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My Saturday Morning Cartoon List

A Return to a Bygone Era (With Cartoons and Cereal)

By Kent BrindleyPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
6
My Saturday Morning Cartoon List
Photo by White on Unsplash

Hi there.

Among other things, I was a child of the 1980s (or one of SEVERAL eras where it was still WORTH waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning [maybe Sunday in some markets] to "toon" in to some great animation).

It also wouldn't take you too long to realize that I'm a huge animation nerd.

Hanna Barbera Shelf (60's-80s)

Some Scooby (share's shelf with "Josie...," "Speed Buggy," "Jabberjaw," "CAP-TAIN CAAAAAVE-MAAAAAAN!", and other assorted meddling mystery solvers).

BY THE POWER OF 80'S MEMORIES (FOR THE HONOR OF LOU SCHEIMER'S MEMORY AND ALL THAT HE BROUGHT TO MY CHILDHOOD)/THEEEESE FORM A MURAAAAAL!

So, I'm part of several groups on Facebook having to do with classic cartoons (and one page where I can WATCH 80's toons every Saturday morning). One day, one of the groups called on us to write up our own Saturday morning cartoon schedule. It got me really thinking about such things.

Grab me a bowel of Fruity Pebbles (Rice Krispies/Lucky Charms/maybe Kix) and let's get after scripting some schedules for Saturday morning fare.

By Nyana Stoica on Unsplash

SATURDAY

6:00-7:00: "THE WORLD OF SUPER HEROES"

You can't rightly talk about 60's Hanna-Barbera without Alex Toth's Superheroes; or 60's Filmation without the DC Superhero Shorts

I give you an opening hour of action that could be shared by the likes of Spaceghost, Birdman, Mightor, Herculoids, the Galaxy Trio, Young Samson and Goliath; and the occasional Superman, Batman, Aquaman, or Justice League short.

(For these to work right, it HAS to be a short episode running about 7-8 minutes. In respect to "The Adventures of Batman; with Robin, Boy Wonder, this eliminates HALF of their episodes as each broadcast was made up of one 12 minute "long" short, split into halves by a cliffhanger break, and a 7 minute "B-side" episode).

7:00-8:00: "SUNSWORD AND THE GOLDEN LANCE"

THIS hour-long block would belong to Ruby Spears and Hanna-Barbera respectively as each tried their hand at sword-and-sorcery.

First off, "Thundarr, the Barbarian" is joined by Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel to free a futuristic Earth from the devastation of a multitude of wizards and their (mostly metal) armies.

Then, "Galtar and the Golden Lance" takes us to another world where Galtar joins the Princess Goleeta and her brother, Zorn (never ONCE acknowledged as "Prince,") against the threat of the evil Tormak.

8:00-9:00: "CUTE PARADE"

I never much cared for "The Smurfs" and I outgrew "The Snorks" who I once favored instead. It doesn't change that they were APPOINTMENT Saturday morning fare in the 80's and, for any Saturday Morning Block, they should probably be there.

The B-Block half hour for THESE would either be The Smurfs or Snorks on a random rotation. The A-Block to start things off could possibly be The Monchichis/The Biskitts/Shirt Tales/(my personal favorites) The Paw Paws/maybe even Foofur; the multitude of possible combinations could easily fill a season (13 Saturdays) of programming.

9:00-10:00: "THOSE MEDDLING MYSTERY SOLVERS!"

There are only two constants here:

A) This hour is occupied by Hanna Barbera

B) "Scooby-Doo" leads it.

The principle is almost as simple as the formula it was based off of.

The A-Side could be "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" or "The Scooby-Doo Show" OR a FULL hour for one of "The New Scooby Movies." (I really couldn't stand anything passed "Scrappy's" first season).

The second half-hour could be "Josie..." It could be "Speed Buggy." It could be "Jabber-Jaw." It could be "CAP-TAIN CAAAAAVE-MAAAAAAN! (oh, and the Teen Angels)." It could be "The Funky Phantom" or "Butch Cassidy..." or "Goober..." once in a very blue moon. It could even by "Dynomutt, Dog Wonder" (Hint: "If a Season One episode of "The Scooby-Doo Show" were to turn up, I would very much appreciate the accompanying "Dynomutt..." sharing that time slot).

10:00-11:00: "MR. TURBO TEEN

More Ruby Spears fare; and not very complicated to figure out.

10:00- Mr. T as a gymnastics coach and backed by a team of teenage sleuths. ("I PITY THE FOOL WHO TURNED MR. T. INTO A GYMNASTICS COACH; THEN PAIRED HIM WITH THE D-LIST TEAM OF SLEUTHS!")

10:30- "Turbo Teen."

...Remember "Knight Rider?" Okay; remember something called "AUTOMAN?" Now mesh the two concepts together and ANIMATE it (oh; and Frank Welker is the enemy, reprising his classic "Dr. Claw" voice).

Minor programming change: First Saturday of each month, "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandoes" could replace "Turbo Teen's" time slot.

11:00-12:00: "A FORCE TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM WHERE EVER THERE'S TROUBLE..."

Sunbow's season of "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" (DIC's version need not apply) starts thing's off against Cobra; and "Rambo and the Force of Freedom" can FINISH the job against General Warhawk and the forces of S.A.V.A.G.E.

*12:00-1:00: "WWF WRESTLING."

*1:00-3:00: "MUSIC VIDEOS"

"*"(Subject to change in case SPORTS come up).

3:00-4:00: "HEY, HEY, HEY, THEY'RE THE MONKEES!"

We start with good old "Fat Albert" Johnson and the Cosby Kids (very rarely replaced by "The Archie Show" to keep viewers on their toes); we transition into "The Monkees."

(Warning to families: "We're a different society today than we were when Fat Albert... first aired. For instance, we're a society who is now aware of a very DARK side to William H. Cosby Jr., Fat Albert's co-creator, voice over artist, and live-action interfiller. I am able to distinguish between the lessons learned from Fat Albert as a character and the man who created him; even though said individual DID appear in the filler segments. If you feel the need to talk to your children about that, feel free to have that conversation).

4:00-6:00: DIFF'RENT STROKES/227/FULL HOUSE/STEP BY STEP

Cartoon Day is officially OVER.

By Kat J on Unsplash

Dry your eyes; it's COMEDY time.

By Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

We lead off with "Diff'rent Strokes" and "227."

We move on into "Full House" and "Step-By-Step"

At 6 is local news, then we move on into sports or movies for the adults or bigger kids.

So that's my Saturday line-up.

Okay; I had a bit too much fun with that and I enjoyed SO MUCH MORE!

SUNDAY

5:00-6:00: "ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND THEIR FRIEND, UNDERDOG."

"Moose and Squirrel" lead the way; Underdog comes later. Surprise programming is the rare time that "Dudley Do Right" was involved in "R&B's" show or the even rarer ocurrence of "Klondike Kat" on "Underdog."

6:00-7:00: SPACE STARS.

In 1980, Space Ghost and the Herculoids got a whole new set of episodes (no; the writing, voice acting, and animation on them were NEVER the same). They were joined by newcomers, the Teen Force and Astro and the Space Mutts. THIS is an hour dedicated to their adventures.

7:00-8:00:HANNA-BARBERA ZOO

Yogi. Huck. Magilla. Wally. Peter. Pixie, Dixie, and Jinxie. Mr. Ricochet. If Hanna-Barbera animated an anthropomorphic animal for zany adventures, there's a SLIM chance to see them here (they DID animate so many, and this IS an hour time slot).

8:00: "THUNDERCATS"

Okay, my mother SWEARS that Thundercats came on Sunday mornings in my market once upon a time. I'm willing to believe her...

8:30: LOCAL NEWS

9:00-9:45: RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING

9:45-10: RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING CALLED "DAVEY AND GOLIATH."

10-12: "THE FUNTASTIC WORLD OF HANNA-BARBERA"

THIS is what I once LIVED for on Sunday mornings. "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" (for me) was comprised of "Yogi's Treasure Hunt," "Galtar and the Golden Lance," "The Paw Paws," and "Jonny Quest '86." (The one that replaced intrigue and mystery with sci-fi adventure; and added Hardrock to the Quest team).

On occasion, "JQ '86" COULD be replaced by its darker, grittier 60's predecessor...

12:00: MASS

1:00: LOCAL NEWS

2-5: SPORTS

5-6: "ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND UNDERDOG"

...Sometimes, kids aren't awake yet at 5AM (other times, they are, and mom 'n dad DON'T like it).

I've heard your pleas; and here's a REPEAT of the exact same show from this morning!

6:00-7:00: LOCAL NEWS

7:00-8:00: 60 MINUTES

8:00-10:00: FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT (OCASSIONALLY "THE WORNDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY").

10:00-MIDNIGHT: "MOM N' DAD'S MOVIE..."

...Alright, this is all well, good, and hunky-dorry. I was an 80'S kid! Since WHEN in the 1980s were cartoons RESTRICTED to Saturday and Sunday???

M-F

6:00-7:00: "MEDDLING MYSTERY CLASSICS"

This is about the time-tested CLASSIC mystery solvers!

There's no confusion about this time slot; Monday through Thursday is devoted to "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" followed by "Josie and the Pussycats" (and in the case of "Josie...," the episodes in question have their feet firmly planted on planet Earth.)

NO "...In Outerspace!" NO "Scrappy!" NO "Jabberjaw(Cavey/Funky Phantom/Goober/etc.)!"

The "Grabbag" is saved for Saturdays.

Oh; and Friday is set aside for a full-hour for a "New Scooby-Doo Movie."

7:00-8:00: "THE POWER AND HONOR HOUR"

The "Filmation Presents" Chimes have just dinged and it's time to DROP what you're doing and HAVE A SEAT; something GREAT is about to happen!

...Well, that was my logic.

"He-Man" starts us off; "She-Ra" ends it.

(A hiccup in the schedule could only occur with He-Man's "House of Shokoti" or She-Ra's "Anchors Aloft." Both were two-parters and, therefore, ONE twin or the other would dominate the full hour.[Additionally, when "Secret of the Sword" was cut up to make "The Sword of She-Ra," it ended up in five parts. No dice; a nice FIVE part serial can easily be run Monday-Friday]).

8:00: "HANNA-BARBERA ZOO"

Okay, kiddies; the big boys 'n girls are on the bus to school now. Enjoy your abbreviated half hour of (Yogi/Huck/Yakkee/Atom Ant/Precious Pupp/whoever...)

8:30-9: "THE ADVENTURES OF ROCK AND BULLWINKLE"

9:00-10:00: "LOCAL NEWS"

10:00-12:00: "TRASH TELEVISION" FOR ADULTS.

12:00-1: "LOCAL NEWS"

1:00-3:00: "SOAPS"

3:00-4:00: "WORKING OVERTIME FIGHTING CRIME IN A FUTURE TIME."

It's been a long day at school; time to cut loose with an hour of Dic's "M.A.S.K." and "C.O.P.S." (but make sure that your homework's at least somewhere in your possession).

4:00-5:00: "PARTLY METAL; PARTLY REAL"

Lorimar's Thundercat's-companion-series, "Silverhawks," leads Ruby Spears's "Centurions: Power X-Treme" (And you'll even learn some space and science factoids [in speaking of learning, kids, about that homework...]).

5:00-6:00: "FILMATION'S GHOSTBUSTERS AND BRAVESTARR."

"The screen reads FILMATION PRESENTS again (but the instrumental sting is different)! Potato-Potahto; it's FILMATION!"

Ghostbusters (the one with the gorilla) gets things "GOHHHH-"ing; Marshall Bravestarr wraps up the animation afternoon. (Homework can wait until "Filmation's" over; as for seeing friends, hey, invite 'em on in).

6:00: NEWS

(NOW is the time to do your homework or play outside).

7:00-8:00: "WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!!!/JEOPARDY."

8:00-9:00 (MWF): "GOLDEN GIRLS/CHEERS"; (TR) "M*A*S*H*"

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are laugh-out-loud family time. (Okay, definitely in the case of "Cheers," most of the humor is better suited for mom n' dad to be present).

As for the Tuesday and Thursday night airing of M*A*S*H*, my parents SWEAR that we watched an hour of it every week night in Covert. Throughout my time in Covert, I ranged between the ages of barely-an-idea-yet to barely two years old; I'll have to take their word for it...

9:00-11:00: "KNIGHT RIDER/A-TEAM."

11:00: NEWS

12:00-6:00: IRRITATING TEST PATTERN TO INFORM EVERY PERSON IN THE HOUSE THAT YOU'RE UP, AROUND, AND TRYING TO SNEAK IN SOME TV WATCHING. SEE YOU TOMORROW AT 6, KIDS...

*This is just ONE person's idea for an ideal TV schedule (and THIS "one person" avoided namedropping The Transformers, [ahem] "*Real* Ghostbusters" [Yeah; no they weren't], or Ninja Turtles. Very observant. I let the Smurfs slide in because they would otherwise be a very glaring omission to Saturdays. I also very painfully relegated "G.I. Joe" to only Saturdays).

What are YOUR ideas for an ideal TV schedule of lore? Would you even bring BACK Saturday morning cartoons to enjoy as an inner-child or show to your children?*

**If you like this concept, feel free to drop a little LOVE. If you LOVED this concept, feel free to leave a tip. All support is appreciated.**

(Chiming Intensifies).

vintage
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About the Creator

Kent Brindley

Smalltown guy from Southwest Michigan

Lifelong aspiring author here; complete with a few self-published works always looking for more.

https://www.instagram.com/kmoney_gv08/

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