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Was the death of Saturday mornings inevitable?

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    Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 4:02am
I think that the death of Saturday morning kids content on the big networks was inevitable and most likely will never come back. This is actually happening today with newspapers around the country. As more readers shift reading online (I actually blame the consumers more than the web itself), newspapers will most likely inevitably close in numbers.

Even with those that are still thriving it's still not the same concept it once was, since your almost forced to do things online now. It's pretty depressing that once these things are gone they will never come back again.

Who understands my premise?
Does Saturday Morning kids TV have a new heyday in it's future?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Papa Lazarou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 4:26am
It's funny I was JUST thinking about this.


I think the issue is that the creators of these shows finally HAD IT with the big networks. They were censoring and shoeboxing this as KIDS shows in the purest sense, but more and more of these creators grew up in the heyday of the animation period, when they were as much family shows with plenty of adult jokes and subtleties for the parents to get a laugh out of, while still being innocent and wholesome enough for kids to enjoy unsupervised.

So why be restricted by the networks, when you have more freedoms on cable.

I mean, look at Adventure Time. That show is truly the epitome of "Kid-safe Family show" It pushes buttons, creates characters rather than caricatures, has a long and complex story line, actually grows up, and isn't afraid to make reference almost NO kid watching would get. Judging by the Saturday Morning commercials from five years ago, I truly cannot imagine a show of this caliber being made by a Network.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote regulus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 4:39am
It was a combination of Children's Programming on Pay-TV Channels such as Nickelodeon and Disney, among others and "Do Gooder" Groups such as Action For Children's Television that spelled the end of Saturday Morning TV. Fortunately most of the shows I grew up with are available on DVD in one form or another, so I can enjoy themk whenever I want to (On Saturday Evenings I break out a bunch of these old programs and spend the evening watching them, re-creating my childhood). Who knows? Saturday Morning Programming may make a comback. Many Parents are getting fed up with programming and/or advertising on today's Programming (Both Free and Pay-TV), and they are abandoning current programming by either downloading or "streaming" programming onto their computers and tablets via services like Netflix or Hulu, or yes, my personal favorite, DVDs. This past weekend while taking on supplies at my friendly local neighborhood Uncle Wally's I spotted a woman with an entire shopping basketful of DVDs (mostly children's shows and movies). She had "Raided" their bargain bin and bought $135.00 Dollars (One Month's Subscription to Pay-TV) to show her husband and kids how many DVDs they could get with the money they'd save by dropping Pay-TV. As I did 6 1/2 years ago she too was Angry PCensoredssed Off Angry at the Commercials that were shown, even during Kids Shows. Too bad she was married, if she were single I'd ask her out! LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote MrTim Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 5:54am

I did most of my Saturday morning TV watching in the early 70's  Tons of Looney Tunes, etc. interspersed with lots of ads for McDonald's, GI Joe, and just about every brand of cereal that existed at the time.  Then I went overseas for 4 years (very little US TV & Japanese TV had the prototypes of the  "Power Rangers" (no, didn't get hooked on it.  They remind me of bad kung fu movies nowadays, even though it had state-of-the-art TV SFX for back then.)  The only Japanese cartoon series I watched had a boy who found a magic lamp with two geniis.  I actually teared up a little when the series ended.  Couldn't understand Japanese, but could still follow the action.)  Getting back to the States, the Saturday morning fare was into the commercialized cartoons that pushed toys & crap.  That's what I think killed SM TV (for me, at least.)  Now they push morality lessons & other PC conformity brainwashing thinly disguised as children's entertainment (since most commercialism like in times past is now verboten.) 

You want SatMorn TV like you remember, you'll just have to start your own network & syndicate the shows you liked.  Don't look for anyone else to do it for you....  Wink

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DKS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 9:11am
Originally posted by Codtaro Codtaro wrote:


I mean, look at Adventure Time. That show is truly the epitome of "Kid-safe Family show" It pushes buttons, creates characters rather than caricatures, has a long and complex story line, actually grows up, and isn't afraid to make reference almost NO kid watching would get.

DC's Justice League/Justice League Unlimited was like that too.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 1:46pm
I was fortunate enough to have been a kid during the 60's. That was the absolute zenith of Saturday morning cartoons. Coincidentally enough, often viewed on a Zenith, but I digress.

I remember two or three channels of cartoons with all the classics & some (at the time) new stuff.

Bugs Bunny & The Road Runner, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, George of the Jungle, Magilla Gorilla, Beanie & Cecil, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi the Bear, Top Cat, Johnny Quest, The Beatles, Archie, Josie &The Pussycats, Rocky & Bullwinkle, etc., etc.

They'd start around 8 am & continue until around 11 or noon, at which point, the teen "dance/beach party" shows would take over for about an hour, then the rest of the day would be wrestling & various other sports.

The 60's & 70's were a great time to be a kid.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Thor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 2:10pm
Originally posted by Jimbo Jimbo wrote:



They'd start around 8 am & continue until around 11 or noon, at which point, the teen "dance/beach party" shows would take over for about an hour, then the rest of the day would be wrestling & various other sports.



 
One of those dance shows was Clay Cole's Upbeat.
 
There was also a block of shows listed as "adventure" in the TV Guide---Rin Tin Tin, Fury, My Friend Flicka and Sky King.
 
"Out of the blue of the western sky comes Skyyyyyy  King!".
 
Oh, and then the kids' game shows---Video Village and Shenanigans.
 
You might've been just a little too young to remember some of this stuff, though.  I'm talking really early 60s for some of these shows.
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Thor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 3:42pm
Originally posted by Jimbo Jimbo wrote:


The 60's & 70's were a great time to be a kid.

 
Part of it was that we were relatively limited in our choices.  No cable, no Netflix, no internet, no video games.  So, we all watched the same stuff, shared that common experience and developed the same frame of reference. 
 
I remember being in school and talking with my friends about what was on TV the night before.  We'd all watch The Man from UNCLE on Monday night and talk about it on Tuesday.
 
Entertainment is much more varied/fractured nowadays. 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Hootman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 4:29pm
Everybody told each other the "Laugh-In" jokes from the night before.

"Wanna see my walnetto?"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 5:01pm
Originally posted by Thor Thor wrote:



Oh, and then the kids' game shows---Video Village and Shenanigans.

You might've been just a little too young to remember some of this stuff, though.  I'm talking really early 60s for some of these shows.


Oh I absolutely remember Shenanigans.

Soupy Sales I believe hosted it & probably sang the theme song which I also remember...

"Shenanigans now it's time to play Senanigans...

Blah-ba-da-ba-dah de da de din is where the fun begiiiiiiins....

Cause now it's time... to play SHEN - AN - I - GAAAAAAANS!!!!!"


Something like that, anyway.

Ooops... it was Stubby Kaye, not Soupy Sales...



And of course the was The Banana Splits too.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 5:05pm
Originally posted by Hootman Hootman wrote:

Everybody told each other the "Laugh-In" jokes from the night before.

"Wanna see my walnetto?"


You bet your Bippy!!!!

Verrrrrry interestink..... but shtoopid!!!!!

Fifth & sixth grade.

1968 & 69.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Tiz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2013 at 11:47pm
Speedy Gonzales got run out of toon town because it was considered racist. Depicting hispanic mice as drunks and all that.LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nosheep Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 12:12am
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Part of it was that we were relatively limited in our choices.  No cable, no Netflix, no internet, no video games.  So, we all watched the same stuff, shared that common experience and developed the same frame of reference. 
 
I remember being in school and talking with my friends about what was on TV the night before.  We'd all watch The Man from UNCLE on Monday night and talk about it on Tuesday.
 
Entertainment is much more varied/fractured nowadays. 
 
 


I think this has a lot to do with the lack of quality Saturday Morning kids' shows nowadays. The networks have a lot more to compete with for viewing attention, and it's usually a choice between upping the ante to attract an audience, or giving up altogether. While many shows have had staying power as a result of kids growing up and feeling nostalgic about them, there are others just as likely to disappear into oblivion because they just couldn't develop a fan base.

While mediums such as the internet may take attention away from television, they can also be used as a force for good if put in the right hands--I can't tell you how many times I've seen online petitions to bring back certain shows that were cancelled too soon, not to mention sites like Youtube, where you can sometimes find videos of full episodes of classic shows and even compilations of vintage commercials (when Google isn't putting the kibosh on them, anyway).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Thor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 12:29am
 
^  Well, a lot of the stuff we watched back then was crap, too.  But it was crap that we all watched.  It was what we had, and we had nothing else to compare it to, so we loved it and now look back nostalgically on it.
 
Nowadays, with so much out there, kids can be more particular and can watch that which appeals to them in particular.  Or they could watch something on Netflix.  Or play video games.  There's much more choice.  The downside is that 30 years from now, 40+ year-olds won't be looking back nostalgically on something they all loved as kids...'cuz they all loved something different.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ad nauseous Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 12:55am
Damn a missed out on a lot of stuff, mostly being entertaining stuff, being born in the 80s NUTS!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote sgtrock21 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 2:03am
Originally posted by Jimbo Jimbo wrote:

I was fortunate enough to have been a kid during the 60's. That was the absolute zenith of Saturday morning cartoons. Coincidentally enough, often viewed on a Zenith, but I digress.

I remember two or three channels of cartoons with all the classics & some (at the time) new stuff.

Bugs Bunny & The Road Runner, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, George of the Jungle, Magilla Gorilla, Beanie & Cecil, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi the Bear, Top Cat, Johnny Quest, The Beatles, Archie, Josie &The Pussycats, Rocky & Bullwinkle, etc., etc.

They'd start around 8 am & continue until around 11 or noon, at which point, the teen "dance/beach party" shows would take over for about an hour, then the rest of the day would be wrestling & various other sports.

The 60's & 70's were a great time to be a kid.

I agree. Late 1950s to Early 80s were pretty good. My parents bout their first TV in 1957 (an RCA) when I was 5. What a treat on Saturday mornings. We later had the original Mickey Mouse Club. Which mixed Disney cartoons with actual people programs. Then there was late 70s to early 80s when SNL was actually funny.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Thor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 2:28am
 
I dunno the brand of our first TV, but it came equipped with a little plug-in 45rpm record player that sat on top of the set and played the music through the TV speaker---sort of a harbinger of the big ol' consoles that came out years later.  We only had a few records, including Clair de Lune, The Ballad of Davy Crockett and Big Rock Candy Mountain.
 
It was replaced by a Zenith.  We then got a color TV in 1970.  I believe it was a Magnavox.
 
I do remember becoming aware of the TV, and wondering if the action (cowboys or whatever) was actually inside the TV set.
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 2:39am
I remember getting our first color TV set.

WOW!!!!!

COLOR!!!!!!



We could barely believe what we were seeing!!!!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Papa Lazarou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 2:44am
Jimbo, we paid extra and got Colour. :P
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:19am
How much extra did colour cost over color?

And was it worth it?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Papa Lazarou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:27am
$5, and we never had to waggle our aerials.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:34am
Waggling your aerial is the fun part.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Papa Lazarou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:39am
Nah, the fun part was when instead of paid programming all night long, they switched over to pornography.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote timdubya Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 5:16am
Saturday morning TV had been in decline since the 80s.  NBC was the first to kill it completely in the early 90s by putting on a Saturday version of the Today show.  Now all of the old Big Three networks have to have a weekend version of their weekday morning show.  CBS Sunday Morning is the only exception, it has nothing to do with the Monday-Saturday shows.  Fox shows infomercials all morning.  NBC went back and shows a few cartoons after the Today show, likewise with CBS and ABC.  The cartoons on there are lame though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sgtrock21 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:22pm
Originally posted by Thor Thor wrote:

 

I dunno the brand of our first TV, but it came equipped with a little plug-in 45rpm record player that sat on top of the set and played the music through the TV speaker---sort of a harbinger of the big ol' consoles that came out years later.  We only had a few records, including Clair de Lune, The Ballad of Davy Crockett and Big Rock Candy Mountain.

 

It was replaced by a Zenith.  We then got a color TV in 1970.  I believe it was a Magnavox.


 

I do remember becoming aware of the TV, and wondering if the action (cowboys or whatever) was actually inside the TV set.

 

 


My parents had one of the giant radios. It had the plug-in 45 record player. I had Davy Crockett I think it was the Fess Parker version. Also Sink the Bismarck/Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton.
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