Ccook1956

I may not care for Jellystone!, but I’ll admit you were right about one thing, Chris: Huckleberry Hound makes for a decent mayor.

Glad to see one of the guys who worked on the dc ppg comics on here!

My personal experience with the many different Saturday Morning blocks on CBS over the years:

•CBS Kidshow (October 3, 1998-September 9, 2000): I was five when this block debuted. My parents brought it to my attention through a magazine that came with the newspaper. Practically all the cartoons that aired were produced by the Canadian animation company Nelvana (which, sidebar, I must insist has an undeserved bad rep; everything they produced may not have been masterpieces, but when they got it right, they got it right. The Magic School Bus and Little Bear alone have a special place in my heart, Little Bear especially, but that’s another story.) and were all based upon children’s books, not that that wasn’t a turn-off in the least.

The block was presented as a stage show hosted by two CGI aliens, the thin, blue one‘s name escapes me but not the pink, googly-eyed one, Giggles, who frequently laughed as he coined the tagline, “Get in the act!”, along with a dog and a baby, who sat with the audience and made snarky quips. Their designs were crazily unusual to my imagination, though I’ll understand if modern viewers are creeped out by them coming right at the camera.

The shows that aired:

Franklin (1997-2004): Based on the books by Brenda Clark and Paulette Bourgeois; the life and times of the young, often sensitive, turtle who “could count by two’s and tie his shoes.” Whenever he faced a compromising dilemma was when he was most relatable. His best friend Bear even more so; one thing the show changed from the books was have Bear be more good-natured and loyal to Franklin for his own good, with the exception of the time Franklin caused Bear‘s secret treasure map to be torn in “Franklin Says Sorry”. It eventually migrated to weekday mornings on Nick Jr., which was fine by me, swapping places with the then-current version of Rupert, which was no slouch itself.

Anatole (1998-99): Based on the books by Eve Titus (creator of Basil of Baker Street) and Paul Gladstone; the adventures of a mouse night watchman for a cheese factory, his wide Doucette and children, and his best friend Gaston as they try to co-mingle with humans and cats amidst the hustle and bustle of Paris. The one cat who often terrorizes them had a unique design. It felt like a story I’d have known by heart.

The Dumb Bunnies (1998-99): Based on the four books by Dav Pilkey, the only animated adaptation of any of his work until Dreamworks’ Captain Underpants movie and Netflix series; a tongue-in-cheek continuation of The Dumb Bunnies’ stream-of-consciousness misadventures that take them from one impulse to the other, much to the dismay of the other rabbits of Bunnyville, even their next-door neighbors. The first episode alone involved them trying to get cheese as part of the breakfast for supper after they already had supper for breakfast (noodles, that is)—it turned out they weren’t going to put cheese in their pancake mix, they wanted to wear wheels of cheese on their heads while they ate their pancakes. Also, there was a scientist who opted them for his experiments and a fox con artist who saw them as an easy target.

Flying Rhino Junior High (1998-2000): The unpredictable misadventures in a school named for it‘s principal who just happened to be a rhinoceros. The ever self-important Earl P. Sidebotton, AKA The Phantom, schemed to make his classmates’ lives miserable to make himself feel better for his lack of achievement.

There were more shows, but I never got to see them much. These are the ones I did see promoted and got to see.

•Nick/Nick Jr. on CBS (September 16, 2000-September 9, 2006): As the title implies, Nickelodeon‘s shows were rerun on CBS on Saturday mornings for a while. Not much to say, except when the block initially showed Nick Jr. shows, the framing device alternated from just a clip montage to an outdoor band concert with a theme by Lard Dog & The Band of Shy. I was seven when I saw any of that last. My interest during this time though leaned more towards either Disney’s One Saturday Morning on ABC or The Bookworm Bunch on PBS Kids (which also featured shows based on books and produced by Nelvana).

•KEWLopolis (September 17, 2007-September 12, 2009): I was 15 in 2008 and early ’09 when only one show on this block caught my attention on accident:

Sushi Pack (2007-2009): Created by Studio Espinosa, developed by Tom Rueggee and Nicholas Hollander and co-produced with the cooperation of American Greetings and then-named Cookie Jar; the hyper adventures of the anthropomorphic remains of sushi and/or sushi ingredients. It had that same kind of energy I remember feeling with I fell in love with The Powerpuff Girls in the first place. Tara Strong voiced Maguro.

•Cookie Jar TV (September 19, 2009-September 10, 2011): I was sixteen when aside from giving a passing acknowledgement to Busytown Mysteries, which didn’t look as memorable or impactful as The Busy World of Richard Scarry did, I was intrigued more by…

Noonbory and The Super Seven (2009): The misadventures of a group of friends gifted with powers based on the five senses. Its aesthetic reminded me greatly of Nintendo’s Kirby and Starfy and had that same spirit. I had the fortune seeing every episode, and later learned that there were two versions of the show: one of which removed the narrator entirely. A production that originated from Korea, there is a possibility it continued in it’s native country, only with a genre shift.

How do you feel about horror? In particular, the slasher kind?