The Disappearance of Saturday Morning

ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE ^ | April 30, 2003 | By Gerard Raiti

[paltz]

The Disappearance of Saturday Morning Saturday morning no longer means kids in front of TV sets across the country, glued to the latest in hip cartoons. Why? Gerard Raiti investigates the death of an era.

April 30, 2003

By Gerard RaitiA once seemingly inseparable partnership between children and Saturday morning cartoons is now a thing of the past.

In a time not so long ago, Saturday mornings were indicative of one and only one pastime for children — watching cartoons. Throughout the '70s and '80s, the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC dominated the Saturday morning airwaves by inundating children with cartoons. Cartoons on these networks used to earn ratings of more than 20 million viewers. Today, network Saturday morning cartoons only exist on ABC Kids, FOX Kids and Kids’ WB!, the latter two networks either did not exist or did not air cartoons two decades ago. Current successful cartoons on FOX Kids or Kids’ WB! can garner a mere two million viewers. That statistic does not even take into consideration that the population of children in the U.S. has increased by approximately ten percent over the last 20 years.

Due to this precipice in viewers, network cartoons are left struggling to make money while advertisers remain befuddled without a mainstream channel to promote new toys and products to children. Why have children stopped tuning in on Saturday mornings to network cartoons and what are the ramifications of this change?

Six key factors have led to children watching less Saturday morning cartoons: more recreational sports, the introduction of cable and satellite TV, the Internet and video games, a poorer quality of animation, and a greater emphasis on family time. These factors are rather self-explanatory with the exception of the latter: the divorce rate of Americans now stands at 49 percent, and time on the weekends has become more precious for children as many commute between parents’ houses.

For parents who only have limited access to their children due to either divorce or career advancement, plopping them down in front of the television for five hours on a Saturday morning is no longer a viable option. Among most parents, divorced or not, there is a new emphasis on "quality" time. Consequently, taking one’s children to the theater, mall, museum, event, zoo or beach on the weekend is deemed more appropriate to being a "good" parent, than letting kids sit and watch cartoons. To this effect, American society has changed substantially enough over the last two decades to the point where Saturday morning cartoons are less important to our culture.

According to Linda Simensky of Cartoon Network, Saturday morning animation has always been the backwater of programming for network broadcasters. Courtesy of Cartoon Network.

The Biggest Change of All Today, cartoons are no longer on the major three networks that dominated the preceding decades. Although ABC technically still airs Saturday morning cartoons, its relationship with Disney distinguishes it from ABC’s past programming during the ‘70s and ‘80s. When NBC and CBS began reducing their children’s programming on Saturdays in 1988-1990, FOX jumped aboard the bandwagon and laid the cornerstone for its FOX Kids Network. NBC chose to delve into live-action teen entertainment, hallmarked by Saved by the Bell. Presently, NBC is in partnership with Discovery Kids; a Saturday edition of Today either precedes or follows Discovery Kids. CBS initially chose to replace its cartoons with news from local affiliates and now airs a national morning show, which is either preceded or followed by children’s content from Nick Jr. Disney acquired ABC, so their relationship has stayed relatively constant over the decades and still continues to air its One Saturday Morning, recently renamed ABC Kids. Linda Simensky, vice president of original programming at Cartoon Network, feels that, “Children’s television was never the strength of broadcasters to begin with. There were some good shows in there, but kids’ TV was the department where executives at the network would start their nephews out in. [Kids’ TV] was never the primary goal of a network.” Children’s entertainment on Saturday mornings is currently such a liability that local affiliates in markets such as Baltimore choose to air local news in lieu of Discovery Kids, Nick Jr., and ABC Kids. PAGE 2

[Yaelle]

The truth is that cartoons were almost never on except for Saturday mornings, when I was a child. There are cartoons on 24/7 now, with several cable channels proffering. Not that mine are allowed to watch so much TV. But they are not dying to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings.

On the one hand, 24/7 cartoons is a horrible thing, you would think. Yet when you really need them, they are a G-dsend. More than once I have seen a child, sick or in pain at night, grow more comfortable and sometimes become able to sleep, while watching cartoons in those wee hours. I am now grateful we have them.

Two things have happened to children's animation since I was a child: tacky, kitchy animation (phony "styles"), and cheap potty humor more than cleverness. There is some cleverness now, still, to be sure, but nothing like my childhood favorite, Bugs Bunny.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Rightly Biased]

Richocet Rabbit
Ant and the Aardvark

[Rebelbase]

It all changed when Pee-Wee Herman started watching adult movies.

[Rebelbase]

Several years back I saw the band Better Than Ezra play "Conjunction Junction".

Memories.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Saturday morning ritual in the 60s: Get up early. Watch the test pattern for ten minutes. Then the Star Spangled Banner. Then Popeye, Roadrunner, Bug Bunny, and more. Later Johnny Quest. As the day wore on it was the Monkees and Banana Splits.

They sold us on a few toys. Never believed Mom when she said the real toys don't look like they do on TV. Horrible Hamilton was one of my favorites.

But responses to this post caught it right away: The quality of programming went totally down hill. They don't make 'em like they used to, though I must say the Simpson's are fun to watch any time.

[Proud_texan]

Haha, thanks, glad I'm not the only one to notice that.

Another sign of my advanced derangement but add Greta Van Susteren (sp) and Tom Ridge with the Clutch mouth symdrome.

[Aquinasfan]

At the risk of sounding like the Simpson's next door neighbor, my kids watch the Saturday morning children's programming on EWTN. Believe it or not, they really like the shows, particularly the shows about the lives of the saints. They don't like most other cartoons ("they're weird") except for "Tom and Jerry." I have no idea why. I tried to get them interested in Bugs and Marvin the Martian, my personal favorite, but they weren't buying.

[Aquinasfan]

Remember his co-horts Spinner and Paddlefoot? What a bizarre cartoon.

I prefer not to think about it.

Anyone remember "Gigantor the Spaceage Robot"?

[Great_Dame]

"Help Cecil, HELP!!!!"

"I'm commin' Beanie Boy!"

[AppyPappy]

My brothers book http://www.tvparty.com has a whole section about Froggy. When he came to visit last year, he found a Froggy on our bookshelf. It was a toy my wife's cousins owned and she ended up with it. We had no idea what it was.

[Gabz]

My 5 year old recently discovered the Inspirational Network, which I didn't even know we got on the cable. she loves watching it when she gets home in the afternoon.

And she adores Tom & Jerry as well.

[gcruse]

That's a tempting website!

[farmfriend]

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea...

[Aquinasfan]

My 5 year old recently discovered the Inspirational Network, which I didn't even know we got on the cable. she loves watching it when she gets home in the afternoon.

That's good to hear. I think we sell them short. What are we feeding our children? The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Your welcome.

[dfwgator]

Every time I think now of Schoolhouse Rock, I think of the funny Simpsons parody of "I'm Just A Bill" called "I'm an Amendment to Be." Even used to the guy that was in the original.



Krusty: Well, Itchy and Scratchy are gone, but here's a cartoon that tries to make learning fun! Sorry about this, kids. But stay tuned. We've got some real good toy commercials coming right up. I swear.

Boy: Say, who left all this garbage on the steps of Congress?

Amendment-to-be:

I'm not garbage.
I'm an amendment to be.
Yes, an amendment to be.
And I'm hoping that they'll ratify me.

There's a lot of flag burners
Who have got too much freedom.
I want to make it legal for policemen to beat 'em.
'Cause there's limits to our liberties.
'Least I hope and pray that there are.
'Cause those liberal freaks go too far.

Boy: But why can't we just make a law against flag burning?

Amendment-to-be: Because that law would be unconstitutional. But if we change the Constitution...

Boy: Then we could make all sorts of crazy laws.

Amendment-to-be: Now you're catching on.

Bart: What the hell is this?

Lisa: It's one of those campy seventies throwbacks that appeals to generation x-ers.

Bart: We need another Vietnam to thin out their ranks a little.

Boy: But what if people say you're not good enough to be in the Constitution?

Amendment-to-be:

Then I'll crush all opposition to me
And I'll make Ted Kennedy pay.
If he fights back, I'll say that he's gay.

Narrator: Good news, amendment. They ratified you. You're in the U.S. Constitution.

Amendment-to-be: Oh, yeah! Door's open, boys!

Lisa: So it's true. Some cartoons do encourage violence.

[Green Knight]

Great news, but unfortunately, that's a bit outweighed by the fact that the recent batch of Transformers tv series have both sucked and blown, from Beast Machines to Robots In Disguise to Armada, and it's likely that this trend will continue into the next series, Energon. It's downright criminal what they've done with the smallscreen version of Transformers, especially after bringing it back with what is undoubtedly one of the best cartoon series ever to air, Beast Wars.

Oh well. I still got my DVD sets to tide me over. I've got all the G1 DVD sets currently out, and the first Beast Wars DVD set. All I need, now, is the last G1 DVD set to come out with the latter half of season 3, and the next Beast Wars DVD set which'll include seasons 2 and 3, and I'll have both series' in their entirety.

As for great cartoons currently on the air, I'd list the following:

Masters of the Universe Vs. The Snakemen - Formerly "He-Man and The Masters of the Universe".
X-Men: Evolution - Though I'm not sure if this series has been picked up for a new season. The fourth season ended spectacularly and heartbreakingly 2 months ago.
Star Wars: Clone Wars - They REALLY should make this into a regular 30-minute series with 13 to 26 episode seasons.
Samurai Jack
Justice League
Teen Titans

Honorable mention also goes to Spongebob Squarepants, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Duck Dodgers, Big O and Cartoon Networks Adult Swim line-up (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sea Lab 20something) which I catch from time to time. As for cartoons which aired in the past which I've seen, I'd list the following:

Transformers - Of course
Beast Wars - Ditto
Robotech - I'm hoping I'll get The Macross Saga and New Generation for Christmas.
G.I. Joe - Cobra attacked the Pentagon long before al-Qaeda ever did. Does anyone really thing they'll ever mention the word 'terrorist' on cartoons, again, or have the bad guys attack the Pentagon as did Cobra?
Exo-Squad - It and Beast Wars are, to me, the Babylon 5 of cartoons. The instant they put this series on DVD, I'm buying it up. To bad it didn't continue, as apparently they were going to combine it with the Robotech universe.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - The original series.
Superman: The Animated Series - The precursor to Justice League and an excellent show in its own right.
Batman: The Animated Series - Ditto the above.
Looney Tunes - The granddaddy of them all.

And many others which I could name. It's amazing, though, how many of the above series are not only better then most of what you'll find on network tv, but in some cases are also a whole lot funnier than even the highest rated sitcoms (And unlike the sitcoms, they DON'T come with a laughtrack).