Saturday, May 7, 2011

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Welcome Home To Your Saturday Mornings

  This blog is dedicated to everyone who has a fond memory of growing up to those thrilling days of Saturday Morning cartoons, kids shows, sporting events, commercials, bumpers, and other Saturday-related programming.

   Here at the Saturday Morning Breakfast Bunch blog-site, you can showcase your favorite childhood cartoons, kids shows, teen/adult programs, toys, cereals, breakfast foods, snack foods, fast-foods, outdoor games, board games, video/pinball games, segments, commercials, PSA's, and characters. 


Here is a list of some of my favorites:



Favorite Cartoon: Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show





 Favorite Kids Show: Sigmund And The Sea Monsters












Favorite Teen/Adult Program: ABC's Wide World of Sports











                       
      Favorite Toy: 1976 Swinger Bicycle

                                  









Favorite Cereal: Kellogg's Frosted Rice Cereal







                                         Favorite Breakfast Food: Nabisco Toastettes
                                          







Favorite Snack Food: Jeno's Snack Tray Pizzas













Favorite Outdoor Game: Water Balloon Toss                     Favorite Fast Food: Burger Chef
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                          











Favorite Board Game: Stratego                                            FavoriteVideo/PinballGame: Tempest


                                                                     
                        









                                                                                                 
Favorite Short Segment(s): In The News                              Favorite Commercial: Folger's Coffee
          











                                                                                                        
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                               Favorite Character: Fat Albert                                                                                                                                             
Favorite Public Service Announcement(s): 
McGruff Crime Dog                                                                           
                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                               



                                             
                                    


                                            
                                                                                                     


You may have other things you personally would like to discuss on here, pertaining to Saturday Morning memories that you have, and that is always welcome. This blog is not just mine alone, but for all of us, for every one who truly loved those long-ago Saturday Mornings, that were filled with excitement, laughter, suspense, mysteries, and adventure. 












So here goes...my weekly Saturday Morning memory...(episode 1)

       I was about 6 years old at the time, probably around July of 1975, and recall usually waking up at around 5:45 on Saturday Mornings. Walking downstairs as quietly as I could, so as not to wake my parents, or my brother up. Sometimes still half-asleep, I would search our kitchen cabinet, where my folks kept the cereals. Not being able to reach for my cereal at first, since they would always put it up, in the top cabinets, I would pull the chair over to the cabinet, and climb up, looking for the cereal that I wanted. I couldn't read all that well at that age, but I new what kind of cereal was in each box, so I grabbed the one with Tony the Tiger Jr. Yeah you heard right. Tony Jr. was on the cover of Kellogg's Frosted Rice Cereal. 



   Next I searched for a bowl to pour my cereal into, but not just any bowl, but a big one. So I notice in the dish rack, my mom's salad bowl...you know the kind...those huge plastic ones that you can put nearly a ton of potato salad in, well that's the one I would grabbed. Pouring the cereal into the big ol' bowl, but not just a measly tiny amount...no, instead I'd pour the whole box in. I think I might have at times, used an entire quart bottle of milk. Now I'm beginning to show my age. Because you see, way back then, some of us still had a milk man to deliver our milk, and sometimes even cheeses to us on Fridays, so that by Saturday Morning, we had fresh milk in the fridge to drink. 

   So now I'm sitting in front of our very first color television set, complete with rabbit-ear antennas on top of the TV set itself. 


















No remote control, so you had to turn the switch on, and wait for a few seconds for the picture tube to warm up and start. Then change the channels by hand too. No cable or satellite channels, just the big three, ABC, NBC, and CBS, to watch any cartoons, kids shows, and teen/adult programmings, and when I say adult programming, I don't mean X-Rated movies...we're talking ABC's Wide World of Sports, American Bandstand, Soul Train, ABC Weekend Special, CBS Children's Film Festival, CBS Saturday Film Festival, and others.


   Well 6:00 a.m. rolls around, and our family television, and in those days, we only had one set...became this magical land of pure entertainment, with the likes of: 




Bugs Bunny & the Road Runner



                                                      
      
     




          
            Hong Kong Phooey






The Mighty Heroes
                                                     
                                                    The Super Friends


















Devlin 


                                                                    


                                                                 Sea-Lab 2020















Emergency +4 








                                                                       Valley of the Dinosaurs
                                               







                                                
Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids




                                     
                           Star Trek: The Animated Series
                          

                                                   










The Brady Kids


   



                          


                                           Shazam!












Run Joe Run


















                                                                   Land Of The Lost




     Not only was I able to see all of those shows, but even the commercials were better then. McDonald's ads were actually fun to watch, with Ronald McDonald, Grimace, The Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Officer/Sheriff Big Mac, Captain Crook, The Fry Kids (later the Fry Guys), The Professor, and the Hamburger Patch. 


   Kentucky Fried Chicken featured good ol' Colonel Harlan Sanders, who seemed to know when the food was made just right.

The Burger King always seemed to have a burger and a crown for each and every kid back then.
               
    










Other commercials featuring toys were fun to watch then as well. Take for instance seeing a brother and sister playing connect 4, only to see the brother lose to his sister, and yelling to the affect,"Pretty sneaky sis!" 








                                          Flatsy Patsy Dolls were the rage back then too.






Then there were the Big Wheels commercials, seeing kids peddling fast down the sidewalk and skidding to a stop, was almost too much of a ride to pass up.






Maybe you loved those Easy-Bake Ovens, and could picture yourself, fixing up a plate of delicious cookies and brownies for you, your family, and friends to all have. 




                                     
                                      You also had the Nerf Football craze back then too.




 Many girls back then used to have the Liddle Kiddle Kolognes & Locket Collection. 


   




















It may not have been perfect, but it was still a fun time to have lived through back then, and to know that after all the cartoons were done, that my parents, and brother, would finally wake up and come downstairs, and have a family breakfast together. 


    Later in the afternoon, my dad and I, would sit and watch ABC's Wide World of Sports...






however, sometimes I would watch the ABC Weekend Special, or the CBS Children's Film Festival.