We learned early to appreciate the weekends when we were kids. Even before we were old enough to be subjected to the drudgery of going to school five days a week, we lived for Saturday morning cartoons.
I think it's probably safe to say that every US household with kids and a television set was tuned into cartoons every Saturday morning. You would wake up, turn the set on, and go make yourself a bowl of cereal. Then, for the next four hours, you were planted in front of that screen, accompanied by the likes of Bugs Bunny, Heckle and Jeckle, Superman, Mighty Mouse, Astro Boy, Tennessee Tuxedo, Underdog, and many, many more.
And advertisers knew that the way to reach our demographic was to place their commercials on that Saturday morning slot. Thus, we were all subjected to the same commercials over and over that are permanently stuck in our minds even now.
Every kid had a routine of what shows to watch. VCR's and DVR's were many years in the future. You had to have your favorite show on in front of you at the time of broadcast to see it. That meant channel flipping as each episode ended and you favorite started on another network.
I learned early to appreciate the shows from the 50's. I noticed that toons like Heckle and Jeckle, Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and other oldies were much better drawn than the Hanna-Barbera and Filmation offerings.
However, that didn't keep me from watching Huckleberry Hound, Secret Squirrel, King Leonardo, and other more recent offerings of the era.
Oh, how politically incorrect those shows were. The villages required to raise kids today would never stand for the violent shenanigans that went on as Wile E. Coyote would attempt to dispatch the innocent Road Runner, or Mighty Mouse would swoop in and punch some bad guy into next week, or Elmer Fudd's relentless pursuit of Bugs Bunny with (horror of horrors) a GUN!
One of the earliest attempts to keep Bugs from blowing up Elmer with bombs was made by Peggy Charren, who founded Action for Children's Television in 1968. Though strongly against censorship, she was quoted as saying "Violent television teaches children that violence is the solution to problems, that violent behavior can be fun and funny, that criminals and police make up a larger percentage of the population than they really do, and that violent behavior is practiced by heroes as well as by villains."
Whatever. My friends and I were subjected to a steady stream of make-believe conflicts, and I don't know of a single one of us who went to prison because of emulating Quick-Draw McGraw.
Today, of course, Saturday morning cartoons are a thing of the past. What's the point, when cable channels broadcast cartoons 24/7? Why would a kid get up early to watch something that he can see any time?
But we who were around in the 50's and 60's can remember when the high point of the week began at about 7:00 Saturday morning.
Saturday Morning cartoons generated a lot of money for television companies!
Do you want cash and more finances?
Looking to finish up some shopping but don't have the funds?
Need a cash advance? Nationwide Cash
has many payday loan programs that
can help you get the cash you need today. So when it comes to finding reliable cash
advances, visit Nationwide Cash.
Comments (9)
Underdog was still cool even as I reached high school age. Does anyone remember the characters name that would say,"Exit,Stage Right?"
Posted by Steve | December 4, 2007 7:18 PM
Posted on December 4, 2007 19:18
Steve, I remember a feline type character named Snagglepuss saying, "Exit stage right" and "Exit stage left." And he also had that other line, "Heavens to mergatroid." Not usre if he was in his own cartoon or with other characters. Been too long since I've seen them.
Posted by David S Paleg | December 5, 2007 7:07 PM
Posted on December 5, 2007 19:07
Okay, I don't remember "Exit stage right", but I sure as heck remember "Heavens to Mergatroid"!
The name Snagglepuss sounds familiar, but I don't specifically remember the character. But I remember the line!
Posted by Ron Enderland | December 5, 2007 8:47 PM
Posted on December 5, 2007 20:47
This should explain who says it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TUYaomyujj8&feature=related
Posted by george | December 27, 2007 5:15 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 17:15
A lot of Hanna-Barbera's cartoon characters were based on real-life comedians of the time.
Snagglepuss = Bert Lahr
Wally Gator = Ed Wynn
Fred Flintstone = Jackie Gleason
Yogi Bear = Art Carney
Top Cat = Phil Silvers
Doggy Daddy = Jimmy Durante
Today's Saturday morning cartoons are a mostly a vapid, boring, PC wasteland. I feel bad for today's kids.
Posted by Mike | December 31, 2007 12:11 AM
Posted on December 31, 2007 00:11
Comment posted by Mike yeah today's kids programming really is boring. When I was a kid in the 60's you looked forward to waking up six in the morning. Watching space ghost, jetsons, HR Puffn stuff etc... It really seemed more enjoyable in those days. And you looked forward to the fall shows because you knew they were going to have a new batch of neat stuff to watch.
Posted by Michael | January 30, 2008 6:01 PM
Posted on January 30, 2008 18:01
7:00am?!? I was up at 5:30am watching the test pattern, sound down (so the 1K tone would not bother my parents), bowl of cereal in hand, waiting for "The Adventures of Superman" to start at 6:00am! To this day Mom doesn't understand how I could do that on Saturday but she would have to drag me out of bed during the week! (School/Cartoons... Mom, there's a big difference)
And it *was* Snagglepus who said: "Exit, stage right" (or left as the case might be). That's when I learned what "Stage Left" and "Stage Right" meant.
Posted by Howie | May 16, 2008 4:21 PM
Posted on May 16, 2008 16:21
7am was about right, sometimes 6:30, early AM I remember "Our Gang" (not a cartoon) & Jonny Quest was on. Then your right, it was a zig-zag from network to network to catch our favorites. The cereal/toy ads were about as good as the toons. If we couldn't con mom into making donuts, me & my sister would be eating a bowl of quisp or other equally sugary cearal. We were glued to our seats for the first Scooby episode in 1969.
Posted by RIKI | May 20, 2008 1:11 PM
Posted on May 20, 2008 13:11
i loved the morning cartoons. my favorite 2 cartoons were
shazan
deputy dawg.
but i also loved the harvey cartoons,bob clampett,(beanie and cecil) hana barbera, terry toons, max fleisher,ummm.
Posted by vera | January 30, 2010 5:02 PM
Posted on January 30, 2010 17:02