Judging from the shows debuting during television's 'second season,' American TV's love affair with the wretched excesses of low-cost reality TV doesn't leave a lot of room for genre shows that appeal to fans who shop at pop culture stores, but at least some salvation is apparent in the realm of animation.  Although we are losing the estimable Futurama, new anime series are slipping into cable networks with increasing frequency, and homegrown cartoon series are providing some of the few highlights for TV's second season. First up is an all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, set to debut on the Fox Box starting on Saturday morning, February 8.   The new TMNT series, which gets its inspiration from the original Eastman and Laird comic book, looks to be considerably 'smarter' and 'cooler' than the original Turtles cartoon -- and it will have to be to keep up with the clever anime series Ultimate Muscle and the Fighting Foodons, which have already made the Fox Box one of the pleasant surprises of the current dismal TV season.  The TMNT toys are due for a Q1 release (see 'TMNT Action Figures Return').

 

The Cartoon Network is a major source of anime on American TV, but it has also provided more than its share of quality animated series that feature homegrown superhero talent.  Glen Murikami and the crew at Warner Brothers Animation have produced some of the best comic book-inspired TV animation and their latest effort, the Teen Titans is set to debut on May 30.  Just as with the new TMNT series, the creators of the Teen Titans have reportedly gone back to the heyday of the Teen Titans comic book series for inspiration.