Trixie…I’m SURE it had something to do with Trixie as to why we watched…
Oh, I used to love SHAZAM! and The Mighty Isis. My big gripe with them and with pretty much all the Saturday morning shows is that they only made like 4 episodes and showed them over…and over…and over…and over…did they think kids were so thick that we’d forget that we just saw that episode where Isis’ boy toy got his foot caught in the bear trap, or where the kid found the old gun that Captain Marvel had to keep from exploding and taking the kid’s hand off?
Another live-action show that seemingly everyone else on the planet has forgotten is “The Ghostbusters.” A detective agency with Spencer, Tracy and Kong (two guys and a gorilla, but Kong wasn’t the gorilla) who, every week, would meet up with and vanquish a spectral interloper. I remember when I first heard about the Ghostbusters movie I was surprised that they would make a movie about those guys. And then there was “Big John/Little John,” about a high school teacher who sipped from the Fountain of Youth and so would randomly revert to being about ten (“Big John keeps a-changin’, before your very eyes…”) while hilarity ensued.
On the animated side there was something called I think The Super 7, which was rotating mini-eps of several superhero types, anchored by a crappy Batman with Bat-Mite. I vaguely remember an African-American superhero couple (he could stretch and change shape; she shrank) as one of the mini-eps, and I think there was an animated version of Isis (hooked up with maybe Hercules and/or Captain Marvel and some other recycled characters). Then there was a show with a completely different Hercules (blonde white guy), Mercury (Asian) and I think Athena (Black woman) and I think they were on another planet. Anyone remember that one?
Of course I remember the Superfriends… Solomon Grundy was and still remains a total bad-ass.
It sounds like y’all need to describe to Boomerang, from the Cartoon Network. They do blocks of programming based on the year it originally aired, which I think is a brilliant idea. A lot of the programming will trigger the “Oh my God! I remember that!” reflex, like “The Herculoids” and “Godzilla” (the animated series, with Godzuki).
All this cartoon nostalgia is all well and good, of course, but there’s a darker undercurrent to it all: I realized recently that the only knowledge I’ve retained from elementary school was from the Schoolhouse Rock segments with the catchiest songs, not from any classes I actually took:
I remember the preamble to the Constitution (with the music, of course), but not the Declaration of Independence. Only because the Constitution had a better song. Same with the times tables: 2 (“Elementary, my dear”), 3 (“is a magic number”), 5 and 9 I can always remember, but the others I occasionally trip up on. And I’ve never been able to consistently remember the 8 multiplication table, but could never figure out why – until a friend gave me the “Multiplication Rock” video they released a while back, and I remembered that the “Figure 8” song always depressed the hell out of me.
Ranchoth, I remember “Bump in the Night”. It was claymation, about a green monster who lived under a boy’s bed. His best friend was a blue lump of goo, that lived in the bathroom…a precursor to Mr. Hanky, if you will.
I fondly remember “Transformers”, but mainly in those crappy “Generation 2” re-runs. Stupid Cybertronic Space Cube.
“The Tick” and “Spider-man” were great, too.
Otto, I don’t remember the live-action “Ghostbusters”, but I do remember an animated version with the same premise. IIRC, that was why the cartoon based on the Bill Murray film had to call itself “The REAL Ghostbusters”. The cartoon with the gorilla sucked.
The TICK! I can’t believe I forgot The Tick, one of my all-time favorites. I was in the Air Force when I first saw this, and on Saturday mornings, my alarm would go off, and hung-over or not, I would drag my ass out of bed, watch The Tick, and then climb into bed again. If I was going to be out of town, I used to tape it. I wish I still had those tapes. 
I don’t remember a live-action version either, but according to this site, the cartoon was based on a live-action Saturday morning show from 1975 to cash in on Ghostbuster craze from the film.
Has anybody noticed that you can guess the age (within a few years) of anybody answering this question?
OK, here’s where I show mine.
Funky Phantom
Josie and the Pussycats (also: In Outer Space!!)
Groovie Goolies
Fat Albert (my dad grew up in South Philly and went to college with Bill Cosby, so that one was a must-see)
Banana Splits (Rozann Kobar! Size…of an elephant!!)
and, of course, every! single! show! just had to have the characters singing in a rock band in the last few minutes. Nothin’ like saving a few bucks on the animation by using stock footage for 5 minutes of every show…
I did like Scooby-Doo at the time, but I’m so sick of it by now I could just puke.
And, of course, we all loved the Schoolhouse Rock series in between the other shows on (I think) ABC. In my high school history class, when we had to write the preamble to the Constitution, you could hear everybody humming!
-Theobroma The Old
La-la-la la-la-la-la la-la-la la-la-la-laaaaaaaa
Now I’ll be in my happy place for days
The Archies
Jonny Quest
Kukla, Fran and Ollie
We so looked for the commercial breaks in hopes that a “Schoolhouse Rock” segment would come on.
Of course, we only watched “H.R. Pufinstuf” so that we could ogle Jack Wild.
“H.R. Pufinstuf, who’s your friend when things get rough?”
Originally posted by Theobroma: "Has anybody noticed that you can guess the age (within a few years) of anybody answering this question? "
Yes, well. What about “The Lone Ranger”, “Red Ryder”, and “Big John and Sparky” on the RADIO ? I’m familiar with most of the shows you guys are mentionong because my kids watched them! :o
Speaking of The Archies, anybody remember “U.S. of Archie” where they reinacted moments in history?
Sheri
I do. It wasn’t very good, but I’d love to see it again, if you know what I mean.
Also, anyone remember a completely psychotic cartoon called “Ed Grimley” based on Martin Short’s character? It was stunningly bizarre, I must say! And it was a musical. The one number I remember was Ed Grimley’s landlady Mrs Freebus had gotten her feelings hurt and was going to take a boat…somewhere and the whole cast burst into a song: “Please don’t leave us/Missus Freebus”
It came out around the same time as the Bakshi(sp) Mighty Mouse that pissed off Don (psycho) Wildmon. Mid '80s as a guess
Fenris
Hey !
How 'bout " The Hudson Brothers"?
Milo and the Magic Machine; about this supercomputer in the basement.
There was this one show…don’t remember the name…had a bunch of guys travelling in a motor home (NOT SHAZAM!).
They had this pet shark puppet in the aquarium, and between
adventures they sang pop songs…came out in mid-late70s.
And who could forget “Kung-Fu Theater”?
Iron skin technique! The Flying Guillotine! Fists of Fury!
just testing!
I’ve posted this one before, but I guess I’m the only one who remembers Terrahawks.
Does anyone remember when Punky Brewster had her own cartoon? Remember Glomer? I hated him SOOOOO much!