afternoon cartoons now extinct

[Xylob the Destroyer]

I grew up as a kid in the 1960's. As I recall, Saturday morning was nothing but wall-to-wall cartoons. Is this no longer the case?

Tim

absolutely not!
I grew up in the late 70's/early 80's, and Saturday mornings were indeed wall to wall cartoons: ABC, NBC, & CBS had cartoons on from 0600 to 1200 every Saturday morning and it rocked.
none of the "big three" have Saturday morning cartoons today and haven't for about 7 or 8 years, now it's news or sports all morning
if you wanna watch toons on Saturday morning, you'll have to make due with Fox or WB, unless you got cable/sat, then you can add CartoonNetwork and ToonDisney (Boomerang if it's available where you live...).

the state of cartoons is quite sad these days.... they used to be (as somebody has already mentioned in this thread) all about pure & simple silliness and entertainment. Now their nothing buy animated commercials -- think about it, how many cartoons can you name that are being produced today that DON'T have a toy line?
throw in computers/internet/game consoles and that does it, modern day animercials simply can't compete with video games and the internet

although I never used to believe it could happen, Rock & Roll really has died. think about it for a minute, it looks like television (as we know it) will be dead soon (relatively speaking) as well.

[lordsmurf]

I don't where people get the idea that cartoons today are "commercials", as it could not be farther from the truth. Turn on KidsWB! and then go to the store. You may see toys for 2-3 of the shows at most (on that channel). A few more have some card games, maybe. The days of "toy commercials" was isolated to the 80s. By the time the 90s hit, it was about 50-50, with many shows never getting the toys kids wanted.

What we get these days is a mix of badly-translated/edited anime, kiddie banter, and a few decent things (superheroes and those fun toons like T&J/Scooby) that are slowly dying off.

I guess you've not turned FOX on in a couple years either (it sad how things have changed so fast). In many markets, the FOX affiliates were NOT carrying the Fox Kids block (later called Fox Box), instead giving the option to local independents (which may or may not have picked it up). Fox sold their cartoons to WB last year, the new "4KIDStv" block. The overseas Fox properties have slowly been swallowed by ABC/Disney, the Jetix blocks. Fox is all about propaganda ("news"), talk/court, and reality tv these days.

I was at the store earlier, probably two-thirds or more of all the toys there were for movie, video game and comic book characters. Few are of cartoons.

[mazinz]

i know what you mean, I wish back then when i was younger and still recording stuff on my Beta (had a beta since 79 or a little earlier, i was only 6 yrs in 79, but i was using the vcr by 1980), that i recorded more of these toons when they used to still show them on tv. But as most, I took it for granted that it would always be on the air. At least this stuff is out there in the "collector/trading" circuits in some form or another, and thats still better than nothing at all.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

I miss the looney toones, Justice League, an old superman cartoon with superboy and krypto, an old batman cartoon with (in spanish Batiduende), some sort of green bat-elf that dissapeared at will.
Thundercats, He-Man and the masters of the Universe, Voltron, and many more.
Too bad that networks doesn't seem to care anymore for what their viewers actually want to see.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

DUDE!!!
I totally forgot about Bat-Mite!!!

anyway, isn't it a shame that kids will have to go outside and play in the sunshine and fresh air now?
I treasure my pale skin and fear of the sun....

[Timoleon]

I think "the beginning of the end" started when the "politically correct" bullshit notion of cartoons inciting violent behavior in children took hold. No longer was it "proper" or "healthy" to watch Popeye and Bluto beating the crap out of each other, or Elmer Fudd pointing a shotgun down a rabbit hole and trying to blow Bugs Bunny to bits.

The watered-down replacements for such time-honored behavior in cartoons was worse than bad. Hell, even the number of ACME bombs that Wile E. Coyote set for the Road Runner declined over time!

I spent the first fifteen years of my life watching Heckle and Jeckle slap each other silly, and I haven't ax-murdered anybody...YET

What we are seeing now is the continuing slide into oblivion for cartoons in an anti-children society. I think now that the politically correct stuff I spoke of was just a ruse used to put the thumb on kids in an increasingly unfriendly culture

[Xylob the Destroyer]

actually, you can blame it all on TV in the first place.
the real problem is that nobody knows how to do actual REAL parenting anymore.
why? TV has ruined our society.
it really started to get bad in the late 50's when TV's were starting to make a serious market penetration.
once it got to the point where literally everybody had one, that's when the problem hit 'critical mass' -- everybody watched TV & turned into mindless zombies. instead of spending time with their kids, they just plunked the little fuckers down in front of the TV and let it baby-sit them.
with each generation, Americans lost more & more of their ability to parent
the recent (late 80's is when it really started) advent of the "politically correct bullshit" you speak of (I agree whole-heartedly) just made it worse

now people are actually afraid to do any real parenting....
it's disgusting.
half the morons out there think that if you spank your kid you are "Beating them". this is sooooooo WRONG! there is absolutely nothing wrong with physically disciplining your child. Beating your children is wrong, spanking your children is NOT wrong. If you can't see/tell the difference, you are a complete moron and should have never reproduced in the first place....
the other half of the morons out there don't realize that beating the shit out of your kids is BAD. they're even worse than the other morons.....

to further show that nobody knows how to parent, when kids act out and behave badly, "parents" always blame violent TV/movies/rap music/video games instead of taking the time to be real parents
I live in Denver. I lived here during the Columbine shootings. It was a horrible, horrible thing that should have never happened. Who took the blame? DOOM. "them kids shot that place up & killed all them ppl because they played DOOM and listened to KMFDM!"
BULLSHIT.
those kids did that because their parents threw money at them instead of spending time with them. they were literally dying for some attention. No 16 year old should have a BMW, PERIOD.
they were "too busy" to be parents -- whatever.

it's a vicious cycle

we've become a litigious society of cry-babies that have absolutely no understanding of the concept behind personal responsibility.

end of rant.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

now people are actually afraid to do any real parenting....
it's disgusting.
half the morons out there think that if you spank your kid you are "Beating them". this is sooooooo WRONG! there is absolutely nothing wrong with physically disciplining your child. Beating your children is wrong, spanking your children is NOT wrong. If you can't see/tell the difference, you are a complete moron and should have never reproduced in the first place....

Couldn't agree more with you. There are times when a child behaves so badly that words just won't do it. If he/she throws himself to the floor and start to scream you just can't stay there saying"sweetie, whoy don't you just start beeing a good boy and get up?"... that's when a good spank come in handy. That, and "the look", and magically he starts to listen again.

As Xylob said, there is a HUGE difference between phisically discipline your child and beat him. If you can't realize the difference by yourself, maybe you are not ready to be a parent yet. Good parenting doesn't mean giving everything your child wants, or let him do everything he wants to do. Good parenting is about to know when to say "NO".
God knows how much I wanted this or that when I was a teenager, and my parents sometimes said no... now I understand why, but in the meantime I never hated them or have some irreversible psicological damage for not having my own car when I was 16.

To return to the thread, I watched Elmer chase Bugs for many years. I don't like hunting at all, and I love to see those cartoons... i don't think they invite me or persuade me to shoot somebody, or to kill animals.
I looooooooved to play doom when it was "the game", yet, I've never shot somebody because of it.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

yup yup yup
smacking somebody in the face/mouth has a HUGE psychological impact, even if the actual physical impact is negligible -- you don't have to smack somebody hard to get their attention or to make a point (sometimes it really is all about dominance/establishing caste/rank/whatever you wanna call it).

it's not as if you've dropped an anvil out a 2nd story window onto their head and then switched their cigar for a stick of dynamite!

god, I love Bugs Bunny......

[bazooka]

What began in the early 1980s has now died after about 25 years of existance. What once used to be a trend for all USA tv networks to carry cartoons (kids entertainment) has slowly dwindled down to 1-2 major networks and a few independents in varying markets.

Someone needs to watch the cartoon network......
:P

[lordsmurf]

We're talking major networks here, ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS .. even WB, UPN and some of the lesser common ones.

Not cable or satellite stations.

Anybody that is without cable and satellite is essentially completely without animated entertainment, except for a few hours isolated to weekends on a couple channels.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

ja!
cable still hasn't penetrated every part of the country
and satelite can be prohibitively expensive for some
then again, if you're in either of those situations, you probably can't pick up much on antenna either...

[SatStorm]

Just to inform you about what happens outside USA for the same cartoons

It is VERY rare to watch Disney's classic cartoons on terrestrial free stations, since ealry 90s. Few years later the WB cartoons also became rare, but syndicated shows like the Road Runner show and the Bugs Bunny still airs on crazy time slots!
The MGM, DePathie/Freling and Walter Lantz cartoons are ultra rare. I have to see a Tex Avery cartoon on European channels for 15 or more years! Don't mention Woody Woodpecker... Those are the most rare cartoons today... The only channel that airs classic Lantz cartoons is the national Italian TV (RAI) from what I know.
The only alternative to watch classic American Animation, is Boomerang. Most european variations of Cartoon Network air only CN stuff. Also, if you are lucky, there is also Toon Disney.
Fleischer's Popeye airs on Boomerang France, the last source for Popeye in Europe!
Hanna Barbera cartoons air on Boomerang. They have decades to air classic H/B cartoons on terrestrial channels now that I'm thinking of..

So, the situation is not bad only on USA. It is a global phenomenon. And it is not the only gentre that has a crisis... The situation is bad also for SciFI shows, a gentre very popular among young people.

Thank God there is DVD! The last 2 years I manage to gather -pay twice and trimple prices of what you pay there in USA- many Cartoons and SciFi stuff I interest, to a point that I only use my satellite dish to collect music videos (a great hobby I have since I remember myself). Oh, and porn...

[Xylob the Destroyer]

even the Disney Channel & ToonDisney don't show the classic Disney toons anymore. you want those, buy 'em on DVD (if you can find 'em that is...)!
nobody shows the classic WB toons anymore - Bugs, Porky, Daffy etc from the 40's & 50's. hell, even the Animaniacs are impossible to find now
CN shows Tom & Jerry occasionally, but it's the crappy 70's & 80's toons, not the good ones.
the last time I saw Pink Panther/Ant & Aardvark/or that Inspector guy (Si, er, I mean oui!) was when I was in Jr. High (about 1986/87)....
Woody toons disappeared years before that
and I haven't seen Hekyl & Jekyl since about the 5th grade!!!

this thread is depressing as hell

[lordsmurf]

Woody Woodpecker is on satellite in UK
Animaniacs is on Nick Toons (sat) in USA

So out of that list of many many show, only two can be found.
And ONLY if you have the more advanced $$ sat/digital cable packages.

[SatStorm]

Woody's classic Toons can't be found on UK. Only the new woodpecker show, on Jetix (Fox KIDs new name).

[pchan]

I really miss the following cartoon shows.

1. Amigos and Friends
2. Tijuana toads

[Xylob the Destroyer]

hehe, how about this one --> http://www.tvtome.com/PolePosition/

[JohnnyCNote]

If any of you used to watch WB's Superman/Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond, the head writer, Hilary Bader, was married to my cousin. One day I got an e-mail from him saying she'd died rather suddenly from cancer (breast, as I found out later).

Two-time Emmy-winning writer Hilary Bader, known for her "Superman/Batman Adventures" and sci-fi scripts as well as numerous books, died Nov. 7 at City of Hope near L.A. of breast cancer. She was 50. She won Emmys for the WB's "Superman/Batman" series plus "Batman Beyond." She earned another four Emmy noms and contributed episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Star Trek: Voyager," "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Lois and Clark," as well as "Silk Stalkings" and "Jackie Chan Adventures."

[hudsonf]

As far as I'm concerned television is rapidly going to hell. There are only a few of the new shows I like. I don't like reality shows (I think most are fake) or talk shows. When I do watch network tv I usually watch stations that show old shows or movies. I also watch some of the shows on the History Channel. I still like TV Land but even they are going down hill. If nothing else at least a lot of the old shows are coming out on dvd.
edit:
Almost forgot to mention that I just bought the Mr. Peabody & Sherman dvd and the Dudley Do-Right dvd from Walmart. Sure brings back alot of memories.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

As far as I'm concerned television is rapidly going to hell. There are only a few of the new shows I like. I don't like reality shows (I think most are fake) or talk shows. When I do watch network tv I usually watch stations that show old shows or movies. I also watch some of the shows on the History Channel. I still like TV Land but even they are going down hill. If nothing else at least a lot of the old shows are coming out on dvd.
edit:
Almost forgot to mention that I just bought the Mr. Peabody & Sherman dvd and the Dudley Do-Right dvd from Walmart. Sure brings back alot of memories.

This is probably the post that stuck out the most to me.

There really isnt that much on tv worth watching anymore. The only show I watch regularly is the original CSI. I would like to watch 24, but its too hard to watch week to week. I prefer to buy it on dvd and watch them as I can. But other than that, there really isnt anything anymore. Everything is reality and talk shows. Blah.

As for cartoons, in my personal opinion, they peaked in the 80's. T&J, Mask, GI Joe, Bugs Bunny, and my personal favorite Transformers, were really what cartoons were all about. Again, just my opinion!!

LG

[dphirschler]

A few comments:

1) Spongebob is brilliant. It's one of the freshest cartoons on TV today. Although, it is no longer as good as it was the first season. Few cartoons can make me laugh out loud.

2) That WB makeover is CRAP! How dare they do that to the Looney Tunes characters! Holy shit! I sincerely hope that was an old April Fool's joke. Man, that was bad! At least when they made over Batman (Batman Beyond) they honored the original Batman (and even kept Bruce Wayne as a character).


Darryl

[SatStorm]

Almost Off topic, but I'm so happy I have to say it!

I just received the last pack of Yamato! DVDs. The one with the movies. I was 8 when I watch this. I'm now 31 and I'm the same excited!

Yamato (aka Starblazers in USA),use to be a mistery of my pre-teen youth! Aired only once in Greece, back in 1980, it was stuck in my mind all those years! A year ago I saw a sign here in videohelp.com with spaceship argo, I asked regarding it and a year later I finally saw again a cartoon I never dreamed I would ever see....

Internet is amazing... So DVD!!!

[SoCalMK]

Cartoons are being run off the networks because the kids just don't want to watch them anymore. I'm sure they'll replace them with a slew of shows that will show every teenage girl in America how to dress and act like whores. Whatever drives them to spend their parents' hard earned money towards the degeneration of their kids and the American culture at large.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]