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I'm not one of those folks who freaks out every time some change gets made to something I knew from when I was a kid.
Every time I'm tempted to wax poetic about the virtues of the original Star Wars movies or how cool the original Legend of Zelda was, I just imagine if my Dad had tried to convince me that those old 12" GIJoe figures he had as a kid were somehow better or more "real" than my little Zartan and Snake Eyes figures.
"Yeah, whatever, Dad," I would have thought. "You can keep your wanna-be Ken doll."
But still, a part of me still feels that the 80's was a sort of Renaissance for toys and children's programming the likes of which we have not seen since.
I watched some show with my kids the other day that seemed to be an animated version of two guys with cards playing War. You really can't convince me that's somehow better or cooler than even the girlie cartoons of the '80's. If Jem and the Holograms had ever stopped to play cards for half an episode, we'd have flipped the channel to Silverhawks.
And with this rant, I think I've officially qualified myself for fogeyhood.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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docmagik, I am still pining for the days of the original Star Trek and Laugh-in. You are a still whippersnapper.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I grew up in the 80s, and I have to disagree with your assessment at least in part. That decade was a golden era of Toys related to Cartoons and such, but not cartoons themeselves. I would say that the 60s and 70s were the Saturday morning cartoon golden era. I bet you will mention more cartoons that were created during this time as memerable than the 80s. Superfriends, Buggs Bunny, and Scooby Doo come to mind.
Posts: 2207 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I think the cartoons of the nineties were the best ever made: Duck Tales, Gargoyles, The Tick, Batman, The Maxx, Aeon Flux, Daria, and Animaniacs.
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hmmm . . . you might have a point there B.O.H. But I don't think any of them were ever destined for syndication or pop-referencing.
Posts: 2207 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Starblazers. Battle of the Planets. Voltron.
Best hour and a half bloc of television when I was a kid.
Of course, having seen the Japanese cartoon BoP was based on, I feel cheated and robbed. But I stand by the other two.
Also, don't forget Thundercats. I'm scared to watch it again because it can't be as good as I remember it.
The 90s brought us The Simpsons (OK, very late 80s). Batman, Aeon Flux, Daria, and Animaniacs were great, too.
But Duck Tales? I'm so disillusioned. And Tiny Toons was a travesty surpassed only by the "baby" shows: Baby Bugs Bunny, Muppet Babies, Pup Named Scooby Doo. *shudder*
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Duck Tales was so much worse than the original comics they stole (and oversimplified) the stories out of.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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The two guys playing card was probably Yu-Gi-Oh, which is not a bad show or game. I think what kids love today, (and I think actually love this too), is that the merchandising allows you to be more interactive with your favorite shows. I will be 40 in a couple of weeks so I remember when the tie-ins really started (Post Star Wars), and whatever we could get our hands on was great! The 8" superfriends action figures of the late 70's were so popular because kids could re-inact the episodes. I think the production studios and toy companies got the message because the flood gates opened after Lucas merchandised Star Wars out the wa-zoo. Think about all of the TV show tie-in toys like Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, and GI-Joe (the teams, not the original joe). Also remember the merchandising for primetime shows like the Six Million Dollar Man and Battlestar Galactica.
I guess the point here is that what has changed is not you or current kids, per se, it is the companies that bring us the entertainment. They have changed the way they market and deliver their product and your discomfort comes from the fact that you have noticed.
Posts: 514 | Registered: May 2005
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I'm with Beren One Hand on the 90's having the best cartoons. Don't forget X-men and Spider-Man! Although Batman was and always will be my favorite.
And nowadays you still get a few gems. The Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoons rocked, and Samurai Jack is pretty cool. And you can't forget Anime, either. Cowboy Bebop is awesome.
Posts: 134 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Dagonee, I was thinking about Starblazers, too. When I was in kindergarten and first grade, my friends and I would play Starblazers at recess, alternating with Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars and Shogun Warriors.
Battle of the Planets was good, too. Voltron came later and was a poor imitation.
I still occasionally get the theme song to Starblazers stuck in my head, although I can only remember a handful of the words.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Notice, however, that many of the cartoons of the 90s were based off of comic books started much, much earlier (some in the 30s). Very few of them were actually originals.
Posts: 2207 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Beren One Hand: I think the cartoons of the nineties were the best ever made: Duck Tales, Gargoyles, The Tick, Batman, The Maxx, Aeon Flux, Daria, and Animaniacs.
So true. Duck Tales and Gargoyles were awesome. I loved the whole Disney Afternoon. But, Thundercats is not as good as it was when I was a kid... Terrible animation, dippiness factors up the wall. Jem, however was very good and had some damn good music! Catchy little 3 minute songs... Excellent. Still, the anime I have seen has ruined me for stuff from the past. Especially Miyazaki. Kind of like how DIR EN GREY ruined me for other bands.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I really miss the educational TV shows I used to watch growing up. Square One, 3-2-1-Contact, etc. And is Bill Nye still on? Anyhow, I haven't seen any math shows aimed at kids since Square One, and that's very sad.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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All the Sid & Marty Krofft stuff ruled--Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Wonder Bug, HR Pufenstuf, The Bugaloos,Sigmund and the Sea-Monster, but the absolute hands down, no kidding best was Land of the Lost. Land of the Lost destroys all children's programming before or after in terms of sheer, raw creative coolness: Dinosaur fights. Aliens. Oo-fos. Proto-humans. All in live, in-your-face technicolor, baby!
There can be only one and it must be Land of the Lost.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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We're off to outer space We're leaving Mother Earth To save the human race Our Star Blazers
Searching for a distant star Heading off to Iscandar Leaving all we love behind Who knows what danger we'll find ?
We must be strong and brave Our home we've got to save If we don't in just one year Mother Earth will disappear
Fighting with the Gamilons We won't stop until we've won Then we'll return and when we arrive The Earth will survive with Our Star Blazers
My motto: "There are few tactical problems that cannot be solved by proper application of the wave motion gun."
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Ohhhh - that sure brings back memories. Mercy! That theme song is now reverberating in my head, Dags -
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by 1lobo1: ...sigh...transformers...go-bots...GI-Joe...Voltron....
You dare mention Go Bots in the same breath as Transformers? I remember being in first grade, all the cool kids had transformers.
Posts: 796 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Okay, here's a list, off the top of my head.
Live Action:
Great Space Coaster That's Cat Whitney and the Robot Land of the Lost Kids Incorporated Kid Songs Small Wonder
Animated:
GIJoe Transformers M.A.S.K. Marshall Bravestar Jem and the Holograms Beverly Hills Teens Silverhawks Thundercats GoBots Captain Video Smurfs Snorks Moncheechees Shirt Tales Get Along Gang Pac Man Dukes of Hazzard Punky Brewster Rubik the Amazing Cube Spider Man and his Amazing Friends Mr. T Hulk Hogan's Rock N' Wrestling Lazer Tag GForce Voltron Thundarr Gilligan's Planet (part of a weird show with a bunch of mini-shows, most of whom were take-offs of old monsters, but I can't remember the name of it) Heathcliff Dennis the Menace Care Bears My Little Pony Glowworms Pound Puppies Felix The Cat He-Man She-Ra Strawberry Shortcake Rainbow Brite Scooby Doo (Scrappy wasn't nearly as bad as that annoying grey dog with the buck teeth)
Snippets between shows:
"And that's One to Grow On!" "I'm Captain O.G. Readmore! My motto's Tried and true! Read A book today, I'll bet you'll say, 'Oh, Gee! I'll read more, too.'" That pear guy who sang about health: "You are what you eat!" Mary Lou Retton leading kids in Aerobics And of course, the schoolhouse rock stuff
Educational:
Sesame Street Mr. Roger's Neighborhood The Electric Company 321 Contact Square One TV Mr. Wizard's World (I didn't have cable--saw it mostly at friend's houses or in motel rooms on vacation)
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Oh man I used to love Square One with the math detectives.
There were also all those nick shows like Hey Dude and Salute Your Shorts that were popular in the 90's.
Posts: 2867 | Registered: May 2005
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Dinosaurs was late 1992- I didn't watch it, but I remember coming back to the U.S. from Greece and wondering what the hell people were talking about. Not the mama.
My fondest memories go back to Speed racer and Kimba the white lion.
Being in the D.C. market, they had "What's Happening" on every afternoon. I was also quite fond of "The Jeffersons".
I think one thing about the programming then was that all this P.C. sensitivity about not depicting gruesome fiery deaths in children's programming hadn't caught on yet.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Almost all children's programs today are toy commercials. One of the reasons I plan on limiting the amount of television my children will watch (to almost nothing) is that I simply can't afford it. When I worked at the Y, every kid had a backpack with their favorite cartoon on it. Pretty innocuous, right? Sure, but then they'd pull out lunch boxes, action figures, dolls, play sets, books, cards, CDs, DVDs, video games, regular games, and every imaginable gadget under the sun that the cartoon was plastered on. Not to mention the clothes.
This was in the nascent stage when I was growing up. I did have a Smurfette doll and a Care Bear and a Cabbage Patch doll, but that was it. I was an underprivileged child by today's standards.
My favorite educational program was Schoolhouse Rock. Do y'all know how hard it is to find Schoolhouse Rock stuff? I'm somewhat of a collector and I've scoured eBay and thrift shops in 5 states and come up with very little. That's because Schoolhouse Rock was about music and learning, not commerce.
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