Long ago and faraway, there was a time when kids had a vast selection of cartoons to choose from when they came home from school. When you turn on the TV today, where are the toons? With the exception of the Cartoon Network, and The Simpsons, The Family Guy, and King of the Hill (the last three more adult-oriented), there isn't much in the way of cartoons today.
Up through at least the late 70's - and probably later than that - the Philadelphia stations that fill the afternoons with their judge programs like Judge Judy and Divorce Court (Channel 29), and "talk" shows (Channel 17 with their Maury and Steve Wilkos shows) once had the hours from 2:00 through 5:00 dedicated to entertaining kids. Parents knew when their kids came home from school, they were able to sit down to watch harmless programming. At least in those days it was harmless. With so many people beating the politically-correct drum today, many of the toons that we knew and loved will never be seen on-screen again short of maybe YouTube. I understand that some are racially-insensitive, but some of the World War II-era cartoons were produced partly with a propaganda element and have some historical value, at least to those who understand the era. They would go over the heads of younger people. Add to that lineup the now-defunct WKBS, Channel 48, and they had their choice of many cartoon shows. They may not have gotten their homework done after school, but at least they weren't getting an eyeful of trash.
For the kids yet too young to go to school, there were programs in the AM too. Channel 6 - then WFIL TV - had both Sally Starr's Popeye Theater and the Happy the Clown programs. (It was alleged that Happy was a nasty fellow who would berate the kids during commercial breaks - obscenities included - then come back on the air full of smiles for the viewing audience. I've heard that from a few folks, but one source, a late friend of my mother's, was very reliable. She said she took her kids to be part of the peanut gallery one fine day, and would never bring them back). I don't believe the other two VHF stations had kids programming, but for at least an hour, the young ones had something to watch besides Good Morning America in the a.m. or two-and-a-half hours of Action News starting at 4:00 p.m. It seems we're being overloaded with the news lately, especially when they sometimes include things that aren't really news.
AND YOU MAY REMEMBER...
... Dr. Don Rose, the DJ from then-popular AM top-40s station WFIL, keeping kiddies occupied during commercial breaks with his cornball quips on Channel 48. Along with various cartoons, this station also broadcasted the Our Gang/Little Rascals comedies of the 30s and 40s.
... Looney Toons filling a good part of the afternoon on WTAF-TV, Channel 29, and Tom and Jerry on another.
... Wee Willie Webber, the uncle-like moderator of programs on WPHL-17. That channel had shows like Astro Boy, Ultra Man, and George of the Jungle.
... Saturday morning cartoons. Every one of the big-three networks had them, going through noon. Now they're long-gone. For kids, it was a big thing when they announced the new cartoon line-ups every September.
What old afternoon cartoon programs did I miss? Which were your favorites? Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment