Blast from the Past: Saturday Morning in the 70s, Pt. 2: The Cartoons

Saturday morning cartoons--an absolute weekly event during most of my childhood--are a thing of the past. There are entire channels dedicated to cartoons and children's programming, but it's just not the same as the big three TV networks having a slate of kids shows from 6 to noon every Saturday. They competed against each other, and ran promotional ads in comic books to get our eyeballs on their channel. And we all watched. I don't

remember any kid my age who didn't.

My first edition covered the live-action shows, and this time I'm going for the cartoons. These are my favorites, in no particular order.

1. Josie and the Pussycats (1972-73) - A weird amalgam of Archie Comics style and Hanna-Barbara Scooby-Doo-like storytelling. But I loved the music, and Sebastian the cat.

2. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1970) - Scooby-Doo ran for many, many years, in many, many formats. But long before the insufferable Scrappy-Doo came along, was the original. And dig that music!



3. SuperFriends (1973-1986) - The first season was a kid-friendly version of The Justice League of America, complete with ordinary kids Wendy and Marvin (with WonderDog). The show picked up steam and popularity with the introduction of the Wonder Twins, Zan & Jayna. But the closer they got to the feel of the JLA, the more I liked it.

4. The Pink Panther Show (1969-1980) - This is another one that ran under a great many titles, but I always liked it, with its mix of segments, from the Ant and the Aardvark, Tijuana Toads and The Inspector.



INTERLUDE A: In the News (1971-1986) - CBS ran these mini news programs between cartoons. They brought our mornings to a screeching halt. But as I got older, I started to enjoy them.

INTERLUDE B: Schoolhouse Rock (1973-2009) - Unlike the previous, I loved these shorts. Almost all of them. We looked forward to Schoolhouse Rock just as much as the regular cartoons.



5. The Brady Kids (1972-73) - The Brady Bunch cartoon version included Marlon the talking mynah bird, and Ping and Pong, the pandas, for no particular reason. I was only 6, and I was rolling my eyes at the wacky animal sidekick trope. Speaking of which. . .

6. The Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974-75) - For some reason, the Partridges have a different mom, and instead of touring on a bus in the 70s, they're flying through space in the 23rd century. With a robot dog called Orbit.



7. The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show (1976) - Though Tom & Jerry went through many, many titles (and their theatrical shorts are their main draw), this mouthful of a title still sticks in my head, and thus deserves a spot on the list. Unfortunately, the only video I can find is of the version without Mumbly.

8. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1981) - I loved this show, and Bill Cosby (here's hoping he's not guilty of the current allegations), but it always heralded the end of cartoons for the day, which was also sad.
 

And now, the weekend is over, and it's time to go to school work! Happy Monday!

Over Time with Bill Maher, November 14, 2014

Bill Maher and his roundtable guests – Margaret Hoover, Andrew Sullivan, Jeremy Scahill and Martin Short.

Keystone XL Pipeline to be Fast-Tracked by Congress - Both Sides Seeking Credit

I really wish somebody could explain this to me. The Keystone XL pipeline is loathed by environmentalists, and some climatologists. If successful, the oil extracted from the sands it will move is allegedly "game over" for the environment. And if it should leak, it could endanger a major aquifer that supplies water to a huge portion of the American populace. It will move oil that isn't ours, and will not be ours when it is sold either. It will employ lots of people for the time it takes to build it, but won't have many long-term jobs at all.

So, why does Right Wing World have a hard on for it, exactly? I know this is a major political football, so much so that both sides of Congress--particularly Louisiana Senate candidates looking at a runoff--are seeking to fast-track it, and try to take credit for it. But why? Why is this priority #1?

[Excerpt]

Keystone XL Pipeline: Lame-Duck Congress Fast-Tracks Legislation

The tortuous six-year fight over a controversial proposal to funnel oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast took another turn this week after both houses of the lame-duck Congress moved to vote on the Keystone XL pipeline. As the legislation barrels through Congress and heads to the Oval Office, President Barack Obama may soon settle one of the most politically charged debates of the decade. The White House appeared to downplay the congressional maneuvering Wednesday, saying it takes a "dim view of these kinds of legislative proposals. . ."

Read more at: NBC News

The Gay Thing: Gay Marriage Comes to Kansas; Ban Struck Down in South Carolina

When the 6th Circuit Court (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee) decided to uphold the bans on same-sex marriage in their jurisdiction, anti-gay forces got a rare boost. Except for two or three outlier decisions in the last two years, marriage equality has racked up dozens of wins, culminating with four Circuit Courts ruling in their favor, and the Supreme Court electing to leave it that way. Then came the 6th. While many, if not most of the court watchers on both sides figured a Circuit split would happen, it didn't stop the sting on one side and the jubilation on the other.

Image from source, Yahoo!

But it turns out, the 6th hasn't changed things in other marriage equality cases. Gay couples can now marry in Kansas. And in South Carolina--barring an extraordinary occurrence--will have it soon. We are soon to be left with the Deep South (which somehow has spread upward all the way past Ohio to Michigan), the Dakotas, Montana, Nebraska and Texas. And some of those could topple at any time.

The smart money is on the Supreme Court taking the 6th Circuit cases (though some say they'll send it back to an en banc review), with some sort of decision by the end of June, 2015. Meanwhile, some of these individual states will go into the "win" column, and at least one other Circuit could rule, probably siding with the 6th. But by the time that happens, the Supremes may very well have ruled. Just about everyone I've read seems to think our chances are good at SCOTUS, though not assured. With over 2/3 of the states now experience marriage equality, it is difficult to imagine that SCOTUS will shut it down. Especially since it was their actions that gave us a large chunk of those states.

[Excerpt]

Gay marriage advocates get victories in Kansas, South Carolina
 
Gay marriage advocates won another two victories on Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Kansas to become the 33rd U.S. state where same-sex couples can wed and a federal judge struck down South Carolina's ban. . .

Read more at: Yahoo! News

The Media's Insane Reaction to Ebola

Now that the very few actual cases of Ebola in the United States have run their course, and the incubation period for anyone else is past, can we talk about the media reaction?

US and China Announce Climate Agreement

I'm sure Right Wing World sees this as much ado about nothing, since--somehow--their political ideology overrules climate science, and relegates climate change to being a hoax. But if anyone has been paying attention to China's desperate--and unsuccessful--effort to squelch their horrific air pollution in advance of this summit, they'd see just how obvious it is that we can affect our environment in bad ways. Why on earth they think it's impossible to cause more global changes is hard for me to fathom. But good on President Obama for this effort, whatever the usual suspects have to say about it.

[Excerpt]

US, China Announce Ambitious New Climate Agreement

The United States and China unveiled ambitious targets Wednesday to reduce greenhouse gases, aiming to inject fresh momentum into the global fight against climate change ahead of a make-or-break treaty to be finalized next year. President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would move much faster in cutting pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Earlier in his presidency, Obama set a goal to cut emissions by 17 percent by 2020. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

What Happens in Vegas: Caesars Filing for Bankruptcy?

Several years ago, the big casinos on the Las Vegas Strip started consolidating. Very quickly, they pretty much came to be two gigantic companies, Caesars Entertainment and MGM/Mirage. There are exceptions, but not many. And of course, these two gigantic companies own and/or operate casinos and resorts all over the country and around the globe. But are casino companies too big to fail?

Apparently not. As hard as it is to believe that a business centered on mostly casinos--where the game is always tilted toward the house--could possibly fail. But given that it can, it ought to be a lesson for the rest of corporate America: your colossal corporations--formed by decades of unchecked consolidation--could fall victim to the same thing. I for one would be very excited to see some of the consolidated businesses in many industries be trust-busted, like we used to do. We could start with the media.

I'm so sorry, sire!

[Excerpt]

Caesars, Creditors Said to Have Deal on Unit’s Bankruptcy
 
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) reached an agreement with key senior creditors on the outline of a debt restructuring plan that includes a prearranged bankruptcy for its largest unit as soon as January, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations. Under the plan being negotiated by first-lien bondholders including Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. and Pacific Investment Management Co., the casino company would put its Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. unit into Chapter 11 proceedings as soon as Jan. 14, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. . .

Read more at: Bloomberg

In Case You Missed It: Too Many Cooks!

Yeah, I know. I'm at the tail end of this one. That's what you get when you don't blog much on weekends, and you get busy after that. But I wanted this here anyway, because it's such a perfect encapsulation of my many pop culture touchstones; a stew of TV and movie tropes all stirred together brilliantly. Though, I'm quite sure it leaves people scratching their heads.

Suffice to say, the longer you watch, the weirder (and more trippy) it gets.
 

I've Been a Little Busy. . .

Oh, hi! Didn't see you there. Yeah, I know, nothing new in a couple of days. Such is the life of the hobbyist blogger: life gets in the way. Between social obligations, a house guest and our renewed home improvement efforts, blogging has just not been possible. And here I sit at ten past midnight, with nothing up since Sunday.

I'll be back! Probably tomorrow, with an unexpected day off from work, due to Veteran's Day and a slowdown in projects. So, maybe this here blog thingy will see some action on Tuesday. So, until then. . .

 

Give Me Some Credit! (Updated)



I noticed long ago that I get a lot of credit card offers. Beyond the standard junk mail and insurance offers (probably a topic for another post), credit card offers come weekly. But what really started to catch my eye was that it was the same offer, over and over again: Barclay Card, Capitol One and Discover. I would make a joke of it, "Look! An offer for Barclay Card!" So, I decided to start collecting them, to see how often they really do come. I started this project in early March, and the stack of offers is so high, I'm declaring an end to it. Here are my findings:



Barclay Card: 16 offers
Discover Card: 13 offers
Capitol One: 19 offers
Grand total: 38 credit card offers from three companies in 6 months

This is (with the exception of just a couple from Capitol One) all for one person in our household! These mailers are heavy, high quality printing, and in the case of Discover, glossy. They are not cheap to produce, and cannot be cheap to mail. How much money do credit card companies spend, saturating the market with these mailers?





ORIGINAL POST, 6/20/14:


The Other Half and I have each had our troubles with credit in our lives, thankfully at separate times, and also thankfully in the distant past. But I'm amazed at how much the credit card companies want our business. After years of offers, about six weeks ago, I decided to start collecting the offers, just to see how often they really come. To date: 5 Capital One Card, 5 Barclay Card, 3 Discover Card. In all, 13 offers from three companies in six weeks. Even more odd, only one was for me! I guess I've been out of debt so long, they don't think I'm interested any more?

But keep this in mind, next time you wonder why your interest rates are so high: how much money are they spending on these repeated, excessive, expensive, glossy mailers?

The Gay Thing: The Best "Review" of the 6th Circuit Decision

I've given you my take on the woefully bad 6th Circuit Court decision to uphold gay marriage bans from Michigan to Tennessee. But if you'd like to read a review of the decision that is both on point and also highly entertaining, you can't do better than this:

[Excerpt]

Sixth Circuit Strikes Down Gay Marriage For Stupid Reasons That Are Dumb

Well, looky here, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to cram homophobia down everyone’s throats. Talk about judicial activism! In a 2-1 decision, the three-judge panel — with the dissenter writing a most epic dissent, but we’ll get to that — ruled in DeBoer v. Snyder that it is perfectly fine and legal, and probably also good for the children, to ban marriage equality in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The court uses a lot of fancy legal jargon like “strict scrutiny” and “rational basis review” and lots of citations to lots of cases to make it look like the judges are just doing their jobs, but when you cut out all of that lawtalk, the basic premise of the court’s decision to overturn the lower courts’ decisions is that, as judges, they cannot possibly decide whether it is constitutional to discriminate against gay people for being gay. What are they — judges? . . .

Read more at: Wonkette

In Case You Missed It: Rachel Maddow Finds a Silver Lining in the 2014 Election

I forgot to post this yesterday, and it's too good to forget. Rachel Maddow was one of MSNBC's main commentators on their election coverage (yes, FOX-lovers, I'm her one viewer, haha), and did a pretty good job during the dour thing (when Chris Matthews wasn't being a dick). People who claimed it was funereal on that channel didn't watch, or only caught a snippet. Because Maddow lives for this stuff. She's a political junkie who thinks of elections like Christmas, no matter who is winning.

As such, even though the night was dire for liberals, Rachel culled the returns for some good news. And delivers it with the appropriate amount of "yes, I'm digging through a pile of poop for nuggets of gold here." So, if you don't know about the good things that came out of that dismal election, here's your go-to source.
 

The Gay Thing: 6th Circuit Rules FOR Gay Marriage Bans (Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan)

For an atheist, I have an unusual amount of things that are so intuitive and coincidental, that it makes me wonder if agnosticism might not be more my speed. Almost daily I have an odd occurrence, the repetition of an unusual word in disparate places, talking about an obscure celebrity, only to have them die the next day. Things like that. I had another one today. I thought, "What's going on with the 6th Circuit?"  They'd heard cases on marriage equality quite a while ago. The election is over, so I figured the timing was ripe. When were they going to rule? This was right before lunch. I did a quick couple of Google searches, and no news.

After lunch, boom, the news hit. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the gay marriage bans in their jurisdiction can stand. This is quite the departure, and provides a Circuit split, as every other Circuit Court that has ruled on the subject has ruled against such bans. In a week of bad political news (from my perspective), this was just the rancid icing on the moldy cake. I suppose it shouldn't bother me so badly, since we're on the edge of 34 states having marriage equality. Even my current state has me in the legal column.

But Ohio is my home state. We've talked about moving back there. If we moved tomorrow, in most of the states in our path, our marriage would be intact. It would wink off in the Texas panhandle, wink back on in Oklahoma, and remain so until we got to our destination. Where we'd promptly become roommates in Ohio. Clearly, this is no way to run a country. And I'm hoping, that's what the Supreme Court will think as well. The question is, when will the case even get there? If things move quickly, it could be decided by June of next year. Or maybe June of 2016. And there's no guarantee we'll win.

But I think we have a much better than even chance. Let's start with the 6th's decision. While I'm no lawyer or judge, I don't think this decision would pass in high school debate class. There's very little in the way of legal reasoning at all. It's mostly appeals to tradition, and--very oddly--an effort to duck responsibility. The court is actually saying it's not their place to decide. Not their place to decide a constitutional issue! It's absurd.

Actually, the entire battle from the anti-gay side has been absurd. I've been arguing this subject for years online and elsewhere, and there is literally nothing new to their arguments. The things that this court did latch onto have been argued down and defeated in dozens of previous decisions. These retread arguments would only sway judges who were groping for reasoning. And rather than answer the questions before them: a) can a state constitutionally ban gay people from getting married and b) can a state refuse to recognize a legal marriage from another state, were largely responded to with a, "What? Who? Us? You're asking us? It's not up to us." Crazy man. Crazy.

[Excerpt]

Supreme Court Gay Marriage Showdown Looms After Appeals Court Upholds Bans
 
The march toward gay marriage across the U.S. hit a roadblock Thursday when a federal appeals court upheld laws against the practice in four states, creating a split in the legal system that increases the chances the Supreme Court will step in to decide the issue once and for all. The cases decided were from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Obama: No, I Won't Let Them Repeal ObamaCare

Image from source, Talking Points Memo

A lot of people have pointed out that the GOP won largely on a single rallying cry: "We hate Barack Obama." Beyond that, there really wasn't much of a platform. So, what are they going to do with all this power? Well, impeachment is a possibility. Why? They don't need a why. They'll find a why, like they did with Bill Clinton. And as that episode proved, it doesn't even have to be a good reason.

But it's risky. It only made Clinton more popular. If Al Gore hadn't made the decision to distance himself from Clinton (a lesson Democrats hopefully have now learned by doing the same with Obama), he very well might have won. Or rather, won more decisively, so that SCOTUS couldn't hand it to Bush. I know, I know, get off the tangent. Okay.

So, while I'm sure somebody is going to bring up impeachment, it's far from a sure thing. So, what's next? ObamaCare. Obviously. Even though it's working (after an admittedly fumbled rollout), and millions of previously uninsured people now have insurance. Even though they don't have an alternative. Even though the cry for repeal only really exists at the base level. They've got to reward that base. So, you know they'll at least make some noise about it. I mean, how many times did the House vote for repeal, 50?

Anyway, barring an astounding turn of events, repeal of the whole thing is very, very unlikely. But don't be shocked if they go for some changes. And you know they won't be the good kind.

[Excerpt]

Obama: No, I'm Not Going To Allow The GOP To Repeal Obamacare
 
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would be "open and receptive" to "responsible changes" to Obamacare proposed by the new GOP Congress, but asserted that there were some policies that were off the table. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

The Gay Thing: Marriage Equality Comes to Missouri (and Maybe Kansas)

With the gigantic Republican swing in the Senate and House, many gay people like myself immediately bristled: "what are they going to try to do?" The marriage equality wave has been bigger and more sustained than even this Republican wave (which, let's face it, was powered by a combination of overly-motivated conservatives, and under-motivated liberals). Up until now, there has been a lot of squawking by conservatives about gay marriage, and futile efforts at slowing it down, but it keeps coming, state-by-state, and even the Supreme Court seems to not care about slowing it down.

April Dawn Breeden & Crystal Peirs at their St. Louis wedding.
Image from source, St. Louis Tribune.

So, I figured we were finally a dead issue. But with their new position, who can be sure what Republicans will do? Will they take this bullshit issue about "sincerely held religious beliefs," couple it with the Hobby Lobby decision, and come up with religious exemptions to civil rights laws? Will they push for a "Federal Marriage Amendment?" Will they come up with something we haven't thought of yet, to demonize gay people, or otherwise try to keep us at second-class status? They might. They might do a lot of crazy stuff. Or, just maybe, they'll be so busy trying to repeal ObamaCare, and with trying to impeach the President over something (anything will likely do), they'll decide we're not worth the trouble.

In any event, it was some consolation to the dismal election returns, to find good news on the marriage equality front in both Kansas and Missouri! Neither is all the way over the finish line, though Missouri will be soon, and Kansas quick to follow. 2/3 of the states now have equal marriage. At this rate, regardless of what they throw at us, we'll get to 50 before they gather a strategy. I hope...

[Excerpt]

Judge overturns Missouri ban on gay marriage

A state judge overturned Missouri’s constitutional ban on gay marriage Wednesday in a ruling that immediately set off a rush among some same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses. St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said in a written ruling that Missouri’s measure recognizing marriage only between a man and woman violates the due process and equal protection rights of the U.S. Constitution. The decision mirrored ones handed down recently in several other states. . .

Read more at: St. Louis Tribune


[Excerpt]

Kansas ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional: judge
 
Same-sex couples may soon be able to marry in Kansas following a federal judge's ruling on Tuesday that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree granted a preliminary injunction stopping Kansas from enforcing its ban on gay marriage and put the ruling on hold until Nov. 11 to give Kansas an opportunity to appeal. . .

Read more at: Reuters

Election 2014: Where I Differ from the Punditry

This is America's idea of a leader? SMH.
Image from source, TPM.

I just got done reading the post excerpted below. It's from Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, one of my go-to guys on one of my go-to blogs. And I fundamentally disagree with him. And agree with him. Let me explain.

Election night was a doozy: great for Republicans, dire for Democrats. This much is true, and is indisputable. It is being described (by Marshall and others) as a massive "national tide" or "wave." Marshall goes so far as to say the results are, ". . .about the national political climate." Excuse me, but no, they're not. And yes they are. But, no first.

No, because this wasn't a national election, not really. As everyone knows, liberals and Democrats are notoriously difficult to rouse in off-year or mid-term elections. I don't know why this is so, but it's so. Also, the right-wing base is extraordinarily easy to get to the polls. Any time, really. So this "tide/wave" isn't really all that big. It was effective, but does not necessarily indicate the national political climate. Unless the only climate you care about is this small group of voters.

And yes, because, well. . .there is a level of political "truthiness" going on here. The GOP (and its support network, your FOX "News," your Rush Limbaugh) has done a bang-up job painting President Obama as a ruthless, Maoist, fascist, Marxist, socialist, communist, you name it, negative-ist caricature. He's also a feckless, gormless, lazy, rudderless, incompetent boob who can not, will not lead, except "from behind." Forget that he really can't be all of those things, the cognitive dissonance somehow sells. This sales pitch has become part of the national political climate whether it is true or not. And Democrats--by and large--treated it like it was true as much as Republicans did. Economic indicators are up. . .just about every measure that should have the president's party doing well is good. But people are angry! Why? Because they just are.

So, this wave is both not as large as it's being portrayed, even though its results were. And though this may portend a national political climate, it is also kind of baseless and lacking substance. How's that for some cognitive dissonance?

Now, let's see how crazy this gets.

[Excerpt]

What Does It Mean?
 
No two ways about it - a big, big night for the GOP. We won't know the outcome in Louisiana until December. But it's now looking likely that the GOP will end up with a 54 - 46 seat majority in the next Congress. We still haven't heard from Alaska. And we can't totally count Landrieu out. But this is close to a maximal win for the Republicans. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Election 2014: How Screwed Are We?

I went into this election with all the positivity I could muster. And with all the bracing I could manage for a bad result. All-in-all, I guess I'm weathering it. Whereas in 2012--which turned out pretty well--I was all aflutter with worry, this time it was more like grudging resignation. I don't understand why people are voting heavy Republican. I don't understand how anyone would want to elect Mitch McConnell, Rick Scott, Scott Wanker Walker, John Kasich, or any of a host of other candidates who were  re-elected tonight. But I accept that they have.

How screwed are we? Well, given that the previous Congress was the least effective in history, not much more screwed than before. The more relevant question might be, "how crazy will they be?" And my thought is, "pretty crazy." The rabid base that got them here has been frothing at the mouth for all kinds of nutty things, and they're going to want to flex their muscles. And I will make a prediction right now: The Republican Congress and Senate that was elected in 2014 will shoot their crazy wad all over the country, and will inspire a Democratic wave in 2016.

Until then, we have to cover ourselves with a tarp or something. Another prediction, my just re-elected Republican Governor Brian Sandoval will have to battle Wisconsin's Governor Walker for the 2016 RNC nomination. And finally, I'm going to have a lot more material for the blog.

 

Fellow Citizen: Go Vote!

My fellow Americans, as a lefty-liberal-moonbat Democrat in good standing, I of course hope you don't vote for the clown car full of bozos that is the GOP slate. I'd implore you to vote your best interests, and those of the country. I'd urge you not to vote for crazy people.

But vote. Don't shrug it off. Don't say, "eh, they're all the same." Because they are starkly different in key ways. And if you do go vote, and you get home, and you find yourself depressed because of who ended up winning, remember this: America has the political memory of a goldfish. If Republicans win, voters will be pissed at them in 2016, and we'll get a Democratic wave. In the unlikely case of a Democratic squeaker,* Republicans will likely have an easier time in the next election.

But apparently, the State of the Union is rather irrelevant to actual voting. The economy is doing fairly well. There are big scary things in the news, but there are always big scary things in the news. Ebola has fizzled, at least for the moment. And arguably, Republicans made us more vulnerable on that front in the first place. "People are angry," I keep hearing. But about what, I really have no idea. They don't seem to either, they just sputter about Obama being a dictator and not being a leader. That's a pretty neat trick.

So, I give up trying to explain it. But go vote. It's your civic duty. And if you can round up two or three people who were thinking of not going, even better.

*Now, I just want to say, that I'm fully prepared for a GOP Senate, though I'm not happy about it. But I also won't be surprised if the wave doesn't hit as hard as people think it's going to. It's all going to come down to who gets out the vote. But I'm hoping for a surprise Democratic squeaker or even a 50/50 split. Call me a cockeyed optimist!

Blast from the Past: Saturday Morning in the 70s, Pt. 1: Live Action

It has come to my attention that there is now no such thing as network Saturday morning cartoons. Sure, there are several channels dedicated to children's programming, but there is no longer "appointment viewing" on the big three (or four) networks. Having grown up in the 70s, this is just sad. Saturday morning was for

getting up early, grabbing a bowl of your favorite cereal, and plopping down in front of the TV for a stretch of hours. If you got up too early, you got a sermonette, or something equally dire. If you started too late, you got Fat Albert, which was okay, except that it was the last one before golf or football.

As it turns out, my era of kids shows was pretty much the golden era. Some of the most iconic programming came between 1968 and 1980. Before that window, there was little color television, essential for the experience, and after that window, all of the shows became little more than advertisements for toy lines. But right in the middle was primo kids' entertainment. But it wasn't all cartoons. Some of my favorites were "live action," often superheroes, other times surreal creatures. Here are the ones I remember best.

1. The Bugaloos (1970-72) - They're in the air, everywhere!
2. H.R. Puff 'N' Stuff (1970-72) - I'm pretty sure this was the result of the creators' acid trip.



3. Isis (1975-77) - Sort of the Saturday morning Wonder Woman, a counterpart to Shazam!
4. Shazam! (1974-76) - My favorite superhero, Captain Marvel (titled Shazam! due to legal reasons, and now--quite wrongly--his new name in the comics.



5. The Krofft Supershow Season One (1976-77) - Headed by "Kaptain Kool & the Kongs," this awesome program featured Electra Woman and DynaGirl, Dr. Shrinker, The Lost Saucer and Wonderbug (a ripoff of Speed Buggy).
6. The Krofft Supershow Season Two (1977-78) - A toned down Kongs now presided over Wonderbug, Bigfoot and Wild Boy and Magic Mongo. It wasn't as much fun.



7. Ark II (1976-79) - Kid sci-fi, with kind of a dystopian future. Heavy stuff for Saturday morning.
8. The Banana Splits (1968-70) - Another program that just might have been inspired by some sixties pharmacology.



9. Land of the Lost (1974-76) - Never a favorite of mine, but huge in my generation.
10. Big John, Little John (1976-77) - This is what happened to Cousin Oliver after he got The Brady Bunch cancelled.



That'll do it for this week's edition. Part 2 coming soon. Happy Monday!

Over Time with Bill Maher, October 31, 2014