Nickelodeon UK Wishes British Tennis Player Andy Murray Good Luck In The Men's Singles Final At Wimbledon 2013 With Special SpongeBob SquarePants Picture

To support Andy Murray, the number one British tennis player and reigning US Open and Olympic Singles Champion, playing in the Wimbledon 2013 Men's Singles Final against Novak Djokovic, the current world number one tennis player from Serbia, in Centre Court at the All England Club today (Sunday 7th July 2013), Nickelodeon UK has unveiled a very special SpongeBob SquarePants good luck charm on their official Twitter profile page (‏@NickelodeonUK) to help cheer Andy on to victory and win the Men's Singles Final trophy at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships!:

Come on Murray!Good luck 2 @andy_murray @ #wimbledon !We even made u a special SpongeBob pic as a good luck charm... http://ow.ly/i/2xqc2

Good luck Andy!!

A Review Of The First Episode Of Nickelodeon UK's Brand New Nicktoon, "The Legend of Korra", Called "Welcome to Republic City"

Remember to watch the very first episode of the brand new Nicktoon "The Legend of Korra" TODAY at 9am (repeated at 10am on Nickelodeon+1) and at 4.30pm (replayed at 5.30pm on Nick+1), only on Nickelodeon UK and Ireland!

To celebrate and promote Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK starting to premiere and show Nickelodeon's brand new original animated series "The Legend of Korra" from Sunday, 7th July 2013 at 9:00am (repeated at 10:00am on Nick UK's plus-one timeshift channel, Nick+1), the animation news website Toonzone has written a special article about what Nick UK fans and viewers can expect from the first episode of "Legend of Korra", titled "Welcome to Republic City", which you can read below!:

Review: “The Legend of Korra – Welcome to Republic City” UK Premiere

The prospect of making a sequel for a creator must be equal parts ecstatic and terrifying. People love that first story you told so much that both they and your sponsors have allowed you to have a chance to expand on it, to revisit the world you envisioned and extend it with new ideas. At the same time you’re at risk of soiling your reputation and the audience's memories if you make a mistake such as taking the story in a direction that’s so different it gets rejected. Worse, play it too safe and you'll be accused of making a rehash.

With all this potential stress, it’s all the more impressive that Avatar the Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have produced such a fitting sequel in the form of The Legend of Korra.

A generation has passed since the adventures seen in Avatar the Last Airbender, with the trials of Aang and his friends now legends as much as they are history. Working together, Aang and Zuko managed to found Republic City as the centrepiece of a common vision to unite the nations. After Aang's passing, a new Avatar was born into the world in the form of Korra, a girl from the Southern Water Tribe.

From the opening moments, it's clear that this isn't the status quo the previous series ended with, though it certainly feels like a logical advancement for the Avatar world freed from war and steered by the pioneering of Aang and his allies. Although Korra’s Water Tribe village would feel at home in the previous series, the enormity hits home when the location switches to Republic City, with a feel of a steampunk driven 1930′s New York. It’s a bold change, but one that feels consistent both with the technology seen in the previous show and real world advancement (just look at how far things advanced in the last 100 years).

Rather than simply throw viewers into this new standing, there are a few reassuring anchors from the previous show, the biggest of which is an extended cameo from Katara. Now Aang’s widow, she has a hand in Korra’s training that shows she’s not forgotten the trials she went through on her own adventure. It’s a welcome return and hearing her briefly discuss the fates of her friends is sure to get you choked up.

Korra herself is really one of the lynchpins of this project. Aang’s story was about how he rejected the call to be a destined hero, and needed to partially atone for the world that was created in his absence. Korra takes a different path, though one that carries over influence. Whereas Aang effectively had to use guerrilla tactics, Korra is kept under the watchful eye of a network designed to train and support the Avatar. The result is that she finds herself stifling under a group that expects her to embody their vision of the role rather than grant her the freedom to personally discover what it means to be the Avatar and her role in the wider world. As a character, she’s a lot of fun. Being 17 as opposed to Aang’s 12, it’d be easy to write her as a cliché moody teenage girl, but the script is better than that. There’s discontent and rebellion in her heart but it’s borne out of a genuine desire to help people. Not to say she’s perfect, since her first day in Republic City is a comedy of errors. Janet Varney provides Korra with the perfect voice, sounding fresh to the world but not a country hick.

A key inverse of the two characters is that whilst Aang was "The Last Airbender," Korra has managed to grasp the other three more physical elements of Water, Earth, and Fire, but the spiritual Airbending eludes her. This leads her to train with Tenzin, Aang and Katara’s son who has inherited his father’s role as master of the Air Temple. Tenzin is voiced by J.K. Simmons, who most will recognise as the bombastic J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. His performance as Tenzin is more reserved, helping to paint the character as a wise master who still has his own quirks and challenges. Part of this comes from being a family man with a wife and three children (with a fourth on the way). The actual theme of family is well communicated in the short run time of this premiere. There’s an amusing sequence where Tenzin's wife Pema wishes she could have one child who didn't practice airbending, and prior to that a short sequence with Korra's parents manages to sell them as rich individuals in their own right. It’s pretty impressive that this descendant of Avatar can sell a recognisable heart to a character in seconds, while some series can fail to imbue characterisation after episodes of screen time.

Although the episode is primarily focussed on introducing the cast and the character conflicts, we do get seeds of something bigger. Primarily it seems the utopian vision of benders and non-benders in harmony may have gone off the rails somewhat, with benders using their powers to bully those without. This in turn leads to scattered mentions of revolutionaries opposed to the current system: an angle sure to be explored as the season goes on.

The animation is as full of life as it always has been including a high volume of hilarious facial expressions. A lot of shows today have really stiff animation, but with Avatar you can tell the storyboarders and animators are having a ball. Several moments are beautiful to look at, especially the sweeps of Republic City.

Of course we can’t forget the action which is also well animated and choreographed. The worst thing a fight scene can do is be telegraphed, making the motions so obvious it becomes boring. The action in Korra is much better thought out with a clever and surprising rhythm that is a joy to watch. A bending battle pursuit across the city is the premiere episode’s action highlight.

As the premiere of a new chapter in the saga of Avatar the Last Airbender, 'Welcome to Republic City' does a good job of both welcoming back old fans and creating an easy jump on point for new ones. You’ll probably get a bit more out of this episode if you’re a returning fan but everything is communicated well enough for anyone to grasp, with the era of Aang being treated much like the history of Roku was in the previous show. Fans have been waiting patiently for the series to arrive in the UK and at last it’s here.

She’s the Avatar. You gotta deal with it!

The Legend of Korra premieres on Nickelodeon UK 9:00am Sunday 7th July 2013.

FILED UNDER: CHANNELS, FOR KIDS, FRONT PAGE, INDUSTRY, INTERNATIONAL, NEWS, SUPERHEROES, TELEVISION, TOONS TAGGED WITH: AANG, BENDING, KATARA, LEGEND OF KORRA, NICKELODEON UK, REPUBLIC CITY, TENZIN, THE LEGEND OF KORRA

Nick Jr. UK To Host Panel Discussion On The Importance Of Routines For Children On Monday 8th July 2013

Nick Jr. UK and Ireland has announced the exciting Nick Junior news that, due to the success of Nick Jr. UK hosting a special panel discussion live on the web TV broadcaster studiotalk.tv about "The Importance of Bedtime Stories" in March 2013, and to celebrate the launch of Nick Jr. UK's brand new "Step-by-Step with Dora" campaign, which will help parents navigate key developmental stages and teach their children key skills with help from Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon UK and Ireland's preschool channel will be holding a second live panel discussion on studiotalk.tv on Monday 8th July 2013 at 12:00pm BST (GMT+1) called "How important are routines for children?"!

Joining Nick Jr. to discuss the topic of the importance of routines for children is Jacqueline Harding, a leading child development expert, and parent of two, blogger Jess McGlynn from the parenting blog Catch a Single Thought.

As part of the "How Important Are Routines For children?" webchat, Nick Jr. is also looking for parents to take part in the live internet broadcast by sending any questions or advice they have about routines for children to the panel, where the panel will answer your questions and discuss your advice live on air! You have submit any questions or advice for have for Nick Jr. UK's "How important are routines for children?" panel by using the dedicated form on studiotalk.tv or on Twitter by using the dedicated hashtag #STUDIOTALKTV. You can tune into Nick Jr. UK's "How important are routines for children?" live webcast by visiting studiotalk.tv or via the video below on Monday 8th July 2013 at 12:00pm BST (GMT+1). You can also watch via YouTube and/or parenting website KiddyCharts on Friday 22nd March 2013 from 12.30pm.

SYNOPSIS

Whether your child or children should have a routine or not is an age old debate amongst parents. Do children flourish under a clear routine or do you think it’s better to follow your child’s own natural rhythm and let them take the lead?

Although predictability can be viewed as monotonous for adults, many parents believe that children flourish on repetition. Providing routines can also help kids deal with change. However some parents prefer to adopt a more varied attitude.

How do you strike the balance between child-led activities and consistency? What do you do if your child doesn’t take to a routine? Do you feel like a failure if your kids don’t follow the routine you’re trying to implement? At what age is having a routine most important?

To give parents a hand with negotiating developmental milestones, Nick Jr. has launched a new campaign -Step-by-Step Explore with Dora, which will help parents navigate key developmental stages and teach their children key skills with help from Dora the Explorer.

Joining us to discuss the topic is Jacqueline Harding, a leading child development expert, and parent of two, blogger Jess McGlynn from Catch a Single Thought.

To access a whole range of Dora themed assets to encourage and reward children on their developmental journey www.nickjr.co.uk/step.

Nick Jr. UK Launches "Step by Step with Dora" To Help Preschoolers Towards Their Next Big First

Nickelodeon UK and Ireland's preschool channel, Nick Jr. UK and Ireland, has announced in a series of Tweets (posts) on their official Twitter profile page (@NickJrUK) that Nick Jr. UK and Eire has unveiled a brand new and exclusive area to their official "Dora the Explorer" show website called "Step by Step with Dora"!

Dora Step By Step is a all-new initiative and set of tools specially designed by Nick Junior to help preschoolers move towards their next big first. Whether it's taking their first holiday to learning to ride a bike, Nick Jr.'s megastar heroine will be right there with them along the way to encourage them! With Dora Step By Step, children are supported in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding that will help them to make sense of the world.

As part of their new Dora initiative, Nick Jnr. has unveiled a set of great downloads and printables. Divided into two categories - 'Lets Go!', which helps little one to discover, try, and explore new things in the big wide world out there, and 'I Can Do It!', which, as for a young child, there's nothing more exciting than doing something on their own for the first time, will have useful tips and resources for the major milestones in their life's, including for 'First day of school', and visiting the Doctors for the first time - and subcategories, parents can download and print great activity sheets and resources to help their preschoolers towards their next big first.

To launch with, parents and children can currently download tools from the 'Every Day Routines' sub-section, which features useful tips and activities to help little ones get used to their every day routines such as potty training and brushing their teeth, and has great selection of exclusive printables to download - a handy Bedtime Routine chart, a useful 'Brush with Dora' tooth brushing chart, and a great 'You Did It!' potty training trophy.

Nick Jr. has also unveiled a fantastic new web app called called 'Share The Moment', where pre-schoolers' can share their success of conquering key milestones by uploading their own photos to design their very own pictures using the apps' step-by-step wizard.

Nick Jr. will make available more resource sheets and activities to download in the coming months to help Jr.'s achieve more firsts, including gardening, camping, riding a bike, visiting the beach, going on a trip, getting their first pet, attending their first day at school, doing first homework, their first science class, birthdays, baking, party's, doing chores, attending sleepovers, and visiting the doctor.

Click here to visit Nick Jr. UK's official Step by Step with Dora website on NickJr.co.uk today!

Also, Tweeted by Nick Jr. UK on their official Twitter feed:

NEW Step-by-Step with Dora the Explorer! Explain key milestones & reward your little ones using Dora tools on http://nickjr.co.uk/stepbystep - Monday 1st July 2013

Each week Dora will help you teach your little ones about their first ‘grown up’ steps. This week it’s all about Every Day Routines! - 1/7/2013

Struggling to put your preschooler to bed? Dora has a step-by-step bedtime routine to help!Go to http://www.nickjr.co.uk/stepbystep #DoraStepByStep - Tuesday 2nd July 2013

It's brush time! You can use this step-by-step chart with your little one! #DoraStepByStep http://ow.ly/mANyR - Wednesday 3rd July 2013

How was brush time today? Dora's Step-by-Step Brush Chart can help to motivate your preschoolers! #dorastepbystep pic.twitter.com/SJWE0R5B0v - 3/7/2013

Reward your preschooler with this cute Potty Training Trophy. You can use this to motivate them! #dorastepbystep pic.twitter.com/jmiviqroh7 - Friday 5th July 2013

How has the Dora Step-by-Step Every day Routines been helping you this week? Let us know your thoughts #dorastepbystep - 5/7/2013

You can find the Every day Routine Step-by-Step sheets,incl. a Potty Training Trophy,Brush Chart,Bedtime Routine on our site #dorastepbystep - Saturday 6th July 2013.

Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand To Premiere The "House of Anubis" Movie Special "The Touchstone of Ra" On Sunday 7th July 2013

Nickelodeon Australia has announced and revealed the exciting Nickelodeon news in a post on their official Facebook profile page, facebook.com/NickelodeonAustralia, that Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand will premiere and show the brand new thrilling 90-minute "House of Anubis" movie special "The Touchstone of Ra", on Sunday 7th July 2013 at 5.30pm! SIBUNA!:

What did you think of the House of Anubis finale??

It's not over yet... the Sibuna's are about to be confronted with their greatest challenge yet!!!

Don't miss The Touchstone of Ra - This Sunday @ 5.30pm. ‎#HouseOfAnubis ‎#TouchstoneOfRa

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