Saturday morning cartoons were once a staple of American television, but by the year 2000 they had all but disappeared. Of course, the Internet never forgets. Case in point: Cartoon Network Video -- a free, searchable, ad-supported service that provides hundreds of full-length episodes of classic shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and The Powerpuff Girls, as well as current offerings and scads of shorter material. Too recent for you? Then give Kids WB Video a whirl -- it does the same thing with the same interface, but for older programs like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Thundercats, and the original Space Ghost. If you're in the mood to learn (and don't mind some live-action), PBS Kids Video has educational fare such as Arthur, Wishbone, and Zoom. And don't forget about Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, The Magic Schoolbus and Schoolhouse Rock! Now if only we had some Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs...
posted by Rhaomi on Sep 22, 2009 - 160 comments

Andy's Gang - 1 2 3: "The green puppet, Froggy the Gremlin, appeared in a puff of smoke, and was always interrupting the story." [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Aug 1, 2009 - 10 comments

While Adult Swim is generally regarded as the pioneer of irreverent short-form animation -- especially for 'toons that reimagine past hits -- it wasn't always the king. In fact, the late-night programming block arguably found its birth in a series of short toons and interstitials that ran in the heyday of its daytime alter ego, the venerable Cartoon Network. The brainchild of C.N. Creative Director Michael Ouweleen and Hanna-Barbera chief Fred Seibert, these cartoons reinterpreted the network's properties through stock footage, indie music, and original animation in a wide variety of styles, as well as introducing prototypes of characters that would become some of the most famous in the history of American animation. (warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Dec 30, 2008 - 80 comments

If you were a North American kid (well, a kid stuck at home, younger than driving age) in the late 70s/early 80s, your Saturday nights were likely spent in front of the television watching The Love Boat. The show subsequently gained worldwide popularity. Did you know that the Pacific Princess is still ferrying the lovelorn across the blue abyss, and that she has a bridgecam? Did you know there were Love Boat action figures? For your nostalgic pleasure: complete episode guide, complete guest star list, theme song video (variations 1, 2, 3), lyrics and chords, and song facts.
posted by amyms on Mar 22, 2008 - 47 comments

Fred and Ethel resurrected as corporate shills "Through the magic of Hollywood, famously tightfisted Fred (William Frawley) and his irascible wife, Ethel (Vivian Vance), are brought back to life in a series of entertaining vignettes," California-based PacifiCare said in a release about its new television advertising campaign. Using body doubles, voice impersonators and computer-generated imagery, the national TV ads that will premiere in mid October will enable the two long-dead actors to "speak" once more. And, oddly enough, they'll be talking about PacifiCare's new drug plan.
posted by Artifice_Eternity on Oct 10, 2005 - 40 comments

Remember when game shows had a soul? All the bug-eating and voting off has left me wishing for the golden age of games. Reminisce with some well-designed classic bonus rounds here.
posted by AloneOssifer on Feb 7, 2005 - 18 comments

Hinterland Who's Who Back in the mid 1906s the Canadian government made what have now become the longest running public service annoucments ever. They're also possible the most boring, but that can't stop them from being amazingly popular. Don't forget to check out the spoofs.
posted by tiamat on Oct 21, 2003 - 35 comments

"Giant Robot attack!" as spoken by the kid every kid wanted to be, Johnny Sokko. If you haven't already seen "'Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot" aka "Giant Robot", go now and buy it on VHS or DVD.
posted by riffola on Feb 14, 2003 - 7 comments

Saturday morning TV schedules from the 1950s to today. TV Guide presents the saturday morning schedules for the big three ABC, NBC, and CBS. Although looking through the listings is a nice bit of nostalgia, what's really interesting is watching the rise and fall of pop culture over the listings. From The Beatles to I am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali to Mr. T to Ace Ventura.

Also starting in the 1990s, you can see the networks moving away from saturday morning cartoons. There are several factors, the main two being the Children's Television Act (enacted in 1990), and cable television. Which unfortunately has led to the births of such monsters as Saved by the Bell.
posted by patrickje on Aug 6, 2002 - 58 comments

Whatever Happened to all the Great Kids' Shows? When my wife was growing up in central Connecticut, she was a big Sandy Becker fan. (The original host of Wonderama, also seen here with a very young Linda Blair). She still remembers the characters he created for his show - Norton Nork, the Big Professor, and of course Hambone. She was naturally pleased to discover Christopher Gross' excellent site celebrating the popular kid's show host and his show. Even though so much early television has been lost to the ages, the site has accumulated several video clips, including a few, um, off-color clips. (Warning - both RealPlayer and a brief dirty word). Now if only someone would give the same treatment to the show I had growing up - Foreman Scotty, on channel 4. Sigh.
posted by yhbc on May 19, 2002 - 6 comments

Enter ... The Tickler! A page documenting all the villians that Spider-Man faced on that classic Tv Show The Electric Company. Among them "The Mouse: A happy-go-lucky man until an errant associate at McDonald's forgets to put cheese on a specially-ordered Big Mac.He dons a mouse costume and becomes a glutton for cheese."
posted by Shadowkeeper on Apr 19, 2002 - 13 comments

Room-a-zoom-zoom! These cartoons were bad in a good way! When I was a wee lad, I loved cartoons like Blue Falcon/Dynomutt and Hong Kong Phooey. My gotta-watch cartoon was The Superfriends, which had some of the most unintentionally-hilarious dialogue ever. And can anyone for get The World of Sid and Marty Krofft? Anyone else get nostalgic over shows like this?
posted by mrmanley on Apr 11, 2002 - 17 comments

Skeletor and Gang: What is it about the combination of stop-motion animation, He-Man action figures, and sped-up heavy metal that makes me laugh until I hurt? "Skeletor, Mantenna and Grizzlor are having a party! Oh no! Moss-Man attacks! Defend us Squeeze!"
posted by emptybowl on Apr 5, 2002 - 7 comments

This has to be one of the coolest sites ever. Can't remember of the details of the 1973 saturday morning schedule, the one that turned you into a media junkie. It's here! And now TV Party seems to have partnered with YesterdayLand, "a new entertainment company that produces retro-themed entertainment and merchandise based on classic television, movies, music, toys, snack food, and fashion." What's up with that?
posted by tranquileye on Feb 9, 2001 - 7 comments