On the subject of Saturday Mornings

My daughter is watching her seemingly fourth episode of Suite Life of Zach and Cody. I think I am on my ropes end. The wife is asleep in the bedroom, and so tired that the resonant noises are keeping me from watching the television in there. So, without the television on a snowy day, I thought I would do something worthwhile, like blog a bit about Saturday mornings... the way I remember them.

I feel like a grandpa saying "back in my day," but it's true... back in my day, we had only a few choices for Saturday morning television, and that day was reserved for kids! There was no Saturday Today Show or extended Morning News... it was ours!

Some of my favorites... well I seemed to be an ABC guy. Hong Kong Phooey was definitely on the list. Lancelot Link Secret Chimp may be my all time favorite. Those monkeys still make me laugh.


Superfriends had me until they started getting all strange with the Wondertwins and that strange looking monkey like thing.

Schoolhouse Rock was the transitional program... I'm just a bill. Conjunction Junction, what's your function? I am happy to say I have the DVD of these for my kids, and my son loves them.


Of course CBS had Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, with the interludes of ba doop be doop be dopp be doop... In the News. Bugs Bunny and Road Runner could always get me going. Loved Wacky Races and always wanted to rescue Penelope Pitstop. I still quote Mutley when I get mad... "sacka frassa no good rotten!'

NBC - Frankly I don't remember many NBC shows. Maybe in the 80's when I wasn't a kid and Saved by the Bell made high school look cool after I had left high school. Ah. Kelly Kapowski, although I think I had a thing for Elizabeth Berkeley. (And no, I have not seen Showgirls.)

But the one I remember more than about any other was the strangely wild Krofft Supershow. One article I saw recently described this show as "an orgy of Sid and Marty Krofft weirdness." How true! On the heels of HR Pufnstuf came Wonderbug, Dr. Shrinker, and the one that tested my adolescence, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Yes, I thought Diedre Hall was a superheroine, and I didn't even know she was on Days of our Lives.

The end of "Saturday Morning" would always be American Bandstand. I loved Rate a Record and seeing the top ten. And as I grew older, I started liking to see the dancing more than the musical acts who had those amazing microphones with just the antenna. (Lip Sync? what's that?)

Sometimes, my TV would end up on Channel 20, WDCA (or was it Channel 5 - WTTG) where Don Cornelius brought us Soul Train. This was so strange, yet so compelling to watch. I guess this and Bandstand is what began my love of disco dancing and music.

Now, there are literally dozens of choices and here on the west coast, Saturday Mornings sometimes get rescheduled to Sunday afternoons due to sports coverage. Kids shows have become E-I shows, including one I produce on High School Sports. But one always remembers their childhood, and I hope I might have brought back a memory or two for you. Now if I can just get the vision of Electra Woman out of my head, I can go on with my day.

Yours truly,
Johnny Blogger