From the Crow’s Nest
by CLINT YOUNTS
Well, college football is over until the bowl games begin in a few weeks, starting with Texas A&M playing Missouri in the Benedict Arnold Bowl. I’m picking the Aggies to win because this is the only bowl game that has just three quarters. Until the first of countless and meaningless bowl games begin, I have to find something else to watch on Saturday mornings besides Lee Corso and College Gameday. Since the high quality shows like Lady Hoggers and Swamp People don’t air until later in the day, I thought I’d revert to my childhood ways and watch cartoons all morning. Yup, that was my plan alright, until I switched from ESPN to the major networks to check out the Saturday morning shows.
Have y’all seen the stuff they are airing on Saturday mornings these days? What the heck happened to the cartoons? All I see are morning newscasts and educational crap. Where’s Bugs and Elmer Fudd? Did Tom and Jerry end up in a lab testing perfumes? Did Wile E. Coyote finally catch that roadrunner and end the series? Where did all my cartoon friends go?
Today’s kids have to sit and watch second-string newscasters babble while munching on their cold Pop-Tarts. Also available for Saturday morning viewing, after spending the past five days in a classroom, some show called The Magic School Bus comes on. What? More school work? Aw, come on, people! Give these kids and their young-at-heart parents something fun to watch on their day off.
My memory’s not what it used to be, but I do remember watching some great cartoons on Saturday mornings back when I was a little toot. Who remembers sitting in front of a black-and-white TV, wearing pajamas that your grandmother had made, watching Yogi Bear and Boo Boo? And how about Quick Draw McGraw and Deputy Dawg? Those were great cartoons! I think Popeye was my all-time favorite character with Underdog coming in a close second. I’m guessing Sponge Bob Square Pants may be a favorite with youngsters today, but I’m sorry Mr. Square Pants, you are no Popeye!
I have fond memories growing up in the ’60s and ’70s. I recall running around in the yard with a towel tied around my neck and a red “S” drawn on an old T shirt, replaying the Superman show I just watched. My little brother was my sidekick, Underdog. If we weren’t fighting bad guys in Metropolis, then I was strutting around with pearl-handle pistols and a mask while my trusty companion, Tonto, followed me with his rubber tomahawk. Once we whupped all the bad guys and made Beeville safe again, we’d head back inside to visit family friends like the Flintstones and the Jetsons.
Saturday morning television shows were made for kids to watch while their parents slept in. My mother bought us a cheap alarm clock so my brother and I could wake up at 7:00 Saturday mornings in time to watch Roy Rogers. By the time our parents got up, Roy had ridden into the sunset, and Dick Dastardly was causing trouble at the Wacky Races. Later, Scooby Doo and Shaggy would be trying to capture a monster, and Johnny Quest had a mystery to solve. On Saturday mornings, the TV belonged to us kids.
So, back to my original question, what in tarnation has happened to good cartoons? Who decided that Bugs Bunny wasn’t funny anymore? Why was Woody Woodpecker plucked from the Saturday morning line-up? Did the Jetsons get grounded? How did Space Ghost simply vanish right before our eyes? Have the Flintstones become extinct? Did Casper the Friendly Ghost turn into a poltergeist? Hey, hey, hey, where’s Fat Albert?
Maybe some of my favorite cartoon characters have long since retired, or perhaps they are performing over on some cartoon channel to supplement their social security. I don’t want to go searching through 250 channels just to find a classic cartoon instead of the animated crapola that is on the tube today. That’s a tough task, and on Saturday mornings, I don’t want to work that hard. Oh, Scooby Doo, where are you?
Clint Younts will soon be making videos (yep, videos!) of these classic toons for his grandson to watch.
