Disney’s ‘Phineas and Ferb’ frantic

Disney introduces the new cartoon series “Phineas and Ferb” (7 p.m., Disney), a fast-paced fantasy comedy filled with catchy if frantic musical numbers and shot through with pop-culture references intended to amuse the parents who may be lingering in the room.

The title characters are bored kids out to make a memorable time of their summer vacation. Most of their fun comes at the expense of their older sister, Candace, a teen a tad more prone to peer pressure and worries about boys and popularity.

In the first episode, Phineas and Ferb sabotage her plans to appear in an “American Idol”-type show by becoming instant one-hit-wonder pop stars. They seem inspired partly by their mother, whose personal history may have included some time at the top of the charts in the 1980s.

As if this weren’t complicated enough, there is a loosely connected spy/adventure subplot about a platypus named Perry and his nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I’m not sure what this accomplishes except to add the noise of explosions to the already constant din of singing and screaming.

In a subsequent plot, the boys create a machine that turns summer into winter, and they sing a song about confusing the seasons.

“Phineas and Ferb” is clearly one of those cartoons in which the characters can do just about anything. These stories are amusing in the short term but ultimately forgettable. The constant action never allows any characters to develop, and at the end of the day, it’s hard to distinguish between Phineas and Ferb or care about them at all.

The tunes are catchy, and the lyrics are clever enough, but it’s never clear whether P&F are intended to entertain children or are merely a reflection of grownup animators engaged in a juvenile lark.

¢ Who knows how strikebound Hollywood will celebrate the Academy Awards or whether they will celebrate at all. But Turner Classic Movies won’t let February slip by without a nod to the films that either won or were in contention for the little gold man named Oscar.

Weekday evenings are devoted to Oscar-winning and nominated films from different decades. Mondays in February belong to the 1920s and 1930s, Tuesdays to the 1940s and so on, with Sundays devoted to films from the 1990s and our current decade.

So if it’s Friday, it must be 1970s night, featuring favorites including “Jaws” (7 p.m.) and “Five Easy Pieces” (1:30 a.m.).

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A young girl believes that a homeless man has mystical powers in the 2008 made-for-TV fantasy “Roxy Hunter: The Secret of the Shaman” (7 p.m., Nickelodeon).

¢ Too much sunlight makes Mick a dull boy on “Moonlight” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ Matt’s life loses meaning on “Friday Night Lights” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ A young boy’s bleak prospects seem chillingly familiar on “House” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ Adrian takes up painting with surprisingly good results on “Monk” (8 p.m., USA).

¢ Trouble in the treetops on “Orangutan Island” (8 p.m., Animal Planet).

¢ A 26-year-old businesswoman confronts her body image on “How to Look Good Naked” (8 p.m., Lifetime).

¢ A comic inhabits a series of strange characters on “The Catherine Tate Show” (8:20 p.m., BBC America).

¢ A traffic fatality may be less than accidental on “Numb3rs” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Piper faces media scrutiny on “Las Vegas” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ Sheppard finds a diversion from his grief on “Stargate: Atlantis” (9 p.m., Sci Fi).

¢ An initiation rite goes very wrong on “Psych” (9 p.m., USA).