About those Saturday Mornings....

Not all that long ago, I had trouble gearing down to go to sleep, and so was reading an online review (well, several, actually) of some DVD's of old Saturday morning cartoons. I mean…really old Saturday morning cartoons. Things like The Wacky Races and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and so forth. And this one reviewer just didn't get it. His opinion was that these programs (and others of their ilk) might have been great fun when we were kids, but now not worth the cost of the DVDs as an adult, that he couldn't be-leeeeeve he watched this junk as a kid, etc.

Dude, wake up-these were kid's programs on a Saturday Morning!

Fast forward a few weeks later. I’m flat on my back, and when I finally come to, I find myself watching whole story arcs of Underdog online. (That’s how I knew to take the day off. When I’m watching Underdog instead trying to get my buns in gear to go to work, there’s an problem, and it’s not my taste in cartoons.)

It got me to thinking about those reviews, and Saturday mornings in general.

You remember Saturday mornings, don't you? (I mean, before the cable explosion.)

You couldn't get up before noon during the week for school, but Saturday morning saw you up early and with a bowl (or three) of Fruit-Flavored Sugar Frosted Choco-Bits (Which had a whole 8 vitamins and minerals, and was guaranteed to “Turn your milk plaid!!!”), and you'd be watching Bugs Bunny reruns, Motormouse and Autocat, The Wacky Races, Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines, Scooby-Doo, Speed Buggy and so forth. Maybe whatever Flintstones incarnation was on (like Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as teenagers). Archie and Sabrina, the Teen-Age Witch. Josie and The Pussycats. The Star Trek cartoons (yes, I watched `em). Maybe The Super Friends, Hong Kong Phooey, Fat Albert, The Pink Panther, The Ant and The Aardvark…the list goes on. Plus “In The News” and “Schoolhouse Rock.” (Does anyone remember the Phonics clips? “See Spot. See Spot Run….”)

Was this fine art? Not even close! Were the plots interchangeable? Yes, and then some. Was the animation great? Nope.

Hel-lo, that's why it was called limited animation!

This was never meant to be great drama or high art, folks. It was the true opiate of the masses of little kids everywhere. And it worked, too. We watched them, and we ate all that sugary cereal, peeled ourselves off the ceilings, and finally went out to play when the folks finally booted us outside to go run off all the sugar we’d ingested. I watched all the same stuff you did as a kid. Not just Saturday Mornings, either.

See, I was a Late Bird until 2nd grade (meaning I had classes that started later) and so could watch the morning run (and “Noonie Cartoonies” in the summer): Batfink, Milton the Monster, Hashimoto the Japanese Housemouse, Fearless Fly, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Heckle & Jeckle, Mighty Mouse, Herman & Katnip, Roger Ramjet, and the aforementioned Underdog. (Note to Shoeshine Boy-your girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred, is a real dog…!)

It didn't stop after I hit puberty. When I was a teenager, I watched cartoons when I could find time.

Afternoons after school there was Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Tom and Jerry reruns (okay, and Woody Woodpecker and Popeye, too). Rocky and Bullwinkle (and as an adult, I still can't BELIEVE my folks let me watch those as a kid!), Super Chicken, Tom Slick, and Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties. PLUS Bugs Bunny reruns. And usually the imported man in the rubber suit shows--Ultraman, Spectreman, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. Plus Flash Gordon reruns as well.

It didn't stop when I became a young adult, either.

When I was fresh out of the Service, and all my friends were working during the day and I was on unemployment and waiting for summer session of college to start, there was Danger Mouse, The Mighty Hercules reruns and Tom & Jerry reruns, Inspector Gadget (voiced by the inimitable Don Adams) and GI Joe (Shipwreck was my favorite character) and sometimes even (in a weak moment) the Jetsons.

When I was in school and working on my Master's degree, it was The Animaniacs (“Wakko packs away the snacks while Bill Clinton plays the sax…”) and Pinky and the Brain and Thundercat reruns and Bugs Bunny reruns and so forth that helped me stay sane.

And when I was an out-of-work and between temp jobs adult, there was Dragonball Z, ReBoot, Pokemon, Johnny Bravo (don't laugh too hard-I went to school with the prototype, I think!), and Sailor Moon.

So I got to thinking about my childhood, and Saturday mornings, and how much fun they were, and how few cares I had (really), and all those cartoons…and went and dug out “The Best of Dudley Do-Right” DVD I own, along with all the Anime I have.

And even though I'll pay dearly for the rush, some morning in the not too distant future, I'm gonna get me a box of Super Ultra Sugar Frosted Hyper Fruit-Flavored Choco-Bits (12 vitamins and minerals and guaranteed to “Turn your milk fuscha!!!”) and have a bowl or two and watch some of my DVD's and remember how good life was when I was a kid and didn't have to worry about anything other than peeling myself off the ceiling from all the sugar I ate.

And the best part of all…no commercials!

Enough for now.

(Posted 1/14/2009)