1980's Saturday Morning Historical Preservation Society

1981 marked the departure of The New Adventures of Batman, a cartoon that I hold near and dear to my heart. Not only did it feature the vices of Adam West and Burt Ward (the Batman and Robin from the 1960's live-action TV show), but it also included my two favorite terrible cartoon ideas:

• Bat-Mite: If you think Scrappy-Doo is annoying, just give Bat-Mite a try for a while!
• The Bat-Computer: As we all know, our cartoons had to convey some sort of moral or socially-conscious message like "Always brush your teeth" or "Drugs are bad mmkay?" For the most part it was up to the kids to figure out the message of the show on their own. But on The New Adventures of Batman, every epiode ended with The Bat-Computer blaring a flashing and loud alert of "BAT-MESSAGE! BAT-MESSAGE!" which would then lead to Batman and Robin and Bat-Mite all talking about what the message of this episode was. IT WAS ASTOUNDING!

So if The New Adventures of Batman is one of YOUR favorites like it was mine, then be sure to go and vote for it in our Best of 1981 Poll and leave your own personal memories or feeling about the show in the comments below :)

I don't have any personal memories regarding this show, and according to our Best Cartoon of 1981 Poll, only two other members of this community have any love for it. How about you? If you have any memories or stories about the show you'd like to share, feel free to leave them below inb the comments. And don't forget to go vote for it if this is a cartoon you love!

1981 saw the premiere of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, a cartoon that stuck around for most of the 1980's in one way or another even if they stopped making new episodes in 1983. It was JUST THAT POPULAR! If you agree with me and think that this cartoon is one of the greatest ever, be sure to go and vote for it in our Best Cartoon of 1981 Poll! And of course if you have anything nice to say about Spidey & Friends, any memories or stories you'd care to share, please go right ahead and leave a few comments below :)

Now HERE'S an easy to follow cartoon! The Super Globetrotters: World famous basketball performers get super powers, fight crime. Easy!

I remember getting mad at this cartoon because it was more "Globetrotters" than "Super" (I was a Super-Hero addict).

So leave your comments, memories, personal thoughts and whatever in the comment below and don't forget to go and vote for The Super Globetrotters in our Best of 1980 Poll if you feel that it's deserving :)

I *still* have not found any video proof that this cartoon ever actually existed, even though it was on NBC from December 8, 1979 to November 15, 1980. Almost an entire YEAR this cartoon was on the air, and nobody on The Internet has proof!

From what I've heard, this may be because each 90-minute episode included less than 5 minutes of "New" footage, and the rest of the show was yet ANOTHER Hannah-Barbera repackaging of 1970's half-hour cartoons. The Toons involved were:

The New Fred & Barney Show


The Schmoo


...And because they had another 30 minutes to fill, I dunno... how about... OOH! THE THING!


(Not the REAL Thing from the Fantastic Four, but the one that many 80's kids vaguely remember. The teenager who had rings which, when he touched them together and said "THING RING DO YOUR THING!" would transform him in to the orange, rocky creature)

My assumption as to why there's no video proof of this show is because NOBODY CARED :(

HOWEVER! Maybe this is your favorite cartoon ever, I dunno. Leave your thoughts, memories and whatnote re: The All New Fred & Barney, The Schmoo and/or The Thing here! Just don't go and vote for it, because I'll NEVER be able to find a video of it :(

And by "All New Popeye Hour", they meant "1970's Popeye Cartoons mixed with Dinky Dog cartoons"



Other than Dinky Dog, this hour-long show also had the most bizarre/tragic thing I've ever seen; Popeye's "Nephews" (who are definitely "Scooby-Don't" characters, btw) that are so obviously his kids that they even share his exact same physical deformities and speech patterns. And all the more tragic is later on in the 90's when we get "Popeye & Son", there's NO MENTION of the "Nephews". THIS BOTHERS ME!!!

Feel free to discuss below. And hey, if this is one of your favorites? Be sure to go and vote for it over on our Best Cartoon of 1980 Poll!

I have nothing good to say about this cartoon. Feel free to share your feelings and remembrances of this show in the comments, and hey if it was a favorite of yours? Don't forget to go and vote for it in our Best Cartoon of 1980 Poll!

A special nod to Dynomutt The Dog Wonder, who was the first of the 1970's Legends to fall oout of circulation in the 1980's. Although new episodes stopped production in the late 1970's, it was in the year 1980 that Dynomutt had his final run on network Saturday Morning TV as part of NBC's "Godzilla / Dynomutt Hour". It was the beginning of a huge trend; package two or more 1970's re-runs together and sell it to the kids as something that might be new but was really just re-runs.

So here's to you, Dynomutt... thanks for being a part of our 80's Saturday Morning Experience!

Leave your Dynomutt comments, stories and memories here to share with the rest of the group, and if Dynomutt is one of your favorites then don't forget to go vote for him in our Best of 1980 Poll!

Opening to the classic Thundarr The Barbarian! Comment here with your Thundarr stories, memories and whatever else you want to say about the far-off apocalyptic future world of 1994! And if Thundarr is one of your favorites, don't forget to go vote for it in our Best of 1980 poll!

This is The Smurfs opening credits as it was seen by bajillions of us when it premiered in the USA waaaaaaaaay back in 1981. Comment here with your favorite Smurf memories, and then if it's your favorite don't forget to go vote for it in our Best of 1981 Poll!