10/17/2003 Entry: "New Article: ABC's Saturday Morning Preview Special, 1983!"

It's got nothing to do with Halloween, but who knows, maybe you're up for a change of pace. Here's a review of ABC's Saturday Morning Preview Special, a thirty-minute program hosted by Dick Clark that talks up 1983's hottest premiering toons -- everything from "Rubik, The Amazing Cube" to "The Monchichis" and beyond. Suffice to say, you don't see shit like this anymore. Oh, did I mention the bit where Emmanuel Lewis talks about dogs while waving half a pool cube around? Yeah, it's in there baby. Homemade taste it's in there. Check it out.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 10/17/2003 08:38 PM EST

Well, I myself can remember watching shows when I was two. So I wouldn't be suprised if Matt remembers them.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 10/17/2003 08:39 PM EST

But, but... I really liked David the Gnome.

It was a European import that stayed true to its sources, and I remember it demonstrating rather frightening continuity as compared to most else I was watching at the time.

And the final episode was so bittersweet that I didn't stop crying until 20 minutes after it had ended. Thank you, Saskatchewan Community Network!

Chestnuts roasted by spheniscidae @ 10/17/2003 08:51 PM EST

I also hated the Little Rascals, and it was sheer torture having to sit through episodes of it when it was in the same 'block' as Pac-man when it first premiered. :p

Could have swore the stupid Mork & Mindy cartoon was on the same year Rubik premiered.. or maybe something WRONG happened and Rubik somehow managed to stay on for TWO seasons..

Chestnuts roasted by Lynx @ 10/17/2003 08:56 PM EST

I remember watching these shows. I wish I could forget about them by taking a red-hot poker to my brain.

All except for Superfriends. As a comic-book geek,it holds a special place in my heart. Funny they mention it in this special. Well,it was in reruns at the time and wouldn't get new episodes until the next year,when it got revemped for the Super Powers toyline.

Anybody remember the ABC Saturday morning PSAs other than SchoolHouse Rock,like O.C. Readmore,that "Time for Timer!" dude,or the "Don't drown your food" bit? Please,somebody other than me out there has to remember!

Chestnuts roasted by Overlord @ 10/17/2003 08:59 PM EST

That's "didn't mention it" in the second paragragph. my bad.

Chestnuts roasted by Overlord @ 10/17/2003 09:01 PM EST

David the gnome was a hit in my house (meaning me, my mom and my sis all liked it). I didn't have a huge emotional attachment like sphen, but I do remember enjoying it, even if I can't clearly remember any episodes.

And there were other Sat. morning cartoon shows. I remember watching some of them. WB does the same kind of thing, but they do it on Sat. morning b4 the cartoons come out between commercial breaks.

Chestnuts roasted by TOP1214 @ 10/17/2003 09:49 PM EST

And apparently you meant O.”G”. Readmore. Know your cats, cat…Can you dig it?

Chestnuts roasted by the Unstoppable @ 10/17/2003 09:49 PM EST

This very season, Fox devoted a half-hour of its Sunday night block to a special preview of the "FoxBox", which used to be that little scoreboard in the corner of the screen, and is now apparently their Saturday morning cartoon block.

BTW, I read thru that entire article expecting a download at the end. My disappointment knows no end.

And one other thing... McNuggets indeed were new that year, but the Professor sure wasn't... he's a charter member of the McDonaldland gang, along with Evil Grimace, Officer Big Mac, and Captain Crook.

Chestnuts roasted by Evil Colonel @ 10/17/2003 09:57 PM EST

Cool info, Colonel. I've actually got a big video of pretty much every McD's commercial ever, and Mayor McCheese has to be my favorite. The costume was just so incredibly awkward, every move the guy made seemed epic. (also got a shot of the first Ronald -- Willard Scott -- with a Dixie cup rubber-banded over his nose)

Sorry, no downloads this time. Stay tuned though, there's loads of commercials waiting to be added to the Downloads section. And next month...big feature...mauahahaha. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 10/17/2003 10:03 PM EST

Anyone remember back in the early 90's Fox did something similar to this with advanced showings of the second season of the X-Men animated series and Power Rangers (the season where Lord Zedd shows up)?

Chestnuts roasted by The Juice @ 10/17/2003 10:10 PM EST

Like Matt, I was four at the time of this special. However, I do remember a few of the cartoons that showed up in re-runs later.

"The Monchikis" was, like "Pac-Man," a charter member of the USA Network Cartoon Express, the three-plus-hours cartoon block on USA Network in the mornings in the 80s and early 90s. God, that was nirvana for me then. They ran many short-lived shows that wouldn't turn up again until the advent of Cartoon Network and Boomerang. I liked "Monchikis" as a kid, but I don't know how well I'd tolarate it (or most of the similar "cutsey" shows) now.

I loved "Richie Rich" as a kid. It was another member of the Cartoon Express, and I encountered it on Boomerang last year as well. Ok, so it was cheesy, but no worse than any other cartoons in the era, and there was a nice variety aspect - the stories ranged from simple, five-second shorts to ten-fifteen minute "Treasure Chest" adventures.

While I'm quite familiar with the earlier version of "Pac-Man" that featured his family, the ghosts, and that weird robot bad guy, I have no memory whatsoever of either Pac Junior or Super Pac. I don't remember those episodes ever running on USA (which doesn't mean they never did - my memory may just be faulty.)

"The Littles" would also make a token appearance on USA, and later on pay cable. Wonderful, well-animated show, one of the better from this era, and possibly one of the best to appear on ABC until Disney bought the network. The writing was warm and often unusually sharp, and kept it from being as cutesy as "The Monchikis."

I'm probably one of the few "Scooby Doo" fans who are indifferent to Scrappy. I don't hate him the way many people do, but he's not my favorite, either. I do remember some of the episodes he featured in being cute, although the entire gang were often missed, and I believe the mystery angles were usually de-emphasized.

I remember seeing similar (and similarly cheesy) specials on CBS and ABC into the late 80s (don't know if they were also done on Fox and NBC). I think the last one I saw was ABC in 1989, and that only because it ran on a Friday in what would have been the spot of a TGIF show. It must not have been any more impressive than this venture, because that's all I recall about it.

"The Adventures of David the Gnome" was a favorite in my family, too, one of the few cartoons my sisters and I would watch together without starting a minor war over who got control of the remote. It was a very sweet, gentle, but still fun cartoon, not unlike "The Littles" in some ways.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 10/17/2003 10:23 PM EST

David the Gnome was decent (I was joking in the post) - but by the time I was catching it, it was being aired at 7 AM. You know, the last toon you try to watch before heading off to school. They tried the same thing with the later seasons (or later toon versions) of GI Joe, but by that point, I barely recognized any of the characters. Everyone was wearing a lot of neon.

Yes, USA's C Express was one of the last vestiges for older toons. I really dig the attention C Network pays to em sometimes, though. They've gathered a lot of original programming, so we don't get to see it as much anymore. Only a few years ago, I remember going nuts with their month-long quasi-marathon of cartoon Christmas specials. I think the Smurfs had around fifty of 'em.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 10/17/2003 10:27 PM EST

being 22 now i remember pretty much all of the cartoons and everything but ive only met a handful of people who remember the adventures of mark twain claymation movie they used to play like 4 times a year on sundays. does anyone else remember that? it was like a huge deal to my sister and i, wed be all psyched for a week til it came on. okay sorry to get all off topic and everything. ~erin

Chestnuts roasted by FreakinCrazay @ 10/17/2003 11:06 PM EST

ABC used to do the Saturday Morning Preview as part of TGIF. In fact, it was a pretty regular occurence for a few years. The most recent one I can recall had the Mighty Ducks and Sonic the Hedgehog on it, as well as Doug. And the one that had the debut of Tales from the Crypt was arguably the coolest one ever. Those were the days...

And about David the Gnome: he holds a special place in my niggin because he was shown on Nickelodeon with a whole bunch of odd shows like Count Duckula and Danger Mouse. Weird that I remember those shows more favorably than the recent ones on TV now. Sad that cartoon shows took such a nosedive in the late nineties.

Chestnuts roasted by Jason1551 @ 10/17/2003 11:08 PM EST

Count me among those who were fans of "Richie Rich" back in the day...it's probably something I'd find insufferably stupid 20 years later, but when I was six, happiness was "Richie Rich", my TI-99/4A computer, and "Candlepin Bowling" with Don Gillis on WCVB-5 in Boston.

Keep up the good work, Matt...this site reminds me that all that stuff I remember from my youth actually happened...it's not just a fever dream or a lingering hallucination from my teen drug phase.

Chestnuts roasted by Monster Dog @ 10/17/2003 11:15 PM EST

Eventhough I used to make sure I watched these things when they came on, the only one that I really remember was the one NBC had for the premeir of Saved by the Bell. I still remember being all exicted to actually watch the show itself (SbtB), and when I did, all I could think was "Where the hell's Marsha Warfield?!" (she was playing a security guard at the school in the special). I think NBC also had one with the Kid Video people, or maybe I'm getting that mixed with the SbtB one.

I swear, this is the kind of stuff that needs to go on DVD.

Chestnuts roasted by Lim @ 10/17/2003 11:31 PM EST

A few things to say, I was indifferent to Scrappy-doo as well. I couldn't help it. I was a sucker for a character aimed at my age. Like Yogi Bear's Boo-boo or Jetson's Elroy.
The only thing I remember about the Rubick's Cube show was where the gang asked him to blow up an inflatable raft and he took it literally and made it explode (har-de-freakin-har). But when I was that young, that kind of joke is pure gold.
I remember liking the Littles though all I remember about them was something about the Statue of Liberty--though I think I might have crossed memories and am thinking of David Copperfield making the dang thing disappear.
Anyone else having really screwey sleep patterns lately? I know it's totally not relevant, but I was up til 7am this morning, got an hour of sleep, went to class and a little recital, had lunch, then slept again from 1pm til 6pm and have been at work since then (until 3am). I wonder if vampires ever have this problem.

Chestnuts roasted by inkmage @ 10/18/2003 12:51 AM EST

Richie Rich was a great cartoon, but seemed to suffer from the accursed "Let's play the same five episodes eover and over till the audience's head explodes" programming initiative. Still, good times.

Chestnuts roasted by JPKMets @ 10/18/2003 12:53 AM EST

Oh and, Scrappy blew goat.

Chestnuts roasted by JPKMets @ 10/18/2003 12:54 AM EST

"I'm Louie the lifeguard, and I'm happy to say,
I saved a drowning potato today!
Don't drown your food! In mayo, salt, ketchup, or goo...how can you eat what you can't even SEE? So don't drown your food!"

And also:

"I hanker for a hunk-a,
A slab or slice or chunka
A snack that is a winner,
And yet won't spoil my dinner!
I hanker for a hunk-a cheese! YAHOO!!!"

And Sunshine on a STICK - which was orange kool-aid frozen in ice-cube trays with toothpicks stuck in it. I tried this, but was always too eager to eat the damned things and never quite waited long enough for it to freeze all the way.

And remember the Choppers guys? "Exercise your choppers with some good hard food!"?

...I remember way too much of this stuff for my own damn good. I swear.

Chestnuts roasted by Aeire @ 10/18/2003 01:15 AM EST

Aww... I thought the thing at the end was going to link to one of those Menudo on ABC video clips which I think were exclusive to ABC. At HMV the other day, I was looking at the back of a Menudo DVD, wondering if it had the video they played every hour or so, the one that went "I Like to Dah-aah-aah-ance", but, either the name of the song wasn't "I Like to Dance" (which was about half the lyrics in the song, I shit you not), or ABC still owns the rights and aren't giving them up.

Well, at least this wasn't a preview for the 1984-85 ABC Saturday Morning line-up wherein the Menudo clips between shows were replaced by ABC Fun Fit with Mary Lou Retton.

Hmm... surprisingly, I don't remember anything season-specific about the 1983-84 season of Richie Rich (was it all reruns?), unlike the 1982-83 season where I clearly recall that Jackie Jokers joined the cast, though I don't think they did the TV show and movie parodies which Jackie Jokers was mainly known for in the comics. Actually, as someone who had been reading the comics since before I was 6, I was never that thrilled by the cartoon, since they made Richie older and replaced his trademark tuxedo and red bow tie with a red sweater with a big yellow R on it (in retrospect, I know it was much easier for the animators to draw a simple sweater than a tuxedo; far fewer lines). The 1990s Richie Rich cartoon brought back the tux... too bad I was too old to appreciate it (and too young to appreciate it as a cartoon-loving adult). Also, the thing about the 80s Richie Rich cartoon loged most firmly in my memory is Irona; while I was fairly indifferent to her in the comics, I just found the way she was drawn in the cartoon much too skanky-looking. She's actually the primary reason I don't find French maid uniforms even the tiniest bit arousing.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 10/18/2003 01:34 AM EST

Matt,

Have you heard this already...

The successful lawsuit by Sid and Marty Krofft against McDonald's, charging that the company and its advertising agency had ripped off the McDonaldland characters from H.R. Pufnstuf, which the Kroffts had produced. Well, better late than never. Here's the whole sordid tale.

The Krofft brothers are legendary (well, pretty well-known) TV producers. They had their biggest successes in kidvid in the late 60s and early 70s, with shows like The Bugaloos, Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and most prominently H.R. Pufnstuf, which aired between 1969 and 1974. H.R. Pufnstuf featured brightly colored sets with hyperkinetic actors (many of them dwarfs) in wild costumes playing such characters as Wilhelmina Witchiepoo, Cling and Clang, and of course H.R. Pufnstuf, a friendly dragon who was mayor of Living Island, where plants, animals, and objects could talk and wacky adventures took place.

By 1970 H.R. Pufnstuf was the top-rated Saturday morning TV show, and the Kroffts began getting calls from ad agencies hoping to get in on the action. One series of calls came from the ad agency Needham Harper & Steers, which was wooing McDonald's. Needham figured a campaign featuring the popular H.R. Pufnstuf characters might be just the thing to land the business. In a letter dated August 31, 1970, Needham told the Kroffts that it was going ahead with a McDonaldland campaign based on the Kroffts' work and that they could expect a fee for creative services. But a short time later Needham told the Kroffts the campaign had been canceled.

Those devious ad agency guys! In truth Needham had gotten the McDonald's account and was proceeding with the campaign but apparently figured it could stiff the Kroffts out of their fee. "Former employees of the Kroffts were hired to design and construct the costumes and sets for McDonaldland," a federal appeals court later wrote. "Needham also hired the same voice expert who supplied all the voices for the Pufnstuf characters to supply some of the voices for the McDonaldland characters." Needham reps even visited the Kroffts' LA headquarters seeking creative advice. But no cash was forthcoming.

After the first McDonaldland commercials began airing in January 1971, the Kroffts sued for copyright infringement. When the case went to trial in 1973, their lawyers showed the jury several H.R. Pufnstuf episodes and McDonaldland commercials and pointed out the obvious similarities. McDonald's and Needham responded that the show and the commercials weren't exactly the same. For example, Mayor McCheese and Pufnstuf were each the mayor of a fanciful land, but McCheese was a cheeseburger in pink formal wear while Pufnstuf was a dragon. Big difference!

The jury, and later the appeals court, didn't buy it. "We do not believe that the ordinary reasonable person, let alone a child, viewing these works will even notice that Pufnstuf is wearing a cummerbund while Mayor McCheese is wearing a diplomat's sash," the appeals court wrote. The court held that the defendants had wrongfully appropriated the "total concept and feel" of H.R. Pufnstuf, anticipating the "look and feel" argument made by litigious computer software developers years later. The Kroffts were awarded a big chunk of dough.

McDonald's had no comment on the whole mess.

Chestnuts roasted by TheCleaner420 @ 10/18/2003 01:34 AM EST

monchichis monchichis oh so fun and cuddly with their thumb in their mouth it's really sweet fun to wiggle their little feet.

My brother cut the tail off my monchichi. I don't know why, he just did.

Chestnuts roasted by candybar @ 10/18/2003 02:15 AM EST

Y'know the little Japanese import store in my local mall still sells Monchichi shit. Ok more like they still have Monchichi stuff for sale, I doubt they're selling any of it.
I hear tell of a program called the wonderful world of Dic (A name which I find highly suspect) apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to expose the youth of today to the littles again. As I've said before, the littles I'll put up with, but I'm sticking my head into the oven if anyone tries to expose me to Punky Brewster and her "Rainbow Fairy Bear" Glomer.

Chestnuts roasted by Dante @ 10/18/2003 02:48 AM EST

I was born in 1984 so I wouldn't have seen that show, but I do remember ABC aring those prime time shows up until I want to say about 97 or 98. When they were doing their One Saturday Morning lineup. My fave ABC one had to be the ones when they showed clips of Darkwing Duck. I used to watch Richie Rich when they repeated it on Sunday mornings in the late 80s. I like Scrappy probably because when I watched his show in weekday repeats. I was like 3, so I had no idea what was really going on.

P.S. in some markets the Littles are being shown again

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 10/18/2003 02:54 AM EST

I remember that damn Saved by the Bell special. That thing was mfin' weird. They did have some characters from the really bad Nintendo cartoon do a throw over to Marsha Warfield (a big star from NBC's Night Court, coincidence, eh) who played a big menacing security gaurd (what a stretch) who had it in for Zach and had some sort of issue about people being late. Weird.

Chestnuts roasted by Tuff Daddy Cool @ 10/18/2003 03:14 AM EST

I didn't give a shit about David and his Gnome-y friends... I just wanted Swift. I loved that fox.

As far as Scrappy goes... well, I have a soft spot for the puppy. Mainly because my first Scooby Doo memories are a couple of movies that featured Scrappy, Scooby, and Shaggy and obligatory Shaggy love intrest. Y'know the ones I'm talking about. "Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers", Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf", and "Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School". I think we had these all on one VHS tape and I'd just watch 'em all damn day when I was little. In fact, I don't even remember watching the original show untill far later in life.

I wasn't born 'till 83 by-the-way... looks like I didn't miss out on a whole lot. I'm just happy that Toon Disney now airs "Garfield and Friends" at 2 in the morning. I can sleep soundly tonight.

Chestnuts roasted by SandyChii @ 10/18/2003 03:52 AM EST

When I see the Monchichis all I can think of is the odd looking drummer from Limp Bizkit.
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/John_Otto.html

"The Littles" were based off "The Borrowers" book, which was made into a movie with John Goodman a few years back.

If I remeber correctly, Menudo did the theme for the cartoon Rubik. This might have to do with the kid characters being Latino.

Chestnuts roasted by Richard @ 10/18/2003 04:23 AM EST

I remember David the Gnome's closing credits always cheered me up, because everyone was kinda dancing and twirling (even the trolls, I think). But I usually didn't watch it because some other channel aired Stunt Dawgs during that time slot. Yes. Stunt dawwwwwwgs.

Chestnuts roasted by Low Moral Fiber @ 10/18/2003 05:20 AM EST

Oh yeah, and about another Saturday Morning special. I think NBC had a "Who Shrunk Saturday Morning?" where Screech shrunk the Saved by the Bell cast into the TV, and George Jefferson was The Wizard, and I couldn't stop crying.

Chestnuts roasted by Low Moral Fiber @ 10/18/2003 05:23 AM EST

it may be a guilty feeling i've been carrying around for years, but i'm indifferent to the ENTIRE Scooby Doo series. as a kid, i put it last on the toon priority list, and i never did warm up to it. i just don't care for Scooby, and Scrappy didn't help any.

there, i've said it. i feel better.

@Aeire: i totally remember the Hunk o'Cheese guy. i love cheese. it just might be because of that PSA. (is it a PSA? hmm...)

Chestnuts roasted by zann @ 10/18/2003 09:27 AM EST

I always preferred the Scooby Doo Meets Some damned celebrity episodes...even if the bastards got that "Pretty Mary Sunshine" song permanently imprinted in my brain.

Also, am I the only one who watched the Police Academy cartoon and had (most of) the figures?

Chestnuts roasted by Nemesis @ 10/18/2003 10:34 AM EST

I hate Scooby Doo. Every form and spinoff of the series. On "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" They actually had 10 episodes but made slight alterations to each them to make it seem like 200. I mean, they did the same thing that they do with Space Ghost Coast to Coast, but C2C is supposed to be like that and seem the way it does, I don't think they had those intentions with the Doo. The show maybe was enjoyable the first time you watched it as a 2 year old, but it just got so repeditave.

And the Scooby Doo celebrity movies were the same. They used the same celebrities for the entire series. They had Don Knotts, and the Harlem Globetrotters. They used them in 50 movies.

If there's any Scooby-Doo spinoff I can watch, it's A Pup Named Scooby Doo. It's actually pretty funny, unlike other forms of Scooby. And they actually made new episodes. They didn't alter previous episodes.

Okay, I'm done rambling.

Chestnuts roasted by Tim-E @ 10/18/2003 10:59 AM EST

Cartoon Express was the best cartoon block of all time. Having the Go-Bots (WAY BETTER than Transformers BTW) in one place with the Hair Bear Bunch, heaven on earth dear friends. Kids cartoons today suck. If I way a 5 year old in these days and had to put up with this crap I would swallow my Mr. Bubbles in a feeble attempt to kill myself.

Chestnuts roasted by King of Swing @ 10/18/2003 11:27 AM EST

Go-Bots are the poor man's Transformers.

Chestnuts roasted by Tim-E @ 10/18/2003 11:48 AM EST

Gotta admit it.... I hated David the Gnome. I always found it weak and too "sweet." Killing me with kindness, you know. Plus, I don't know if it was him supplying the voice, but the dude sounded like Mr. Cunningham from Happy Days. Freaked me out. Give me Duckula, DM, and Bananaman any day...something with "oomph."

Plus, you gotta love a cartoon (i.e., Danger Mouse) where one of the characters has an obsessive compulsive disorder. Colonel K, anyone? Kept subtly looking over at his phone (was it his phone?) when talking to DM at the beginning of each show... because one of the earlier episodes had the town's electronics taking over things. The dude maintained a phobia of his machines for the rest of the series! How's THAT for consistency!

Chestnuts roasted by Nachokhaki @ 10/18/2003 12:00 PM EST

I did a feature on "Time For Timer" a while ago.

http://www.parnasas.com/PopArena/Articles/timer.html

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 10/18/2003 12:00 PM EST

Ho. Ly. MACKEREL.

A morning preview special. A bejesused MORNING PREVIEW SPECIAL. If it weren't for X-E I'd never even have known such a thing existed - bad crap doesn't get any better than this, I'll tell you that for nothing!

I blame it all on my growing up on the wrong side of the Atlantic, though. I missed out on so much batshit insane '80s nonsense it's not even funny!

However, I did watch David the Gnome religiously and maintained a healthy obsession that involved randomly pasting David stickers on my bedroom's IKEA cabinets and forcing my parents to buy a David cereal bowl I'd use approximately 1.4 times each year. I remember nothing about the series though, except that they always rubbed their noses against each other. Dirty geriatric fetishists.

And on a different popular topic in this blog session, I watched various Scooby-Doo series for ages. The last one that aired (again) each morning was actually the original series, up to the penultimate year of high school I think. At that time I really only watched it for sheer camp value - the Scooby-Doo theme ranks up there with anything The Village People or ABBA ever relased, in my opinion. Brilliant stuff.

Chestnuts roasted by JC @ 10/18/2003 01:22 PM EST

Okay, I wasn't even a year old when -this- cartoon preview aired, so I don't remember any of these cartoons-- but oh, how well I remember other ABC's fall cartoon previews past.

Most clearly I remember the preview for Reboot... man, 'back in the day' that show seemed like such high technology. :)

What a fun article!

Chestnuts roasted by snowcalico @ 10/18/2003 01:28 PM EST

Fuck, that shot of Menudo scared the shit outta me. For a second, I actually thought they were given their own cartoon!

And I certainly rememeber that NBC Saturday Morning special. This was before Saved by the Bell premeired. The idea is that Screech's latest invention pulls the Bayside gang into some psudo dimension ruled by Saturday morning programming, and they meet the oricle who can send them back, and he's played by Sherman fuckin' Helmsly, aka George Jefferson! All the while, that security guard keeps bitching about how everyone is gonna be late for class. Anyway, Helmsly says he'll send the kids back to Bayside, if they agree to appear in their own Saturday morning show called, "Saved by the Bell", cuz he returns them mere seconds before the tardy bell at school rings. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Seriously, shit like this needs to be released on DVD!

Also, does anybody remember the old WWF Cartoon, "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling?" Admit it! You watched it, you can't unwatch it!

Chestnuts roasted by A-wel Cruiz @ 10/18/2003 02:27 PM EST

A Menudo cartoon.....Now that's only a dream...

Chestnuts roasted by Tim-E @ 10/18/2003 03:00 PM EST

Oh yes, seasons 1 and 2 of Saved by the Bell have already been released on DVD in one set. Hopefully the rest of the first series will follow.

Chestnuts roasted by Tim-E @ 10/18/2003 03:04 PM EST

Mr.Mr. Mr., I just checked out your great site. I had never heard of "Aliens in the Family" and I am glad now that I never did:
http://www.parnasas.com/PopArena/Articles/aliens.html

Here are some rare video game records:
The Amazing Adventures of Pac-Man - Slightly Crazy Lazy Day / It's My Job
http://www.otisfodder.com/365days/archive/270.html
http://www.otisfodder.com/365days-media2.php?file=365days-09-27.mp3
Atari - Fly, Yar Warriors/Missile Command/Atari Theme
http://www.otisfodder.com/365days/archive/246.html
http://www.otisfodder.com/365days-media2.php?file=365days-09-03.mp3

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 10/18/2003 06:05 PM EST

was i the only one that enjoyed the antics of scrappy doo
am i wrong to refuse to watch scooby cartoons with my younger sister if scrappy ain't in it

i refuse to believe i am

Chestnuts roasted by Tha Shacmasta @ 10/18/2003 06:13 PM EST

While I'm not a fan of Scrappy Doo, I do think we need to redirect our hatred away from him. After all, Cartoon Network and the guys who made the movie have successfully turned him into a bitter psycho.

Rather, I think we need to direct our hatred towards the true demon of the Scooby mythos. By that I mean Flim Flam from 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. Words can't express how much I loathe that kid.

On the subject of the ABC preview specials, all I can think about is the year when the cast of Family Matters was given the burden of introducing the shows. Towards the end, with all these announcements of new shows and the logic that older shows would be cancelled, Carl Winslow got really defensive and desperately asked, "But what about Pooh Bear?!"

So Dick Clark may have walked over hot coals in 83 for a paycheck, but Reginald VelJohnson had the decency to show emotion, man. Reginald cared about Pooh.

Chestnuts roasted by Gavok @ 10/18/2003 07:08 PM EST

SCRAPPY DOO SUCKS SHIT!!! Always has and always will. Why do you think he was the main villian in the Scooby-Doo movie? (Oh shit, I hope I didn't ruin it!)

And if you like Mr. Mr. Mr.'s site, check out mine, (last time, I swear!!!)

Chestnuts roasted by A-wel Cruiz @ 10/18/2003 07:08 PM EST

ABC wasn't the only channel that ran previews of its Saturday morning stuff. I remember that NBC did too (when it actually did run Saturday morning programming). I forgot what year it was, but it involved Benji Gregory (the kid from ALF) as a detective in a mansion and he was solving a mystery. He would go around the mansion getting clues from various Saturday morning cartoon characters. First a clip would run and then a voice of the one of the characters (Alvin of the Chipmunks, a Gummi Bear, Papa Smurf, etc.) would drop a clue.

I miss the cool Sat. morning programming of the 80s...

Chestnuts roasted by Bert Raccoon @ 10/18/2003 08:03 PM EST

1. I happen to like Scrappy. (There you go Shacmaster) Perhaps my favorite Scooby incarnation was "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" you guys mentioned. (Especially the Batman ones, those owned)

2. While we're talking about USA's Cartoon Express, I have to mention that this is the same network that brought us American Gladiators way back when. Ah, memories.

3. I also remember some of the previews you guys have mentioned. I believe the last one I saw prior to last year's FoxBox special was in 1996 for ABC.

Chestnuts roasted by Scott @ 10/18/2003 08:47 PM EST

No, Nemesis, you are not the only fan of the "Police Academy" cartoons. I used to love that show. It was actually pretty funny.

Tim-E, "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" may be my favorite incarnation of the show as well. It's one of only three 80s shows (the others were "Muppet Babies" and "Tiny Toon Adventures") that didn't muck up or over-sugar the popular-characters-as-kids concept. If anything, the anime-meets-60s animation and hilarious parody of the original kids and monsters storylines made it the only "Scooby" variant to outshine the original product.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 10/18/2003 09:37 PM EST

I remember when there was a Saturday morning cartoon preview hosted by the cast of Step by Step.
It was a part of the TGIF lineup that evening, which makes sense because a lot of kids watched TGIF back then.

The only cartoon that I remember it featuring was a short-lived animated version of The Addams Family. Unfortunately, I do not remember anything else. But I DO remember watching the Addams Family cartoon the next morning only to lose interest about halfway through the episode.

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 10/18/2003 09:57 PM EST

I used to love the Police Academy cartoon! I can't remember any episodes but I remember the style was one of the main reasons...and the guy who makes sound effects.

Chestnuts roasted by dethstryke @ 10/19/2003 12:04 AM EST

I remembered most of those cartoons. The Littles, Rubix, Pac-Man and The Monchichis. I even remember the Just Our Luck. I was 8 years old back then, but I'll be damned to remember any actual episodes now.

I was watching cartoons with my 10 year old brother the other night and seen some of these commericals for "new" toys for My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, He-Man and Transformers. These are not new. I understand that kids today were not born to remember this toy lines and toy companies would like nothing more than to sell 20 year old toys to a new market, also to adults that now have the money to buy all the toys that did not get when they were younger.

I just wish they would bring back or at least put them on DVD, some of the older cartoons that I watched as a kid, like the original He-Man, Gi-Joe, Transformers et al.

I was telling my brother that they should bring back The Battle of the Planets, and he aksed me what was that and I stated it was like Voltron. He said, "What's Voltron?" I understand if he did not know what the Battle of the Planets was, but he did not know Voltron? Okay, the cartoon was shown in the 80's, but didn't they CGI the show a couple of years ago?

You want to feel old? Talk to a ten year old.

Maybe bring back to old is not a good idea, except for the good ones, of course. I seen The Littles on TV the other day and couldn't bear to watch it longer than 3 minutes.

But the following shows should come out: Knight Rider, again The Battle of the Planets, Fraggle Rock, Spider-Man and Friends, He-Man and who remembers the Barbapapa!!!!

Don't forget "Monchichi means happiness!"

Chestnuts roasted by Liquidduck @ 10/19/2003 04:12 AM EST

The last two years FOX has run primetime specials to promote their saturday morning lineup.

I didn't read all the posts so I don't know if anyone mentioned it.

Chestnuts roasted by Squeakyguy @ 10/19/2003 04:18 AM EST

Hey Raccoon I remember NBC's cartoons I always enjoyed NBC's lineup of toons in the 80's & early 90's , over the others there was more novelty to them...
speaking of NBC they were in my opinion the leaders of what i like to call operation get rid of Saturday cartoons
if you remember all of a sudden news was on until saved by the bell came on
that really sucked
i know cartoons are still on Saturday morning but not like the old days
you don't know how sad i feel when i wake up on Saturday and walk into my living room and see my young brother and sister watching reruns of MTV cribs and the freakin real world
somewhere...... Alvin and his fellow chipmunks are crying

Chestnuts roasted by Tha Shacmasta @ 10/19/2003 04:28 AM EST

Ok, I'm gonna go ahead and say it. Scooby Doo, every incarantion of Scooby Doo, was freaking retarded.

They were the same goddamned episode each time, people! Even by cartoon standards the plots were submoronic, and even as a kid I was downright insulted by every episode's lack of imagination. Hanna-Barbara was pretty much churning out nothing but shit all through the 60's to the 80's anyway (except, of course, for Thundarr the Barbarian, the only Saturday morning cartoon to ever slip in a Warren Zevon reference, which immediately makes it awesome), and clearly assumed that everyone who watched their cartoons had been lobotomized anyway (what the fuck was with cartoon laugh tracks?).

Chestnuts roasted by Hellpop! @ 10/19/2003 04:37 AM EST

I remember being a kid and being completely confused by the Saturday morning lineup. The Super Mario Bros cartoons were fine (Except the episode where Princess Toadstool goes to the "real world" sho she can see Milli Vanilli)
I was even okay with Captain N (Although whoever made Megaman into a little green oompaloompa who smoked too much needs to be dealt with) But who decided to give John Candy his own cartoon? ("Camp Candy") or Rick Moranis? ("Monster high", I think)these SCTV alumni were not the core draw for kids at the time.

Chestnuts roasted by Dante @ 10/19/2003 07:19 AM EST

You just caused a flashback to the one for CBS, hosted by Joyce DeWitt. Joyce fell into the world of cartoons and had to journey through CBS's new lineup to get home. Hilarious moment: when she escapes from the final toon, Dungeons and Dragons, featuring blond-haired blue-eyed Hank the Ranger, Joyce wakes up in our world saying something like, "Hank, oh Hank, save me!" Awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by Bill Stiteler @ 10/19/2003 10:41 AM EST

They were the same goddamned episode each time, people! Even by cartoon standards the plots were submoronic, and even as a kid I was downright insulted by every episode's lack of imagination.

Hellpop, ever watch Samurai Pizza Cats? If you think Scooby Doo was repetitive and predictable, you ain't seen nuthin' yet! However, SPC had some pretty imaginative contraptions. Crazy Japanese are probably fed liquefied acid before they pass on to solids.

Chestnuts roasted by JC @ 10/19/2003 10:55 AM EST

Muppet Babies and Tiny Toon Adventures rule! I have some old purchased VHS tapes of Muppet Babies. Speaking of Tiny Toons, I'd like to get my hands on the movie "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." I loved that.

Chestnuts roasted by Tim-E @ 10/19/2003 11:59 AM EST

ahahahahah i may be a little late to comment on this but my god soemone said Go-Bots are better than the transformers!!! ahahhahahaha Go Bots were so incredibly lame i maen what did they have over the transformers crappier toys lamer story and thats just talking about the start....transformers sprouted off into comics (the marvel uk comic being one of the best comic series i have ever read period) and later re-incarnations go bots was just some even more kiddy version of the original g1 transformers without the endearing character(s)

Chestnuts roasted by Scourge @ 10/19/2003 02:08 PM EST

Ok, kids. I've spent all week checking this thing and the one day I don't you not only have a new article up but over 60 responses? Yesh. Here are my thoughts anyway.

Dick Clark will never age. He made a deal with God somewhere that we'll never understand.

Scrappy wasn't the problem, the removing of the mysteries in favor of a bunch of stupid chase scenes was. Then they make a half-@$$ed attempt at mysteries before going into the worst possible idea for Scooby-Doo, the 13 Ghosts. If this was Vincent Price's last role his fans should be more upset that Orson Wells' about the Transformers movie.

The Puppy's New Adventures: based on two Weekend Specials (remember those? "Miss Switch is a Witch"? "Bunjee"? "Og"?), it was later made into a "variety" show with The Scooby and Scrappy mystery-less chase show. I didn't it think it was so bad back then, but I haven't seen it since. Ruby-Spears was behind the merger.

The Littles also had a movie or two, but I don't recall they're being shown in theaters.

Ritchie Rich had a superhero minirobot in his belt buckle! How can you not be jealous of that? And Dollar was a riot!

I just wanted to slap PJ around like nobody's business. Dumb jerk, acting all cool and hip, ruining my hero Pac-Man's life and being a total clueless moron! The Fonz you ain't, puss!

Super Pac was funny. And in case you remember a time when Pac-Man and "Pepper" were superheroes as well, there was a Season 1 episode where the ghost-monsters develop superpowers so Ms. Pac had to develop a temporary super Power Pellet formula.

The Monchichi's theme still plays in my head now and then. Help me!

I discussed Rubik when Matt reviewed that. Go read that article. I also have Rubik's attempt at making a Pyramid.

At least the girl in the Menudo gif was cute. They also made a new theme for Nickelodeons "Sparticus and the Sun Beneath the Sea" which was less suicide-inducing than the original. Didn't help the show make any more sense, but all you needed was Terrex anyway. :)

The Fox Box is the only ones that bother with a preview show anymore, but NBC switched to teen sitcoms (and some drama) before letting Discovery Channel take over and CBS just shows some Nick Toons, the only ones I find interesting of are Dora (yes, I wrote that right) and Chalk Zone for the oddity factor. I've watched the odd "Ginger" episode for Cree Summer, but not a whole episode.

Chestnuts roasted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 10/19/2003 02:41 PM EST

Ah Yes, 1983 was the start of Scooby Doo's slow and agonizing death at the hands of Television.Who could forget "The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby Doo"?Well, 45% of the few who've seen it.Nonetheless, tons of sick ratings-grabbers were implemented into the show.In the controversial last episode of "The 13 Ghosts..." Scooby is actually killed off.Whether or not he comes back to life and is ultimately dead for all of 4 minutes, I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure.

Chestnuts roasted by Master Don't-You-Mind-Me @ 10/19/2003 04:52 PM EST

I wasn't old enough to remember this particular special, but I rmember one from some network (probably NBC) where there was a Toys R Us contest with cartoons such as Kid 'n Play and some show about cat aliens.

Chestnuts roasted by JG! @ 10/19/2003 06:48 PM EST

I may be a little late to comment on this, but I've gotta give props to The Juice for working in the Lord Zedd reference. I so remember that special, and as soon as it was over I remember thinking about how cool Zedd was gonna be, and how he was going to totally make the Rangers his bitches. And my boy came through! Who destroyed the Megazord? Who sucked away Tommy's Green Ranger powers for good? That's right, baby, Lord Zedd. He was such a bastard that they had to rescript him as a goof-ass for the third season because he was scaring little kids. True story.

And hey, you're all talking about the Cartoon Express, but not a single person has mentioned its crown jewel - The Real Ghostbusters. I thought we liked Slimer around here!

Lord Zedd kicks.

Chestnuts roasted by FishEyekun @ 10/19/2003 07:16 PM EST

Lord Zedd answers the question of what Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat would look like if he accidentally tore off all of his skin.

Chestnuts roasted by Gavok @ 10/19/2003 07:47 PM EST

I watched Camp Candy and Monster High as a kid and enjoyed both.

Chestnuts roasted by TOP1214 @ 10/19/2003 10:00 PM EST

Exellent article. Speaking of those Saturday morning psas, does anybody else remember the one with the Future Blob? He harassed this kid about planning for a future career?

Chestnuts roasted by Goggles Pizano @ 10/20/2003 12:00 AM EST

God, rereading these posts made me think of Camp Candy, Wish Kid, and All-Stars. Geez, there were some weird ass shows when I was a kid. And thank god I just ordered Captain N and the newer eps of GI Joe to slate my thirst for the oldies-but-goodies.

Chestnuts roasted by Jason1551 @ 10/20/2003 01:29 AM EST

And I remember Aliens in the Family. I thought it was weird, but hell those were the times. Just think of Land of the Lost. Now that I think of it, I wouldn't mind tracking down a couple of collection tapes of 80s and 90s Saturday morning shows. We used to have some, but they got recorded over long ago. Too bad.

Chestnuts roasted by Jason1551 @ 10/20/2003 01:32 AM EST

SOMEBODY...FIND ME....PROOF OF...THE MILLI VANILLI EPISODE OF MARIO. That's one of the goofiest things I've ever heard. Having Peach meet the notorious fakers is breaking the absolute last rule of convention. I want to see pictures, and NOW!

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 10/20/2003 03:42 AM EST

Mars: I found this complete script for "Kootie Pie Rocks", the episode with Milli Vanilli, but no pics. (Bad MIDI alert.)

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 10/20/2003 05:14 AM EST

Someone please explain how Pro-Stars(that cartoon with Mike, Bo, and Wayne) got a DVD.

And I do remember seeing the episode of Mario with Milli Vanilli, but only vaguely.

Chestnuts roasted by SadSadLittleBoy @ 10/20/2003 09:52 AM EST

Didn't have time to read all the posts, so this may be redundant...
Anyone else see the name "Monchnichis" in the screenshot??? With the extra "n"???

Chestnuts roasted by saber_pv @ 10/20/2003 02:50 PM EST

I swear I have very vivid memories of menudo videos playing between ABC cartoons -- and they were all songs about egg-plants.

Mendo... what a terrible terrible early 80's sensation.

Nothing at all like KIDS INCORPORATED. They rocked. Admit it, you all still remember the theme song -- K... I... D... S. Looks like we made it, kids incorporated.

Chestnuts roasted by Chris Cuthill @ 10/20/2003 02:52 PM EST

Did anyone ever see that ABC claymation Saturday Morning Cartoon "Bumps in the Night" about the monsters living under your bed. It was late in my Saturday morning cartoon watching career but I for one found it clever, with lots of original imagery. How can you go wrong with claymation monsters and their adventures under a bed?

Chestnuts roasted by inkmage @ 10/20/2003 03:35 PM EST

These blogs are getting loooooooooooooooooooooooong.
And now, I leave you with this,
"Rainbows are not gay."

Chestnuts roasted by kennef @ 10/20/2003 04:01 PM EST

I don't know if this has been brought up yet or not but...

I remember seeing another collage of upcoming cartoons in a prime-time slot. It had to have been '88 or '89 because I'm pretty sure the Beetlejuice cartoon was one that they previewed (a pretty great cartoon by the way. Sort of Dali-Lite)

Definately on the show I saw was The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo where the dumb-ass dog let some ghosts (13) out of Vincent Price's Ghost Chest. Yeah, Scrap was in it but so was Daphnie (no Velma/Fred).

This was, by the way, an EXCELLENT article.

Chestnuts roasted by Grego @ 10/20/2003 07:00 PM EST

Goggles Pianzo, you are referring to one of the "Zack of All Trades" segments, where Zack would walk out of the music coming from a radio speaker to remind kids that their hobbies now could lead to a sucessful career later. (We could use messages like that nowadays when everyone just wants to mooch off welfare.) Future Blob appears once. Another segment had Zack leading kids in a game where they mention four of their hobbies or skills and everyone comes up with jobs that utilise those skills. They were nice segments.

Speaking of these segements, anyone remember "Scooter Computer & Mr. Chips" or that one with the animal family who are always on the computer?

Chestnuts roasted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 10/20/2003 08:52 PM EST

ShadowWing, that Scooter Computer song has been running through my head for abvout 18 years now. It has to be the catchiest damn song ever written. "Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips...they've got the answer at their fingertips!"

Sometimes it makes me just want to die.

I also remember a PSA featuring the Little Rascals cartoon characters about the insidious danger of chewing bubblegum in bed. Apparently ABC thought that so many stupid children were choking to death because they tried to chew bubblegum in their sleep that it required the services of Porky and Spanky to show them the light.

Chestnuts roasted by Hellpop! @ 10/20/2003 09:45 PM EST

I don't know about "Bump In The Night," inkmage. I definatly wasn't a fan.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 10/20/2003 11:14 PM EST

man... fuck richie rich.

that little bastard had a gimmick for EVERY single friggin' situation. keenbean my ass.

no... really... fuck richie rich.

Chestnuts roasted by doctor dope @ 10/21/2003 12:49 AM EST

I never cared much for Bump in the Night, but, when I was almost 18, I went through this weird phase of liking the somewhat-similar (blobby shapeshifting character living in a wall with rats) Mister Bogus... go figure. I guess it was "liking" in a somewhat sarcastic way, but I got enjoyment out of watching it, so I guess the show did its job. Maybe that rat character, Ratty, gave that show an edge I appreciated somehow. Ah, the vagaries of one's personal tastes. All I know, really, is that one of the reasons I love the anime series Adventures of Mini-Goddess so much, besides being a spin-off of one of my favourite manga comics, is that it reminds me just a tad of Mister Bogus with the anthropomorphic rat supporting characters living inside the walls.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 10/21/2003 01:38 AM EST

Loads of commercials waiting to be added to the Downloads section?

That's great news! Sooner or later I expect to see the Bubble-Eez bubble gum commercial, and then my life will be complete.

Chestnuts roasted by Chaos Mage @ 10/21/2003 09:49 AM EST

Wasn't Ricky Martin a member of Menudo? "David and the Gnomes" is still showing in Ireland. I usually have the [mis]fortune to catch it while having breakfast.

Chestnuts roasted by F-13 @ 10/21/2003 10:00 AM EST

I'd just like to thank Steve Brandon for the TVO link. Found almost alot of the old shows that were stuck in my head.
Still got a lot of fuzzy memories of shows I can't find though.

Chestnuts roasted by turkeys can't fly? @ 10/21/2003 04:09 PM EST

I loved Time for Timer. You can download one of the videos here:
http://dt.prohosting.com/70s/video/video.html
There are also several other goodies on that guys site.

Thomas

Chestnuts roasted by Thomas Throckmorton @ 10/21/2003 10:46 PM EST

Matt, great review. I've been been checking out this site a while now but this is my first post here.
Being 33 I remember getting excited about the fall Saturday morning previews on Friday night. The networks really knew how to push their cartoon shows back in the days. First they piqued your interest with the ads in the comic books, then the commercials and finally the preview special. I remember trying to go to bed early so I could get up and see all the new cartoons, I'd usually be up all night though.
Someone mentioned the Barbapapa cartoon which I remember.
Personally I think being born in the early 70's was an advantage because I caught the best of the 70's and the 80's.

Chestnuts roasted by skorch @ 10/22/2003 12:14 AM EST

Jem. *JEM* Jem is my name, Jem, *JEM*

Ahhh, she came along just in time for puberty and a great american introduction to Hentai. ;-)

Man, Jem got me through some rough morings at about 10!

Chestnuts roasted by Canksturbator @ 10/22/2003 04:23 AM EST

about the cartoon preview things there was one on the go a year ago on fox. the kids from spy kids preivewed shit like the kirby show and fighting foodons

Chestnuts roasted by SMEAGOl @ 10/22/2003 05:34 PM EST

Speaking of these segements, anyone remember "Scooter Computer & Mr. Chips" or that one with the animal family who are always on the computer?

Oh my god, I so remember one of these, but the name escaped me forever! It was a segment about computer input devices, like Keyboards, Mouses, Light pens, etc. I remember they colored in some MSPaint type house picture with the light pen, and I really wanted my dad to buy one for our Commodore 64.

Chestnuts roasted by Crushinator T. Robot @ 10/24/2003 08:38 AM EST

Wow waking up on saturday mornings to watch cartoons always gave me the same feelings as waking up on christmas. espically during the captain N years. and then when the X-men cartoon came out holy shit i was always up by 8 in the morning eating bowls of sugarloaded cereal preferably fruity pebbles. I have to admit im really proud of FOX for keeping the tradtion of the saturday morning cartoons alive and abc but they dont have a new ninja turtles cartoon say the can go to hell. anyway it just has never been the same since nbc put the news on saturday morning. not just any news but really crappy news. I still to this day have never heard anyone get excited over the saturday morning news. that move by NBC was a huge slap in the face to all us who where kids at the time. to go from fun cartoons to the opposite of FUN, the news. Until they did that I was still holding to a little bit of hope of a new Captian N season but nope never happend thanks NBC for being asshole bastards

Chestnuts roasted by JC @ 10/24/2003 01:46 PM EST

Happy Thanksgiving, fellas. A little while ago I was watching AquaTeen Hunger Force, and Meatwad reminded me of the future blob... and I of course started singing...
Everyone looked at me like I was a nutbar. I gotta find some of that sweet cold hard evidence so they'll stop treating me like a fruitcake...

Thanks...

Chestnuts roasted by Berzerker @ 11/28/2003 12:40 PM EST

That Gnome show was "David the Gnome". Came on Nickleodeon(sp?) best I can remember. Right around Pinwheel and Dr. Snuggles. Anywone rememeber Sparticus and the Sun beneath the sea? Didn't think so. God i'm drunk. Happy new years!

Chestnuts roasted by ArmageddonMan @ 12/31/2003 07:28 PM EST

Testing...one, two...

Chestnuts roasted by brisco @ 01/02/2004 06:30 PM EST

Huh Huh Huh "The Littles" blow chunks Huh Huh Huh I can't believe that mush is on reruns!!!
Tom & Lucy Little are the cartoon version of Donny & Marie. Though Donny Osmond had a cartoon in the early '70's.
I don't know why kids liked those vermin. It wouldv've been kewl if Dr. Hunter captured 'em and made millions...not to mention date Latoya Jackson. (And get his butt kicked by Robert Evans, Kid Notorious!!!) That would've been a great final episode.
What about tha "Jackson 5" cartoons, "The Brady Kids", and "Speed Racer"?
And "Ren & Stimpy".

Chestnuts roasted by Rod Munch @ 01/02/2004 10:55 PM EST

BTW, in retrospect, Lucy Little looks kind of like a cross between Kristen Dunst and Chris Kattan. And reminds me of LuAnne from "King of the Hill"...annoying and politically correct. (I'll Never Tell") And D. Hunter looked like Kurt Loder. Huh Huh Huh I wrote "Loder".
And "Scooby & sCRAPpy" cartoons run in the Cartoon Network. (BLECHHH)

The Fox Box also bites. I prefer the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from CBS than the remake. The same goes for "Masters of the Universe".
I wonder why "The Littles" are being rerun on network TV and not remade into another bland show?
It would be funny if the human kid who befriends Tom & Lucy would be hyper, rude, and annoying like the kid from the current cartoon with the fairies and nasty babysitter. That would've been a funny remake.

Chestnuts roasted by Rod Munch (Again) @ 01/02/2004 11:12 PM EST

BTW, in retrospect, Lucy Little looks kind of like a cross between Kristen Dunst and Chris Kattan. And reminds me of LuAnne from "King of the Hill"...annoying and politically correct. (I'll Never Tell") And D. Hunter looked like Kurt Loder. Huh Huh Huh I wrote "Loder".
And "Scooby & sCRAPpy" cartoons run in the Cartoon Network. (BLECHHH)

The Fox Box also bites. I prefer the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from CBS than the remake. The same goes for "Masters of the Universe".
I wonder why "The Littles" are being rerun on network TV and not remade into another bland show?
It would be funny if the human kid who befriends Tom & Lucy would be hyper, rude, and annoying like the kid from the current cartoon with the fairies and nasty babysitter. That would've been a funny remake.

Chestnuts roasted by Rod Munch (Again) @ 01/02/2004 11:12 PM EST

Rod Munch posted the following:

"I wonder why 'The Littles' are being rerun on network TV and not remade into another bland show?"

It's not; it's syndicated by DIC Entertainment under the title "The Wonderful World of DIC."

Chestnuts roasted by brisco @ 01/04/2004 05:10 PM EST

Correction...it's "The Incredible World of DIC."

Chestnuts roasted by brisco @ 01/05/2004 06:46 PM EST

OK.
I think DIC should've shown a better cartoon like "Inspector Gadget" instead.
"The Littles" are corny and sappy.
Heck, even the kid characters on "Arthur", a PBS cartoon, bicker. Like Arthur, the title charcter, and D.W. (It's the only cartoon ON PBS I like with my nephews)

Guess some of the execs from DIC Entertaiment were fans of "The Littles" back in the day.

Chestnuts roasted by Rod Munch @ 01/06/2004 11:50 PM EST

OK.
I think DIC should've shown a better cartoon like "Inspector Gadget" instead.
"The Littles" are corny and sappy.
Heck, even the kid characters on "Arthur", a PBS cartoon, bicker. Like Arthur, the title charcter, and D.W. (It's the only cartoon ON PBS I like with my nephews)

Guess some of the execs from DIC Entertaiment were fans of "The Littles" back in the day.

Chestnuts roasted by Rod Munch @ 01/06/2004 11:50 PM EST

Hey!!! I liked "The Littles"!!!

Chestnuts roasted by 80s Rocked @ 01/07/2004 03:27 AM EST

i love mini- goddess

Chestnuts roasted by rikku @ 01/20/2004 07:42 PM EST

I hate all those cartoons I hated them so much I just watch CBS's cartoons and I think i know the guy with the glasses on in that row of pictures of people that were interviewed by that no face reporter

Chestnuts roasted by FC4 @ 01/22/2004 04:27 PM EST

AS I recall, the first special was with the Brady Kids in 1972. It was created because there was too much material for the prime time special.

The McNuggets (according to memory) were introduced the year before the ad, though again I'm going by memory.

To the best of my knowledge, there were no other retrospective specials made. (Definately none made during the 90's.)

ABC, the most consistant producer of the special, stopped producing them about the third or forth year of 1 Saturday Morning (which has now quietly become ABC Kids) because they only had one new show. However, FOX had one for this season, so they haven't completely disappeared.

For those interested, I have details of other Saturday Morning Preview Specials at
http://www.geocities.com/pat_mc_7/satmornprev.html

Chestnuts roasted by Patrick @ 06/15/2004 08:50 AM EST

david the gnome was boring?! i dunno, i kinda liked it. mya the bee, now there's a boring show.

Chestnuts roasted by Big Jerm @ 07/08/2004 10:02 AM EST

i remember sparticus and the sun beneath the sea .. i must find it some how

Chestnuts roasted by redmoogle@gmail.com @ 10/10/2004 01:13 AM EST

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Chestnuts roasted by boat loans @ 11/03/2004 03:18 PM EST