June 26, 2007
Saturday Morning Nostalgia
Written by Kimberly Logan in Jaunty PostBoy, Saturday mornings sure aren’t what they used to be.
On a recent overnight babysitting stint at my sister’s house, I awakened on Saturday morning and turned on the television with the intention of letting my niece watch cartoons while I fed my nephew his bottle. I was surprised when my niece informed me that she never watched T.V. on Saturday mornings because there wasn’t anything good on, just the local news and reruns of old Disney Channel live action shows like Hannah Montana and That’s So Raven. I was determined to prove her wrong, but imagine my total shock when I discovered that she was right! After flipping through several channels, I realized that the only one with brand new cartoons playing was our local CW/WB affiliate.
Whatever happened to the good old days? The days when unveiling each station’s new Saturday morning line-up every fall was as important as unveiling the rest of the new fall schedules? The days when my sister, brother, and I would awake at 6:30 or 7:00 on Saturdays and plant ourselves in front of the television until noon for what seemed like an endless supply of cartoons?
It got to me thinking about some of the Saturday morning shows that I used to love as a child. Of course, there were scads of them. They came and went through the years, and there were those I loved and those I didn’t care for. But there were a few favorites that I remember fondly even today:
1. The one cartooon that really sticks out in my mind from my earliest years is Josie and the Pussycats. Wow, was I crazy about that show! I can remember papering the closet in my bedroom with stickers of each of the show’s characters. Think of it as Scooby Doo meets the Partridge Family–only with an all-girl band and their friends. I loved the combination of girl power and mystery. (And believe it or not, while Josie got on my nerves, I adored scheming Alexandra. Hmmm. Wonder what that says about me?)
Honorable Mention goes to The Krofft Kids Super Power Hour, which had several different live action shows that included Sid and Marty Krofft’s puppetry. Land of the Lost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Electra Woman and Dynagirl, Bigfoot and Wildboy. I ate it up!
2. Later, I graduated to the misadventures of Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. Think of it as Scooby Doo meets Charlie’s Angels, only with a caveman instead of a dog. (And once again with the girl power/mystery theme. Noticing a trend here?) To my family’s annoyance, I picked up a lot of Teen Angel Taffy’s sayings and started bursting out with expressions like Zowie! I think my sister finally threatened to glue my mouth shut one night when I was sleeping if I didn’t cut it out.
Honorable Mention goes to The ABC Weekend Special, which showcased a different live action show each week taken from a book for children. Some of my favorites through the years were The Haunted Mansion Mystery, Mayday!, The Ransom of Red Chief, and Zack and the Magic Factory.
3. My absolute favorite Saturday morning cartoon ever came along in my later grade school years. Dungeons and Dragons was about six kids who boarded the D&D ride at an amusement park and wound up getting zapped through a portal into the real thing. Amid zombies, orks, and other creatures from the game, the kids tried to survive and get back to their world with the help of the elfish Dungeon Master. The best part was that each kid got their own character designation and a cool weapon. Hank the Ranger had an energy bow, Sheila the Thief had an invisibility cloak, etc. I was devastated when they took it off after three seasons. So imagine my extreme happiness when the entire collection recently came out on DVD! (My niece and nephews love it!)
Honorable Mention goes to Pole Position, a cartoon about a brother and sister team with the Pole Position stunt riding show who drove race cars that talked. (Yes, it was based on the video game of the same name) Think of it as Scooby Doo meets Knight Rider. Didn’t last very long, but a way cool theme song.
There were others through the years. Whoofer and Whimper, Speedbuggy, Thundarr the Barbarian, Rubix. If I really thought about it, I could probably come up with a whole lot more. What about you? Do you have any fond Saturday morning memories? Any favorite shows you look back on with a sense of nostalgia?
And don’t forget to check out the winner of Margo’s contest below!
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J Perry Stone Says:
My older sister always made me be Dynagirl.
Kroft Superstars was the best. I still think about Land of the Lost although I hated that space nuts one.
We only got to watch KSS in repeat because we weren’t allowed to watch TV on Sat.
Stunk to be me, especially in the golden age of Sat. morn kid cartoons.
Lois Says:
Oh geez, there were the Smurfs. . . and the Josie and the Pussycats I remember is them in space. . . and while these aren’t from Saturdays, He-Man and She-Ra, Thundercats I think I just watched because it was on before He-Man. . . oh, the Transformers. . . Captain Power and the Solider of the Future. . . hmm. . . I know there are others, but alas, they escape me. LOL
Lois
Shana Says:
I don’t know what I was doing Saturday morning, but I guess I didn’t watch TV. I don’t remember any of these shows! I think I watched The Smurfs a couple of times… Maybe I was sleeping. If only I could do that now!
Kimberly Logan Says:
Gasp! You actually slept in on Saturdays, Shana? LOL. My parents used to grumble because they couldn’t understand why we didn’t sleep in on Saturdays, but had to be dragged out of bed on Sunday morning for church.
J Perry, I always wanted to be Dynagirl. Probably because she was a brunette.
I liked The Smurfs well enough, Lois, but it wasn’t a favorite. My sister was crazy about it though. My brother’s favorite was Saturday Supercade, with all of the cartoons made from video games. Pac-Man, Space Ace, etc. And yep, there were some great cartoons on through the week as well. I can remember coming home from school and watching Battle of the Planets, and then He-Man came along. I also had a fascination with the British shows that Nickelodeon aired on weekday afternoons.
Does anybody else remember the Saturday morning Mr. T cartoon? I used to love that too. I’m not sure why. I’m scratching my head on that one…
Kelley_S Says:
wow - I don’t remember most of those either. My Saturday mornings were usually Bugs Bunny & Roadrunner - I loved Elmer Fudd. Also New Schmoo, Grape Ape, Bozo the Clown (he even said Hi to me once on tv - it was the best day of my life, or so I thought at the time), and the school house rock commercials - I loved them!!! (I’m just a bill…)
brownone Says:
We always watched Voltron. That was where they ripped “Power Rangers” off from. We also watched the Smurfs, Fragile Rock,He-man, She-ra, Speed Racer, Rocky and Bullwinkle (we LOVED George of the Jungle). I remember when they would do the show that previewed the new Saturday morning lineup. Now my kids watch Nick, Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids…..
brownone Says:
OH! How could I forget…Scooby Doo…heck, my kids watch him now!
Kathryn Says:
Josie and the Pussycats all the way! I must be older than most of you because lots of these titles don’t ring a bell…. Scooby Doo was big too, The Monkees, reruns of Bewitched, huge Bugs Bunny fan (to this day) and yes, George of the Jungle. Does anyone out there remember The Adventures of Hercules or Rocket Robin Hood?
Shirley Karr Says:
Wow, what a trip down Memory Lane! Some of the cartoons I watched were only because of my brother five years younger and having only one TV in the house.
Looking back, I now realize the Sid & Marty Kroft puppet stuff was waaaay out there. As George Carlin would say, the ’60’s were good to the Krofts.
Same with the guys who came up with The Bugaloos, even if they did introduce me to the fabulous Martha Raye.
Loved Scooby but thought Scrappy was annoying. Little bro loved the Caveman and those girls in short skirts. I had the biggest crush on Will, the big brother on Land of the Lost. Around the time of Electra Woman (what was she doing on a soap opera, too?!? :-))and Wonder Woman was Isis, another strong female. And there was a live action show with teens and a dune buggy that talked, I think called Schlepp. Oh, and Schoolhouse Rock is still some of the best TV ever.
But my biggest must-see-Saturday-TV were re-runs of a shortlived western called Lancer. Mmm, Johnny Lancer…
Shirley Karr Says:
I didn’t mention Looney Tunes because they’re not just nostalgia, they’re still favorites. Yesterday, in fact, dh was bored while grocery shopping and I heard him muttering “What … are … you … chasing … around … the … tree?”
Love the whole gang — Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Daffy, Sylvester & Tweety… It’s not just the voices, it’s the sense of humor and the attitude that pervades the Warner Bros. cartoon collection that appeals to me. And really, who can resist a cross-dressing rabbit?
Shana Says:
Kim, I probably didn’t sleep in. I’m an early riser. I think my mom, who didn’t like us kids watching TV, had things planned on Saturday morning. We were probably making shrinky dinks or helping with the laundry. Unless my dad was home, the TV was off at my house.
brownone Says:
Oh..The Muppet Show. My sister was older than me and pretended she hated it, but would come to tell me it was on just so she could watch. I also liked Sigmund the Seamonster…go figure…
Kimberly Logan Says:
Kelley, wasn’t the New Schmoo the white Pillsbury Dough thingie that could shape itself into different objects? I can remember watching that one and enjoying it. And of course, who can forget Schoolhouse Rock. I can still remember passing a really hard history test because of that constitution ditty.
Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny were favorites with me too. (I really liked The Coyote and Roadrunner Show.) But since they are still around today, I guess they don’t evoke the same sense of nostalgia. And I agree totally, Shirley. Scrappy was annoying. But I really lost interest in the show when they brought in Scooby-Dum. Puh-leeze!
Squee! Brownone, I loved the Muppet Show! One of my favorite attractions at Disney/MGM Studios is the Muppet-Vision 3D Show. It’s a hoot.
Lacey Says:
I’m from the era of Thundercats, GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man and…there must be many more, and a few of them might even be girlie (now that I go back and review my list). I had no idea Saturday morning tv was crap nowadays. How disappointing. OTOH, don’t we want kids to a) watch less tv and b) get out more? Maybe it’s a conspiracy!
Clarisse Says:
Looney Tunes, of course, but I am from the age of black and white TV. Mighty Mouse and Tom & Jerry. Mr. Wizard and Winkie Dink (a star-like creature who was the original product placement. You had to buy a clear plastic Winkie Dink mat that stuck to the TV screen and then you could draw on the screen along with Winkie Dink.) Oh Lordy . . . so very old I am. {{sigh}}
ladydawgfan Says:
IMHO, todays kids are being ROBBED on Saturday mornings!!! I found a list of all of the Saturday morning lineups on Wikepedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_network_television_schedules_(Saturday_morning)
Boy, nostalgia sure set in when I was going over the years of my childhood!!!
Kimberly Logan Says:
I’m with Lacey! It’s a conspiracy I tell you!
Actually, I’m thinking it’s more likely that kids have turned to stations like the Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon for their cartoon viewing. And of course, this is the Playstation/XBox generation. That’s what my nephews are usually doing instead of watching T.V. I guess the regular networks were losing Saturday morning viewers and decided to quit putting money into developing kids’ programming.
It’s a shame. Though I’m sure Shana’s mom probably had the right idea. Much better to do things together as a family on Saturday than sack out in front of the boob tube. But it’s sad that such great shows are a thing of the past.
Lacey Says:
ladydawg, someone has WAY too much time on their hands. That website is crazy.