Saturday Morning Cartoons? Where did they go?

Good Morning! Another Saturday morning is here, although a little overcast with scattered showers in this area. I was thinking back to when I was a kid growing up in the 80's and how Saturday mornings were eagerly awaited for, not only because it was the end of the week, and two days off from school, it also meant getting up early, grabbing a bowl of cereal and settling in front of the TV for a morning of animation domination!

Yes I am talking about all the great lineup of now classic cartoons such as Looney Tunes with Bugs Bunny and the gang, Scooby Doo, as well as the toy based adventures of The Super Friends, Transformers, GI-Joe, Starhawks, and the Masters Of The Universe. Most were simply a marketing tool used by toy manufacturers like Hasbro, and Mattel as 30 min commercials for their toy lines.

As the 80's progressed the lineups changed and old favorites made way for ones such as Spiderman and his Amazing Friends, Lazer-Tag Academy, and not to forget the female audience there was JEM, She-Ra, Barbie and friends and others. As the 90s approached, companies started to get away from the trend as well as local television stations who were being chastized for not providing enough educational material.

There were such teen shows as Saved By the Bell, which gave young child stars, who today are now big names in the industry their start. California Dreams which while short lived, provided a musical show that inspired teens while giving them a taste of growing up on the East Coast surfer scene.

Nowadays there are very few programs like in the good old days. Networks like Cartoon Network which shows 24 hr animation programming have brought out many new shows based on the popular comic book heroes from Marvel such as Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Wolverine and the X-men. as well as new anime versions of the X-men and Wolverine, as well as revamping of some old favorites like Thundercats.

Remembering those days always brings a smile to your face, especially in today's  hectic world. It was a part of our childhood and will always have a special  place in my memories of growing up. There were many more cartoons that didn't get mentioned here due to space but please leave your comments if you remember any others that were a part of your childhood. Send your submissions and in a later post we'll hold a poll to see what were the most popular of all time.  Now as I sit here I sip my coffee I am trying to find something good to watch. . .Good luck.