The Death of Saturday Morning Television

[TMC]

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dea...ng_Television/

Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming which was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Parents' lobby groups like Action for Children's Television appeared in the late 1960s. They voiced concerns about the presentation of violence, anti-social attitudes and stereotypes in Saturday morning cartoons. By the 1970s, these groups exercised enough influence that the TV networks felt compelled to lay down more stringent content rules for the animation houses.

Critics have complained that this proceeded to the point where the very depiction of conflict and jeopardy and the basic elements of drama and suspense were severely restricted, and the artists were left with few avenues of expression. The prohibition against the depiction of anti-social elements often prompted conformist stories, such as in the Smurfs series, where almost any individual initiative often resulted in trouble for the group and therefore had to be avoided.

However, the decline of the timeslot truly began in the mid 1980s for a variety of reasons, including:
*The rise of first run syndication animated programs, which usually had a greater artistic freedom, and looser standards
*The increasing popularity of home video
*The rise of cable TV channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network

Because of FCC-mandated regulations that began in the mid-1990s, broadcast stations were forced to program a minimum of three hours of children's educational/informational ("E/I") programming.

To help their affiliates comply with the regulations, broadcast networks began to reorganize their efforts to adhere to the mandates, so its affiliates wouldn't bear the burden of scheduling the shows themselves on their own time.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dea...ng_Television/

well I guess I should be thankful I was a kid in 85-lol

[Doodyville10019]

well...all that PC (as in "politically correct") crap actually started in the late 1970s - actually, Saturday mornings in the 70's were kinda of a double-edged sword from what I remember - on one hand, you had more non-traditional (read: non-caucasian male) heroes and role models on TV, such as Isis (live action) and Black Falcon (from "Superfriends"). It exponentially grew in the '80s, thanks mostly to the rise of anime appearing on TV. On the other hand, there was a strong lack of creativity (the guy who started this thread defined it there) because of far more stringent policies, which made everything that much more...BORING!!

Thankfully, I grew up when a kid could get up at around 7 in the morning and actually spend an entire morning with cereal, milk and a TV set watching some of the best cartoons ever created - Jonny Quest, most of the WB cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, etc.), Birdman, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles, Magilla Gorilla, Pink Panther and all the rest. Back then, PC meant "pretty cool" - which is what it SHOUD mean today!