meaningful ways. Real-life issues happen,” Marsh said. “Everyone isn’t living ‘The Life of Riley’ all the time.”

The higher ambitions for the show, however, remain grounded in the ultra-safe Disney brand. The writers are constrained by that sensibility, which make sexual double-entendres and bawdy wordplay out of the question.

“We will try to do something that’s made to appeal on an adult level, but we don’t want to exclude the kids,” said Vaupen. “If it is something that plays to the adults and not to the kids, our rule is: Will this elicit a conversation between parents and child that might be uncomfortable? So, if the answer to that is yes, then we probably won’t do it.”

Take, for example, the Darwinian outcome of one joke based on the evolution chart.

“[Disney] wanted us to go away from that for fear of [upsetting] people who don’t believe in evolution,” Vaupen said. “We’re going to shoot that line but have an alternate just in case down the road we can’t go that way.”

Something the show did not turn away from during a recent shoot was physical comedy — specifically, projectile vomit. Baby Charlie splatters Teddy’s jacket as her big sister leans in to coo over her. And then there was a suggestion to up the stakes. “Can we take this a little bit further and have the baby spit up on her face?” Bonnett asked. “I would love to just see it right in her face.”

Dan Staley, a veteran television writer and one of the show’s executive producers, wondered whether that would be excessive. “Not for our audience,” Bonnett replied. “You’ve got to give them that punch.”

The show also didn’t flinch when it came to an airborne baby. One scene called for the baby-toting father to trip down the stairs, momentarily launching the little one (who is safely caught moments later). Like anything else in the carefully controlled world of Disney, the comic idea was focus-tested to assure that it drew the desired response: laughter.

“There was a lot of talk about it. There were a lot of meetings about it,” said Bonnett. “The way it’s done. It works in execution. It scared a lot of people on the page, but it works in execution.”

Even more unusual is the exchange it elicits between the husband and wife, in which she confesses to feeling overwhelmed by the conflicting demands of career and parenthood. That conversation wouldn’t happen on most Disney Channel series, where the parents play an unfailingly supporting role to the tween stars.

“The mom confesses that she’s overwhelmed; she’s not sure she can pull this off,” Bonnett said. “And just playing that scene the way we did, a very real scene between husband and wife, kind of makes this show different.”

As I’m sure you all remember, I was lucky enough to attend a taping of Disney’s new series Good Luck Charlie.

They searched us pretty well to keep cameras out, but that doesn’t stop the cast and crew from taking photos. And now I’m pleased to share several photos from the set that I’ve found online!

This first photo shows the living room of the Holliday residence. The door in the background leads to the “outside” set. And a second door to the right and rear of the photographer leads to the kitchen set.

The toy duck in the next photo comes up a lot. It actually sent the dad (bob) to the hospital in the pilot!

Bridgit has the cutest autograph.

And she certainly has fun on set.

But when it’s her birthday, I guess it’s warranted. (thank you Twitter!)

And speaking of twitter, here’s one more pic of Bridgit from her twitter.

I don’t think I want to know what was going on there. LOL

I know everyone’s talking about those new Miley Cyrus bikini pics, but for me today was all about Bridgit Mendler and Jason Dolley’s new show about Good Luck Charlie. I went to the filming of episode #111 “Kit and Kaboodle” today at the Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood California.

I’ve never been to a live filming before, and I have to say it was a lot of fun! The audience was some 140 people (five rows of 38 chairs) with 22 ticketed guests, roughly 70 kids from school groups, and the other 50 where reserved for special guests. Besude me sat two guests of Ryan Newman!

Speaking of Ryan Newman (you might remember her as Young Miley on HM or as Ginger on Zeke and Luther) she has a guest spot in this episode as the love interest of the youngest brother (played by Bradley Perry)

But I’m getting ahead of myself. We where seated in the audience area at about 4:20 pm. Once we where settled in, they started by showing us the first episode of the series, to introduce us to the characters. We learn that the mom is a nurse, and it’s her first day going back to work. Her husband Bob runs an exterminator business (Bob’s Bugs be Gone) and assures her that baby Charlie will be fine. Meanwhile, Teddy is trying to kiss “the hottest guy in school” and keeps getting interrupted.

I was honestly quite impressed. It’s the first show since Lizzie that actually features a normal family (no pop stars or wizards) with normal problems. It’s a refreshing change, with good characters and great pacing.

Next, they brought out the crew and began filming the first of four scenes with the live audience. The rest of the episode (which required sets in other places) had been prerecorded earlier this week – including the scenes with Ryan Newman. We the audience, watched the tape of the previous sections to provide the laughs and then paused to watch each live scene as it was filmed. So despite the fact that it was filmed out of order, we still saw the entire episode in order.

In “Kit and Kaboodle”, the eldest brother (Jason Dolley) takes Charlie to work with him in order to get bigger tips. Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) babysits the neighbor’s cat Kaboodle. And Gabe (Bradley Perry) falls for Ryan Newman’s character but his lies get him in trouble.

Burring the breaks in the filming, our “audience warn up guy” did trivia from the first episode, a name the song type of competition (the first song was the KP Theme song! ), a spelling competition, and a comedy open mic. Everyone got a raffle ticket for showing up, and everyone that “won” got a bonus raffle ticket. He raffled off five autographed photos, two autographed GLC script covers, and three DVDs.

I won the second item! A signed Sonny with a Chance photo!

Needless to say, I was excited to actually win! I never seem to win anything, so I was shocked when my number was called. They also gave us candy (as if the kids weren’t hyper enough already) and pizza.

After the filming was finished, we where able to get autographs from the cast. And I was able to tell Jason Dolley and Bridgit Mendler about my Good Luck Charlie Fansite: Good-Luck-Charlie.com. And I tweeted them too, just in case.

The mom, played by Leigh Allyn Baker signed on the back of my card. She reminds me a lot of Nicole Sullivan!

Now, my rule is always to see three episodes before I judge a new series, but I can’t wait until April to make up my mind. So I’m gonna go out on a limb and predict that this show is gonna be a hit. I was a little skeptical going in, but after seeing it played out I’m convinced that it will work. And I eagerly await the premiere of the show so I can see more!