New Shows? In August? What Gives?

As Fox discovered with “Roar,” summer isn’t the easiest time when it comes to inspiring folks to watch a new TV show. Still, when you’re the new kids, the axiom “hit ‘em where they ain’t” has merit, which is why the UPN network is rolling out new programs this week. Taking a page from Fox in its infancy, UPN will try to get noticed while the other networks remain mostly in reruns, introducing sitcoms tonight and Tuesday. The WB Network will employ a similar strategy by opening its new season beginning Sept. 7. “Historically, we’ve managed to achieve additional sampling by starting early,” said UPN Vice President of Programming Ron Taylor, adding that the network will stagger some premieres (new episodes of “Star Trek: Voyager” beam in next week) to “maximize the impact of our promotion.” After playing with such an approach a few years ago, the major networks have returned to a more conventional launch plan, premiering most programs close to the TV season’s official start on Sept. 22. Part of that has to do with a desire to spread new episodes through May and avoid running into a glut of repeats during off-sweeps months like March and April.

Goofy, Donald, Stay Out of the Mosh Pit!

“Hey, Insane Clown Posse, now that you’re signed to a new label, where are you going?” “We’re going to Disney World!” Well, not quite, but it’s no coincidence that the controversial “horror rap” duo is opening its first high-profile tour Thursday with a show near the Happiest Place on Earth in Orlando, Fla. The Detroit-based group was thrown into the national spotlight two months ago when its album, “The Great Milenko,” was recalled from stores by Disney-owned Hollywood Records because of what Disney executives called “inappropriate” lyrics. The group found a new home at Island Records, which released an expanded version of “The Great Milenko” two weeks ago, but the duo, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, is still peeved about the way it was treated by its former label. The band chose to open its tour in Orlando, says manager Alex Abbiss, to show Disney executives that their virtually unprecedented action in pulling the record has not derailed the Insane Clown Posse. “We want to let them know that, despite what they tried to do to us, we’re still here,” Abbiss says. “We’ll probably kick off all our tours in Orlando--in honor of Mickey Mouse.” Abbiss adds that the 27-date series of shows, which includes a Sept. 20 stop at the Hollywood American Legion Hall, is a make-or-break tour for the cartoonish group, which was virtually unknown outside the Midwest before this summer. “We’ve got a lot to prove,” the manager says. “The pressure’s on us big-time now.”

Telluride: The Kinder and Gentler Festival

The four-day, 24th annual Telluride Film Festival gets off the ground Friday--an event that, over the years, has held world premieres of critical hits such as “The Crying Game,” “Blue Velvet,” “My Dinner With Andre,” “Swingers” and “Sling Blade.” “Telluride is the perfect opportunity for launching a film deemed too challenging to work in the marketplace,” said Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Michael Barker, who has been attending since 1980. “We showed ‘Raise the Red Lantern’ there after the New York Film Festival told us the film was basically unplayable. At Telluride, there’s none of the attendant hype for pictures that don’t live up to hype. People aren’t there to sign talent like they are at Sundance--and you can talk with Paul Schrader or Oliver Stone without the paparazzi and pressures you have at Cannes.” Tom Luddy, co-director and co-founder of the festival, draws another distinction: “Unlike other festivals, we place equal emphasis on new films and revivals or retrospectives. People come to see what’s hot and are blown away by a film made in Russia in 1920 or France in 1930.” The program is never revealed in advance, said Luddy, to retain the element of surprise. “I’ll say only that we’re having a premiere of a Werner Herzog film . . . and Herzog will be here.” The 1,300 passes to the festival, priced at $450 or $1,875 for “patrons,” are virtually sold out.

Compiled by Times Staff Writers and Contributors