Voltron Creator Peter Keefe Passes On

Peter Keefe, executive producer of the animated series Voltron, passed on May 27 at the age of 59. The cause was throat cancer.

Peter Keefe was born on November 16, 1912 in Rochester, New York. His mother was Anne Keefe,  a radio personality on St. Louis station KMOX. He started his career in television at TV station KPLR in St. Louis. In 1983, he went to work for World Event Productions (a company founded by Ted Koplar, the son of KPLR's founder, Harold Koplar), where he produced documentaries. It was in 1983 that Mr. Keefe encountered the series Hyakujūō Goraion (Beast King GoLion) and Kantai Dairagā Fifutīn (Armoured Fleet Dairugger XV), two series which were similar insofar as they featured robots who were created when several spaceships combined, at a merchandising convention in Japan. Mr. Keefe bought the rights to the two anime, then used them to create the syndicated cartoon Voltron. Voltron debuted in the United States in 1984 and became the number one rated children's show in syndication. The show was so successful that once the animators ran out of footage from Hyakujūō Goraion and Kantai Dairagā Fifutīn that Mr. Keefe directed them in creating new Voltron episodes. Voltron ran for three seasons and produced the spinoff projects Voltron: Fleet of Doom (1986 television special), Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998 computer animated series), and Voltron Force (2010, new animated series set to debut on Nicktoons).

Peter Keefe followed up Voltron in 1987 with Sabre Rider and the Star Sheriffs, freely adapted from the 1984 anime Seijūshi Bisumaruk (Star Musketeer Bismark). In 1988 he produced the animated series Denver, the Last Dinosaur. From 1990 to 1992 Mr. Keefe produced the series Widget, one of the earliest children's cartoons with an environmentalist theme.  His final series were Twinkle, the Dream Being and The Mr. Bogus Show, both debuted in 1993.

In 2001 Peter Keefe produced the animated television special Nine Dog Christmas. He also wrote an episode of Tales From the Darkside, "Let the Games Begin," which aired in 1987.

Peter Keefe is a pivotal figure in the history of anime in the United States. Following the series Speed Racer and Marine Boy in the Sixties, anime was virtually unseen in the United States.Battle of the Planets (adapted from Gatchaman) and Star Blazers (adapted from Uchū Senkan Yamato) both debuted in the United States in the late Seventies, but had little impact. It was then left to the series Voltron, debuting Stateside in 1984, and Robotech, debuting a few months later in 1985 in the United States, to bring anime back to the attention of the American public. In this way Voltron paved the way for many of the anime series and movies which would make their way to the United States in the Sixties and Seventies. In its own way, Voltron readied American audiences not simply for Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon, but Akira and Howl's Moving Castle as well.

Two Singers Pass On

Jimmy Dean


Jimmy Dean, the singer best known for the song "Big Bad John" and well known for his brand of sausages, passed on Sunday, June 13, 2010. He was 81 years old.

Jimmy Dean was born on August 10, 1928 in Plainview, Texas. Music ran in his family. It was his mother who taught him his first chord on the piano. His father taught to play the accordion and harmonica. His love of music was further developed by the Seth Ward Baptist Church outside of Plainview.

In his teens Mr. Dean dropped out of school and enlisted in the United States Air Force. It was while he was stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C. that he started as a professional musician, playing an accordion in a tavern. It was after Jimmy Dean left the Air Force in 1948 that he formed his band The Texas Wildcats. The band developed a strong local following in the Washington D.C. area, which led to Mr. Dean becoming the host the radio show "Town and Country" on WARL in Washington,  D.C. It was in 1953 that he had his first hit with the song "Bumming Around." Unfortunately, his record labels Four Star and Mercury did little to promote Mr. Dean, and he would not have another hit for several years. From 1957 to 1958 Mr. Dean hosted an early morning, daily  variety show, entitled The Jimmy Dean Show, on CBS.

Even with the exposure on television, Jimmy Dean had little in the way of hits in the late Fifties. His highest ranking single during the period was "Little Sandy Sleightfoot," which went to 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. The drought was broken in 1961 when his single "Big Bad John" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the Billboard Adult Contemporary, and the Billboard Country charts. Jimmy Dean would follow "Big Bad John" with more hits, including "Dear Ivan," "To a Sleeping Beauty," "PT-109," "The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And The Last Thing Ev'ry Night)," and "Sweet Misery."

As an artist who was considered country, but who regularly hit the pop charts in the early to mid Sixties, it was natural that Jimmy Dean would receive his own weekly variety show on television. The Jimmy Dean Show debuted on ABC on September 19, 1963. Among the series' regulars was Rowlf the Dog, from The Muppets (he was the first Muppet with a spot on a weekly TV series). The Jimmy Dean Show ran until 1966. From 1967 to 1970 Jimmy Dean appeared as Josh Clements, Daniel Boone's sidekick, on the series Daniel Boone.

It was in 1969 that Jimmy Dean and his brother Don founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company. For years Jimmy Dean appeared in folksy, humorous adverts on television promoting his sausages. The brand proved very successful. In 1984 the company was sold to consolidated foods (now known as the Sara Lee Corporation). Mr .Dean would play a role in the company he founded for the next twenty years, including appearances in its commercials.

In 1971 Jimmy Dean appeared in the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever as Willard Whyte, a reclusive billionaire and casino owner. He would also appear on the TV shows Fantasy Island, J. J. Starbuck, and Murder She Wrote, and in the 1990 movie Big Bad John, based on his hit song.

I cannot say I was a huge fan of Jimmy Dean's songs, although I love "Big Bad John" and like many of his other songs. He is one of those few artists (Johnny Cash is another) always labelled "country" who probably should not have been. Indeed, many of his songs were also hits on the pop charts, something most "country" artists never achieve. I rather suspect there are many out there who would willingly listen to a Jimmy Dean song, but would never listen to, say, George Jones or Tammy Wynette. Of course, in addition to the many singles and albums he released over the years, Mr. Dean also had a few acting credits. As an actor Mr. Dean never strayed to far from folksy, good natured persona, which perhaps made him convincing in the folksy, good natured roles he played. Sadly, despite a long career in music, for many Jimmy Dean may have been best known for his sausages. I suppose this is understandable. Mr. Dean's sausages were among the best on the market. I know that I always enjoyed them. At any rate, in retrospect, Jimmy Dean was a renaissance man: musician, actor, and the maker of some of the best sausages around.


Crispian St. Peters

Crispian St. Peters, the English singer best known for the 1966 hit "The Pied Piper," passed on 8 June, 2010 at the age of 71.

Crispian St. Peters was born Robin Peter Smith in Swanley, Kent on 5 April, 1939. Coming from a musical family, he started writing songs when he was only 11. He left school when he was 15, with cinema projectionist being one of many jobs he would hold before he was 21. He gave his first live performance as one of Th Hot Travellers in 1956.  He played in various bands during his National Service in the British Army.

It was while he was in the Army that he formed a duo called The Two Tones. After he was demobilised in 1956, The Two Tones toured northern England. Soon wearying of touring, he returned to Swanley and found employment in a metal works. He also formed a band called Peemix. It was while he was singing with Beat Formula Three that Robin Peter Smith was discovered by EMI publicist David Nicholson, who later became his manager. As part of Peter and The Wolves, Mr. Smith made his first recording in 1964. It was David Nicholson who persuaded Robin Peter Smith to go solo. He groomed him for stardom, gave him a new nom de guerre (Crispian St. Peters) , and outfitted him entirely in black.


Crispian St. Peters signed with Decca in 1965. Unfortunately, his first two singles ("No No No" and "At This Moment") performed poorly on the charts. It was with the song "You Were On My Mind," a cover of the 1964 Ian and Sylvia song that Mr. St. Peters had his first hit. The song went to the top ten on the British singles charts. Afterwards he toured both Great Britain and Germany. It would be Mr. St. Peters' fourth single which would become the song with which he would forever be identified. The song went to #5 on the British charts, #4 and on the American Billboard singles chart, and #1 on the Australian singles chart.

Unfortunately, Crispian St. Peters would be his own undoing. He told a teen magazine that he was better than Elvis Presley, sexier than Dave Berry, more exciting than Tom Jones, and proclaimed he was a better songwriter than John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Indeed, he also said "... The Beatles are past it." The music press pounced on Mr. St. Peters for his comments, with The New Musical Express calling him, "...the Cassius Clay of Pop." Although he would later explain his comments were meant as tongue in cheek, the damage was done. Perhaps as  result, his follow up to "The Pied  Piper," a cover of Phil Ochs' "Changes," barely cracked the top 50 in the UK and stalled beneath the top 40 in the United States.

In 1967 Cripisan St. Peters released the album Follow Me. In 1970 he released the EP Almost Persuaded. He was then dropped by Decca. It was in 1970 that Mr. St. Peters was signed to Square Records, releasing the album Simply later that year. Simply was a sharp contrast to his earlier work, being composed primarily of country songs. Although no longer the superstar he had been in 1966, Crispian St. Peters released three more albums. Several compilations of his work were also released.

Although his career in the spotlight was brief, there can be little doubt that Crispian St. Peters was quite talented as a singer. To this day his version of  "The Pied Piper" remains one of the best remembered songs from the Sixties. His versions of "You Were on My Mind" and "Changes" are also quite good. Had he not made his rather inopportune comments in 1966, it seems quite possible he might have had a very successful career. Regardless, it is his version of "The Pied Piper" which is remembered and still played today.

The Late Great Al Williamson

Legendary comic book artist Al Wiliamson passed on Saturday, June 12, 2010. He had suffered for many years from Alzheimer’s. He was 79. He was perhaps best known for his work in science fiction titles over the years, including Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Forbidden Worlds, and Flash Gordon.

Al Williamson was born on March 21, 1931  in New York City, but he spent a good portion of his childhood in his father's home of Bogotá, Colombia. He returned to the United States when he was in his teens. He and his mother settled for a time in San Francisco before moving to New York City.

Al Williamson was among the first students to attend the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, founded by Silas Rhodes and Burne Hogarth (best known for his work on the Tarzan newspaper strip. It was while Mr. Williamson was at the school that he met future EC artist Wally Wood and fantasy artist Roy Krenkel. Mr. Williamson's first professional work may have been illustrating a story in the comic book Famous Funnies. His first actual narrative work may have been in Wonder Comics, October 1948,  New Heroic Comics #51, November 1948, or possibly even assisting Mr. Hogarth on the Tarzan comic strip. From 1949 to 1951, Al Williamson worked for several different comic book publishers, including the American Comics Group, Avon, Eastern Colour, Fawcett, and Standard Comics. As an inker during this period he collaborated with both Frank Frazetta and Wally Wood.

It was in 1952 that Al Williamson became one of the many freelancers to contribute work to EC Comics, in part due to his many contacts in the industry. During this period Mr. Williamson worked with several different inkers, including Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, and Angelo Torres. Mr. Williamson for the most part worked on EC's science fiction titles, including Weird Fantasy and Weird Science. Al Williamson's last work for EC Comics was on Shock Illustrated #2, February 1956, only a short time before EC Comics would cease publishing comics entirely.

Shortly before EC Comics got out of the comic book industry, Al Williamson started doing work for Atlas Comics (which in a few short years would be renamed Marvel Comics) in 1955. At Atlas Mr. Williamson primarily worked in Westerns, although he illustrated war comic books as well. His last work for Atlas was in 1957. In the late Fifties Mr. Williamson worked for a variety of publishers, including American Comics Group, Charlton, Classics Illustrated, Dell, and Prize. From 1958 to 1959 Mr. Williamson did a good deal of work at Harvey Comics, once more working with Angelo Torres, as well as former EC artists Reed Crandall and Roy Krenkel. While at Harvey, Al Williamson also inked the legendary Jack Kirby.

In 1960 Al Williamson became an assistant to John Prentice on the newspaper strip Rip Kirby (created by the legendary Alex Raymond, creator of Flash Gordon). During the same period Mr. Williamson also assisted John Cullen Murphy on the newspaper strip Big Ben Bolt and Don Sherwood on the newspaper strip Dan Flagg. When Warren Publishing launched Creepy in 1964 and Eerie in 1966, James Warren recruited many former EC Comics artists, including Al Williamson. As a result, Mr. Williamson was among the first artists to work on the two legendary magazines. In addition to Creepy and Eerie, he also contributed to Warren's short lived war title Blazing Combat. It was in 1965 that Mr. Williamson contributed to Gold Key's comic books Ripley's Believe It Or Not, The Twilight Zone, and Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery.

It was in 1966 Al Williamson drew the first issue of the Flash Gordon comic book published by King Features Syndicate's short lived comic book imprint King Comics. He worked on several issues of the title, for which he was given a National Cartoonist Society Best Comic Book Art award. In 1967 Al Williamson took over as the artist on the newspaper strip Secret Agent X-9 (created by Alex Raymond), working with writer Archie Goodwin. It was not long after Messrs. Williamson and Goodwin took over Secret Agent X-9 that it was renamed Secret Agent Corrigan. Messrs. Williamson and Goodwin continued to work on Secret Agent Corrigan until 1980. In 1969 some of Mr. Williamson's work was published in Wally Wood's underground comic book witzend #1. In 1975 more of Mr. Williamson's work would be published in Flo Steinberg's underground comic book Big Apple Comix #1.

After Al Williamson left Secret Agent Corrigan in 1980, he worked on Marvel Comics' adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. It was also in 1980 that Al Williamson was the artist on Western Publishing's comic book adaptation of Dino de Laurentiis' movie adaptation of  Flash Gordon (1980). From 1981 to 1984, when it ended, Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin worked on the daily Star Wars comic strip. Al Williamson was also among the artists who worked on Marvel Comics' adaptation of Blade Runner in 1982. In 1983 he also worked on Marvel Comic's adaptation of Return of the Jedi. Al Williamson would also work for Pacific Comics, contributing to Alien Worlds issues 1, 4, and 8, as well as a back up feature for miniseries Somerset Holmes. He contributed work to two issues of Marvel Comics' Epic Illustrated (in 1984 and 1986).

It was in the mid-Eighties that Al Williamson began inking for various comic books. He inked Curt Swan on Superman issues 408-416, then inked several artists at Marvel, including John Buscema, Gene Cola, and Mike Mignola. Between 1988 and 1997 Mr. Williamson won several Will Eisner awards and several Harvey awards. In the Nineties Al Williamson provided covers for Dark Horse Comics reprints of the Star Wars newspaper entitled Classic Star Wars. Mr. Williamson inked issues of Marvel Comics' Daredevil, Spider-Man 2009, and Spider -Girl. In 1995 Marvel published a two part Flash Gordon series which featured art by Al Williamson. He would later serve as the inker on Dark Horse Comics' adaptations of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

There can be little doubt that Al Williamson was one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and quite possibly the greatest comic book artist to work in the science fiction genre. If Mr. Williamson was called upon to work on various Flash Gordon titles over the years, it is perhaps because his work evoked that of Alex Raymond without being derivative. Indeed, Mr. Williamson's work had a dramatic flair that suited space operas such as Flash Gordon and Star Wars perfectly. The men and women which he illustrated were always heroic and beautiful, bigger than life figures whom another artist could not have done justice. Indeed, I first encountered Al Williamson's work in used issues of King Comics' short lived Flash Gordon title from the Sixties. To this day whenever I picture Flash, Dale, and Ming the Merciless in my mind, it is as Al Williamson had drawn them.

Kids' Afternoon Programming on the American Television Part Three

The Return of Children's Programming to Weekday Afternoons

In the Fifties late weekday afternoons were the dominant time slots for children's programming on television, so much so that the networks even scheduled programming at the time. In the Sixties Saturday mornings would become the dominant time slots for children's programming. From the late Sixties into the Seventies children's programming would become less and less common, as reruns of primetime series and syndicated talk shows were scheduled more and more often in the afternoon. By the Eighties children's programming on weekday afternoons was found primarily on independent stations and only a few others. That having been said, it would be in the early Eighties that children's programming on late weekday afternoons would make a gradual, but dramatic comeback.

The return of children's programming would be the result of two factors. The first ultimately went back to two animated series which had debuted in fall 1969 on ABC's Saturday morning line up. Both Hot Wheels and Skyhawks were based on lines of toys produced by Mattel. Both cartoons resulted in howls or protests from children's advocacy groups and similar groups that the two shows were essentially half hour advertisements for toys. As a result in 1971 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) developed guidelines for commercial content in children's programming and a vague definition of what was a programme length commercial. In 1974 the FCC issued its Children's TV Report and Policy Statement. Among other things, the Children's TV Report and Policy Statement limited commercials to no more than nine and a half minutes per every half hour, dictated the use of bumpers to separate the programmes themselves from adverts, banned the hawking of wares by television show hosts, banned programme length commercials, and asserted that a certain amount of time should be set aside for programming which would "educate and inform--and not simply entertain."

While the FCC and advocacy groups may have hoped that the Children's TV Report and Policy Statement would lead to more and better programming on broadcast networks and local stations, in the end it would not. Neither the broadcast networks nor the local stations rushed to create children's programming for weekdays, and the majority of children's programming still aired on Saturday morning. All of this would change in 1981. Ronald Reagan appointed Mark Fowler as head of the FCC. Mr. Fowler regarded television not as a public service, but as a business like any other. Indeed, he referred to television as simply "...a toaster with pictures." Under Mr. Fowler's leadership, the FCC lifted its guidelines created by 1974's Children's TV Report and Policy Statement. This would be followed in 1984 by the FCC ruling that TV stations could air as many minutes of commercials as they wished in any given hour. This in effect removed the restriction on programme length commercials (it is because of this that we have infommercials to this day). On the surface, it would seem that deregulating children's programming would have resulted in even less children's programming airing on television. Instead it had the opposite effect. Not only would the first animated series made for syndication in literally years arrive on the scene, but children's programming would actually increase on late weekday afternoons for the first time for years.

This brings us to the second factor which would lead to the return of children's shows to late weekday afternoons. Surprisingly, this factor was not due to local stations, let alone a broadcast network, but one of the biggest toy manufacturers in the world. It was in 1981 that Mattel introduced a line of action figures called Masters of the Universe. Even before the FCC lifted its ban on programme length commercials, Mattel turned to Filmation to develop an animated series which would promote the Masters of the Universe line of toys. The idea for the series was pitched to ABC, who turned it down (perhaps fearing the same result as their last experience with Mattel regarding Hot Wheels and Skyhawks). Mattel and Filmation then decided to simply syndicate the 65 half hour episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to television stations across the country. The series debuted on September 5, 1983. It was only a few months later, in December 1983, that the FCC lifted its 1974 guidelines on children's programming. Airing in the late afternoon on most television stations, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe would prove to be phenomenal success. It was in only a little less than a year that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was seen in 147 television markets, covering nearly 87% of the United States.

It would be the same season that Inspector Gadget would debut in first run syndication. A cooperative effort of Canada, France, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States (including the animation studios Nelvana in Canada and DIC in France). While Inspector Gadget would not see the phenomenal success that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe saw, it would prove popular. In fact, it ultimately outlasted He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by a long shot.

It was after the successes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Inspector Gadget  that yet more animated series entered syndication. The 1984-1985 season would see the debut of  two series which each adapted several different anime series together. Voltron and Robotech would be the first anime series in well over a decade to see any lasting success in the United States. The season would also see the premiere of two more series which promoted lines of toys: Transformers and Challenge of the Gobots. The next several years would see many more cartoons debuting in first run, all of them airing primarily on late weekday afternoons. Among them were G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985, based on Hasbro's line of toys), Jem (1985, also based on a line of Hasbro toys), The Centurions (1985), Defenders of the Universe (1985, featured King Features Syndicate characters Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, and The Phantom), The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1986), The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin (1987, based on the toy), BraveStarr (1987), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987, based on the popular comic book), and C.O.P.S. (1988).

It was perhaps because of the success of animated series in first run syndication in the late Eighties that The Walt Disney Company created a two hour programming block of cartoons for syndication in 1990 called The Disney Afternoon. The Disney Afternoon consisted of four, self contained series (each of which could also be aired on their own, if a station so desired). In its first season The Disney Afternoon largely consisted of shows which had originated elsewhere. DuckTales was a first run syndication series, based on Carl Barks' classic Scrooge McDuck comic books, which had debuted in 1987. Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers had debuted on the Disney Channel as a two hour movie in March 1989, before entering syndication in September 1989. Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears was by far the oldest series. It had debuted in 1985 on NBC where it stayed for four seasons, before moving to ABC for one more season. Only Talespin, based on characters from Disney's animated version of The Jungle Book (but perhaps borrowing heavily from the short lived Eighties primetime series Tales of the Gold Monkey), was brand new.

Even consisting of primarily older cartoons, The Disney Afternoon proved highly successful. Indeed, it would produce its own highly successful shows which maintain cult followings to this day. It was in the second season of The Disney Afternoon that Darkwing Duck debuted. A rather clever parody of such pulp characters as The Shadow and The Spider and such superheroes as Batman, with a touch of James Bond thrown in for good measure. It centred on wealthy Drake Mallard, who by night fought crime as Darkwing Duck. The cartoon block's other hit would be Gargoyles. Gargoyles centred on nocturnal beings, who literally become stone gargoyles by day, who attempt to adapt to life in modern day New York while fighting supernatural menaces. The series was an attempt on Disney's part to attract older viewers. To this end its scripts tended to be very intelligent, with  often complex story arcs and well developed characters.

The Disney Afternoon proved highly successful, although it began to falter as the Nineties progressed due to competition from other cartoon blocks (more on that briefly). In its seventh season it was cut back to ninety minutes and in its eighth season to only an hour. In its ninth and final season, 1998 to 1999, The Disney Afternoon was increased back to ninety minutes. It was then cancelled in 1999, when Disney agreed with UPN to develop the Disny's One Too cartoon block aired on weekdays and Sunday mornings.

It was also in 1990 that a broadcast network would finally return children's programming to weekday afternoons. Fox Kids (a name also used for the Fox network's Saturday morning line up, which also debuted in 1990) was largely created because of The Disney Afternoon. When DuckTales debuted in 1987, it was on Fox owned and operated stations, as well as many of the network's affiliates. It was in 1988 that Disney purchased KHJ-TV, Los Angeles (now KCAL-TV).  Since Disney wanted its successful DuckTales to air on the station they had just purchased, they promptly took DuckTales from Fox owned and operated KTTV, Los Angeles. Fox was not happy with this manoeuvre, and not only removed DuckTales from every station they owned, but encouraged their affiliates to remove it from their schedules as well (even though most did not). Naturally when Disney developed The Disney Afternoon, Fox set about developing the Fox Kids afternoon line up. It would be the first time since ABC's Discovery moved from weekdays to Sunday mornings that a major network would programme children's shows in the afternoon.

Perhaps fittingly, the Fox Kids weekday afternoon block and The Disney Afternoon would debut with two days of each other--Fox Kids on September 8, 1990 and The Disney Afternoon on September 10, 1990. Initially the Fox Kids afternoon line up was at a rather large disadvantage when compared to The Disney Afternoon. While The Disney Afternoon aired two hours every day, in its first season the Fox Kids afternoon line up only aired a half hour. Unlike The Disney Afternoon, however, the Fox Kids weekday afternoon would grow very rapidly. In 1991 it was increased to ninety minutes. By 1993 it was a full two and a half hours. Eventually the weekday line up would be a full three hours in length.

Initially the Fox Kids weekday block was also at a bit of a disadvantage as far as animated series. Unlike Disney, Fox did not have an established hit series such as DuckTales it could schedule in the time slot. In fact, until 1990 Fox had aired no cartoons at all beyond The Simpsons (the adult prime time series which debuted in December 1989). It would not be long before Fox Kids would overtake The Disney Afternoon in terms of popular shows. In its very first season it produced a hit in the form of Bobby's World, which managed to last eight seasons. It would be in the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 that Fox Kids  would debut two series which would surpass anything The Disney Afternoon had every produced in terms of popularity. In the 1992-1993 season Batman: The Animated Series would debut on the Fox Kids afternoon line up. Based on the comic book characters, Batman: The Animated Series was a highly stylised series which drew upon both the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns and 1989 movie Batman. The series would receive critical acclaim for its writing (which often appealed more to adults than children) and its stylised, neo-noir animation. It would also receive more than its fair share of criticism from moral watchdogs for the violence it sometimes contained.

The other breakout hit on the Fox Kids line up would be another series which would largely appeal to adults. It was in the 1993-1994 season that Animaniacs would debut. Animaniacs was a half hour, animated series inspired by the classic cartoons of Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones. Its format was extremely fluid and it featured a wide array of characters. Perhaps the most central characters of the series were the Warner Brothers and Sister, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, three cartoon stars from the Thirties imprisoned in the water tower on the Warner Brothers lot from the Thirties to the Nineties. Another major character featured in her own segments was Slappy Squirrel, an ageing cartoon star from the Thirities loosely based on Tex Avery's Screwy Squirrel. Two other major characters would be the breakout stars of the series. Pinky and the Brain were two genetically engineered lab mice. While Pinky was a good natured imbecile, Brain was a genius and megalomaniac plotting to take over the world. Pinky and the Brain would be spun off into their own series in 1995. Animaniacs was characterised by the sort of slapstick violence found in the classic Warner Brothers theatrical shorts, catchphrases, running gags, in jokes, pop culture references, and parodies of everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to A Hard Day's Night. At times Animaniacs would nearly pass the line of what was acceptable in a children's time slot, particularly in shorts featuring Minerva Mink, which were often overtly sexual.

Just as the Fox Kids afternoon line up would provide competition for The Disney Afternoon, Fox Kids would face new competition when the Kids' WB afternoon line up was launched in 1995. Worse yet, the fledgeling WB network, owned by Warner Brothers, would deal a very hurtful blow to Fox when it took what were probably its two most popular shows (Batman: The Animated Series and Animaniacs, both produced by Warner Brothers) away from Fox Kids. For many years Fox Kids was the number one children's programming block on television; it was eventually overtaken by the Kids' WB.

While the Kids' WB had overtaken Fox Kids, by 2001 many of Fox's affiliates felt confident enough that they could air their own programming and compete with NBC, CBS, and ABC affiliates. As a result, many of the affiliates wanted the time that had been used for the Fox Kids block. It was then in 2001 that Fox abandoned children's programming in the afternoon  Fox Kids would continue on Saturday morning until 2002, when 4Kids Entertainment was hired to take over Fox's Saturday morning schedule. 4Kids Entertainment and Fox would end their agreement in 2008, at which Fox ceased programming children's shows even on Saturday morning.

In 1995 the amount of children's programming on broadcast stations would increase even more. In January of that year two new broadcast networks launched: UPN (United Paramount Network) and The WB. UPN would be the first to launch a block on children's programming on weekday mornings and a block of children's programming on Saturday mornings. Branded UPN Kids, it would never expand to weekday afternoons. It also proved to be unsuccessful. UPN Kids would only last until 1999, when it was replaced by block of children's programming created by Disney called Disney's One Too.

Unlike UPN, The WB waited until September 9, 1995 to launch their blocks of children programming, branded Kids' WB.  In the beginning the Kid's WB aired on weekdays from 4 PM to 5 PM and on Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The Kid's WB would take two of Fox Kids' most popular shows: Batman: The Animated Series and Animaniacs  The WB would spin the series Pinky and the Brain off from Animaniacs, originally airing in primetime before moving it to the Kid's WB in 1996. Not only did the Kid's WB take two popular shows from Fox, but they also debuted another anthology series featuring classic Warner Brothers shorts entitled That's Warner Brothers! With 62 years worth of classic animation to draw upon, not to mention 57 years worth of superheroes (Warner Brothers also owns DC Comics), there should be little wonder that  the Kid's WB would eventually overtake Fox Kids.

Indeed, in 1996 both the weekday afternoon and Saturday morning editions of the Kid's WB would expand by an hour. In 1997 a weekday morning edition of the Kid's WB, an hour in length, would begin airing. The reason that the Kid's WB was able to expand so swiftly was that it produced some of the most popular cartoons of the Nineties. In its early years it would air Freakazoid (1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Tiny Toon Adventures (1997), and Batman Beyond (1999). In 1999 the Kid's WB would have an unexpected smash hit the anime series Pokemon. The success of Pokemon would lead the Kid's WB to air more anime over the next many years, including Sailor Moon (1999), Cardcaptor Sakura (2000), Yu-Gi-Oh (2001), and a new version of Astro Boy (2001).

Unfortunately, the Kid's WB would not last. In 2001 the WB dropped their weekday morning cartoon block, giving the time back to its affiliates. Another problem emerged as a result of Time-Warner's merger (although it was more like a takeover) with the Turner Broadcasting System in 1996. As a result of the merger, cartoons which originally aired on the Kid's WB would air on the Cartoon Network and vice versa. The Powerpuff Girls would join the Kid's WB line up, while Pokemon would air on the Cartoon Network. After a few years the Cartoon Network was beating both Fox Kids and the Kid's WB in the ratings. As a result the WB's affiliates found the block less attractive than they had in earlier years, and asked that it be ended.  It was then in January 2006 that the WB cancelled the weekday afternoon edition of the Kid's WB.   It was replaced by the Daytime WB, which consisted of reruns of primetime sitcoms.  The Kid's WB  would continue as a Saturday morning block even after UPN and the WB merged to form the CW in 2006. The Kid's WB was finally brought to an end in May 2008, nearly two years after its original network had ceased. It was replaced on Saturday mornings by the CW4Kids, a block programmed by 4Kids Entertainment.

As mentioned earlier, in 1999 UPN discontinued UPN Kids in favour of Disney's One Too. Disney's One Too was at the same time a companion block to ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning and a continuation to a degree of The Disney Afternoon. Disney's One Too would air on Sunday mornings, as well as weekdays. With regards to weekdays, affiliates could either air the block from 7:00-9:00 AM or 3:00-5:00 PM. In the beginning Disney's One Too aired some cartoons which had originated on The Disney Afternoon.  Both Hercules: The Animated Series and Doug had been part of The Disney Afternoon in its last season. It also aired shows that were part of ABC's Saturday morning line up, including Pepper Ann and Sabrina the Animated Series. Disney's One Too would not prove successful, and it was cancelled in 2002 by UPN. This made UPN the only channel at the time which aired no children's programming.

Since 2006 no network has aired children's programming on late weekday afternoons. This TV, a small network formed in 2008, has aired a block of children's show called Cookie Jar Toons (produced by Canada's Cookie Jar Entertainment), but the block only airs on Sunday, weekday, and Sunday mornings. With but a few exceptions on independent stations, weekday afternoons are once more dominated largely by talk shows, with the occasional sitcom rerun or game show thrown in for good measure. I must admit that I find this sad myself. I have no doubt that much of this is due to the fond memories I have of my childhood of watching cartoons on weekday afternoons. At the same time, however, I think there is place for children's programming on the networks on weekday afternoons. It is true that many children can watch children's programming on several different cable channels in the afternoon. That having said, the sad fact it that not every single household has access to cable television or satellite television. Since households without cable or satellite are dependent on broadcast stations for their television viewing, and the vast majority of television stations in the United States do not air children's programming of an afternoon, this means that the children these households have nothing whatsoever to watch on weekday afternoons. I very seriously doubt that the average child finds Oprah or The Tyra Banks Show interesting (I don't even find them interesting). It seems to me that the networks and local stations need to rethink things a bit. Granted they would have to compete with the Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon, but I rather suspect they might find it worth their while.

Kids' Afternoon Programming on American Television Part Two

Local Children's Shows

While the major networks had ceased programming for children in the early Sixties, local stations would continue to broadcast their own children's shows in the late weekday afternoons for many, many years. Like the nationally broadcasted children's shows on late weekday afternoons, local children's shows had existed in the days of Old Time Radio. One of the first was The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour, which first aired on Halloween, 1927 on radio station WCAU in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Essentially a children's variety show, The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour was unlike many children's shows in that it aired on Sunday mornings. Starting in 1947 it was simulcast on television, making it one of the earliest local children's shows on television as well. The series ended in 1958.

From the Fifties into the Seventies, late weekday afternoon children's shows were commonly found local stations across the United States. It seems likely that, at one time or another, every television market had at least one, and the bigger markets many more. In his excellent book Hi There, Boys and Girls, Tim Hollis discuses around 1400 different local children's TV shows which aired in the United States.

For the most part the local children's television shows of yesteryear had remarkably similar formats. Their hosts often took the role of some colourful character, ranging from cowboys (very common in the early days of television), clowns, ship or boat captains, magicians, or simply "uncles." Much of the fare on the local children's shows were made up of pre-existing short films. In the earliest days this generally took the form of short B-Westerns or even Western serials (which explains why cowboy hosts were so prevalent in the early days of the shows). As various libraries of animated theatrical shorts (more on that later) became more available as the Fifties progressed and television started producing its own cartoons, local children's shows would increasingly show cartoons. Live action, theatrical comedy shorts would also be popular on the local children's shows throughout their history. The Laurel and Hardy shorts would be syndicated to television stations as early as 1948. The classic Our Gang shorts would be syndicated under the title The Little Rascals (MGM had retained the trademark Our Gang) starting in 1955. The ever popular Three Stooges would actually be late comers to television. It was in 1958 that Screen Gems syndicated 78 of their shorts to local stations.Of course, the local children's shows did not simply show cartoons and live action comedy shorts. They often featured short educational segments on topics of interest to children. The local children's shows would even have special guests, such as firemen, magicians, police officers, and so on, who would give talks to the viewers.

It should not be surprising that local children's show hosts often enjoyed a greater degree of celebrity than other members of the staffs of local television stations. Often they would make personal appearances at county fairs, supermarket openings, fund raisers, and other special events. Given the small staff of the average television station, it was rare that a children's show host's only job at his or her television station was hosting its children's show. Often a children's show host might be the station's programme director, one of its announcers, the host of the station's weekend horror movies, or even the station's meteorologist or other newscaster.

A few local children's shows would eventually be aired nationwide. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie originated as a local programme on Chicago's WBKB. Romper Room and  Bozo the Clown were local shows that took a unique approach to going nationwide. Both shows would sell franchise to local stations, whereby they could produce their own version of Romper Room or Bozo the Clown rather than air a national telecast. These local versions of Romper Room and Bozo the Clown would have essentially the same format as the original show, but their own hosts and own casts.

Given the sheer number of local children's television shows, it would be impossible to discuss even a fraction of them in one post. As an older Gen Xer, however, I do have personal experience with such shows. Indeed, I watched such a show for the entirety of my childhood. That show was the long running Showtime (sometimes given as Show Time in old newspaper TV schedules), which aired every weekday afternoon on KRCG, Channel 13 in Jefferson City. Sadly, as with many children's shows very little of it has been documented and my own memories of Showtime obviously only go as far back as my life time. Even then, my earliest memories of the show are not exactly clear. I do know that Showtime debuted in 1955, not long after KRCG first went on the air.

At any rate, I do not have a clear memory of the show's host when I first starting watching Showtime (which was probably when I was two or three). I have heard and read references to Curly Houser, a weatherman with KRCG, who seems to have been the host of Showtime in the Sixties. As to the host I associate with the show, that would be Bill Ratliff, who hosted the show for much of my childhood. Mr. Ratliff first started hosting the show in 1968 and would do so for the rest of its run, making him the longest running host of Showtime. As to the format of the show, like most local children's shows Showtime aired cartoon shorts. The earliest cartoon shorts I remember on Showtime were the classic Warner Brothers shorts (a mainstay of the programme for most of its run), Popeye cartoons (both the classic theatrical shorts and those made for television in the Sixties), and the animated shorts King Features Syndicate made of their comic strips Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat, and Snuffy Smith in 1963. Later they would show shorts that were originally part of the Saturday morning cartoon Cool McCool and such Hanna-Barbera shorts as Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, and Yogi Bear. For much of the show's runs, classic Our Gang (under the title The Little Rascals) and Laurel and Hardy shorts were a part of Showtime as well. Bill Ratliff would have co-hosts in the form of puppets. I remember one named Ralph and another that was a dog (they have been one and the same, as far as I know now). The show also featured a number of guests. A regular was the Library Lady, a librarian either from Boone Regional Libraries in Columbia or Missouri River Regional Libraries in Jefferson City (I can't recall which), who would handle segments about books. There would be other guests as well, ranging from magicians to, if my memory isn't failing me, representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation,, to celebrities such as Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (Robin and Batgirl from the old Batman series of the Sixties). Every holiday season weatherman Lee Gordon would dress as Santa Claus and read letters from children in segments sponsored by the Mattinglys department store. Mr. Gordon would also play The Count on KRCG's Tales of Terror on Saturday night.  It was only recently that Mr. Gordon (who has one of the most incredible voices in the history of local television) retired!

Showtime had an extraordinarily long run. In fact, it was the last local children's show still airing in the Columbia/Jefferson City market and one of the last in the state of Missouri. According to Hi There, Boys and Girls, it ended its run in 1985 after thirty years on the air. I think this may be inaccurate, as I remember it going off the air in 1981 or 1982, when it was replaced by reruns of Dallas. Either way, it lasted several decades!

KOMU, Channel 8, KRCG's rival in Columbia, also had its own children's show, although it debuted and went off the air before I was born. Dave Derring hosted Captain Bob. I have no idea when it debuted or when it was cancelled. While KOMU would have little success with children's show, KHQA, Channel 7, in Quincy would have considerably more. The Cactus Club debuted on KHQA on October 12, 1953. The show was hosted by Richard Moore, who played Cactus Jim (in Mr. Moore's words, a "clean livin' cowpoke"). The series was sponsored for the entirety of its run by local dairy Prairie Farms. Indeed, it would be historic as the first show KHQA ever sold in a daily, half hour slot. In its earliest days The Cactus Club showed classic B Westerns starring the likes of Tex Ritter and Johnny Mack Brown. As the Fifties progressed, however, The Cactus Club would begin showing animated shorts, most notably the Popeye cartoons. The Cactus Club was enormously popular for quite sometime, so much so that Prairie Farms even merchandised Cactus Club milk cups in the shape of cowboy boots. The Cactus Club ran on KHQA until 1961, then moved to WGEM, Channel 10, in Quincy until May 1971. Like Bill Raliff and Showtime, Cactus Jim has fans to this day. Indeed, he has his own website and his own Facebook page!

Sadly, the passage of time would not be kind to the local children's TV shows, as a number of factors would conspire to bring about their demise. Foremost among these causes was the rise of made for television cartoons in the late Fifties and early Sixties (more on that later). While many of the early cartoons made for television followed the format of theatrical shorts in being about eight to ten minutes in length, many of the later animated shows which debuted in the late Fifties and early Sixties would be a half hour in length and entirely self contained. As such cartoons became more common in the Sixties, many television stations would opt to show them instead of producing their own children's shows. Another factor in the demise would be the same as one of the factors which ended the production of network children's shows in the late afternoon. Quite simply, as many advertisers in the Sixties preferred to reach adults rather than children and there were more adults available than children to watch television in the late afternoon, many stations decided to no longer produce children's shows and air reruns of primetime network series made for adults in the late afternoon instead. While many of these shows would also appeal to children (The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island, and so on), the fact remains that they were originally made for adults. The Seventies and Eighties would see the beginning of another factor in the demise of local children's shows, that of syndicated talk shows as such as The Merv Griffin Show and The Phil Donahue Show, and still later Oprah and Geraldo.

The local children's television shows would begin a slow decline in the Sixties that would continue into the Eighties. By the Seventies most local children's shows would air on independent stations (KRCG was one of the exceptions). By the Nineties most local children's shows would disappear almost entirely from the television landscape.

The Rise of Animated Cartoons on Television

Today animated cartoons are not only prevalent on television, but downright common. Indeed, there are entire cable channels devoted to cartoons, such as The Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Toon Disney. There was a time, however, when cartoons were not nearly so common on television as they are today. Indeed, it would be several years after the advent of regularly scheduled network broadcasts that cartoons would become the dominant form of entertainment for children.

In fact, it would not be until the advent of cartoons on television that the attitude that cartoons are primarily meant for children would fully develop. From the earliest days of theatrical shorts such as those featuring Felix the Cat in the Twenties, cartoons were made primarily for adult audiences, or at least made so they could be enjoyed by adults and children alike. The classic Warner Brothers cartoons often featured double entendres and pop culture references that could only be appreciated by adults, while the Fleischer Studio's pre-Code Betty Boop cartoons could be downright racy even by today's standards. That is not to say that the attitude that cartoons were primarily meant for children did not exist even in the Thirties and the Forties. In the January 1939 issue of Look, in an article entitled "Hollywood Censors Its Animated Cartoons," none other than Leon Schlesinger, founder and head of Leon Schlesinger Productions (the independent company which produced the Warner Brothers cartoons until bought out by Warner Brothers in 1944), said, "We cannot forget that while the cartoon today is excellent entertainment for young and old, it is primarily the favourite motion picture fare of children."

It would be with the advent of television, however, that the attitude that cartoons were primarily meant for children would become even more common. Much of this would be due to the fact that television stations would schedule cartoons during their local children's shows and still later made for television cartoons which were obviously made for the younger set. By the late Sixties the idea that cartoons were primarily meant for children was firmly engrained, aided no doubt by the rise of the Saturday morning cartoon. Even animated television series made for primetime viewing for adults, such as The Jetsons and The Adventures of Jonny Quest, would end their network runs on the Saturday morning schedule reserved for children's fare.

Animated cartoons would first appear on television very early in its history, although it would be sometime before they would become common. As early as 1947 animated shorts produced by the Van Beuren Studios (which had been out of business for nearly twenty years) were shown on DuMont's Small Fry Club (also known as Movies for Small Fry). The first cartoons made expressly for television would also occur early in the medium's history. It was in 1948 that Alex Anderson and Jay Ward formed Television Arts Productions. They pitched an idea for a series entitled The Comic Strips of Television to NBC (including the original version of Dudley Do-Right and a concept for a series entitled Frostbite Falls which evolved into Rocky and Bullwinkle). The one series NBC did buy was entitled Crusader Rabbit, which the network did not air but did syndicate to stations across the country. The series was test marketed on stations in 1948 and officially debuted on September 1, 1949.

The second cartoon made for television may have been The Adventures of Pow Wow, the Indian Boy, although it is unknown if in its original incarnation it was truly an animated cartoon or simply drawings with narration. Regardless, it debuted on January 30, 1949 as a fifteen minute programme on WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV) and ran until March 1949. What is known that, regardless of its origins, it is known that the second incarnation of The Adventures of Pow Wow, Indian Boy was an animated cartoon which was aired on Captain Kangaroo from 1957 to 1958, before being syndicated by Screen Gems in 1958.

While Crusader Rabbit would prove very successful (indeed, a second series would be produced in 1957), it would be many, many years before television would see its next cartoon made expressly for the medium. That having been said, there would not be a shortage of cartoons on television for very long, as throughout the Fifties more and more theatrical shorts were released into television syndication. Indeed, it was in 1950 that Official Films, which had started in the home movie business in 1939, became the first television syndicator of animated theatrical shorts. Their original package of Van Beuren shorts which they had bought aired on ABC that same year

As the Fifties progressed, yet more and more theatrical shorts would find their way to television. It was in 1953 that CBS aired old Terrytoons' Farmer Alfalfa cartoons on their weekday afternoon programme Barker Bill's Cartoon Show, although for some reason they renamed him "Farmer Gray." It was also in 1953 that Official Films bought the classic Pat Sullivan/Otto Mesmer Felix the Cat cartoons, added soundtracks to them, and syndicated them to television stations. The turning point at which cartoons would become commonplace on television would arrive in 1954. That year Hygo Television Films bought 156 classic Charles Mintz cartoons, including Krazy Kat and Scrappy shorts, for television syndication. At around the same time Motion Pictures for Television bought 179 Walter Lantz cartoons, including Oswald the Rabbit and Pooch the Pup shorts, for syndication to television stations. At the time Billboard estimated this increased the number of animated shorts available to television stations by 40%.

For some time the major studios would hold off on selling their animated shorts for television syndication. In fact, Walt Disney never would sell his cartoons for television syndication. This is not to say that they would not find their way to the small screen. Many of the classic Disney shorts and even feature films would appear on the anthology series Disneyland, which debuted in 1954. Classic Disney shorts would also appear on The Mickey Mouse Club, which debuted in 1955. It was in also in 1955 that U.M.& M. TV would buy many of Famous Studios pre-1950 cartoons, including the classic Betty Boop, Little Lulu, and Gabby shorts, but excluding the Popeye shorts (which went to Associated Artists Productions), the Superman shorts (which went to Motion Pictures for Television, who produced the live action series), and the assorted characters published in comic books by Harvey Comics (including Casper the Friendly Ghost and Baby Huey).

CBS would prove to be a bit of pioneer in cartoons on television. It was in 1953 that the network debuted the first network weekday cartoon show, Barker Bill's Cartoon Show. It lasted until 1956. What is more, CBS would go even further than other televisions outlets, not simply buying animated shorts but an entire studio.  In 1955 CBS bought Terrytoons from Paul Terry, who was retiring. CBS would use the old Terrytoon shorts to create the first Saturday morning cartoon, Mighty Mouse Playhouse, which debuted in December 1955. It would be followed by a short lived primetime series featuring Terrytoon shorts in June 1956 and The Heckle and Jeckle Show in October 1956. CBS would also syndicate the cartoons under such titles as Farmer Alfalfa and His Terrytoon Pals and Terrytoons Club. As a division of CBS, Terrytoons would produce the cartoons Tom Terrific and The Adventures of Lariat Sam to air on Captain Kangaroo, and still later such television cartoons as Deputy Dawg  and The Astronut Show.  While owned by CBS, Terrytoons would continue to produce theatrical shorts until 1963.

It was in 1956 that was one of the two biggest animation studios, Warner Brothers (the other being MGM) sold their animated shorts made prior to August 1, 1948 to Associated Artists Productions. That same year Associated Artists Productions bought the ever popular Popeye shorts from Famous Studios. UPA would enter television when a contract was signed by the studio with CBS to produce a television series. The result was the primetime series The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, which featured UPA's animated shorts and debuted in 1956. Unfortunately the series would prove cost prohibitive and left the air after three months. MGM, whose cartoons were less popular and considered less prestigious than those of Warner Brothers even then, would remain one of the few hold outs from television. In 1957 a deal between MGM and Associated Artists Productions collapsed. The deal would not have included the Tom and Jerry shorts, which were still popular in theatres.

While MGM's shorts would not be seen on television for a few years, this would not be the case with other major animation studios. It was in 1957, the same year that MGM's deal with Associated Artists Productions fell through, that Walter Lantz brought The Woody Woodpecker Show to ABC. Aired on Thursday afternoons, the series was hosted by Mr. Lantz himself and featured classic Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, and Chilly Willy shorts. The series would run until 1966, not only securing Woody  Woodpecker's immortality, but allowing Walter Lantz to continue producing theatrical shorts until 1972, longer than any of the other studios of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The same year Screen Gems would package the remaining Van Beuren shorts in a syndication package consisting of 334 cartoons.

Nineteen sixty would be another turning point for cartoons on television. That year Famous Studios would sell its remaining shorts and characters (including Casper the Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, and others) to Harvey Comics, who had been publishing them in comic books since 1952. Harvey Comics repacked the cartoons as Harveytoons and syndicated them to television stations, as well as producing new cartoons for the small screen. It would also be in 1960 that MGM would finally break down and strike a deal with United Artists Television to syndicate many of their animated shorts, including Barney Bear, Screwy Squirrel, George and Junior, and The Captain and the Kids. Neither the Tom and Jerry nor the classic Droopy shorts were included. In fact, MGM's most famous characters would not be seen on television until 1965, when The Tom and Jerry Show would debut on CBS on Saturday mornings. The series usually consisted of two Tom and Jerry shorts and one Droopy short.

It was in 1960 that Warner Brothers would finally release their animated shorts made after August 1, 1948 to television. The cartoons arrived in the form of a primetime series, The Bugs Bunny Show. In its original form the series featured three Warner Brothers shorts, with new linking material created by Warner Brothers. In 1962 the series would move to Saturday morning, where it would remain for nearly the next forty years. Curiously, Warner Brothers would see much more success on television than their old rivals MGM. The Tom and Jerry Show would only last seven years on a network, five them on Sunday morning.

By 1956 theatrical shorts would not be the only source for cartoons on television. It was that year that Gumby first appeared on The Howdy Doody Show. The stop motion animated character would receive his own show on NBC's Saturday morning schedule starting in March 1957. This made The Gumby Show NBC's first Saturday morning cartoon, not The Ruff and Reddy Show as commonly believed. This is not to say that The Ruff and Reddy Show does not have a place in history. It was the first show produced by Hanna-Barabera and the first cel animation show to air on Saturday morning on NBC.

As it was, 1957 would see the debut of another important animated series. Today Colonel Bleep is nearly forgotten, but it was the first cartoon made for television to be produced in colour (in its earliest days Ruff and Reddy was produced only in black and white). The series consisted of 104 five minute episodes, aired in syndication on local children shows and on their own. Although successful for a time (it still aired in some markets as late as 1970), fewer than half the episodes now exist today. Tom Terrific and The Adventures of Lariat Sam would also make their debuts on Captain Kangaroo that same year.

The success of Mighty Mouse Playhouse and The Ruff and Reddy Show was the beginning of the transformation of Saturday morning television. A few hours of children's fare had aired on Saturday morning since 1950, when ABC debuted Acrobat Ranch and Animal Clinic. Until Mighty Mouse Playhouse, however, all of these shows were live action. The success of these two shows would see yet more animated cartoons on Saturday morning. What is more important is that the success of these two shows, along with Colonel Bleep, would see the production of yet more cartoons made for television. In the early days, the vast majority of these would be produced for syndication. Naturally, television stations would air these cartoons as part of their local children's shows or on their own.

Indeed, in 1958 three syndicated cartoons made for television would be produced. It wast that year that Trans-Lux distributed a new series featuring Felix the Cat (the original Messmer shorts having proven very popular), produced by Joe Oriolo. Two hundred sixty animated shorts were made. It was also in 1958 that the largely forgotten series Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole was produced. The series featured a boy and his teddy bear, who operated as detectives. One hundred fifty shorts were produced of five minutes each, each short being part of a ten part story. It was among the first animated cartoons made for television to break with the format of five to ten minute, self contained shorts established by theatrical shorts. Also debuting in 1958 was The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna-Barbera's second show and their first to be produced in colour. The series consisted of three segments, one featuring Huckleberry Hound, one featuring Yogi Bear, and one featuring Pixie, Dixie,and Mr. Jinx. While the segments of the series could be aired individually as shorts on children's shows, the show could be shown on its own, complete with its own opening and closing credits. In fact, not only was it more often shown on its own, but it was so popular with adults that many stations aired in primetime.

The success of Felix the Cat and The Huckleberry Hound Show would see a plethora of syndicated, made for television cartoons made over the next several years. Among them would be The Quick Draw McGraw (1959, produced by Hanna-Barbera), Clutch Cargo (1959), Deputy Dawg (1959, produced by Terrytoons), Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse (1960), Q. T. Hush (1960), and Space Angel (1962). Nineteen sixty three would see the arrival of Astro Boy on an American shores. It was an adaptation of the Japanese series Tesuwan Atomu and hence the first anime series  to air in the United States. It would be followed by Gigantor (1964),  8 Man (1965), Kimba the White Lion (1966, the first anime series produced in colour), Prince Planet (1966), The Amazing 3 (1967), Speed Racer (1967), and Marine Boy (1967). The many Japanese series which made their way to the United States did not stem the tide of domestically produced animated shows for syndication. The next few years would see Rod Rocket (1963), The Mighty Hercules (1963), The Astronut Show (1965, produced by Terrytoons), The New Three Stooges (1965), Roger Ramjet (1965), Laurel and Hardy (1966), The Abbot and Costello Cartoon Show (1967), and Batfink (1967).

While many of the early cartoons made for television consisted of shorts which could easily be shown during local children's shows, many of the later cartoons would be a half hour in length and entirely self contained. This was particularly true of the many anime series which made their way to the United States. As a result, these cartoons had their role to play in the demise of locally produced children's shows. Many television stations decided it would be cheaper to simply to show these syndicated cartoons than to produce their own local children's shows. As a result, many local children's shows would be cancelled in the Sixties, to be replaced by a syndicated cartoon.

This is not to say that the syndicated cartoons would last either. By the late Sixties the rush to made for television, syndicated cartoons that began in the late Fifties would come to an end. Much of this was due to the transformation of the network's Saturday morning schedules into huge blocks of animated cartoons. During the late Fifties into the early Sixties, NBC and CBS made due with at most one or two cartoons each on Saturday morning. It was in the 1962-1963 season that the three networks finally aired more than a half hour or hour's worth of cartoons. ABC, which had aired no cartoons on Saturday morning, broke down and aired two, both of them immigrants from primetime (Top Cat and The Bugs Bunny Show).  NBC also aired two cartoons (The Ruff and Reddy Show and King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, the first cartoon produced by TTV). CBS aired two as well (The Alvin Show from primetime and the perennial Mighty Mouse Playhouse).

It was in 1963 that CBS hit upon the revolutionary idea of scheduling an entire block of cartoons on Saturday morning. CBS scheduled The Alvin Show, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, Quick Draw McGraw (originally a syndicated Hanna-Barbera show), and Mighty Mouse Playhouse. ABC would also schedule two hours worth of cartoons, The Jetsons (from primetime), The New Casper Cartoon Show, Beany and Cecil (from primetime), and The Bugs Bunny Show. NBC lagged behind with only The Heather Heatcote Show (produced by Terrytoons), The Ruff and Reddy Show, and The Bullwinkle Show (from primetime). These cartoons blocks would see such success that the 1964-1965 season would be the first Saturday morning as many younger Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers would come to know them. CBS would schedule three hours worth of cartoons on Saturday morning, among them Linus the Lion Hearted. ABC would be more modest with two hours worth of cartoons. NBC would still only have one hour's worth of cartoons on Saturday morning, although one of them would be the legendary Underdog. After the 1963-1964 season, the Saturday morning cartoon blocks would grow by leaps and bounds until 1968, when the CBS Saturday morning line up was six hours in length (it ended at 2 PM EST).

The growth of Saturday morning cartoon blocks on the networks would have two effects on weekday afternoon children's programming on local stations. Once cancelled many of the cartoons made for the network's Saturday morning cartoons would enter syndication. When coupled with the cartoons still being made originally for syndication, this created a glut of cartoons on television--something unthinkable in 1947 when cartoons first aired regularly on the medium. The end result was that original cartoons produced for television syndication more or less ceased in the years 1967, 1968, and 1969. In the Seventies about the only significant, original cartoons syndicated in the United States were both imports from Japan: Battle of the Planets (a very loose adaptation of Gatchaman syndicated from 1978 to 1985) and Star Blazers (an adaptation of Uchu senkan Yamato, syndicated from 1979 to 1984).

The other effect that the number of cancelled Saturday morning cartoons would have on television is that they would further cause the demise of local children's shows. Much like many of the syndicated cartoons of the Sixties, many of the networks' Saturday morning cartoons were self contained. As a result, many stations would opt to simply show reruns of old Saturday morning cartoons instead of producing their own local children's shows.

In the end, the creation of cartoon blocks on Saturday morning would not only transform the network's Saturday morning schedules, but would also have an impact on the weekday afternoon schedules of television stations. By the late Sixties those local stations which did not simply opt to show reruns of cancelled, primetime sitcoms might well show reruns of Saturday morning cartoons rather than their own local shows or even original cartoons created for syndication. By the Seventies, those stations not showing Gilligan's Island or The Phil Donahue Show in the late afternoon may well be showing reruns of Josie and the Pussycats instead of their own local children's show or even Battle of the Planets. Of course, as the Seventies progressed and later became the Eighties, even the reruns of Saturday morning cartoons would be overcome by reruns of sitcoms and talk shows. By the Nineties many local stations would show no children's programming whatsoever during weekdays, their afternoons filled with nothing but talk shows. Even reruns of sitcoms would disappear from the afternoon schedules of local television stations.

The networks had effectively given up on children's programming on late weekday afternoons in the early Sixties. Local stations would largely continue the tradition of children's programming on weekday afternoons, either though their own local children's shows or syndicated cartoons. By the Seventies the local children's shows would begin disappearing at an accelerated rate, while syndicated cartoons (either reruns or originals) would be overtaken by sitcoms and, more often than not in the Eighties, talk shows. As the Eighties began it may have seen that television outlets, both local and network, had abandoned children's programming in the afternoon entirely save for a few independent stations. As the Eighties progressed, however, children's programming would return to weekday afternoons in a big way.

Kids' Afternoon Programming on American Television Part One

Time to Start the Show

When many younger Baby Boomers and Gen Xers think of children's programming on American television, they are likely to think of Saturday morning, when the bulk of such programming aired on American television throughout its history. And while it is true that for several years Saturday morning would be the home to the bulk of children's programming on American television, the fact is that the late afternoon has also seen its fair share of kid's shows. Indeed, there was a time when late afternoon was the preferred time for airing children's shows, well before the tradition of kids' programming on Saturday morning was established.

The practice of scheduling children's shows in the late afternoon was established on radio, well before the advent of regular, network television broadcasts in the United States. Indeed, the first regularly scheduled radio serial for children to air in the afternoon may well have been Little Orphan Annie. Based on the popular comic strip, it debuted in 1930 on WGN in Chicago. On April 6, 1931 it made its debut on the NBC Blue Network. It aired six days a week at 5:45 PM. Little Orphan Annie proved to be a huge success, running until 1942.

Little Orphan Annie would be followed by a number of shows targeted at children which either aired in the late afternoon or early evening. And many of these shows would see even more success than Little Orphan Annie would. The Lone Ranger aired at 7:30 PM EST for nearly the entirety of its run. Its companion series, The Green Hornet, aired as early as 4:30 PM EST and as late as 8:00 PM EST. For much of its history The Adventures of Superman aired at either 5:00 or 5:30 PM EST. Jack Armstrong, All American Boy aired at 5:30 PM EST for most of its run. The list of juvenile radio serials which aired in the late afternoon or early evening is not a short one. Among the late afternoon and early evening children's shows were Uncle Don, Challenge of the Yukon, The Singing Story Lady, Captain Midnight, and many others.

The late afternoon and early evening hours having been established as a time for children's programming in radio, it was only natural that when regular network television broadcasts began in the United States after World War II that children's shows on television would also be scheduled in the late afternoon and early evening. Contrary to popular belief, the first regularly scheduled children's show was not Howdy Doody. In fact, two rather famous children's show debuted before Howdy Doody, although in the same year.

Today it is difficult to say what the first regularly scheduled, network children's show was, but it is quite possible that it was The Small Fry Club.  Indeed, in The Complete Directory to Primetime Network TV Shows, Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh state that it might have been the first series to air five days a week. The Small Fry Club debuted on the DuMont network on March 11, 1947 (a full nine months before Howdy Doody). It starred "Big Brother" Bob Emery, who sang,  played the ukulele and banjo, told stories, and included educational segments on current events, history, literature, music, and so on. Often The Small Fry Club featured guest performers or speakers on topics of interest to children. The Small Fry Club lasted until June 1951.

The second important, afternoon children's show to debut in 1947 would see more lasting success than The Small Fry Club. On October 13, 1947, Junior Jamboree debuted on WBKB in Chicago. When it moved to WBNQ in Chicago on November 29, 1948, it would be renamed for its stars--Kukla, Fran, and Ollie. On January 12, 1948 it made its debut on NBC. As to the stars of the show, two of them were puppets created by the series' creator, puppeteer Burr Tillstrom. For the whole run of the show he was its only puppeteer. As to the puppets themselves, Kukla was the leader of the group, a character who resembled a clown but definitely was not one, and Ollie or Oliver J. Dragon, a somewhat roguish dragon. The only human star of the show was Fran Allison, a radio comedian and singer. The cast was filled out by other puppets, such as Fletcher Rabbit, the group's rather fussy postman, and Cecil Bill, the group's stagehand.

Kukla, Fran, and Ollie differed from many children's shows (and even adult sitcoms) of the time in that its humour grew out of its characters. Indeed, the quality of the writing on the show was such that it boasted many adults among its fans, including Tallulah Bankehad, Milton Caniff, Orson Welles, and others. Indeed, when the show was cut back to 15 minutes in 1951, it was not children who expressed anger at NBC, but the show's adult fans! In all, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie would run 10 years, until 1957. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie would later host The CBS Children's Film Festival on Saturday morning and still later would be featured in their own show on PBS from 1969-1971.

As to Howdy Doody, perhaps the most famous children's show of the Fifties, it debuted on December 17, 1947 under the title Puppet Playhouse. Its title would officially be changed in 1949 to The Howdy Doody Show. The series was at its heart a puppet show, starring a marionette named Howdy Doody. Howdy's original incarnation was a rather scruffy haired, goofy looking fellow in Western clothes. It was in 1948 the puppet's designer, Frank Paris, walked off the show with the original Howdy Doody. Since Paris rightfully owned the marionette, the show had no choice but to redesign Howdy. Fortunately, the producers found a way to explain Howdy's absence. As Howdy was running for President of the Kids in 1948, it was explained that he was away having plastic surgery in order to better compete with his handsome opponent, Mr. X. In the meantime, for nine months the show utilised a puppet covered in bandages until the new Howdy Doody was unveiled. When Howdy's new face was finally revealed, it was the familiar red haired, freckle faced boy that everyone identifies as Howdy Doody. The new Howdy Doody was designed by Thelma Thomas of Walt Disney Studios, who created the head and face, and Scott Brinker, the show's prop man,  who made the body. Howdy's country bumpkin voice remained the same.

Of course, Howdy Doody was not the only puppet on the show,. In fact, there was a whole slough of them, living in the town named Doodyville. There was Mayor Phineas T. Bluster, Flub-a Dub (a duke's mixture of various animals), Sandra the Witch, and many others. Of course, there were human characters as well, the most prominent being Buffalo Bob Smith.  Dressed in Western garb, Buffalo Bob Smith was the host for the show for the entirety of its run save for nearly the show's entire run, and was the voice of the puppet as well. While Buffalo Bob was recovering from his heart attack, master voice man Allen Swift (best known as Simon Barsinister and Riff-Raff on Underdog) voiced Howdy, while the show featured various guest hosts (including Gabby Hayes). Perhaps the most prominent human character besides Buffalo Bob was the mute Clarabell the Clown, played by the legendary Bob Keeshan (later to become more famous as Captain Kangaroo) until 1952. There was also Chief Thunderthud (played by Bill LeCornec) and Princess Summerfall Winterspring (originally a puppet, but soon replaced by the beautiful Judy Tyler).

From its beginning, The Howdy Doody Show  was wildly successful. It became the first NBC show to be aired five days a week. In 1952, NBC spun off a radio show based on the shit TV series. Starting in 1954 NBC used Howdy Doody's face for their colour test pattern.In 1955 Howdy Doody became one of the first TV shows on any network to air regularly in colour. Naturally, Howdy Doody  produced a ton of merchandise. In 1949 Dell published the first Howdy Doody comic book. There were also lunch boxes, wind up toys, Howdy Doody dolls, and numerous other items.

Unfortunately, The Howdy Doody Show was not immune to the changing television climate in the Fifties. It was on October 3, 1955 (which I'll discuss in more depth later) The Mickey Mouse Club debuted on ABC. The show proved to be a smash hit. Indeed, even though ABC had fewer affiliates than NBC, The Mickey Mouse Club still trounced Howdy Doody in the ratings. An hour in length and starting a half hour earlier than Howdy Doody, children were loath to switch from The Mickey Mouse Club to Howdy Doody. It was then in 1956 that The Howdy Doody Show moved from its weekday afternoon time slot to Saturday  morning. The Howdy Doody Show would only survive four more years on Saturday morning. Its run ended on September 24, 1960. The biggest children's show of the Fifties would not survive into the Sixties.

Here it must be pointed out that not every children's show which debuted in the late Forties was a puppet show. In fact, it was on June 27, 1949 that DuMont would debut a show that, in retrospect, was highly revolutionary. Indeed, Captain Video and His Video Rangers was American television's first science fiction programme. Created by DuMont vice president James L Caddigan, the show was set in 2254 and centred on Captain Video, head of the Video Rangers, who reported to the Commissioner of Public Safety. He was assisted by the young Video Ranger (no other name was ever given) and with the Video Rangers battled threats to interplanetary safety.

Captain Video and the Video Rangers aired live and on a shoestring budget at that. As a result the production was somewhat crude, although it did manage to take advantage of such recent technology as primitive luminance key effects, dissolves, and superimpositions. During every programme until 1953 either Captain Video or communications officer Ranger Rogers would check in on Captain Video's other agents (who looked suspiciously like cowboys) on a television screen. As a result, at least ten minutes of the half hour programme was devoted to clips from old Westerns. This allowed the crew to set up switch sets and to prepare for special effects. Although its scripts were attacked by critics early in its run, Captain Video and the Video Rangers  would improve over time. The special effects would improve noticeably after Alex Haberstroh and Leo Russell were hired in 1952. After 1952 the scripts were being written by such noted science fiction writers and fantasists as Arthur C. Clarke, James Blish, Damon Knight, and Jack Vance. By 1953 clips of old Westerns were no longer being used.

From 1949 to 1950 Richard Coogan starred as Captain Video. He would go onto star in the 1957-1959 series The Californians. From 1950 to the end of the series, Captain Video was played by Al Hodge, best known as the original voice of The Green Hornet on radio. Don Hastings played the Video Ranger for the entirety of the show's run. He would go onto appear on The Edge of Night and then to an extraordinarily long run on As the World Turns.

Captain Video and the Video Rangers proved extremely popular. It inspired a 1951 Columbia serial entitled Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere. Fawcett Comics would also publish a Captain Video comic book. More importantly, the series would inspire yet other juvenile science fiction shows, including Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Space Patrol, and Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers among others.

Unfortunately, the success of Captain Video and the Video Rangers could not save the faltering DuMont network. From the beginning DuMont had faced obstacles from the FCC rules (restricting the network's growth), AT&T, and even its business partner Paramount Pictures. While DuMont produced such legendary shows as Cavalcade of Shows (which introduced the world to The Honeymooners), Life is Worth Living, The Original Amateur Hour, and Captain Video and the Video Rangers, it was not enough to overcome these obstacles. By 1955 DuMont was in a position where it could no longer afford the expensive coaxial cable over which its shows were broadcast. It was then on April 1, 1955 that Captain Video and the Video Rangers ended its long run. Its last regularly scheduled programme, the game show What's the Story aired one last time on September 25 of that year.

It would be another struggling network that would debut another revolutionary children's show not long after Captain Video and the Video Rangers went off the air. ABC had been in much the same position as DuMont, struggling to compete with the two major networks (NBC and CBS). It was in 1953 that United Paramount Theatres merged with the meagre network, giving it a much needed boost in capital. In 1954 the network would also be greatly helped by the debut of Disneyland, an anthology series produced by Walt Disney. Dinseyland proved to be a smash hit, even producing an outright craze with the "Davy Crockett" miniseries. It was in 1955 that Walt Disney followed up this success with a children's show which would air five days a week on ABC, The Mickey Mouse Club. It debuted on October 3, 1955.

Today it is easy to take The Mickey Mouse Club for granted as simply a very popular, afternoon children's show of the Fifties and the show that launched Annette Funnicello to stardom. but at the time it was revolutionary. Previously television shows were made to appeal to adults (most of what aired on primetime), young children (shows such as Howdy Doody), or teenagers (American Bandstand and number of other dance shows). The Mickey Mouse Club was the first children's show designed to appeal primarily to what is now called "tweens," children between the age of ten and twelve. In more ways than one, then, The Mickey Mouse Club is the forerunner of such shows as Hannah Montana and The Wizards of Waverly Place.

The format of The Mickey Mouse Club was simple. It was a variety show for kids. An average episode of the show would consist of a newsreel, a classic Disney cartoon, an episode of one of the show's serials (including "Spin and Marty" and  "The Hardy Boys"), as well as musical and comedy segments.The show had an appealing cast, led by the adult host, singer, actor, and songwriter Jimmie Dodd. The cast consisted of Annette Funicello (the show's breakout star), future drummer Cubby O'Brien,  future makeup artist Tommy Cole, and several others.

The Mickey Mouse Club proved incredibly successful, so much so that it outstripped the once phenomenal Howdy Doody in the ratings. In fact, it was after only one year against The Mickey Mouse Club that Howdy Doody was cut back to Saturday morning. It was still highly rated when  it was cancelled in 1959, largely because ABC and Disney could not come to terms over the renewal of the series. The show could have possibly continued on another network, but ABC forbade Disney from either shopping The Mickey Mouse Club or Zorro to another broadcaster.

In many respects The Mickey Mouse Club was the last hurrah for children's programming in the late afternoon on the networks. As the Fifties progressed, there would be increasingly fewer and fewer children's shows on the networks in the late afternoon. At some during point during the 1951-1952 season, all four networks had at least one children's show that aired in the late afternoon or evening hours, sometimes more. By the fall of 1960 only ABC aired children's shows in the late afternoon (of course, DuMont had ceased to exist four years earlier). The decrease in children's programming on the major networks happened gradually. Throughout the decade CBS aired children's shows in the late afternoon only sporadically at best, finally ceding late afternoons to their local affiliates and abandoning children's shows in those time slots entirely in 1957. Between Howdy Doody and The Pinky Lee Show NBC had scheduled children's programming for most of the decade. When the network moved Howdy Doody to Saturday mornings and cancelled The Pinky Lee Show in 1956, NBC abandoned children's programming in the late afternoon altogether, save for a brief revival of Kukla, Fran, and Ollie in the 1961-1962 season.

ABC was the lone hold out among the networks when it came to late afternoon, children's programming. In the 1959-1960 the network showed reruns of both The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and My Friend Flicka. In the 1960-1961 season ABC scheduled reruns of Captain Gallant, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Lone Ranger, and Rocky and His Friends. In the 1961-1962 season ABC aired no children's shows in the late afternoon, but returned children's programming to the time slot in the 1962 to 1963 season with Discovery. Discovery was an educational show which explored various topics ranging from science to art to history. It lasted one season in the late afternoon before being exiled to Sunday morning, where it remained until its cancellation in 1971. It would be the last network offering for children in the late afternoon for decades. From the Sixties into the Eighties, children's programming on the networks would only be seen on Saturday mornings and, for a time, on Sunday mornings as well.

As to the reason children's programming vanished from late afternoons on the networks, it came down to simple economics. In some respects late afternoons were more ideal for children's programming. In the Fifties and even the Sixties, more children were available to watch television in the late afternoon than on Saturday morning. What made the late afternoon less desirable as a time for children's shows than Saturday morning was the simple fact that many more adults were available to watch television in the late afternoon as well. In fact, the adult audience for the late afternoon was much larger than that of children. The end result was that advertises who bought spots on children's show in the afternoon would have to pay higher rates than advertisers who wanted to attract adults. In the end, it became simpler for the networks to simply cede the late afternoon to their local affiliates, who could then programme whatever they pleased.

Of course, this would not be the end of children's programming in the late afternoon on weekdays on American television. Many local stations had their own children's shows that would continue to air for many years, while others simply elected to show any number of cartoons. Although it might decrease in its sheer numbers over the years, children's programming on weekday afternoons would not completely vanish.