In mourning for Saturdays...

I spent last Saturday morning watching TV with my kids. The thought of doing so put a smile on my face. After all, I remember vividly my boyhood Saturdays. I would get up at 6:00 am and start watching "Rocket Robin Hood". Then I would switch channels and catch something called "The Hilarious House of Frankenstein" with Vincent Price - who clearly needed some cash in a bad way. Then after grabbing a bowl of cereal I'd settle in for the "A list" cartoons. The major networks at the time ABC, NBC and CBS would have Saturday morning blocks of cartoons and live action kids stuff. I was mesmerized by Johnny Quest, Scooby Doo, The Herculoids, Space Ghost and Hong Kong Fooey just to name a few. Then there was the live action stuff, The Shazam/Isis Hour one of my favorites. Throw in some classic WB hilarity from Bugs, Daffy and the crew and I was thrilled. These shows opened up different worlds and inspired me to create, write and draw my own new worlds. But, perhaps more importantly - they made me laugh. Ok, so the reason I bring all this up is to make a couple of points. 1. What the heck happened to Saturday mornings????? I watched some of the worst cartoons on Cartoon Network, Nick and YTV. And when I clicked over to the major networks to see the "A list" cartoons - there were news programs? HUH? Saturday mornings used to be for kids. Now they donate even more time to news. And not the Edward R. Murrow news either. That TMZ, what to wear, who's sleeping with who, who hates who gossip stuff. Seriously, Saturday mornings used to be a break from "reality". If you wanted reality you got it every other day of the week. But, I guess the argument is that now we have 24 hour cartoon channels and we don't need to turn the major networks over to the kids. Have you watched the stuff on these cartoon networks? This brings me to point number 2. When did the decision get made that cartoons had to play to the stupidest kids? Listen to the dialog in the WB cartoons. Sure, they weren't Shakespeare, (actually, I'm pretty sure they used some Shakespearean dialog in a few cartoons) but the writers assumed that you could understand both dry and slapstick humor. They played with language. And if they didn't have the best writers - at least you could be sure that your kids would be safe watching them. Be silly, but not stupid. Now it seems that every thing is coated in boogers, belches and barf. (Nice alliteration, eh?) I'm not a censorship guy. In fact, I believe very strongly in the power of changing the channel. But what do I change it to? I know there are other "channels" to find my beloved cartoons like DVD's and youtube, but I feel like we should take Saturday mornings back. No more news on Saturday mornings. There's enough out there. More cartoons about adventure and fun. Bring back the live action stuff. Make 'em campy. Or don't. Take pride in the writing. Expect some intelligence from your audience - it's there, trust me. Give Saturday mornings back to kids...they deserve it. It's a rest from the grind that we inflict on them. If anything change it back to the way it was for slackers like me. If you keep me happy and sedated then I won't start my own network and bury you...