# Remember Saturday morning cartoons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024 "2005-02-20T15:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/61 "2005-02-21T06:10:43Z")
Most of my cartoon memories were after-school stuff (_Transformers, G.I. Joe, MASK,_ etc.), but two most-definitely-get-up-early-Saturday cartoons remain fixed in my mind: [**Dungeons & Dragons.**](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/2599/nikicavern.html) I was never much of an RPG gamer, but I was flirting with it enough to twig into this series. Great animation, some fairly deep characters, and really good (relatively speaking) writing, though in retrospect it’s a tad annoying that every episode was a variation of the same basic plotline – “Dungeon Master sends the kids on a quest to find something that might take them home, but they have to give it up in the third act to save a bunch of innocent NPCs.” [**Mighty Orbots.**](http://well-of-souls.com/orbots/) Yeah, everyone remembers _Transformers_ and the _Go-Bots,_ but the Orbots were also around at the same time, and ABC made it _damn_ worth getting up early on Saturday to catch this show. Fun stories, eye-popping animation (TMS roolz!), and spiffy action scenes made this a must-see. Though Gary Owens’ announcer voiceovers can be rather cringe-worthy in retrospect. I remain rather upset that there was never any sort of _Orbots_ toy tie-ins – capitalism, why has thou failed me? ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/62 "2005-02-21T07:44:19Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Great animation, some fairly deep characters, and really good (relatively speaking) writing, though in retrospect it’s a tad annoying that every episode was a variation of the same basic plotline – “Dungeon Master sends the kids on a quest to find something that might take them home, but they have to give it up in the third act to save a bunch of innocent NPCs.” I agree – the writing on that one was pretty good, even if many of the plots were a bit formulaic. Some of the stories varied a little, and I like that they did focus on different ones of the main 6 characters from time to time. Had some good background theme music during the action sequences, too. (Not that I caught all this when I was a kid. But I found episodes and re-watched them more recently – a little nostalgia). Don’t know how many people remember, but one of the characters was voiced by [Donny Most](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0609182/). (Who? Ralph Malph, of course!) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/63 "2005-02-21T08:34:37Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Nobody mentioned H.R. Puffinstuff? I did. For everyone jonzin’ for old cartoons, try… [Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002OYG/104-3427174-4152756?v=glance) Nineteen of your favourite cartoon theme songs, by Material Issue, Sponge, Mathew Sweet, Tanya Donelly, Mary Lou Lord, Collective Soul, Butthole Surfers, Helmet, The Ramones, The Reverend Horton Heat, Frente!, Violent Femmes, Dig, Face to Face, Tripping Daisy, Toadies, Sublime, The Murmers, and Wax. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/64 "2005-02-21T08:39:36Z")
Ulysses 2010, if I remember correctly… There was a Marvel action hour, other very cool stuff. There was a show with insectoid kind of people who rode these big vehicles, and of course Visionaries, a show made to sell holograms. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/65 "2005-02-21T12:31:24Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > [**Mighty Orbots.**](http://well-of-souls.com/orbots/) Yeah, everyone remembers _Transformers_ and the _Go-Bots,_ but the Orbots were also around at the same time, and ABC made it _damn_ worth getting up early on Saturday to catch this show. Fun stories, eye-popping animation (TMS roolz!), and spiffy action scenes made this a must-see. Though Gary Owens’ announcer voiceovers can be rather cringe-worthy in retrospect. I remain rather upset that there was never any sort of _Orbots_ toy tie-ins – capitalism, why has thou failed me? _Orbots_ had Wendy Pini art in it. You need to buy her _Elfquest_ series. Trust me on this. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/66 "2005-02-21T12:42:44Z")
Hope nobody posted this yet. Every September the big three networks would have a preview show, typically on a Sunday night, that would tease the upcoming Saturday moring lineup. That was a HUGE schoolyard topic, and if you missed it, you might as well stay home on Monday. Comic books from the early eighties (in the fall months) had two page ads showing the networks Saturday morning schedule to further spread the hype. Nostalgia is great, but the fact is most of the cartoons of my youth were crap. I think it was Evan Dorkin who said Saturday morning cartoons are proof that adults hate kids. Quality shows, like Eek the Cat, The Tick, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Batman restored my faith in the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/67 "2005-02-21T13:22:35Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > …Jackie Chan Adventures. Personally, I think this show should have ended after the first season. I never liked it much. As for shows from my childhood–well, I watched Saturday morning cartoons until I was 17, and still do watch some when I have the chance (I can’t stand the writing on WINX, but I can’t resist magical girl stuff either). Combine that with a few years when we had Cartoon Network, which showed a lot of older shows, and my childhood spans TV from the 1970s until today. I remember many of the shows mentioned in this thread, even though a lot were before my time. Anyone remember _Reboot_? It’s one of those shows I think they didn’t make enough episodes of. I heard rumors they were going to make another season after the recent movies, but nothing has materialized yet. Even though I couldn’t appreciate a lot of the computer references when I was younger, I loved it then and still do now. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/68 "2005-02-21T14:24:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Pirates Of Darkwater > > A veiled environmental cartoon. There were a lot of big names and money behind this one. The animation had something like twice as many frames per second as other cartoons. It apparently bombed. I remember this, from about 92/93? It was really good as well. Between that and Reboot, Tuesdays were ace in the afternoons when I was about 15. Heh. > [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I did. > For everyone jonzin’ for old cartoons, try… > > [Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002OYG/104-3427174-4152756?v=glance) > > Nineteen of your favourite cartoon theme songs, by Material Issue, Sponge, Mathew Sweet, Tanya Donelly, Mary Lou Lord, Collective Soul, Butthole Surfers, Helmet, The Ramones, The Reverend Horton Heat, Frente!, Violent Femmes, Dig, Face to Face, Tripping Daisy, Toadies, Sublime, The Murmers, and Wax. I have this. Worth getting just for the Ramones doing the old school Spiderman theme. I need to return it to **Sir Doris** at some point too. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/69 "2005-02-21T14:56:35Z")
**Sleeepy2** , I remember those specials! I also remember them being really cheesy and asking myself, “why am I watching this?” but I did anyway. I was all about the Saturday morning cartoons, but I can hardly remember which ones I watched anymore. I know I always watched “Transformers” and “G.I.Joe”, but I don’t think they were Saturday morning. I know I liked “Ghostbusters” and “Garfield and Friends”, but does anybody remember “[Turbo Teen](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0211171/)”? ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/70 "2005-02-21T15:09:55Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > [**Mighty Orbots.**](http://well-of-souls.com/orbots/) Dang, I’ve been trying to remember the name of that show for years. Thanks for the link! As for **Dungeons and Dragons** …I’ll just say that I hate the UK for having DVD sets of this series. I’d buy those in a heartbeat. It was a great show. If anybody’s curious, the writer of the show did do a final script that wrapped everything up. [Never aired, alas.](http://www.mindspring.com/~michaelreaves/D&Dpreface.html) Damn shame, too. It would’ve been a killer episode. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/71 "2005-02-21T17:06:27Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > Hope nobody posted this yet. > > Every September the big three networks would have a preview show, typically on a Sunday night, that would tease the upcoming Saturday moring lineup. That was a HUGE schoolyard topic, and if you missed it, you might as well stay home on Monday. > Comic books from the early eighties (in the fall months) had two page ads showing the networks Saturday morning schedule to further spread the hype. > > Nostalgia is great, but the fact is most of the cartoons of my youth were crap. I think it was Evan Dorkin who said Saturday morning cartoons are proof that adults hate kids. > > Quality shows, like Eek the Cat, The Tick, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Batman restored my faith in the genre. Oh yeah-I remember-although I think some of them were on Fridays, and what they’d do is have some of their hit shows “host” the new cartoon clips. One I remember was Larry and Balkie from _Perfect Strangers_, and instead of a new episode of that show, they’d have the two of them sitting on the couch watching the new cartoons, and being all excited about it. And yeah, looking back, a lot of the cartoons sucked ass, but admit it-you still watched them. Hell, I’d watch “The Snorks” if they were on-I liked the Snorks. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/72 "2005-02-21T17:21:10Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > As for **Dungeons and Dragons** …I’ll just say that I hate the UK for having DVD sets of this series. I’d buy those in a heartbeat. It was a great show. > > If anybody’s curious, the writer of the show did do a final script that wrapped everything up. [Never aired, alas.](http://www.mindspring.com/~michaelreaves/D&Dpreface.html) Damn shame, too. It would’ve been a killer episode. Thanks for the link, **slortar**! I’m definitely going to give that script a read! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/73 "2005-02-21T17:38:39Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > After they went off, it was time to do house chores, go to Girl Scouts, or watch something like Soul Train. Sooooooul Train! One comedian I saw speaking to a group of mostly Gen X’ers (my generation- I was born in 1966) majorly hit a responsive chord when he said the words “Sooooooouuuuuuuul Train” still make him mad and depressed because as a kid it officially meant “cartoons are over”. My favorites that haven’t been mentioned here include TARZAN (though it had the most annoying background music ever recorded) if only for the talking apes, and FLASH GORDON (one of the few cartoons that would let a main character get killed and filmed in serial form just like the 1940s live actions). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/74 "2005-02-21T17:45:30Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > One comedian I saw speaking to a group of mostly Gen X’ers (my generation- I was born in 1966) majorly hit a responsive chord when he said the words “Sooooooouuuuuuuul Train” still make him mad and depressed because as a kid it officially meant “cartoons are over”. Oh, yeah. I can relate to that. ‘S[sup]ooooooo[/sup]uuuuuuul Train!’ [sub]Just wanted to see if it looked like it sounded.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/75 "2005-02-21T18:34:33Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Oh, yeah. I can relate to that. > > ‘S[sup]ooooooo[/sup]uuuuuuul Train!’ [sub]Just wanted to see if it looked like it sounded.[/sub] Yup. Me too. And I was born in '56. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/76 "2005-02-21T20:52:38Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > _Orbots_ had Wendy Pini art in it. Cool! Where? > [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > You need to buy her _Elfquest_ series. Trust me on this. No need to sell me on _ElfQuest,_ but I’m saving up for a complete collection of _Omaha The Cat Dancer_ (yes, because I’m a perv 🆒 ) ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/77 "2005-02-21T22:03:22Z")
One my earliest memories of any kind is a snibbet of _The Beatles_ saturday morning cartoon. And yet for 15 I heard nary a mention of it amid the standard innundation of Beatles memorabilia (“No, not ‘Yellow Submarine’! It was a _saturday morning catoon show!_”). I had begun to doubt it had existed when MTV showed some reruns in the late 80’s. Vindicated! Another barely-remembered show from that era was something called “Tom Foolery” or the like, featuring some rather bizarre animal characters. In one episode, Chicken Licken thinks the sky is falling when he gets hit on the head with a puzzle piece labeled “piece of sky”. Anyone else remeber that? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going down to the Little Store to buy some “Odd Rods”. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/78 "2005-02-21T22:27:49Z")
A few that nobody has mentioned were: Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog. Anyone remember Tennessee Tuxedo and Mr. Answer Man? How about Heckle & Jeckle, Woody Woodpecker, Underdog, and Betty Boop? Mr. McGoo, Cool McCool, and _vintage_ Popeye were some of my faves, but nothing really did it like Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Dooright, Fractured Fairy Tales, and Mr. Peabody. _Nothin’ up my sleeve. PRESTO!_ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/79 "2005-02-22T00:15:26Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Cool! Where? > No need to sell me on _ElfQuest,_ but I’m saving up for a complete collection of _Omaha The Cat Dancer_ (yes, because I’m a perv 🆒 ) The Girl bots, Bo & Boo ( I think?), were designed by Wendy. BTW–if you’r saving up for _Omaha_ TPBs, you’re making a mistake. The early issues are getting very hard to find. Buy them one at a time, & ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024/80 "2005-02-22T00:39:08Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > There was a show with insectoid kind of people who rode these big vehicles, and of course Visionaries, a show made to sell holograms. Sectaurs-Warriors Of Symbion? Prince Dargon and his heroic pals fight General Spidrax and his evil minions. I have some of the toys, and a few issues of the comic. I don’t know if they ever made a cartoon though. The other problem is that the characters rode insects. Visionaries- Hey, holograms are wonderful things. The Supernaturals was a toyline even more heavily based on holograms. But, afaik the Supernaturals never had a cartoon. Re Mighty Orbots How could whatserface not know scientist guy was Orbots comander? His Orbots commander uniform didn’t even cover his face. And how come Tor was human-sized as Tor, but when he folded in his arms and legs to form Orbots’ body he was was 20 feet tall? OTTOMH “Something is missing, some vital ingredient. I know! Mustard!” “And if we’re unlucky?” “It’s Leviathan.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-saturday-morning-cartoons/291024.md?page=5)