Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 18, 1994 TAG: 9408250067
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CATHERINE HINMAN ORLANDO SENTINEL
DATELINE: ORLANDO, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
The one thing you won't find on this set is a likeness of the corporate symbol from which the show takes its name. Mickey Mouse is nowhere to be found in his clubhouse.
Entering its sixth year of production at Disney-MGM Studios, Disney Channel's ``Mickey Mouse Club'' has finally cut the cord with its namesake of the 1950s.
With the exception of their names and perhaps their aims - which is and was to be an inviting place for kids to spend an afternoon - there is about as much similarity between the old ``Mouse Club'' and the new one as there is between ``The Donna Reed Show'' and ``Roseanne.''
The new ``Mickey Mouse Club,'' which debuted in 1989 with a target audience of kids ages 8 to 14, has always sought to represent '90s sensibilities. It is today the highest rated afternoon show in The Disney Channel's 11-year history.
Now it is shedding any vestiges of the old show that might limit its ability to satisfy the appetites of the hip MTV generation.
Gone are the theme days: Music Day, Guest Day, Anything Can Happen Day, Hall-of-Fame Day and Party Day. Gone are the grownups. Gone are the sobering reality segments on everything from AIDS to teen alcoholism.
The show almost changed its name, too. Word went out when production started in May that the show would be known officially as ``MMC.'' Someone in Disney upper management - rumored to be Disney chairman Michael Eisner - quashed that idea in deference to the show's origins.
Still, it is the letters MMC, a symbol of the show's new sophistication, that prevail on the set. A mad palette of muted reds, blues and golds, the set provides the first hint that the show has undergone a serious transformation.
The quaint diner that was the anchor for ``Mouse Club'' performances in the first six seasons of the show has been ditched for funky walls and platforms. Art director Gentry Akens threw a little bit of everything into his creation: a turnstile here, a monster pizza slice there; neoclassical columns at one angle, asymmetrical lockers at another.
``It's freedom,'' Akens said of the set. ``There's no conforming to a particular look. It's not a diner; it's not a restaurant. It's whatever we want it to be.''
The eclectic set, now a theater in the round that puts the show's audience literally center stage, first and foremost had to be flexible enough to support all variety of comedy sketches and musical performances, Akens said.
The show, featuring 21 cast members (they're not called Mouseketeers anymore, either), is today solely about comedy and popular music, said Lynne Symons, director of original programming for the Disney Channel. She plays down the changes.
``We're not really changing it,'' Symons said. ``I think it's just a natural evolution of any television series that has been ongoing as long as ours. The show has always been really very strong in the area of music performance, dance and comedy and so that is what our major focus is right now.''
Still, the producers want to infuse the show with more spontaneity and energy. The change has been enough that in production circles the revamped show has been dubbed ``Roundmouse'' - an allusion to its similarities with Nickelodeon's popular Saturday night variety show ``Roundhouse.'' The show, which debuted in 1992, targets a slightly older audience than ``Mouse Club'' but is a music and comedy-based program with the feel of live theater.
This season, the "Mouse Club" will have many more live segments taped before an audience. Previously, the `show featured cast members and fans in segments at locations ranging from the Grand Canyon to the Trump Tower. Now the taped pieces will be limited to some short commercial and movie parodies and a teen soap opera called ``Emerald Cove.''
Disney Channel executives found that as the show's fans grew up, they continued to watch. Coming at a time when the network was attempting to broaden its audience base to include older kids and more families, this was a good thing. Disney Channel today reaches 7.7 million households, up from about 4.5 million when the show was launched.
But preteens and teens are also a more challenging audience. Savvy, irreverent and fashion-conscious, they demand cutting-edge humor and music.
Such comedy, however, is not always an easy match for a cable channel that bills itself as ``America's Family Network.'' Subscribers, especially parents, count on Disney for safe, noncontroversial programming.
``It's a very fascinating culture clash,'' said Fred Newman, a comedian and actor who was co-host of the show for six seasons.
by CNB