The Show

An 11-year-old-boy creates a video diary with hidden cameras in the new CBS Saturday morning entry Bailey Kipper’s P.O.V. Targeted to ages six through 11, the show is the first-ever children’s effort from MTM Television, an outfit better known for quality grown-up fare. The show, created by Beakman’s World brain trust Mark Waxman, will air at 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings beginning this month.

The Marketing Concept

Gadgets, gizmos and special effects. Those three elements will be the keys to its success, according to MTM children’s marketing director Sharon Hall. ‘I can definitely tell you it looks like nothing else on Saturday morning,’ says Hall. ‘What you’re getting is a live-action cartoon of domestic life.’

‘This is a show that is very much effects-driven,’ says Waxman, who describes the program as ‘MTVish with a story.’ Effects range from the relatively simple Monty Python-esque speeded up motion to sophisticated morphing and 3-D animation. In other words, Bailey uses all the techniques an aspiring film-maker would. For example, every time his pesky younger brother Eric speaks, Bailey morphs him into a chimpanzee.

‘He d’es it for his amusement and because he aspiring to be Spielberg,’ Waxman explains. With these techniques, Waxman, who employed a similar in-your-face style for Beakman’s World, hopes to appeal to today’s techno-savvy youngsters.

‘It’s very difficult today to compete with all the stimulation children are exposed to and have access to, including CD-ROMs, video games and the Internet,’ he says. ‘We’re trying to create a genre that d’esn’t exist.’ For its part, CBS heralds the freshness of the show.

The Plot

Hall is already positioning series star Michael Galeota for younger-skewing teen magazines. And there are licensing plans under way for some of the show’s gadgets, such as the ubiquitous spyball cameras Bailey has stashed everywhere.

‘The gizmos and gadgets used are something we’re going to make use of,’ says Hall. ‘In terms of franchising, there’s a lot of spinout potential.’

‘There’s been interest by licensees in sort of running with the show,’ Waxman says. However, merchandising and licensing are developing from the show, not the other way around, so don’t expect to see a full line of laser spyballs in stores by the program launch this month, but later if the show-which has a 13-episode order from CBS-takes off.

‘A lot of shows start with toys. Toys drive the show. This is starting with the show,’ says Waxman.

Adds Hall, ‘we didn’t give birth to this show to launch a toy line, but it just so happens there’s a lot of neat stuff used in the show.’