Hola loyal Meerkat Manor fans,

I'm posting the following announcement on behalf of Mick Kaczorowski, Executive Producer of Meerkat Manor. Enjoy!

Jason Robey
Interactive Producer

_______________

Hi Everyone,

I know that you have been waiting to hear some news about the next season of Meerkat Manor and I wanted to be the first to share with you what's been happening at the Manor since last year.

On June 6, 2008 we will be premiering Season 4 at a new time, 9 PM EST and we are extremely excited by all the changes that you will see as the season unfolds. I think you will like the changes we have made!

First, we've given the show a new name, "Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation." With the passing of Flower and some of our other favorite meerkats of last season, we thought it was time to give the program a new title as we begin a new chapter of Meerkat Manor. Although some of your favorite meerkats are still around, it is really a whole new cast of characters that we will be following this season. It is the Next Generation of Flower's family and of every other rival group in the Manor.

Also, because this Manor is very different from Flower's, we decided to find a new voice that would capture the drama, struggle and humor of the many females that are vying for the crown of the new queen of the Kalahari. So, we wanted this year's stories to be told by a female and are ecstatic to have the award-winning stage, screen, and TV actress Stockard Channing stepping into those great shoes that Sean Astin wore for the past three seasons. Although we'll miss Sean, I promise that Stockard has taken the Manor in a whole new direction. This isn't Flower's place anymore! With the same power she brought to the West Wing as first lady, and the tough, "cocky" attitude of Rizzo from Grease, we have another queen of the manor and, like Nikita, she's not taking any prisoners.

You will also notice we have new graphics and music. Of course, the biggest changes will be in the stories that are to come in the new season. Here's a brief glimpse...

Rocket Dog the dominate female of the Whiskers and the successor to Flower is an often struggling leader trying to walk in her mother's footsteps. Meanwhile, Maybelline -- Rocket Dog's sister and rival -- is in real trouble too as the dominant female of the Whiskers splinter group she leads called the Aztecs. Both sisters share a common dilemma: their problem dad. Zaphod is chasing off suitable rovers who come calling for his daughters. The rivalry between the two sisters and the Whiskers and the Aztecs will be a nail-biter throughout the entire series this year.

The new stars of the manor are everywhere, but everyone will be talking about this year's young roving males: Wilson, Seacrest and Zorro. The new season also finds Sophie, Rocket Dog's sister, in one bad situation after another. If she isn't careful, she might find herself an outcast just like Mozart and Daisy.

We've got a lot happening this year, so be sure to tune in!

Mick Kaczorowski
Executive Producer of Meerkat Manor

Thanks for the information about Season 4. I have to admit that I find all of the changes a little overwhelming. Will have to see how it all translates onto film.

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
so excited!

new speaker....... i will miss sean sooooooooooo much but..... i will give this new speaker a chance.

(the "Nikita" thang won me over )

new graphics, new music, WOOOOO!!!!

and, YAY Wilson is still bein showed!

sooo excited!!

-NC1-

I am not opposed to change, but will reserve judgement.

Oh one more thing, besides TriBeCa, in what other theaters will The Story Begins be released (as per your post)?

Thanks in advance...

ccatz, I just luv you!!!

NW67675

quote:

Oh one more thing, besides TriBeCa, in what other theaters will The Story Begins be released (as per your post)?

Sorry, I'm not sure! I'll keep you posted as I find out more.

We will all be most appreciative.

An announcement elsewhere!

http://www.fuertedigital.com/content/view/4195/39/

Wilson?? I heard on other forums that Wilson died sometime after Mozart. I was very sad to hear that. Are they really wrong? I hope so.

Still missing Mozart.

Yo

Obviously someone has been reading Meerkats in Space: The Next Generation.

I don't see much reality but it does get one to start thinking about who Seacrest (didn't know Ryan was a fan) and Zorro are...maybe Philipe and Homestar Runner aka the Chuckle Bros.

But Wilson, sigh...Wilson the 2nd perhaps (Ketamine) as well as Sophie the 2nd (perhaps Mango or Amira)...are far, far away.

Time will tell...

Nonetheless I am psyched that we will get to see just what Flower's offspring are up to and perhaps get a view of the crazy Nutters wardancing the Whiskers.

One thing is for sure the Manor will never be the same...

Pronker

Among all the news I've read today, strangely, my biggest concern is over "Seacrest". Please tell me this is only a coincedental reference to the Idol host... A homonym only, right?

I'm glad the premiere is early June before I leave for vacation in July.
June 6th is the day my DM retires after 34 years of teaching.... now it will be a doubly joyful day in my home burrow!!!

I still wish they would use more of the real meerkat KMP names, but I guess you can't have everything.
Just PLEASE PLEASE let this not be the last season.

I must say I am despressed about the change of narrator! First Whoopi will be doing the narration for the movie, and now a different narrator for MM. I really liked Sean Astin. He did such a good job. I hope this new narrator has some feeling in her voice as Sean did. Meerkat Manor will not be the same without Sean.

Eruth

I was upset at first when I read what is happening. I took another moment and realized that MM is different and has to change. It is a new era and generation. Maybe I can stop crying each and every time I see an episode. This will be very different and exciting. I only wish Sean Astin was staying. I LOVED how he delivered. As far as Seacrest. Love the name. If the little one has spiked fur and grabs the microphone then watch out dawg!

Janelle

Will Bill Nighty also be replaced as the UK narrator?

At least we have sometime to work the new names...I agree it could be Homestar Runner and Phillipe, and Amira as Sophie.
I wish they would tell the truth about Zaphod being Uncle to the sisters, and let everyone remember Yousarrian as well.

Why oh why must AP keep changing the names of meerkats?????? Is it because stars donate big$$$$$ to the researchers???? SEACREST, you've got to be kidding me!! So, Who is the unlucky pups real name?? What an insult to the researcher who named the boy and the other pups names that've been changed. The fans know that Wilson is long gone, Why keep using that name??
Be careful about that problem dad stuff about ZAPHOD, the fans love him!!

For me, it will ALWAYS be Flowers place!!

If it anin't broke, stop trying to break it!!

Jeanne

Hello jferret!

Yes, to me it will always be Flower's place. That statement got me pronkering in "Spoiler". It was like adding insult to injury after all of the unhappy news that has befallen us.

Nice to meet you and thank you for remembering the Queen of the Kalahari...gone but not forgotten.

Nuzzles
NW67675

What if these rovers are not name changes? What if they are new meerkats to the area? I am kind of dissappointed about the changes. It seems like they are taking away the tradition that Flower, Mozart, Kinks, Hanibal, and the rest that passed away have helped build to the show. Why change the name when it does not have anything to do with any individual meerkat that passed away? When I think of MM, I think of not only the ones that have passed, but also the ones that are making the show what it is now. When you bring all the meerkats together to make a episode, that's what makes the show what it is and not one individual meerkat. Flower brought a lot of people to understanding what a meerkat's life is like, but all the meerkats build a strong emotional tie between the viewers and the meerkats themselves. I am very saddened to hear that Sean will not be back, I have always believed he was the one that brought the emotional tie from the viewers to the meerkats with his words of usage during a scene and how he spoke those words. I hope Sean does end up narrating another show similar to MM. I will continue watching MM and am sure I will love it. Also, I will not be quick to judge the new narrator, I will listen to her because I do remember watching her on Grease a few times and she does have a great voice. If I do not like the way she narrates, then I will turn the volume down when watching the episode and just watch the meerkats themselves and try to figure out what is happening by their body language.

Squirrelygirly:
I wanted to congrat your husband on teaching for 34 years, what a accomplishment! I am attending college for my Teaching Certification and hopefully I will last 34 years, but I actually want to teach kids about the wildlife animals I am knowledgable of all across the planet.

I thought Sophie was Lseen? Did she go Lseen after they stopped filming?

quote:

I thought Sophie was Lseen? Did she go Lseen after they stopped filming?

you're right, the "real" sophie (mozart's daughter and therefore not rocket dog's sister, like the post above says) has been absent from the whiskers for a looong time and has been last seen according to the kalahari meerkat project. she left the whiskers and joined a group called hoax during the time period covered in season 3. even though she is mentioned as being in the whiskers late in season 3, they are using a "stand in" for her. so apparently that's what they're continuing to do for season 4 -- picking another meerkat and calling her "sophie."

she was(/is) a popular kat and i guess they just wanted to keep her in as a character for some consistency, given all of the other changes.

here's what the friends of the kalahari meerkat project website says about her "last seen" status --

"... was observed as an individual throughout November and until December, as she wore the Hoax' radio collar; it was not clear whether she had been evicted and was to return to Hoax or if she had joined a new group. She was put as LSEEN on 19th December, when the researchers had to remove her radio collar, since she had moved a considerable distance North towards Botswana, where monitoring is no longer possible. She was pregnant at that time, but her fate and that of her pregnancy could no longer be followed. After this event, the Life History database was updated in retrospect: she was marked as EM from the HOAX as per 7th November (when the Hoax group was considered LSEEN in the database), and part of no known group (UNK) thereafter. She could not be put into the November monthly report as LSEEN, because the researchers were still following her in December. LH conclusion: Her LSEEN dates both in the Life History database and the monthly report are thus in December."

from
http://friends.kalahari-meerkats.com/index.php?id=lh-explanations

Homestar Runner and Philippe are going to get "new" names, some other kat is going to be "Wilson", and one of the Whiskers girls that were evicted is going to be "Sophie". Sigh...

I can understand one of the evicted females playing Sophie, and another Meerkat playing Homestar Runner, but why would another Meerkat play Philipe? and, why would another Meerkat be Wilson? When did Philipe go missing?

When you guys say that Stockard played in "Nikita", do you mean LaFem Nikita which aired on USA network?

Philippe is fine (for now). I meant that MM is going to change the names of the two brothers (they are not commercial enough, I guess), but the kats are going to be themselves. Homestar Runner passed away very recently (in February). Wilson was very popular, so MM is going to keep the role, and substitute one meerkat with another. "Nikita" is Nikita Commandos (in reality Zorilla the Commandos' DF), who is a tough lady (meerkat). We are obviously going to see her and her group a lot.