What kind of magic brings together a banjo-playing frog, a pig that defined the term, “Media Darling” when Paris Hilton was still just a hotel in France, and a whole world of other manic, unusual characters? The picture above is a clue, but I’m talking about the Muppets of course.

I have a confession to make. I never quite “got” the Muppets. There was so much going on, and so many characters, it was just too much for me to take in. Now I’m older I have a much greater appreciation for what Jim Henson created, and this article by Stacy Conradt reveals the most intriguing stories behind some of his most beloved characters.

What excites me the most from this series of tales is the seemingly random way all of Henson’s previous work came together. Muppet aficionado’s might prove me wrong, but my impression is there was never an initial plan to create a show where a Scandinavian culinary expert shares screen time with a cannon-crazed blue alien or a dog that plays the piano – through trial and experimentation, previous creations were melded into a rich, diverse world that audiences around the world loved.

This is exactly what I am aiming to do myself, and it’s encouraging to think that somewhere in all of the shows I’ve pitched, doodles I’ve drawn, and characters I’ve written about, there might be a hidden formula lurking around that draws on the very best ideas I have merged into one.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to enjoying my Muppet renaissance.

Here’s something with a little transatlantic flavor. First, the news. BBC Scotland has just had a new children’s game show commissioned for CBBC. TMi hosts, Sam and Mark will be hosting the series that, “Pits two families against each other in a variety of exciting and captivating tasks which test players’ ability to pass on information.” More info as it happens.

This news brought a lightning bolt of realization to me – shazam! Growing up mostly in England, I can remember a plethora of classic children’s game shows – Philip Schofield hosting The Movie Game, Dave Benson Philips on Get Your Own Back, and the inimitable Tregard – dungeon master of Knightmare. Even these days, British kids are entertained by game shows like Hider in the House and Beat the Boss.

But where are the children’s gameshows in the United States?

Unless I’m unaware of some pretty conclusive audience research, it seems there is no demand for an entire genre of entertainment shows that offer a rock solid format and a goldmine of sponsorship and prize product placement opportunities.

Maybe I’m missing something here. I’m still rapidly absorbing information about all aspects of the children’s television networks here in the States. If anyone has info that can fill in any gaps on the subject, I would love to be enlightened.

Fourth Story Media will soon be launching a new brand/book/website/social media extravaganza, named, “The Amanda Project”. Aimed primarily at 12-14 year old girls, but certain to attract older users as well, the idea pushing T.A.P. along is a cross-platform mystery intended to find out one thing – who is Amanda, the enigmatic new kid in school?

This is an original attempt to create a multimedia brand featuring a book as one of its components, but the reason the project has me so interested is because I had a similar idea last summer, utilizing a similar blend of media albeit with a completely different story and target audience. The obvious roadblock I faced was the lack of available talent to work on such a huge project, but Fourth Story Media have enlisted the help of ace design and usability agency, Happy Cog, to bring The Amanda Project to life.

Earlier last year I talked about T.A.P. with Lisa Holton, Founder of Fourth Story Media and ex SVP of Disney Children’s Books. My impression was that even though the cards were being played, quite rightly, close to the chest on the brand’s actual content, there was a great deal of optimism and anticipation about how the project would be received by audiences once all of the components are available.

I don’t disagree with the choice to make the brand girl-specific – research shows the target audience both read more than boys at this age, and are also more likely to contribute to an online community, but I’m curious to know why Fourth Story Media didn’t choose a non gender-specific theme. For instance, how would a male 12-14-year-old be received in the online community if he wanted to be a part of it and had something useful to contribute?

The Amanda Project already fascinates me and I’m certain it will be a big success. No doubt I will be sharing more thoughts about this soon, but in the meantime, take a look a peek at the teaser below and watch this space for more news as the brand becomes closer to launch.