Saturday Morning Cartoon Also Rans

[Paul Monk]

When we were little there were always cartoons on on saturday morning or during the week. I always liked the more sci-fi/fantasy/mystery/superhero type ones more than loony tunes etc.
There were literally hundreds of them. But whilst many have gone into TV classic history loads more have gone into obscurity.
This thread is to celebrate those toons and share our memories of them and our saturday mornings.
Thundercats, He-Man, Scooby Doo etc not allowed.

I'll start off with Arabian Knights. "SIZE OF AN ELEPHANT!"

[Dirk Gently]

I remember Thundercats being on on a Thursday afternoon, but thats by the by.

Saturday mornings used to be Battle of the Planets, Terrahawks & Ulysses 31(I think this was on on Saturdays)

[Perry Vale]

Arabian Knights was part of the Banana Splits Show, wasn't it? Did it get shown on it's own too?

[Si Hunt]

Challenge of the Gobots!

Si.

[Rob McCow]

The Gobots weren't third rate Transformer rip-offs. Oh no!

M.A.S.K. and The Centurions spring to mind as cartoons that the other kids liked: I always remained true to my beloved Transformers even when they were rubbish!

There was a Saturday morning show, presented by a puppet kettle and various cups and dishes, that featured other little serials, all of which ran in 6 parts. One of these was called Mr.Nice (I think) about a cartoon character who came to life and battled fearsome (camp) enemies. This would be very early 90's I reckon. Anyone else remember it?

[SiHart]

How about Defenders of the Earth... defenders. That was pretty good.

Si xx

[Logo Polish]

Arabian Knights was part of the Banana Splits Show, wasn't it? Did it get shown on it's own too?

That's how I remember it, don't recall seeing it on its own. The Three Musketeers (with Tulie (sp?) always wanting to be a Musketeer but being too young) was the other one from there.

Am I allowed to mention Godzilla and Godzooky? They had two ways of summoning the former - either getting the latter to call out for him or the Captain character to press a button on a little control device he had in his pocket. They went to Atlantis in one episode, you know...

Tarzan (the filmation one) was brilliant. Is there a DVD anywhere? Great "der-der-der..der-der-der..der-DER-DER" theme tune where the end titles would climax on a close up of him approaching on his vine doing his "OOARGH-AH-OH-AH-OH-AH-OH" or however you write it. Plots concerning the Elephants graveyard, a lost city somewhere, and an evil robot of Tarzan with red eyes.

Space Sentinels...rubbish but fun, if you know what I mean. Didn't quite grasp that Herc and Merc were the daft ones, with Astra (able to turn herself into any animal, a bit like her off Space 1999 now I think of it) the relatively sensible one. Sentinel 7 and Mo were quite sweet too.

[Paul Monk]

They also had another one about a family that could shrink or something. They had a little car.

What about Fang Face?

[Si Hunt]

Da-da-da-da-da Inspector Gadget da-da-da-da-daaa (ooh ooh!)

Si.

[SiHart]

Space Sentinels was a big favourite for me. I saw it again a few years ago, and sadly it was utter tosh. Mo was great though with his extendable neck... and I used to confuse Zen in Blake's 7 with Sentinel One.

Does anyone else remember Janna of the Jungle with her amazing boomerang bangle neck thing? I used to love that.

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

Does anyone else remember Janna of the Jungle with her amazing boomerang bangle neck thing? I used to love that.

Si xx

Yes, I do. It was originally made in 1978 so I've just found out.

[Matthew T]

KISSYFUR

I remember the name, and that it was a bear, but nothing else.

[Logo Polish]

Yep, Fang Face was another classic. It was a bit like The Incredible Hulk in that you kept waiting for which bits would make him angry/have him being exposed to the moon or the sun.

Inspector Gadget always seemed to have quite complex ingenious plots for a cartoon (haven't seen it for over 20 years, mind). I seem to remember the baddie being a disembodied gauntlet connected to an empty chair with a chain and a speaker providing the voice. And there was always an extremely unsubtle moral about health and safety at the end.

When I was about 8 I wanted to live with Jana in the jungle. I quite liked her.

[Milky Tears]

Battle of the Planets, Pole Position , The Smurfs, Visionaries, Ulysses 31, crappy Laurel and Hardy cartoons, Dungeons and Dragons, The Family-Ness, Dogtanian, Willy Fog, Godzilla, Star Fleet, Defenders of the Earth, Alias the Jester, Kissyfur, Vicky the Viking, Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, Hong Kong Phooey, Dr Snuggles, Captain Caveman, The Muppet Babies (just before Saturday Superstore/Going Live at 8:35am), Zoids, Centurions, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, The Raccoons and Gummi Bears (think they were Sunday morning).

Does The Pink Panther Show count? I think that was Saturday/Sunday afternoons!?

Don't forget Rolf Harris's Cartoon Time/Cartoon Club, that crap with Tony Robinson (Stay Tooned!) and STV's Glen Michael's Cartoon Cavalcade (ran for about 52 years with two episodes of Sport Billy and bloody Wonder Wheels.)

Loads of them at the usual sites (TV Cream, etc.):

http://www.thechestnut.com/index.htm

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1011/index.html

[Rob McCow]

Pole Position - with the talking cars? Always a joy! That was one of them Japanese cartoons, wasn't it. Great theme tune, like most of them in fact. I remember Pole Position from the 6am 'woken up far too early' slot on BBC1. They also ran an interesting 70's (possibly) cartoon version of Batman at that time slot, way back in the early 90's.

So what do you rememeber about Kissyfur, James? The name rings a bell...

And you missed Ovid's Video. And possibly Edward J. Quack Quack.

[Matthew T]

[SiHart]

Kissyfur had an impossibly cute voice.

Si xx

[Milky Tears]

Kissyfur was about a big naked bear who invited folk to kiss his special hair, wasn't it?

Or maybe it was this:

http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_S...fur/index.html

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/609-kissyfur/

The Big Cartoon Database is an excellent site.

[Simon R]

I really liked Kissyfur. He lived in very nice tree house and without reading James's links, he and his dad escaped from the Circus but they lost his mum or something. And there was a school and a crocodile. Gelling agents, marzipan, it's all in there.

Who remembers the utterly lost "Happy Days" spin off cartoon where they travelled through time in a flying saucer? It's one to file alongside the "Roseanne" cartoon.

[Andrew Curnow]

I don't remember much about Pole Position except the, as Rob says, excellent theme tune. Which was, erm, excellent.

[Logo Polish]

Who remembers the utterly lost "Happy Days" spin off cartoon where they travelled through time in a flying saucer? It's one to file alongside the "Roseanne" cartoon.

I do, Thursday teatimes circa 1983 I think (or it might have been Wednesdays). "Will we ever get back to Milwaukee 1957?" / "Can you dig it?" Was that the one with a Mr Cool in it?

[Milky Tears]

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang was one of the worst cartoons (even worse than the Laurel and Hardy one!) of all-time ever all-time. Mr Cool sucked more than The Fonz in Al's toilets!!



http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-B...ppy_Days_Gang/

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/fonzhdgang.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fon...appy_Days_Gang

I don't believe Ron Howard was involved!

Thursdays on Children's BBC in 1984. That 'Warriors of the Deep' sounds interesting.

[SiHart]

I don't remember watching Fonz and the Happy Days Gang at all... so it must have been terrible!

Si xx

[Milky Tears]

Fantastic Max, Inhumanoids, Bravestarr and that Mexican Amigo and Friends crap are another four straight out the bottom drawer.

[Ralph]

The only cartoons I can remember on Saturday mornings were those in Banana Splits

Probably my favourite cartoon fixture was Fridays on BBC when they used to do a Tom & Jerry double bill round about 7pm. Far better than anything they had on Saturday mornings.