The Idiot's Lantern
August 20, 2007 12:06 PM Subscribe
It is Saturday
morning at 8:00. It's 1969. Your parents are asleep. What'll it be? CBS of course, with The Jetsons, then The Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner
Hour, Dastardly and Muttley
and their Flying Machines, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop,
Scooby Doo, The Archies, The Monkees, The Wacky Races, The New Adventures of Superman
and Jonny Quest. On Channel 4
NBC fights back with
Heckle and Jeckle, then The Grump, The Pink Panther, HR Pufnstuf, The Kellogs Banana Splits Adventure
Hour, Jambo, The Flintstones and Underdog. Channel 7 is ABC which trails with Casper, then Cattanooga Cats, Hot wheels, The Hardy Boys, George of the Jungle and Fantastic Voyage. Good times.
I love you, man.
I also hate you, cuz I can't watch these at work.
posted by neuron at 12:10 PM on August 20, 2007
I also hate you, cuz I can't watch these at work.
posted by neuron at 12:10 PM on August 20, 2007
Metafilter: discovering the "search" function on YouTube
posted by 2sheets at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2007 [5 favorites]
posted by 2sheets at 12:13 PM on August 20, 2007 [5 favorites]
Pfft. Anyone who's anyone is watching UHF and the Three Stooges followed by Ultraman and Creature Double feature.
posted by Gungho at 12:21 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Gungho at 12:21 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Many of these cartoons are remembered even now, partly due to Boomerang and Cartoon Network (in their early awesome period, before they became fascinated with obnoxious anime and spastic flash cartoons).
In the 80s and 90s there were plenty of forgotten cartoons that you never hear about anymore. Anyone here remember Gilligan's Planet? The Get-Along Gang? Rude Dog and the Dweebs?
How about The Shirt Tales, which was actually a hit at the time, which was about a gang of adorable pint-sized furries wearing word-bearing clothing who lived peaceful lives in a park with Mr. Dinkle, the park maintenance guy, until they received a call on their secret underground computer and shot off across the world on their supersonic jet, the "STSST," to defeat whatever dangers were facing their tiny animal comrades in other countries.
Cartoons were not afraid to be breathtakingly stupid in those days. Remember when Casper the Friendly Ghost teamed up with lady space police? When the Happy Days gang travelled through time? When a cartoon version of Punky Brewster got a magic pet who could grant wishes? When a magic Rubik's Cube befriended three Latino kids? When Olive Oyl and friend Alice the Good joined the Army? When Laverne and Shirley joined the Army, and had a little pig as their commanding officer? When the Harlem Globetrotters became super heroes? When Gary Coleman was an angel who had to keep his identity secret from his kid friends? When Josie and the Pussycats went to outer space?
posted by JHarris at 12:23 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
In the 80s and 90s there were plenty of forgotten cartoons that you never hear about anymore. Anyone here remember Gilligan's Planet? The Get-Along Gang? Rude Dog and the Dweebs?
How about The Shirt Tales, which was actually a hit at the time, which was about a gang of adorable pint-sized furries wearing word-bearing clothing who lived peaceful lives in a park with Mr. Dinkle, the park maintenance guy, until they received a call on their secret underground computer and shot off across the world on their supersonic jet, the "STSST," to defeat whatever dangers were facing their tiny animal comrades in other countries.
Cartoons were not afraid to be breathtakingly stupid in those days. Remember when Casper the Friendly Ghost teamed up with lady space police? When the Happy Days gang travelled through time? When a cartoon version of Punky Brewster got a magic pet who could grant wishes? When a magic Rubik's Cube befriended three Latino kids? When Olive Oyl and friend Alice the Good joined the Army? When Laverne and Shirley joined the Army, and had a little pig as their commanding officer? When the Harlem Globetrotters became super heroes? When Gary Coleman was an angel who had to keep his identity secret from his kid friends? When Josie and the Pussycats went to outer space?
posted by JHarris at 12:23 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
Wow, I never knew there was a Fantastic Voyage cartoon. And with Ted Knight narrating. "Process!: Miniaturization!" LOL
I recently watched the original movie for the first time. Pretty hilarious. Those dastardly atheists will foul you up every time.
posted by DU at 12:25 PM on August 20, 2007
I recently watched the original movie for the first time. Pretty hilarious. Those dastardly atheists will foul you up every time.
posted by DU at 12:25 PM on August 20, 2007
Throw in some He-Man, Around the World with Willy Fogg, and Mysterious Cities of Gold and this is pretty much childhood in the eighties too!
All I really remembered of Journey to the Centre of the Earth was that weird run they all had!
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:26 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
All I really remembered of Journey to the Centre of the Earth was that weird run they all had!
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:26 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Hey JHarris, I loved the Shirt Tales. Certainly they were a helluva lot cooler than the Get-Along Gang.
posted by infinitewindow at 12:28 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by infinitewindow at 12:28 PM on August 20, 2007
Great post, with one complaint that I can't fault you with. That "Jetsons" open is the 80s remake, not the original (and no, I can't find the original either.)
posted by evilcolonel at 12:28 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by evilcolonel at 12:28 PM on August 20, 2007
Damn, all I need is a few boxes of Lucky Charms, and I'll be set!
Now, if I can only get my dad to come over and run the lawnmower for a bit...
posted by malocchio at 12:30 PM on August 20, 2007 [4 favorites]
Now, if I can only get my dad to come over and run the lawnmower for a bit...
posted by malocchio at 12:30 PM on August 20, 2007 [4 favorites]
As part of the ongoing process of raping everything good from the past, there is in fact a live-action "Underdog" feature film coming out. I refuse to link to a trailer for this massively point-missing, not-getting-it atrocity. Let it suffice to say that it culminates, unsurprisingly, in a butt-sniffing joke.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:32 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:32 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Jonny Quest looks like a NAMBLA production: two very shifty looking guys calling themselves Dr Benton Quest and "Race" Bannon flying around with a "son" who looks like a young Rick Astley, a big-eyed kid they picked up somewhere in Asia, and a dog named Bandit.
posted by pracowity at 12:33 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by pracowity at 12:33 PM on August 20, 2007
Jonny Quest looks like a NAMBLA production:
Harvey Birdman on AdultSwim did an ep with a custody battle between Quest and Bannon. It was perfect! ; >
posted by amberglow at 12:42 PM on August 20, 2007
I still don't get what kids today share--we all watched the same shows (and talked about them and played at being the characters, etc) because we didn't have many choices--now kids have tons of channels and choices.
posted by amberglow at 12:44 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by amberglow at 12:44 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
In the early 80's CBS was runnin about 2 hours of Bugs Bunny/Road Runner opposite NBC's 2 hours of Smurfs. I insisted on Bugs Bunny, my brother was in the Smurfs camp.
I got my way by convincing him the Smurfs were gay. The appearance later on of Johann and Sebastion nailed it.
posted by sourwookie at 12:50 PM on August 20, 2007
I got my way by convincing him the Smurfs were gay. The appearance later on of Johann and Sebastion nailed it.
posted by sourwookie at 12:50 PM on August 20, 2007
I have been trying to obtain a Hindu sidekick for my son for some time now. So far, not much luck. It seems like Angelia Jolie is having some success however.
Also,
Cartoons were not afraid to be breathtakingly stupid in those days. Remember when...
Yes, I do. God. yes. I try not to cry with happiness when I remember.
posted by GuyZero at 12:52 PM on August 20, 2007
Also,
Cartoons were not afraid to be breathtakingly stupid in those days. Remember when...
Yes, I do. God. yes. I try not to cry with happiness when I remember.
posted by GuyZero at 12:52 PM on August 20, 2007
now kids have tons of channels and choices
It's true, and so it's really amazing that they still limit themselves to a narrower and narrower selection of interests. Marketing machines have to work that much harder and more psychographically to grab their attention.
posted by Miko at 12:58 PM on August 20, 2007
It's true, and so it's really amazing that they still limit themselves to a narrower and narrower selection of interests. Marketing machines have to work that much harder and more psychographically to grab their attention.
posted by Miko at 12:58 PM on August 20, 2007
I coulda sworn I would have been watching Hoppity Hooper, but the internets say it went off the air in 1967... maybe re-run.
posted by MtDewd at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by MtDewd at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
Rocket Robin Hood was apparently a Canadian thing, which I never realized until just now when I wondered how you could scandalously leave it off your list.
posted by Rumple at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by Rumple at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
The Jetsons were ABC.
Here is the schedule I worked from (also on TV Party) both of which have the Jetsons with CBS. You're right though, they certainly started out on ABC.
posted by grahamwell at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
Here is the schedule I worked from (also on TV Party) both of which have the Jetsons with CBS. You're right though, they certainly started out on ABC.
posted by grahamwell at 1:08 PM on August 20, 2007
Then, Here Come the Double Deckers...
Oh man. I thought I was the only child in America to have ever watched that show.
Great flashback post!
posted by Thorzdad at 1:17 PM on August 20, 2007
Oh man. I thought I was the only child in America to have ever watched that show.
Great flashback post!
posted by Thorzdad at 1:17 PM on August 20, 2007
Grahamwell, I was five in 69, I remember most of these. Thanks for the memories.
posted by doctor_negative at 1:18 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by doctor_negative at 1:18 PM on August 20, 2007
JHarris, my god, it wasn't a dream after all. LaVerne and Shirley in the Army really existed....
Then there really was a Robotic Three Stooges. Robotic Three Stooges. I could type that all day and I still wouldn't properly grasp it....
posted by maryh at 1:25 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Then there really was a Robotic Three Stooges. Robotic Three Stooges. I could type that all day and I still wouldn't properly grasp it....
posted by maryh at 1:25 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
The Double Deckers were fantastic. Here's the hardcore fansite. Did you know that Brinsley Forde, who played Spring on the show became the founder member of the reggae band Aswad?. The whole show had a strange 'mid atlantic' flavour, it was British but with a distinctly American gloss - very much made for export.
posted by grahamwell at 1:30 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by grahamwell at 1:30 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
TwoWordReview, you rule.
I always figured Mysterious Cities of Gold only aired in the southwestern US former Spanish colony of my youth.
Loved that frickin' show.
posted by abulafa at 1:31 PM on August 20, 2007
I always figured Mysterious Cities of Gold only aired in the southwestern US former Spanish colony of my youth.
Loved that frickin' show.
posted by abulafa at 1:31 PM on August 20, 2007
Whoops.
posted by grahamwell at 1:31 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by grahamwell at 1:31 PM on August 20, 2007
Jonny Quest looks like a NAMBLA production: two very shifty looking guys calling themselves Dr Benton Quest and "Race" Bannon flying around with a "son" who looks like a young Rick Astley, a big-eyed kid they picked up somewhere in Asia, and a dog named Bandit.
I bet they lured the boys in with promises of ray guns, giant robotic spiders, and hover platforms. Would've worked on me.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:33 PM on August 20, 2007
I bet they lured the boys in with promises of ray guns, giant robotic spiders, and hover platforms. Would've worked on me.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:33 PM on August 20, 2007
My network allegiance lied with whomever had Warner Brothers cartoons that year.
Whither goes Bugs Bunny, there go I.
posted by Ynoxas at 1:34 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Whither goes Bugs Bunny, there go I.
posted by Ynoxas at 1:34 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Thank you, grahamwell, for HR Pufnstuff. I am now six years old again.
I think I realised even at the time how stoned those people were.
Oh, and you had me at "It's Saturday morning at 8:00..."
posted by Sk4n at 1:46 PM on August 20, 2007
I think I realised even at the time how stoned those people were.
posted by Sk4n at 1:46 PM on August 20, 2007
Did Double Deckers air in the U.S.? Anyone?
I like that there's a fat guy named "Doughnut". And of course he's eating in the opening credits.
posted by wfc123 at 1:52 PM on August 20, 2007
I like that there's a fat guy named "Doughnut". And of course he's eating in the opening credits.
posted by wfc123 at 1:52 PM on August 20, 2007
10:30 in 1971 on ABC was "Double Decker" time. Have a look at the Double Decker Groovy Party. Paired up with the Monkees Head, it's a reminder that the distance between these shows and psychedelia was not very great.
posted by grahamwell at 1:59 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by grahamwell at 1:59 PM on August 20, 2007
I was a card-carrying member of the Banana Splits' fan club. Suppose I still am — not sure there's an expiration date.
One banana, two banana, three banana, four;
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
Put the stickers they sent me on my Tonka trucks.
posted by Haruspex at 2:01 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
One banana, two banana, three banana, four;
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
Put the stickers they sent me on my Tonka trucks.
posted by Haruspex at 2:01 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
The song is a bit repetitive, but that was not intentional.
posted by Haruspex at 2:07 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by Haruspex at 2:07 PM on August 20, 2007
This thread is nothing without Rocky and Bullwinkle, though.
posted by jokeefe at 2:11 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by jokeefe at 2:11 PM on August 20, 2007
It is Saturday morning at 8:00. It's 1969. Your parents are asleep.
No, they're blathering about yard work and "missing the best part of the day". And it's 1979.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 2:16 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
No, they're blathering about yard work and "missing the best part of the day". And it's 1979.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 2:16 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Every time one of these posts appear I turn into one of the four Yorkshiremen. Sure, I get nostalgic for the TV shows of my youth (late seventies, early eighties) but dammit, where were the shamelessly entertaining cartoons? Swedish children's TV from that era was all about education. And we didn't have fruit loops either! And we only had two TV channels! And we had to walk to school through five feet of snow come wintertime!
*ahem*
But, as I said, nothing wrong with a lot of socialist propaganda, but why not intersect it with a few Jetsons cartoons? Which I am about to do right now. Sweet post, grahamwell!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:23 PM on August 20, 2007
*ahem*
But, as I said, nothing wrong with a lot of socialist propaganda, but why not intersect it with a few Jetsons cartoons? Which I am about to do right now. Sweet post, grahamwell!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:23 PM on August 20, 2007
The Beatles might still have been on in 1969. My parents are still asleep.
posted by sageleaf at 2:35 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by sageleaf at 2:35 PM on August 20, 2007
Rumple, we used to get (in suburban Boston) Rocket Robin Hood every afternoon around four o'clock or so. I was just going to go look for it when I saw your handy link, so thanks!
posted by Camofrog at 2:36 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by Camofrog at 2:36 PM on August 20, 2007
Thanks grahamwell- I had a feeling I'd heard that Doubledecker song.
Also- did anyone else absolutely hate the Go-Go Gophers? Because when you were a kid, they were the "bad Indians" and they were always getting over on "the good guys" - the American cavalry.
Fucking Indian gophers....
And one of them was retarded, too. And they STILL outsmarted the U.S. cavalry. Every time. DAMN them!
posted by wfc123 at 2:44 PM on August 20, 2007
Also- did anyone else absolutely hate the Go-Go Gophers? Because when you were a kid, they were the "bad Indians" and they were always getting over on "the good guys" - the American cavalry.
Fucking Indian gophers....
And one of them was retarded, too. And they STILL outsmarted the U.S. cavalry. Every time. DAMN them!
posted by wfc123 at 2:44 PM on August 20, 2007
You know, to this day I still have dreams where I'm trying to figure out how to best optimize my Saturday morning cartoon-waching schedule. Back in the day it was very importnt to plan ahead so that I didn't accidentally miss an imortant show. And what if it was a repeat? I had to have a back-up cartoon selection ready if that happened.
Saturday morning cartoons were serious business.
posted by lekvar at 2:47 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
Saturday morning cartoons were serious business.
posted by lekvar at 2:47 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
Yes soundofsuburbia, being in Europe in the late sixties sucked. Except for those strange east-bloc dramas. In the UK I remember subtitled TV fairy-tales with magnificent set-piece collective farm harvests - row upon row of red combine harvesters working in joyous formation. There was no doubt at all that they were going to win. The Singing Ringing Tree is something that burned its way into our subconcious.
posted by grahamwell at 2:48 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by grahamwell at 2:48 PM on August 20, 2007
Lovely! But my all time favorite was (and still is) Rocky and Bullwinkle. The Fractured Fairy Tales segments are among the great moments in Saturday morning cartoons.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:15 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by bluesky43 at 3:15 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
HELL YES we had Double Decker Bus in the US! In fact my intelligent and worldly mother was moved to comment once on how DIFFICULT it was for the black kid to speak with a British accent. "It's really hard to teach them that." Thank God that many, many years later, the Wee Papa Girl Rappers taught me different.
Haruspex, did you put these on your tonka truck too? Or on a neighborhood stop sign?
posted by ethnomethodologist at 3:56 PM on August 20, 2007
Haruspex, did you put these on your tonka truck too? Or on a neighborhood stop sign?
posted by ethnomethodologist at 3:56 PM on August 20, 2007
On Rocky and Bullwinkle and other Jay Ward and Leonardo Productions stuff (like Hoppity Hooper, Tennesee Tuxedo, Underdog, and so on): it's harder to pin them down to an era because they got reran so much. A local station when I was growing up ran them in early morning for years and years. For all their weirdness they were usually pretty sharp in the writing department, which is more than I can say for many of these shows.
Hanna-Barbera had a few standouts like Hong Kong Phooey (Scatman Crothers FTW) but they swam in seas of schlock like The New Shmoo, Barney and Fred Meet The Shmoo, and Whatever The Hell We're Putting The Shmoo In This Time.
(Note about that Shmoo. How many people remember him these days as having originated in Li'l Abner?)
posted by JHarris at 5:07 PM on August 20, 2007
Hanna-Barbera had a few standouts like Hong Kong Phooey (Scatman Crothers FTW) but they swam in seas of schlock like The New Shmoo, Barney and Fred Meet The Shmoo, and Whatever The Hell We're Putting The Shmoo In This Time.
(Note about that Shmoo. How many people remember him these days as having originated in Li'l Abner?)
posted by JHarris at 5:07 PM on August 20, 2007
What about Howdy Doody, The Merry Mailman (Ray Heatherton), Captain Video, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, The Magic Cottage, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie
and Uncle Fred with Farmer Alfalfa and ALL THOSE MICE
I am so freaking old.
posted by hexatron at 5:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
and Uncle Fred with Farmer Alfalfa and ALL THOSE MICE
I am so freaking old.
posted by hexatron at 5:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Yeah, those stickers went on my totally sweet StingRay Krate.
After watching cartoons, you went outside and set up jumps with boards and blocks and pretended to be Evel Knievel.
Ah, take this sweet quaff of nostalgia from mine lips.
posted by Haruspex at 5:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
After watching cartoons, you went outside and set up jumps with boards and blocks and pretended to be Evel Knievel.
Ah, take this sweet quaff of nostalgia from mine lips.
posted by Haruspex at 5:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
I remember the mistake of waking up too early on Saturday morning and having to sit through the last 10 minutes of Mister Ed before the cartoons kicked in.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:19 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:19 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
The appearance later on of Johann and Sebastion
You must have been watching special, baroque smurfs. Were there powdered wigs, instead of those little white caps?
posted by Wolfdog at 5:28 PM on August 20, 2007
You must have been watching special, baroque smurfs. Were there powdered wigs, instead of those little white caps?
posted by Wolfdog at 5:28 PM on August 20, 2007
wookie: Too be fair, the Smurfs were a spin off of Payo's comic "Johan & Pirlouit," so you can't really hold their entrance against them.
posted by absalom at 5:36 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by absalom at 5:36 PM on August 20, 2007
Hey JHarris, I loved the Shirt Tales. Certainly they were a helluva lot cooler than the Get-Along Gang.
Oddly, both shows (along with the Care Bears and the Popples) were based on characters from greeting cards. Although I guess that's not any stranger than some other tv show antecedents... (I'm looking at you, Cavemen.)
posted by alyxstarr at 5:46 PM on August 20, 2007
Oddly, both shows (along with the Care Bears and the Popples) were based on characters from greeting cards. Although I guess that's not any stranger than some other tv show antecedents... (I'm looking at you, Cavemen.)
posted by alyxstarr at 5:46 PM on August 20, 2007
Speed Buggy
Jabberjaw
The Great Grape Ape
Harvey Birdman on AdultSwim did an ep with a custody battle between Quest and Bannon. It was perfect! ; >
The whole of The Venture Brothers deals with stuff like that. Magnificently. Every now and then 'round these parts, if it gets too quiet you'll here a little "themightyMONARCH!" from out of nowhere.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Jabberjaw
The Great Grape Ape
Harvey Birdman on AdultSwim did an ep with a custody battle between Quest and Bannon. It was perfect! ; >
The whole of The Venture Brothers deals with stuff like that. Magnificently. Every now and then 'round these parts, if it gets too quiet you'll here a little "themightyMONARCH!" from out of nowhere.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:17 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
A bit later than these, but... well: Pityke Őrmester teaches valuable lessons like don't swan-dive into a quarry full of trash.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:22 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by Wolfdog at 6:22 PM on August 20, 2007
The Cattanooga Cats unleashed "My Birthday Suit" on an insuspecting nation resulting in an outbreak of feline nudism.
posted by jonmc at 6:46 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by jonmc at 6:46 PM on August 20, 2007
In Canada, Rocket Robin Hood was often shown back-to-back with The Mighty Hercules. And even as kids, we thought that Hercules was...kind of off. I mean, c'mon:
Softness in his eyes / iron in his thighs
Virtue in his heart / fire in every part
Of the Mighty...Hercules!
And then there was his sidekick, Newton, a...faun. Or satyr. Or something, who repeated everything he said, like Jacob Two-Two. We joked that he should be saying "Not up the bum, Herc! Not up the bum!"
Ah, youth.
posted by solid-one-love at 7:03 PM on August 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Softness in his eyes / iron in his thighs
Virtue in his heart / fire in every part
Of the Mighty...Hercules!
And then there was his sidekick, Newton, a...faun. Or satyr. Or something, who repeated everything he said, like Jacob Two-Two. We joked that he should be saying "Not up the bum, Herc! Not up the bum!"
Ah, youth.
posted by solid-one-love at 7:03 PM on August 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Cartoons for me started around 7 or so. Before that, at 6, was the one-hour Hilarious House of Frightenstein (rest in peace, Billy Van, you magnificent genius!)
posted by evilcolonel at 7:20 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by evilcolonel at 7:20 PM on August 20, 2007
Aw, crap. It was Johan and Peewee.
posted by sourwookie at 7:40 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by sourwookie at 7:40 PM on August 20, 2007
One banana, two banana, three banana, four;
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
This seems as good a place as any to give my reinterpretation of the next two lines, that have been stuck in my head since childhood:
One banana, two banana, three banana, four;
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
And if you don't like it then you know where you can go;
Go stick it up your Banana Splits Show!
la la la, la la la la.
la la la, la la la la.
And hey, where's the 70s Japanese stuff?
Speed Racer
Star Blazers
posted by Meatbomb at 7:43 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
This seems as good a place as any to give my reinterpretation of the next two lines, that have been stuck in my head since childhood:
One banana, two banana, three banana, four;
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more!
And if you don't like it then you know where you can go;
Go stick it up your Banana Splits Show!
la la la, la la la la.
la la la, la la la la.
And hey, where's the 70s Japanese stuff?
Speed Racer
Star Blazers
posted by Meatbomb at 7:43 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Wow, this brings back memories.
In '69 I was ten and in my cartoon-watching prime. On wintery Friday nights my parents often went bowling, more for liquor and socializing than anything else. Too cheap for babysitters, they'd haul my brother and I to the alley and deposit us by the pinball machines with a handful of coins. We'd play a game or two then sneak out the back to the confectionery (as we called it) next door, where we'd buy handfuls of pixie-stix, candy cigarettes, Rat Pack trading cards stuffed with gum and candy buttons.
If short on money we'd scour the edges of the parking lot for bottles, redeeming them for... what was it... 2 cents? A nickel? Enough for more candy, which we'd hoard for the next morning. My brother would sometimes cheat and eat his gum early, but I always saved it for Saturday morning.
Near dawn the next day I'd grab my paper bag stuffed with sweet-smelling sugar then tiptoe past my snoring father and into the television room. I'd flip through the TV guide, marking the morning's schedule. My brother was typically late, so I got first choice until about 9am, and after that we would negotiate, often swapping candy or trading cards to control the dial.
For the next few hours we'd stuff our faces full of candy while watching one cartoon after another. It was glorious. Sugar and toons. I'd pace my stash to last until eleven, which is when the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour came on and normally when the old man would stumble into the room, hungover and barely functional.
I have fond memories of 11am to noon on Saturday mornings, watching Warner Brothers toons with my brother and dad. A sugar high. Lots of laughs. Being with Pop at his least dangerous.
Thanks for evoking the flashbacks, grahamwell!
posted by F Mackenzie at 8:05 PM on August 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
In '69 I was ten and in my cartoon-watching prime. On wintery Friday nights my parents often went bowling, more for liquor and socializing than anything else. Too cheap for babysitters, they'd haul my brother and I to the alley and deposit us by the pinball machines with a handful of coins. We'd play a game or two then sneak out the back to the confectionery (as we called it) next door, where we'd buy handfuls of pixie-stix, candy cigarettes, Rat Pack trading cards stuffed with gum and candy buttons.
If short on money we'd scour the edges of the parking lot for bottles, redeeming them for... what was it... 2 cents? A nickel? Enough for more candy, which we'd hoard for the next morning. My brother would sometimes cheat and eat his gum early, but I always saved it for Saturday morning.
Near dawn the next day I'd grab my paper bag stuffed with sweet-smelling sugar then tiptoe past my snoring father and into the television room. I'd flip through the TV guide, marking the morning's schedule. My brother was typically late, so I got first choice until about 9am, and after that we would negotiate, often swapping candy or trading cards to control the dial.
For the next few hours we'd stuff our faces full of candy while watching one cartoon after another. It was glorious. Sugar and toons. I'd pace my stash to last until eleven, which is when the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour came on and normally when the old man would stumble into the room, hungover and barely functional.
I have fond memories of 11am to noon on Saturday mornings, watching Warner Brothers toons with my brother and dad. A sugar high. Lots of laughs. Being with Pop at his least dangerous.
Thanks for evoking the flashbacks, grahamwell!
posted by F Mackenzie at 8:05 PM on August 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Did I ever tell you about the time Bill Brasky went hunting?!
Anyway.. Brasky decides he's going to hunt down all four of the Banana Splits! He stomps and chews every one of them with a machete. They all begged for their lives.. except.. Fleagle!
posted by Slap Factory at 8:44 PM on August 20, 2007
Anyway.. Brasky decides he's going to hunt down all four of the Banana Splits! He stomps and chews every one of them with a machete. They all begged for their lives.. except.. Fleagle!
posted by Slap Factory at 8:44 PM on August 20, 2007
thank you for thoroughly laying out why I hated going to synagogue growing up. it devolved to hiding parents' shoes to gain an extra ad segment before heading out.
bugs was the one most painful to turn off.
posted by Busithoth at 9:17 PM on August 20, 2007
bugs was the one most painful to turn off.
posted by Busithoth at 9:17 PM on August 20, 2007
And, fuck, what was on television at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning?
Oh, yeah, we had to settle for -- Davey & Goliath.
"Hello, Davey."
"What just happened here? We got hosed, Tommy. We got hosed!!".
posted by ericb at 9:39 PM on August 20, 2007
Oh, yeah, we had to settle for -- Davey & Goliath.
"Hello, Davey."
"What just happened here? We got hosed, Tommy. We got hosed!!".
posted by ericb at 9:39 PM on August 20, 2007
I only watched the cartoons to see the Quisp and Quake commercials.
posted by spock at 10:23 PM on August 20, 2007
posted by spock at 10:23 PM on August 20, 2007
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.
It's all coming back to me. The old wizard guy, Gillian, was creepy; Flora was cute (I was five) and the Mind Monsters' cars were so much cooler than the Lightning League's cars.
posted by stavrogin at 10:26 PM on August 20, 2007
It's all coming back to me. The old wizard guy, Gillian, was creepy; Flora was cute (I was five) and the Mind Monsters' cars were so much cooler than the Lightning League's cars.
posted by stavrogin at 10:26 PM on August 20, 2007
My Saturday morning cartoon memories are of the late 70s, where we had all of those shows (some in reruns)... Plus, we had Isis and Shazam!
posted by amyms at 10:55 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by amyms at 10:55 PM on August 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
I really believe that kids are missing out nowadays. Saturday morning once meant hours and hours of the perfect entertainment for someone with such a short attention span as a kid. Didn't like the Bugs Bunny cartoon that was on at the moment? No worries, it's 5 minutes long and another will be on shortly.
Saturday morning was what being a kid was all about.
posted by azpenguin at 11:17 PM on August 20, 2007
Saturday morning was what being a kid was all about.
posted by azpenguin at 11:17 PM on August 20, 2007
Grahamwell you win at internet today! Have a cookie.
I was 12.
Look upon my childhood and weep for what was lost. This again highlights the rip off of modern Saturday Morning TV.
CARTOON REVOLT!
posted by djrock3k at 12:07 AM on August 21, 2007
I was 12.
Look upon my childhood and weep for what was lost. This again highlights the rip off of modern Saturday Morning TV.
CARTOON REVOLT!
posted by djrock3k at 12:07 AM on August 21, 2007
The television set itself was an important part of the experience. Saturday was the only time I actually got to switch it on. It was a monster, scowling in the corner of the room.
Watching it was dangerous. Everyone knew that it emitted deadly rays, rays that would injure or even kill if we stared for too long. Inside the back was a fantasy city of glowing tubes crowned with dead insects and smoldering dust. To poke around the back was certain death. We needed no persuading because when switched on, the set emitted a stream of terrible crackles and zaps before settling down. Switching off didn't kill it, at least not immediately, it huffed and puffed, the picture collapsed into a single sinister eye staring back, shrinking slowly to the famous white dot. If you cupped your hands over the screen you could see that the dot remained for over a minute. Awesome.
posted by grahamwell at 4:10 AM on August 21, 2007 [2 favorites]
Watching it was dangerous. Everyone knew that it emitted deadly rays, rays that would injure or even kill if we stared for too long. Inside the back was a fantasy city of glowing tubes crowned with dead insects and smoldering dust. To poke around the back was certain death. We needed no persuading because when switched on, the set emitted a stream of terrible crackles and zaps before settling down. Switching off didn't kill it, at least not immediately, it huffed and puffed, the picture collapsed into a single sinister eye staring back, shrinking slowly to the famous white dot. If you cupped your hands over the screen you could see that the dot remained for over a minute. Awesome.
posted by grahamwell at 4:10 AM on August 21, 2007 [2 favorites]
Does anyone anywhere have video of this cartoon? I've had that damned theme song stuck in my head since second grade. But I was the only kid in my class who watched that show, and hardly anyone remembers it now.
posted by litlnemo at 6:28 AM on August 21, 2007
posted by litlnemo at 6:28 AM on August 21, 2007
And hey, where's the 70s Japanese stuff? Speed Racer Star Blazers?
Loved them both, but (in my area at least) they were weekday cartoons. Completely different vibe than the Saturday cartoon orgy.
posted by jalexei at 6:40 AM on August 21, 2007
Loved them both, but (in my area at least) they were weekday cartoons. Completely different vibe than the Saturday cartoon orgy.
posted by jalexei at 6:40 AM on August 21, 2007
Does anybody else remember The Barbapappas?
Yeah, what ever happened to them? That was good stuff.
Except the hairy one. He was creepy.
posted by GuyZero at 6:51 AM on August 21, 2007
Yeah, what ever happened to them? That was good stuff.
Except the hairy one. He was creepy.
posted by GuyZero at 6:51 AM on August 21, 2007
And lest anyone condemn 70s Saturday mornings as little but wasted time, I must insist that I never would have made it through any kind of formal education without these.
posted by Haruspex at 7:34 AM on August 21, 2007
posted by Haruspex at 7:34 AM on August 21, 2007
It might have been 1973, I can't be sure, but Tomfoolery *bows low in deep reverence to TVCream - again* is the one that stands out for me.
posted by Myeral at 8:34 AM on August 21, 2007
posted by Myeral at 8:34 AM on August 21, 2007
Nobody has mentioned them yet so I must tout my favorites from the early 70s psychedelia Saturday morning genre: Lidsville! Ah, Lidsville, so, so deeply strange, which I found once on late night TV when my son was about 11 and made him watch. "Wow," was pretty much all he could say. "TV was different when you were a kid." That, along with Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space and then, a little later, Ark II, made my Saturdays complete. And probably can be blamed for my cheerful turn to hallucinogens & sci fi some years later.
And hey, did anyone link to toontracker yet? .wavs of all your favorite cartoon soundtracks!
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:18 AM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
And hey, did anyone link to toontracker yet? .wavs of all your favorite cartoon soundtracks!
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:18 AM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
One day, what Josie and the Pussycats did to my formative sexuality will wind up as an anonymous question on AskMe, or perhaps Dan Savage.
As my friend Darryl once said: "Ears and a tail and fishnet hose? Sweet jesus, I'm only eight!"
posted by Haruspex at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2007 [2 favorites]
As my friend Darryl once said: "Ears and a tail and fishnet hose? Sweet jesus, I'm only eight!"
posted by Haruspex at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2007 [2 favorites]
I was in a writers workshop and I wrote a short story about waking up to Saturday morning cartoons. The other writers shot it down because they couldn't relate. They had grown up in households without televisions.
posted by doctorschlock at 12:07 PM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by doctorschlock at 12:07 PM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
they were just freaks, doctor. ; >
(and i bet their parents were hippies, or child psychologists or something)
posted by amberglow at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2007
(and i bet their parents were hippies, or child psychologists or something)
posted by amberglow at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2007
Loved them both, but (in my area at least) they were weekday cartoons.
yup--We used to watch every morning as we had cereal and got ready for school--Speed Racer and Gigantor.
posted by amberglow at 2:34 PM on August 21, 2007
yup--We used to watch every morning as we had cereal and got ready for school--Speed Racer and Gigantor.
posted by amberglow at 2:34 PM on August 21, 2007
as a child of 80s-90s cable television, lots of this ended up being retransmitted through time at me as a child
now if it were 1989, lots more of those shows would be attached to a line of toys and at the end comes about two hours of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!!.
in 2009? nothin'.
posted by maus at 8:24 PM on August 21, 2007
now if it were 1989, lots more of those shows would be attached to a line of toys and at the end comes about two hours of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!!.
in 2009? nothin'.
posted by maus at 8:24 PM on August 21, 2007
amberglow said: We used to watch every morning as we had cereal and got ready for school--Speed Racer and Gigantor.
At my babysitter's house, we had Speed Racer and Underdog (and she was always ushering us out the door before Underdog was over! She lived right across the street from the school, she could have at least let us watch the ending!)
posted by amyms at 8:27 PM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
At my babysitter's house, we had Speed Racer and Underdog (and she was always ushering us out the door before Underdog was over! She lived right across the street from the school, she could have at least let us watch the ending!)
posted by amyms at 8:27 PM on August 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
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posted by grahamwell at 12:08 PM on August 20, 2007 [2 favorites]