Too Cute! - General Discussion

[riley702]

Even worse, if they're showing new puppies and rerunning kittens. Boo! Not everyone likes puppies.

[walnutqueen]

Even worse, if they're showing new puppies and rerunning kittens. Boo! Not everyone likes puppies.

 

Now you're venturing into ID Channel territory, riley702  (serial killers hate puppies, I'm told).  ;-)

 

I love watching puppies but wouldn't want to take one on full time.  :-)

[Bella]

I love watching puppies but wouldn't want to take one on full time.  :-)

 

I like to watch both kittens and puppies, but having once adopted a pair of kittens, my policy is now to adopt rescues that are 9 months or older. No. More. Curtain-Climbers.

[Lantern7]

Here's a clip featuring Dexter the Bulldog puppy.

[Lantern7]

Well, I'm a little upset. I think 30 minutes is too short a time to learn about kittens and puppies. Especially if they're Bulldog puppies like little tubby Dexter. And I would've liked to known more about the stray dog and her eleven mixed-breed puppies.

 

And it turns out Pippa wasn't a one-time momma, but rather once a featured kitten. My mother wondered why she wasn't fixed after being showcased. I guess getting spayed isn't part of the Too Cute package.

 

One thing I like about the new format: the behind-the-scenes stuff. It's probably tough to keep up with little animals, but I would bet it's rewarding as well.

[riley702]

I was pleased the kitties weren't reruns repackaged as a new episode. Unless the rescue with a baby skunk was a repackaging - I know we've seen a kitten and baby skunk being bestest buds before.

 

And I was right - it originally aired last Halloween.

 

 

I knew Pippa, the BSH in a cat clinic sounded familiar. But why are we revisiting cat families? Is it that hard to line up people and cats to be on the show? Although having said that, I can see where it might be novel to follow a kitten from birth to being a Mom herself. 

[Lantern7]

There's no description up for "Kitten Puffs" yet, but I have one for "Muddy Puppies": 

 

At a small farmhouse an adventurous Cairn Terrier named Doogie attempts to befriend a finicky house cat. While a pristine pack of Samoyed pups have to decide whose rules they’d rather follow – their tidy mom or their messy dad.

 

 I'm 90 percent certain Cairn Terriers were covered already, though I don't remember a "Doogie."

 

Quick question from the commercials I've been seeing: what category was this show nominated for an Emmy?

 

ETA: Here's a review from the Daily News about the show.

 

ETA2: As expected, the nomination was for Henry Strozier and his voiceover work. Bad news: he didn't win.

[revbfc]

I'm fine with "Too Cute: the Next Generation" episodes. Seeing Pippa nurturing her own kittens was a cool thing for me.

[revbfc]

Did anyone else notice the awkward visual that went along with the line "Sasha has something new to brag about"?

[revbfc]

I want to see a litter of baby rabbits, and I want to see them (eventually) playing with a litter of kittens.

[Lantern7]

There were baby rabbits in an episode with hedgehogs and piglets.

[revbfc]

Yeah, but they weren't playing with kittens.

[Rick Kitchen]

@revbfc - will this help?

 

[Bella]

::whispers: I worry about prey species mingling with predator species, even babies::

[Lantern7]

Here's the description for the kitten episode at 8 p.m. on Saturday . . .

 

In a cozy cabin, a pair of Siberian soul mates’ relationship is put to the test with the birth of their fireball son Calvin. While at a cats only grooming salon, a Turkish Angora kitten named Izzie has to balance her personal style with life in the salon.

 

 

And here are the episodes for Saturday, August 30 . . .

Puppies and Prickles: Pint-Sized

TV-PG

In the countryside, a German Shepherd mom is training her troop of seven pups to be Search and Rescue dogs. While in the big city an African Pygmy Hedgehog named Prickle is looking for a soft and cuddly companion in a house full of Havanese puppies.

Puppy Giants: Pint-Sized

TV-PG

An English Mastiff puppy named Dot searches for a little independence from her tag-a-long sister Olive. And Niles, a Small Munsterlander, tries to live up to his breed’s reputation as top notch hunting dogs, despite the distraction of his fun-loving mom.

[revbfc]

Thank you, Rick! That video does help,

Bella: I worry about the same thing, but this is the "wish list" thread. MY wish is to see a litter of bunnies and a litter of kittens playing together.

[Bella]

Bella: I worry about the same thing, but this is the "wish list" thread. MY wish is to see a litter of bunnies and a litter of kittens playing together.

 

Oh,I totally get it. I just need to envision someone standing nearby, very slightly out of camera range, to rescue the bunnies.

[walnutqueen]

The trick is to get them at just the right stage of imprinting/development/foolishness, Bella.  My Babalu was introduced to a lot of things as a kitten, including my friends' 25 +/- birds; he had absolutely no fear or predatory instinct when it came time for them all to evacuate to our house during a wildfire; yet he goes apeshit jumping up the window screen trying to get to the wild birds at the feeder every fucking day of his life.  Granted, most of them are not the size of the various parrots, cockatoos & macaws he visited a few times in his youth, but I truly believe he has figured out the difference.  :-)    Some animals bond for the long term, and others for fleeting but loving relationships.  (Can you tell I love that show about Unusual Animal Friends or whatever?).  :-)

 

That being said, even an innocent gentle tap from a cat can be disastrous, especially if the toenails are not clipped short.  Nevermind the damage it can do to a delicate structure like a bird's torso (at least half of the injured birds I rescued were cat attacks); I was nearly blinded as a teenager by a cat's frightened claw, and my Beanie Baby had major abdominal surgery for an abscess that developed from an inadvertent claw puncture from his sweet adopted polydactyl brother, Shoe Shoe. 

[riley702]

OMG, walnutqueen, I had a polydactyl that I named ShuShu. I almost spelled it Shoe Shoe.

[Dr. Opossum]

I feel like the Siberian episode imposed too many modern gender ideals upon Boris, the cat father. No amount of shaming or putting kittens in front of him is going to make a cat father take parenting seriously. Nature has made them deadbeat dads.

[Lantern7]

Thanks to Doctor Who, I had to DVR the episodes. And I only got around to seeing the Samoyed/Cairn Terrier episode. I don't understand why Major wasn't in the tub in every segment he was in. What a messy dog. And I kinda liked the Cairns dogpiling on poor Geronimo the cat. At least it didn't look like he outright hated Doogie.

[CoderLady]

I feel like the Siberian episode imposed too many modern gender ideals upon Boris, the cat father. No amount of shaming or putting kittens in front of him is going to make a cat father take parenting seriously. Nature has made them deadbeat dads.

 

I've noticed this kind of thing in many of the written narratives. There's usually some lesson where a puppy or kitten "learns" to be  happy fitting in while downplaying any possible satisfaction they might get from individual pursuits. Traditional feminine behavior gets played up for the girl babies and their mothers and the boys are usually adventurous little hellions. Fathers make brief appearances and their scripts are straight out of TV fiction written about human dads.

 

It's a bit disturbing. I know it's all fiction created in the editing but sometimes I have to mute the narration in order to enjoy the fluff.

Edited August 27, 2014 by CoderLady

[Lantern7]

Anybody catch the latest episodes? It looks like we're going to be waist-deep in puppies for the time being, which is okay by me. Still, a half-hour episode doesn't work as well for me as the hour-long . . . especially with more interactions between puppies and Prickle the hedgehog.

 

Damn, the latest episodes are a bit of a blur. Does anybody have favorite moments to share?

 

ETA: Here are the summaries of the next episodes . . .

Sock Puppies: Pint-Sized

TV-PG CC

In a pack of nine Spinone Italianos, there’s only one thing that keeps a timid pup named Wally calm, his security sock. While a few miles away, a mischievous Pug named Oskar is a constant handful for his orderly librarian mom.

 

 

Episode 8

TV-PG

A Siberian Husky has declared himself the leader of a pack of seven pups, but he'll need to back up his bravado with some real sledding smarts. And in a litter of a dozen Irish Red and White Setters, a little runt named Lil has to prove she can keep up.

[friendperidot]

watching the puppies go off their blankets in the middle of the room onto carpet, all I can think of is all the pee and poop stains. And I have a female Cocker Spaniel that will not go outside on rainy days.

[Lantern7]

I'm guessing that whatever messes the puppies make are off-camera. Or cleaned up. Maybe that's one "behind the scenes" vignette we'll be getting in the near future.

 

I miss the agility-loving Pugs, though this new batch of puppies were cute enough. Anybody else mildly concerned about the puppy with the sock dependency issue?

[revbfc]

Are we going to get any more kitten episodes this season? I'll just assume that spoiler policies are relaxed for this show.

Edited September 7, 2014 by revbfc

[Lantern7]

I would check the Animal Planet schedule. There isn't anything listed for this weekend yet. I do notice that the 8:30 episode runs through 9:01, which is a bit odd.

 

On the subject of behind-the-scenes footage . . . I'd like to see the narrator at work.

[revbfc]

I can only imagine the amount of ribald, profanity-riddled narration outtakes that exist for this show.

Edited September 8, 2014 by revbfc

[Lantern7]

I got a description for Saturday's 8 p.m. episode:

Cuddly Kittens: Pint-Sized

TV-PG

A pair of Shetland Sheepdogs are concerned that their only pup is getting distracted by the farm’s resident Pomeranian Gino. Plus, in a litter full of tailless Manx, one kitten named Charlie is born with a tail and needs to figure out he fits in.

Puppies AND kitties. Sounds like a good mix. Also, I never thought we'd see Sheepdogs on the show, so that's a bonus.

[riley702]

Aww, Max the Sheltie is adorable! Is he a blue merle? I really liked the parents' coats as well; black and white (with Dad sporting some merle splotches as well). A former coworker's Sheltie had the more traditional sable coat that I think of when I think of Shelties. 

[Lantern7]

Once again, Animal Planet isn't saying what the 8:30 episode is about, but at least they have this up for 8:

Puppy Pros: Pint-Sized

TV-PG

In a small town, a dog about town named Izzy brings a rare litter of Portuguese Podengo Pequeno pups into the world, led by go-getter Gisele. Meanwhile, an octuplet of Cockapoos train to be therapy dogs.

[Lantern7]

Looks like we're not going to get new episodes for a while, if the AP schedule is to be believed. I can't emphasize how much my mother hated the Elf Cats. Apparently, lack of fur is a turn-off for her, and I tried my best to want those weird critters to be loved. At least the puppies were cute. Now . . . if only Too Cute would go back to the hour-long format.

[designing1]

 

I can't emphasize how much my mother hated the Elf Cats. Apparently, lack of fur is a turn-off for her, and I tried my best to want those weird critters to be loved.

 

My 89 year old father awoke from his easy chair nap to a TV screen filled with Elf Cat kittens. His immediate reaction? "What the hell is that?" Yes, I laughed out loud.

 

Hairless cats and dogs certainly aren't my preference, but I thought the Elf Cats with their crazy ears were actually kind of cute, as were the Chinese Cresteds featured on another of last night's episodes. 

[Lantern7]

Heads up . . . there's going to be a marathon on Christmas Eve, culminating with a new episode at 8 p.m. that will repeat through midnight.

[walnutqueen]

Best Chrissie present I could hope for, Lantern7! 

[Lantern7]

Checking in to see if anybody saw the new episode. Basically, it was a 60-minute highlight package set mostly to Christmas music and with no narrator. It was a little weird, but we did get some fun flashbacks, like the mommy Shar-Pei putting her paws up outside the window as Raisin chewed on his sister, Pipsqueak the psycho goat kid, and the Rottweiler puppies scratching at their new collars. Good stuff. 

[gatopretoNYC]

I'm halfway though this "merrycuteness" special, and I have to say I'm disappointed so far. I thought it would more holiday-focused, but it's more like just a rehash of stuff we've seen before.

 

Though I do love that baby goat.

 

 

Saw the whole thing now. Got a grand total of 2 minutes of the promised "Kittens climb Christmas trees; puppies dash through the snow". :(

Edited December 25, 2014 by gatopretoNYC

[Lantern7]

I guess we need Henry Strozier to point out what the puppies and kitties are doing. And I'm used to them having names .. . it took me a while to remember one of the French Bulldog puppies' names was Chauncey. I don't remember the names of his sister and his "stories"-watching momma, though.

[walnutqueen]

I loved the Christmas episode and didn't miss the narration at all.  :-)

[Lantern7]

Heads up . . . I think last year's holiday episode airs tonight at 8. The cable listing says "new," but I recognized the description of Humphrey the grumpy Brussels Griffon.

 

ETA: Old footage, new footnotes. And, of course, poor Humphrey as Yoda. He really looked grumpy in that last photo.

[Perkie]

HOw can I download these episodes online?

[riley702]

Wow, this show is just scraping the bottom of the barrel. Saw a promo for an upcoming episode, about a cat that.... licks people too much. Seriously?

[Bella]

Wow, this show is just scraping the bottom of the barrel. Saw a promo for an upcoming episode, about a cat that.... licks people too much. Seriously?

 

I believe that's My Cat from Hell, Riley. At least there's a cat like that on this Saturday's episode.

[riley702]

Ha - my bad!

[revbfc]

Is this show coming back soon? If it's been cancelled I have some great ideas for a reboot.

[Lantern7]

You can see reruns on Discovery Family on Thursday nights at 7 p.m.

[Lantern7]

Heads up to anybody who's watching: Animal Planet will be running five half-hour puppy-based episodes starting at noon on Sunday, leading up to Puppy Bowl.

[walnutqueen]

Kitten Bowl III will be airing Sunday on the Hallmark Channel.

[riley702]

Thanks, Walnut Queen!

[Lantern7]

Checking to see if anybody else is tuning in. Animal Planet altered the schedule . . . and I wanted to see Dexter the tubby Bulldog puppy. Right now, they're doing a top twenty countdown. They showed the Rottweiler puppies having trouble with their new collars. So cute.