TNT and TBS Cartoon Show Memories

[musicradio77]

I saw a post from Jon Cooke at GAC's Termite Terrace Trading Post discussing about looking back at TNT and TBS where they used to show old WB cartoons. Jon Cooke has this post to say:

I was just watching some more of my Volume 3 DVD tonight. While watching shorts like "Super-Rabbit" and "Daffy Duck and Egghead" I couldn't help but think back to the days when these cartoons aired frequently on TNT and TBS. Since I found the posts by Mark and Howard about how USA and CN used to air the '60s Hanna-Barbera shows in the past so fascinating, I thought I'd start a little thread where those of us you watched the Turner network cartoon shows religiously in the 1990s to get all nostalgic.

My family didn't get cable TV until 1990-1. I was just going into 7th grade (middle school). There couldn't have been a better time to get cable TV for a cartoon fan. It seemed EVERY cable network had their own cartoon block. I grew up with the CBS TV specials, ABC's Bugs & Tweety Show, the compliation movies and various VHS videos that the local video store had available (mostly the Golden Jubilees). Between TNT, TBS and Nickelodeon, I was amazed at how many Warner Bros. cartoons I had never seen before. Plus, there were all the Tom and Jerrys, Pink Panthers, and Tex Averys (besides a handful of Droopys, I had never seen any Averys before this). I was in heaven. I can still remember the first WB short I watched the night we got the cable TV installed: "Hare Conditioned" on TNT's BUGS BUNNY & PALS.

BUGS BUNNY & PALS was pretty much TNT's flagship cartoon show. I remember it airing every morning and there was a 1-hour nightly show weeknights and a 90 minute show on Saturday evenings. It also aired Sunday mornings. The show always started and ended with a Bugs cartoon (in the case of the 90 min. shows, there would be a 3rd Bugs cartoon shown in the middle). In addition to the pre-48 WBs, they would air MGM cartoons (T&J, Tex Avery, Droopy, Barney Bear), Popeye (redrawn and Famous), and DePatie-Freleng (Pink Panther, Ant and the Aardvark, Inspector, Roland & Rattfink, and Hoot Kloot -- when I saw the swinging doors that kicked off a Hoot cartoon, it was a signal to change the channel. I even remember my brother, who wasn't a huge cartoon fan like me, that he also hated "those stupid cowboy cartoons").

Other TNT offerings were THE POPEYE HOUR and something I *think* was called THE FUN ZONE. It was usually a showcase for one-shot Happy Harmonies and early Merrie Melodies (with the occassional Tex Avery MGM short thrown in). I remember the commercial break intros would feature a clip of the Wolf from "Swing Shift Cinderella" hopping up and down on the tree branch).

They all aired (along with GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) as part of TNT's Wild World of Shorts. The Wild World of Shorts later turned into TNT Toons. The bumpers for the TNT Toons block went through various upgrades, especially after Turner aquired the Hanna-Barbera library.

I remember they would show cartoons on Christmas Eve late into the night, on Thanksgiving morning ("Thanksgiving Toon Parade"), and the day after Thanksgiving (for a couple years after the launch of CN, I know it was called "The Great American Toon-In" and TNT, TBS and CN would all have their own cartoon marathons).

As for TBS, my two big memories are TOM & JERRY'S FUNHOUSE (which pretty much showed the same mix of cartoons as TNT's BUGS & PALS minus the Pink Panther/DePatie-Freleng gang) and the annual Bugs-a-Thon. One year I recall them keeping count of all the times Bugs said "What's up, Doc?" with a huge, loud on-screen graphic that would pop-up. The Bugs-a-Thon was also the only time TBS would air "Herr Meets Hare".

I think I have rambled on/bored everyone enough. I do know I'd love to be able to see those intros again (especially Wild World of Shorts, BUGS & PALS and T&J FUNHOUSE).

As Jon points that out in that TTTP's post, I remember "Tom & Jerry's Funhouse", "The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show", "The Popeye Hour" and "Tom & Jerry's Funhouse" since it was usually aired on both TBS and TNT for so many years, but sometimes I saw "Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny, Rah, Rah, Rah" on and it was the last compliation cartoon series on TNT. Thanks to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series and a couple of PD cartoons to put all the WB cartoons on DVD. Any thoughts?

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by musicradio77

I saw a post from Jon Cooke at GAC's Termite Terrace Trading Post discussing about looking back at TNT and TBS where they used to show old WB cartoons. Jon Cooke has this post to say:

I was just watching some more of my Volume 3 DVD tonight. While watching shorts like "Super-Rabbit" and "Daffy Duck and Egghead" I couldn't help but think back to the days when these cartoons aired frequently on TNT and TBS. Since I found the posts by Mark and Howard about how USA and CN used to air the '60s Hanna-Barbera shows in the past so fascinating, I thought I'd start a little thread where those of us you watched the Turner network cartoon shows religiously in the 1990s to get all nostalgic.

My family didn't get cable TV until 1990-1. I was just going into 7th grade (middle school). There couldn't have been a better time to get cable TV for a cartoon fan. It seemed EVERY cable network had their own cartoon block. I grew up with the CBS TV specials, ABC's Bugs & Tweety Show, the compliation movies and various VHS videos that the local video store had available (mostly the Golden Jubilees). Between TNT, TBS and Nickelodeon, I was amazed at how many Warner Bros. cartoons I had never seen before. Plus, there were all the Tom and Jerrys, Pink Panthers, and Tex Averys (besides a handful of Droopys, I had never seen any Averys before this). I was in heaven. I can still remember the first WB short I watched the night we got the cable TV installed: "Hare Conditioned" on TNT's BUGS BUNNY & PALS.

BUGS BUNNY & PALS was pretty much TNT's flagship cartoon show. I remember it airing every morning and there was a 1-hour nightly show weeknights and a 90 minute show on Saturday evenings. It also aired Sunday mornings. The show always started and ended with a Bugs cartoon (in the case of the 90 min. shows, there would be a 3rd Bugs cartoon shown in the middle). In addition to the pre-48 WBs, they would air MGM cartoons (T&J, Tex Avery, Droopy, Barney Bear), Popeye (redrawn and Famous), and DePatie-Freleng (Pink Panther, Ant and the Aardvark, Inspector, Roland & Rattfink, and Hoot Kloot -- when I saw the swinging doors that kicked off a Hoot cartoon, it was a signal to change the channel. I even remember my brother, who wasn't a huge cartoon fan like me, that he also hated "those stupid cowboy cartoons").

Other TNT offerings were THE POPEYE HOUR and something I *think* was called THE FUN ZONE. It was usually a showcase for one-shot Happy Harmonies and early Merrie Melodies (with the occassional Tex Avery MGM short thrown in). I remember the commercial break intros would feature a clip of the Wolf from "Swing Shift Cinderella" hopping up and down on the tree branch).

They all aired (along with GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) as part of TNT's Wild World of Shorts. The Wild World of Shorts later turned into TNT Toons. The bumpers for the TNT Toons block went through various upgrades, especially after Turner aquired the Hanna-Barbera library.

I remember they would show cartoons on Christmas Eve late into the night, on Thanksgiving morning ("Thanksgiving Toon Parade"), and the day after Thanksgiving (for a couple years after the launch of CN, I know it was called "The Great American Toon-In" and TNT, TBS and CN would all have their own cartoon marathons).

As for TBS, my two big memories are TOM & JERRY'S FUNHOUSE (which pretty much showed the same mix of cartoons as TNT's BUGS & PALS minus the Pink Panther/DePatie-Freleng gang) and the annual Bugs-a-Thon. One year I recall them keeping count of all the times Bugs said "What's up, Doc?" with a huge, loud on-screen graphic that would pop-up. The Bugs-a-Thon was also the only time TBS would air "Herr Meets Hare".

I think I have rambled on/bored everyone enough. I do know I'd love to be able to see those intros again (especially Wild World of Shorts, BUGS & PALS and T&J FUNHOUSE).

As Jon points that out in that TTTP's post, I remember "Tom & Jerry's Funhouse", "The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show", "The Popeye Hour" and "Tom & Jerry's Funhouse" since it was usually aired on both TBS and TNT for so many years, but sometimes I saw "Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny, Rah, Rah, Rah" on and it was the last compliation cartoon series on TNT. Thanks to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series and a couple of PD cartoons to put all the WB cartoons on DVD. Any thoughts?

You seem to have covered the subject pretty thoroughly. Summing up,
Warner Bros. was to cartoon shorts what Disney was to cartoon features: the
cream of the crop. (But, of course, you already know that.) Thanks to the
genius of directors Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Friz Freleng
(among others); the voices of Mel Blanc (and others); the music of Carl Stalling;
and the brilliant writing of the likes of Michael Maltese and Warren Foster (who
went on to write the early classic Hanna-Barbera TV shows), these cartoons
are--and always will be--timeless.

[gilligan fanatic]

tv star collector, you really should check out GAC, I think you will like it. http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by gilligan fanatic

tv star collector, you really should check out GAC, I think you will like it. http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/

Thanks! I will.