I've been waiting for a documentary like this for a long time.
He-Man was such an influential show when it came out. It changed the way syndicated cartoons were made. It inspired a slew of imitators, including Thundercats. And set off a resurgence of animation production for TV. Syndicated TV Cartoons boomed in the 80s after He-Man showed the way.
Even wiki backs this up: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/First-run_syndicated_cartoon
I wouldn't argue with that. I remember how that all started because of He-Man and the way all the new cartoons I've been hearing of was all going on weekday afternoons (though some still didn't come locally since we didn't get an indie station for a few years yet, so I had to make due with snowy Detroit signals on a B&W TV as usual).
He-Man did get airplay in my town courtesy of an ABC affiliate that use to play cartoons before the usual talk show stuff filled up it's late afternoon schedule, I think they replaced either Bugs Bunny or Pink Panther for it then.
Really, up to that point in time, syndicated toonage on the tube was anything but 'original'. Aside from the "Golden Age" stuff repackaged over and over under names like Bugs Bunny/Popeye/Tom & Jerry/Woody Woodpecker & Friends", you sometimes had the Saturday morning stuff that lasted a season, yet somehow was capable of added exposure on any indie station line-up like "Underdog", "The Beatles", "Archie" or "The Brady Kids". Then there was the Japanese stuff getting retooled as original material like "Battle of the Planets" or maybe "Doctor Snuggle" (technically that was Dutch, but whatever, of course I also left out the stuff from the 50's like Crusader Rabbit and Huckleberry Hound, but that's for another day). He-Man (and perhaps to a lesser extent, Inspector Gadget, since I watched that a lot too in '83) ushered in that new era of the syndie animation market that had no real reason to be exploited before. From then on it was just show after show and always something fresh on the tube, and new toys on the shelves.
It's true. Most of the 70s and a bit of the 80s was nothing but the same syndicated cartoons of old theatrical shorts and repackaged Saturday morning shows.
Not that it was a bad thing.
I got to watch all the classic theatrical Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies, all of the MGM Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts and the other MGM shorts by Tex Avery. There were all the Universal Popeyes, not to mention all the Fleischer Bros. Popeyes (Which I thought were superior.) and add all the Little Audrey and Casper shorts to that. The Paramont shorts with the Walter Lance Woody Woodpeckers along with the lot of Chilly Willy shorts.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the repackaged theater shorts.
From Saturday morning there was Rocky and Bullwinkle and all the greatness of Jay Ward's cartoons. And Total Television's Tennessee Tuxedo and Go Go Gophers and General McBragg and the lot. Not quite as slick as the Jay Ward shows, but still in that limited animation realm.
Oh, and how could I forget THE FLINTSTONES? Yeah, Fred and Barney were in constant rerun with all the other HB shows. The Jetsons, Hey There It's Yogi Bear, Pixie and Dixie, Huckleberry Hound, etc.
I remember these shows being in constant reruns. It was the shows that weren't rerun that doomed me. Force Five, Battle of the Planets, 8th Man, Astroboy, and Star Blazers.
After He-Man it seemed like much of the older syndicated cartoon packages just fell out of favor for shows that were more like He-Man. Which is kind of sad.
It's true. Most of the 70s and a bit of the 80s was nothing but the same syndicated cartoons of old theatrical shorts and repackaged Saturday morning shows.
Pretty much.
Not that it was a bad thing.
You get a few interesting gems. One that I had loved the first moment I saw it was this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alvin_Show
I got to watch all the classic theatrical Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies, all of the MGM Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts and the other MGM shorts by Tex Avery. There were all the Universal Popeyes, not to mention all the Fleischer Bros. Popeyes (Which I thought were superior.) and add all the Little Audrey and Casper shorts to that. The Paramont shorts with the Walter Lance Woody Woodpeckers along with the lot of Chilly Willy shorts.
To clarify, it was Paramount who had the Popeye series, not Universal, they pretty much released the Fleischer Studio's cartoons until they bought out the studio and made more themselves. Universal has the Walter Lantz stuff.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the repackaged theater shorts.
There's also Terrytoons (theatrically released by Fox, but was distributed later by CBS and then Viacom).
From Saturday morning there was Rocky and Bullwinkle and all the greatness of Jay Ward's cartoons.
Of course if you look into that, you see at one point in time, they were shown as prime-time cartoons! Not that bad for a studio doing simple commercial work.
And Total Television's Tennessee Tuxedo and Go Go Gophers and General McBragg and the lot. Not quite as slick as the Jay Ward shows, but still in that limited animation realm.
And being sent to the same Mexican outfit c/o General Mills orders!
Oh, and how could I forget THE FLINTSTONES? Yeah, Fred and Barney were in constant rerun with all the other HB shows. The Jetsons, Hey There It's Yogi Bear, Pixie and Dixie, Huckleberry Hound, etc.
All classic! Though I didn't get to see a whole lot until USA Network showed up and payed the H-B library a lot.
I remember these shows being in constant reruns. It was the shows that weren't rerun that doomed me. Force Five, Battle of the Planets, 8th Man, Astroboy, and Star Blazers.
Let alone for me, not growing up in a large enough market for shows like that to be viable to local stations to put on at all.
After He-Man it seemed like much of the older syndicated cartoon packages just fell out of favor for shows that were more like He-Man. Which is kind of sad.
It was. People half my age had never even seen something like that on a regular basis we did.
8 comments:
Just like big kids!
I've been waiting for a documentary like this for a long time.
He-Man was such an influential show when it came out. It changed the way syndicated cartoons were made. It inspired a slew of imitators, including Thundercats. And set off a resurgence of animation production for TV. Syndicated TV Cartoons boomed in the 80s after He-Man showed the way.
Even wiki backs this up: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/First-run_syndicated_cartoon
I wouldn't argue with that. I remember how that all started because of He-Man and the way all the new cartoons I've been hearing of was all going on weekday afternoons (though some still didn't come locally since we didn't get an indie station for a few years yet, so I had to make due with snowy Detroit signals on a B&W TV as usual).
He-Man did get airplay in my town courtesy of an ABC affiliate that use to play cartoons before the usual talk show stuff filled up it's late afternoon schedule, I think they replaced either Bugs Bunny or Pink Panther for it then.
Really, up to that point in time, syndicated toonage on the tube was anything but 'original'. Aside from the "Golden Age" stuff repackaged over and over under names like Bugs Bunny/Popeye/Tom & Jerry/Woody Woodpecker & Friends", you sometimes had the Saturday morning stuff that lasted a season, yet somehow was capable of added exposure on any indie station line-up like "Underdog", "The Beatles", "Archie" or "The Brady Kids". Then there was the Japanese stuff getting retooled as original material like "Battle of the Planets" or maybe "Doctor Snuggle" (technically that was Dutch, but whatever, of course I also left out the stuff from the 50's like Crusader Rabbit and Huckleberry Hound, but that's for another day). He-Man (and perhaps to a lesser extent, Inspector Gadget, since I watched that a lot too in '83) ushered in that new era of the syndie animation market that had no real reason to be exploited before. From then on it was just show after show and always something fresh on the tube, and new toys on the shelves.
It's true. Most of the 70s and a bit of the 80s was nothing but the same syndicated cartoons of old theatrical shorts and repackaged Saturday morning shows.
Not that it was a bad thing.
I got to watch all the classic theatrical Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies, all of the MGM Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts and the other MGM shorts by Tex Avery. There were all the Universal Popeyes, not to mention all the Fleischer Bros. Popeyes (Which I thought were superior.) and add all the Little Audrey and Casper shorts to that. The Paramont shorts with the Walter Lance Woody Woodpeckers along with the lot of Chilly Willy shorts.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the repackaged theater shorts.
From Saturday morning there was Rocky and Bullwinkle and all the greatness of Jay Ward's cartoons. And Total Television's Tennessee Tuxedo and Go Go Gophers and General McBragg and the lot. Not quite as slick as the Jay Ward shows, but still in that limited animation realm.
Oh, and how could I forget THE FLINTSTONES? Yeah, Fred and Barney were in constant rerun with all the other HB shows. The Jetsons, Hey There It's Yogi Bear, Pixie and Dixie, Huckleberry Hound, etc.
I remember these shows being in constant reruns. It was the shows that weren't rerun that doomed me. Force Five, Battle of the Planets, 8th Man, Astroboy, and Star Blazers.
After He-Man it seemed like much of the older syndicated cartoon packages just fell out of favor for shows that were more like He-Man. Which is kind of sad.
This is where I flex my brain as a nerd!
It's true. Most of the 70s and a bit of the 80s was nothing but the same syndicated cartoons of old theatrical shorts and repackaged Saturday morning shows.
Pretty much.
Not that it was a bad thing.
You get a few interesting gems. One that I had loved the first moment I saw it was this...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alvin_Show
I got to watch all the classic theatrical Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies, all of the MGM Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts and the other MGM shorts by Tex Avery. There were all the Universal Popeyes, not to mention all the Fleischer Bros. Popeyes (Which I thought were superior.) and add all the Little Audrey and Casper shorts to that. The Paramont shorts with the Walter Lance Woody Woodpeckers along with the lot of Chilly Willy shorts.
To clarify, it was Paramount who had the Popeye series, not Universal, they pretty much released the Fleischer Studio's cartoons until they bought out the studio and made more themselves. Universal has the Walter Lantz stuff.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the repackaged theater shorts.
There's also Terrytoons (theatrically released by Fox, but was distributed later by CBS and then Viacom).
From Saturday morning there was Rocky and Bullwinkle and all the greatness of Jay Ward's cartoons.
Of course if you look into that, you see at one point in time, they were shown as prime-time cartoons! Not that bad for a studio doing simple commercial work.
And Total Television's Tennessee Tuxedo and Go Go Gophers and General McBragg and the lot. Not quite as slick as the Jay Ward shows, but still in that limited animation realm.
And being sent to the same Mexican outfit c/o General Mills orders!
Oh, and how could I forget THE FLINTSTONES? Yeah, Fred and Barney were in constant rerun with all the other HB shows. The Jetsons, Hey There It's Yogi Bear, Pixie and Dixie, Huckleberry Hound, etc.
All classic! Though I didn't get to see a whole lot until USA Network showed up and payed the H-B library a lot.
I remember these shows being in constant reruns. It was the shows that weren't rerun that doomed me. Force Five, Battle of the Planets, 8th Man, Astroboy, and Star Blazers.
Let alone for me, not growing up in a large enough market for shows like that to be viable to local stations to put on at all.
After He-Man it seemed like much of the older syndicated cartoon packages just fell out of favor for shows that were more like He-Man. Which is kind of sad.
It was. People half my age had never even seen something like that on a regular basis we did.
I BEGGED for He-Man toys when I was a kid and I LOVED them. Having seen the new ones, we had some high-quality plastic back then.
Also, Giants and Toys is one of my favorite movies. The speech about why candy won't sell is a classic moment.
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