The month features the premiere of a new episode of Wow Wow Wubbzy titled A Great and Grumpy Holiday/The Super-Special Gift. In the episode Wubbzy and his friends go up to Mt. Zubba Bubba to get a Christmas tree for Wuzzleburg Square and are chased off the property by Old Man Grumpus.  Wubbzy sets out to soften Grumpus’ heart by decorating the perfect tree to surprise him. Grumpus is still as mad as a hornet until he sees Wubbzy’s present: his very own small-scale train.  The humbugger is so delighted that he brings the decorated tree down to Wuzzleburg for the big Christmas celebration.

The complete schedule follows:

December 5th

9:00 a.m. The Backyardigans “The Yeti”

9:30 a.m. Go, Diego, Go! “Diego the Hero”

10:00 a.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Penguin”

10:30 a.m. Dora the Explorer “South Pole”

11:00 a.m. Ni Hao, Kai-lan “The Snowiest Ride”

11:30 a.m. Max & Ruby “Max’s Mix Up/Max’s Snow Bunny/Max’s Snow Day”

12:00 pm. Dora the Explorer “Dora Saves the Snow Princess”

1:00 p.m. The Backyardigans “The Yeti”

1:30 p.m. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! “A Great and Grumpy Holiday/The Super-Special Gift” (premiere)

December 12th

9:00 a.m. The Backyardigans “Secret of Snow”

9:30 a.m. Go, Diego, Diego! “Diego Saves Christmas

10:00 a.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Nutcracker”

10:30 a.m. Dora the Explorer “A Present for Santa”

11:00 a.m. Max & Ruby “Max & Ruby’s Christmas Tree/Grandma’s Present/Max & Ruby’s Snow Plow”

11:30 a.m. Yo Gabba Gabba “Christmas”

12:00 p.m. Dora the Explorer “South Pole”

12:30 p.m. Go, Diego, Diego! “Diego Saves Christmas”

1:00 p.m. The Backyardigans “Secret of Snow”

1:30 p.m. Wow Wow Wubbzy! “O Figgity-Fig Tree/Snow Day”

December 19th

9:00 a.m. The Backyardigans “The Snow Fort”

9:30 a.m. Go, Diego, Go! “Macky the Macaroni Penguin”

10:00 a.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Reindeer”

10:30 a.m. Dora the Explorer “South Pole”

11:00 a.m. Ni Hao, Kai-lan “The Snowiest Ride”

11:30 a.m. Yo Gabba Gabba “Christmas”

12:00 p.m. Dora the Explorer “A Present for Santa”

12:30 p.m. Go, Diego, Go! “Macky the Macaroni Penguin”

1:00 p.m. The Backyardigans “The Snow Fort”

1:30 p.m. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! “A Great and Grumpy Holiday/The Super-Special Gift”

Noggin will be rolling out a week of Yo Gabba Gabba premiers with 4 new episodes coming the week of November 26th. The episodes and guest stars are as follow:

Monday, November 26
It’s time for the Gabba gang to go for a ride in a car. In the song “Keep Trying” they learn the importance of using seat belts. The song “Car Ride” explores the thrill of traveling and during the song “Danger,” the characters learn to stay away from the road when playing.

Guest Stars: Sugarland in a “Dancey Dance” segment; Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day” segment

Tuesday, November 27 — “Share”

The Gabba gang learns about sharing by singing “Mine and Yours,” “Don’t Take it Away,” “Share,” and “Catch and Throw.”

Guest Stars: Cornelius performs; Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day” segment

Wednesday, November 28 — “Find”

Imagination leads to discovery as the Gabba gang uncover many things that may be different or frightening. The songs “I Like Fish” and “Woodpecker” encourage the characters to learn about different animals. The “Keep Trying” song helps Muno find his toy snake that was lost and the song “Peek-a-Boo” allows the gang to play with the viewers at home.

Guest Stars: Sean Kingston in a “Dancey Dance” segment; Mark Mothersbaugh in a “Mark’s Magic Pictures” segment

Thursday, November 29 – “Train”

The song “Don’t Be Afraid” shows the Gabba gang how to overcome fears, while “Train Ride” and “Too Loud” teach them all about the joys of trains. In the “Share” song, the Gabba characters learn about the multiple parts of a train and how if they work together, they can make the train longer.

Guest Stars: Laila Ali in a “Dancey Dance” segment, Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day” segment

NICK JR: “Haunted Halloween” Marathon

• 9:00 a.m. The Backyardigans “Monster Detective”
• 9:30 a.m. Dora the Explorer “Boo”
• 10:00 a.m. Dora the Explorer “Dora Saves the Prince”
• 10:30 a.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Black Kitten/Yak, Pig, Dancing Bear
• 11:00 a.m. Blue’s Clues “Blue’s Big Costume Party”
• 11:30 a.m. Yo Gabba Gabba! “Halloween”
• 12:00 p.m. Dora the Explorer “BOO!”
• 12:30 p.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Black Kitten/Yak, Pig, Dancing Bear”
• 1:00 p.m. The Backyardigans “Scared of You”
• 1:30 p.m. Max & Ruby ”Max’s Jack-o-Lantern/Max & Ruby’s Perfect Pumpkin/Max’s Big Boo”

The show is a different style than the typical Noggin/Nick Jr. fare in that instead of the shows being “stories” each episode is a series of short yet related segments. The premise is that DJ Lance Rock has a robot and 4 monsters that he brings to life. The show uses several modern music themes to convey messages about trying new foods and brushing your teeth.

The press release states, “This fresh, inventive music series will captivate preschoolers and caregivers with a hip, diverse slate of original music and infectious lyrics.” After seeing the premiere episode, Eat, I certainly would agree with the infectious part. My kids have been singing “Try it you’ll like it” ever since.

Still, I just don’t get the appeal of the show. The monsters and robots aren’t particularly engaging or endearing characters. I didn’t find the music, at least in the premiere episode, to be very interesting. The kids were entertained, but as a parent I found it to be annoying.

The show does have a number of guest stars slated for this season including: Elijah Wood in the premiere episode (“Eat”), Mya, The Shins, Sugarland, Rahzel, Tony Hawk, Laila Ali, Sean Kingston, Nikki Flores, Hector Jimenez, Smoosh, The Aquabats, The Aggrolites and Cornelius.

The show is jointly produced by creators The Magic Store and Wild Brain who brought us Higglytown Heroes. The Magic Store was founded in 2005 by “Gen X” dads Christian Jacobs, Justin Lyon and Scott Schultz. The studio’s first project, Yo Gabba Gabba!, was produced independently in two half-hour episodes. After creating an online viral frenzy with the trailer, the show ultimately found a home on Nick Jr.