Another icon bites the dust

Sic transit gloria Saturday Morning Network Cartoons. According to this article, the networks have largely gone out of the cartoon biz, conceding it to cable networks catering to kids and cartoons. While Saturday morning still may see cartoons on network TV, they will not be produced by the networks themselves, and are likely to fade away altogether.

From the 1950s through much of the 1970s, the biggest weekly block of cartoons and kids’ shows appeared on Saturday mornings. Millions of American children grabbed a bowl of Cap’n Crunch and plopped down for a good three or four hours of network cartoons such as “Bugs Bunny” and shorts such as “In the News.”
“One of the things I remember about TV when I was a kid was cartoon Saturday morning. You did not want to miss it for anything,” said Sue Ellen Kelly, 38.
Kids still get up early on Saturday, but many are more likely to follow an activity-filled schedule like that of the Kelly kids. Or, if they’re sitting in front of a TV, they may be playing a video game instead of watching a show. And, of course, there’s the Internet.

I can remember creeping down the hallway on Saturday mornings, ninja-like, to avoid awakening my folks (in particular my dad). Turn on the TV — rolling the volume all the way down to zero first (this being the Good Ol’ Days of analog controls), then finding cartoons — whatever cartoons I could find — to watch with my brother.

Super Friends. Scooby-Doo. Batman/Superman/Aquaman. The Wacky Racers.

So long, guys. I’ll miss you. Or, if not you, your memories.

(Via Rooba)