FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 5, 2000
Contact:
Lisa Sherman Cohen
(718) 459-5080
Beth Foster
(301) 771-4108
THINK KIDS JUST WATCH CARTOONS? GET REAL!
--While the competition is airing reruns, DISCOVERY KIDS kicks off the
summer with all new adventures--
--Premiere programming supported with sweepstakes and online polls that
allow kids to win a chance to be on TV and vote for their favorite episodes--
In the summer, kids don't stop growing ... so why should their curiosity? This summer, DISCOVERY KIDS keeps young viewers stimulated with all-new series episodes premiering Saturday-Sunday, June 3-4 during its regular programming block. These new adventures take viewers from the rugged seas off the Pacific Northwest to the dragon-laden jungles of Indonesia.
In addition to offering all new episodes of some of its most popular series, DISCOVERY KIDS gives kids the opportunity to "get real" this summer, with a sweepstakes grand prize that allows the winner to be an on-air DISCOVERY KIDS guest host and online polls where kids can tell DISCOVERY KIDS what they want to see. The sweepstakes runs from June 3 to July 2, with the winner's segment airing in August. Online, kids can log into discoverykids.com to vote for which episode of REAL KIDS, REAL ADVENTURES they want to air the following Saturday.
The summer premieres kick off the weekend of June 3-4 with new episodes in
some of DISCOVERY KIDS' most popular series, including OUTWARD BOUND's
maritime adventure off the rugged coastline of the Pacific Northwest.
THE ADVENTURES OF A.R.K. (Animal Rescue Kids); DISCOVERY KIDS STORY
STUDIO; REAL KIDS, REAL ADVENTURES (which also has a new host);
and THE CROCODILE HUNTER'S CROC FILES also have new episodes.
The series featuring new episodes on June 3-4 include:
THE ADVENTURES OF A.R.K.: The Animal Rescue Kids are Sam, Elissa and Noah, interning at the Kinyonga animal refuge center under veterinarian Dr. Susan Hosking. In Kinyonga's high-pressure ER setting, they show their emotional connection to animals and stubborn determination to rescue animals in need of help. On June 3, Changes in the Air finds Elissa and the vet telling a young boy that his dog has a tumor. Noah and a volunteer try desperately to catch a family of trigger-happy skunks.
Premiere episode airs Sunday, June 4 from 10-10:30 AM (ET/PT).
REAL KIDS, REAL ADVENTURES: This award-winning weekly dramatic series recreates the true-life experiences of kids from all over the world. Each electrifying half-hour episode shows how ordinary kids have survived extraordinary events through remarkable acts of bravery. On June 3, Swept Underground tells the story of 13-year-old John Collmer and his dog, swept by a dangerous current into a muddy drainpipe when they took a swim in a flooded field. Miraculously, they survived being swept almost a mile through the flooded drainpipe which emptied out into a lake. Seventeen-year-old Patrick Thomas of Montreal, an award-winning on-air host, introduces each story and interviews the real child portrayed in the program. The series is based on the best-selling book series, Real Kids, Real Adventures by Deborah Morris.
Premiere episode airs Saturday, June 3 from 10:30-11 AM (ET/PT).
OUTWARD BOUND: This adventure series follows eight real kids as they undergo the popular wilderness challenge course and leave their "comfort zones" behind. On June 3, Stormy Weather gathers teens from across the U.S. at the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, where they learn what it takes to with one another in the cramped confines of an oversized rowboat and how to work as a team. They embark on their two-week sea-mountain adventure, setting sail from the harbor town of Washington's Anacortes bound for San Juan island amid a cold rain and gusty winds. They battle thick fog, shifting winds and treacherous shipping lances to reach the tiny refuge called Blind Island.
Premiere episode airs Saturday, June 3 from 11-11:30 AM (ET/PT).
DISCOVERY KIDS STORY STUDIO: Written by kids, about kids, for kids, each episode takes two kid-authored stories and turns them into live-action dramas. Writers are ages 10-14; they are profiled in the episode and introduce their stories on camera. The series is hosted by the Studio Boss, a comical kid movie mogul who introduces each week's kid writers, actors and stories from her "Hollywood" studio office. In June 3's story, The Masquerade, Fanasia buys an "image" that slowly turns her into a mannequin and then must confront her own shallow feelings about glamour. Andy disguises himself as a girl to prove that girls have it easier, only to learn that both genders have it rough.
Premiere episode airs Saturday, June 3 from 11:30 AM-Noon (ET/PT).
THE CROCODILE HUNTER'S CROC FILES: Adventure couple Steve and Terri Irwin set their sights on the next generation of nature-lovers with this exciting series. In every episode, kids join the Irwins on a different adventure in the great outdoors. On June 3, Lizards Rock, the Irwins look at all sorts of lizards, from the smallest chameleon to the huge Komodo dragons of Indonesia.
Premiere episode airs Sunday, June 4 from 10-10:30 AM (ET/PT).
Discovery Kids airs on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. - Noon on the Discovery Channel-one of the two largest cable television networks, serving 78 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery Civilization Channel and has announced plans to launch Discovery Wings Channel and Discovery Health Channel. The unit also markets and distributes BBC America.