A 1980's Saturday Morning Preservation Society tribute to... The 1970's

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

One of the hardest parts about this community (for me) is realizing how much of my fond 1980's Saturday Morning memories are actually syndicated 1970's memories. SO MANY of the shows I treasured as a kid were actually just syndicated re-runs of stuff like Land Of The Lost, Speed Buggy, Jabber Jaw, Grape Ape, The New Adventures of Batman & Robin...

Laff-A-Lympics! Captain Caveman! Yogi's Space Race (and Yogi's Ark)! It was a true "Golden Age" that created the imperfect mold from which the 1980's Saturday Morning was able to emerge! Not just in terms of animation and stories,, but also in proper Saturday Morning product synergy!

In the 1970's they perfected the Saturation Factor. A cartoon wasn't just a cartoon - it was a Cartoon, a Lunch Box, AND a comic book all being launched at once! Maybe even a few toys, coloring books and other products as well!

Comments

[aurora77]

It's so true. We owe a lot to them. A lot of the good 70's cartoons kept airing for years, especially the Hanna-Barbera ones. HB really had a strong presence.

[volare.livejournal.com]

I was young in the 70s, into my teens in the 80s, so I saw a wide spectrum of this going on... Beetle Bailey, Mr. Magoo, 70s era Scooby Doo, Herculoids, Thundarr the Barbarian, Birdman... all these little cartoon-action shorts that'd get played before the "heavy hitters" from Hanna-Barbera, alongside Tom&Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Merrie Melodies/Bugs Bunny et al. Grape Ape? Captain Caveman? Casper? The Shmoo? Batman & Robin/Justice League, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.. all this stuff turns into a jumble because I don't know where one era ended and another began.

I really disliked the Jetsons for some reason. Whereas for much of highschool I had a button on my jacket that simply read "WILMA!"...

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Not sure why, but i really disliked the Jetsons as well...

[cooperwench.livejournal.com]

Dear God how I loved Krofft shows...

[teddy0bear.livejournal.com]

Didn't find myself liking a lot of the 70s shows. Star Trek TAS, Josie & the pussycats, sure. All the HB shows that were saturating the market at the time started to fuse together and didn't seem any different then the next. But I think you're right, they were the building blocks for 80s cartoons. I will say however that I loved the 70s for the sole reason of Muppets.

Now, the 60s! Rocky & Bullwinkle, Johnny Quest, Underdog (and go go gophers), the Mighty Hercules (Jetsons, Flintstones, Scooby-Doo Where are you, also from the late 60s). All of my love. (...and now I have the go go gophers theme stuck in my head)

I should probably mention I wasn't quite alive in the 60s/70s but good shows live on, hurray for reruns.