When Nick Jr. swung open its stable of shows to Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, a super-size saddle full of spunk charged in; here's a series so full of lovable kooks it'll forever flatten tired old cartoon conceits for kids 2 to 6. Maggie, based on the mother-son books and starring a 5-year-old dynamo who'll put parents in mind of Peanuts' Frieda minus the primping, sweeps kids into an imaginary oasis alongside polka-dotted pussycat Beast and fussy pig Hamilton Hocks. There they knock around, making friends and figuring life out in these episodes. (In "The Big Duck," a feathered humongo frightens Hamilton and Beast until Maggie sets things right.) The adventures cast spells and the dialogue is smart, but it's the pouring on of personality that puts Maggie's Nowhere Land on the map. This is a crew that'll convert the uninitiated before they can say "great googly-moogly." --Tammy La GorcePrice: $14.94
