MGM TV has commissioned an animated series based on Mel Brooks’ 1987 Spaceballs movie and sold exclusive rights in the U.S. to Comcast’s G4 cable network, Variety reported.

Encompassing a one-hour pilot and 13 half-hour episodes, the project represents the first scripted series green-lighted by the new TV division at MGM, led by Jim Packer, president of the worldwide TV distribution group. The series kicks off on G4 in fall 2007, the trade paper reported.

Although the movie grossed only $38.1 million in the United States, the Star Wars satire has become a successful franchise on DVD and in cable and pay TV reruns.

Brooks and Thomas Meehan, who co-wrote the movie with Ronnie Graham, have written the one-hour pilot, and Meehan will supervise the writing of the 13 half-hours. Brooks will do two of the voices, President Skroob and Yogurt. Germany’s Berliner Film Companie will provide the animation.

watch it now, visit mr. nerdcore

on september 8th 1966 at 8:30 pm (et), “the man trap” was aired on nbc.

It was the new television season, just like any other, and NBC was about to debut their new science fiction show. That in itself wasn’t a novel idea: CBS had Lost in Space, ABC had contemporary shows like The Time Tunnel and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It was pretty standard that networks had something on the air that fell into the general category of science fiction. And while these other shows had their own quaint charms, they lasted a few seasons and mostly drifted off into memory, and later syndication. (The other one-hour drama that every network had was a Western; NBC already had a bona fide hit in Bonanza and CBS, with Wild Wild West, neatly combined the Western with sci-fi.)

They’re saying that if you watch the webisodes, you’ll understand a little something extra in the TV series…

via kiesow & fabu