Draw me a check

Pappyland, a once-promising interactive arts show from Syracuse, N.Y.'s WCNY-TV, is now interacting with the legal system. The station and the show's producers were in court last week over about $118,000 the station claims the producers, Craftsman & Scribe, owe it for product royalties. The producers are contesting the claim, and a New York State Supreme Court judge is deliberating.

At one time, Pappyland was broadcast on The Learning Channel and more than 140 noncommercial stations and was considered one of kids programmings'top new shows. That usually spells millions in merchandising, as Muppets, purple dinosaurs and dolls with antennas on their heads and monitors in their midsections attest. The station, which provided studios and facilities, and local producers had hoped it would put Syracuse on the map for successful TV production. The show still runs on a handful of stations and on cable, but there have been no new shows in more than two years.