Saturday, September 4, 2010

Super Saturday on ABC

Remember when September meant two things: the horror of going back to school and the sheer delight of all the new Saturday morning cartoons? One of my earliest TV memories was watching Casper & Wendy on THE NEW ADVENTURES OF CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST. This was 1969 and I was only 5 years old, but SMOKEY BEAR, CATTANOOGA CATS, HOT WHEELS, THE HARDY BOYS, THE ADVENTURES OF GULLIVER and FANTASTIC VOYAGE all live on in my memories. I have no clue to what SKY HAWKS was. Most of these animated shows only lasted one or two seasons and were never heard from again. This same season CBS premiered DASTARDLY & MUTTLEY, PENELOPE PITSTOP and a little something called SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (which still lives on in a new incarnation now airing on The Cartoon Network). Holdovers from past seasons included BUGS BUNNY/ROADRUNNER, THE ARCHIES and WACKY RACES. NBC meanwhile welcomed THE PINK PANTHER and H.R. PUFNSTUF, joining THE BANANA SPLITS on their line-up. I still get a warm feeling when I think of the Saturday morning shows I watched throughout the 1970s. Badly drawn shows from Hanna-Barbera and Filmation, creepy live-action shows from Sid & Marty Krofft and everything in between. Ah, these kids today have no idea what they're missing. They can keep their SPONGEBOBs and their DORA THE EXPLORERs - give me my HARDY BOYS.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I loved Super Saturday! I still remember waiting in anticipation and bugging my mom to make sure I didn't miss it!