The abriged version is definitely the best way to experience it in retrospect. Otherwise it's nearly 100 hours of television to sit through and they can really milk a scene.

What makes the abriged work is that DB is already a light-hearted show, so the humour fits in pretty seamlessly. That's why it's sister show Yugioh Abriged also works because the show it was based on was so ridiculously over the top it seemed like the writers were taking the piss.

Yugioh also has one of the greatest anime gimmicks of all-time: Kaiba.

Apr 24, 2020 13:27:21 GMT Big Pete said:

The abriged version is definitely the best way to experience it in retrospect. Otherwise it's nearly 100 hours of television to sit through and they can really milk a scene.

What makes the abriged work is that DB is already a light-hearted show, so the humour fits in pretty seamlessly. That's why it's sister show Yugioh Abriged also works because the show it was based on was so ridiculously over the top it seemed like the writers were taking the piss.

Yugioh also has one of the greatest anime gimmicks of all-time: Kaiba.

I'm glad to hear this crew has done treatments of others shows. I was thinking while watching "I wonder/hope they did this for shows like Gobots, Voltron, etc." -- but to your point, can't recall if those series were lighthearted or over-the-top enough to make this style and humor work.

Also, speaking of Yugioh, I was also thinking (and excuse my anime ignorance/racism here if that's what inadvertently behind this thought line): was there ever a Sailor Moon/Pokemon/Yugioh/etc. crossover with Dragon Ball (Z)? Or even like Street Fighter (aside from video games, maybe)? Animation styles and characters and plots all seem similar enough that it wouldn't totally feel out of place. At least to me. And at least Ryu feels like a long lost brother of Goku. And Sagat seems like he could pass for Tien if Tien had 2 out of 3 eyes gouged out.

I should clarify - Yugioh the Abriged series started the entire trend. It was made by a British content creator, Little Kuriboh and he basically created the template everyone else copied from. I believe he pops up through DBZ Abriged, but you're asking me to remember something I haven't watched in over a decade.

was there ever a Sailor Moon/Pokemon/Yugioh/etc. crossover with Dragon Ball (Z)? Or even like Street Fighter (aside from video games, maybe)? Animation styles and characters and plots all seem similar enough that it wouldn't totally feel out of place. At least to me. And at least Ryu feels like a long lost brother of Goku. And Sagat seems like he could pass for Tien if Tien had 2 out of 3 eyes gouged out.

Only for ages 18+ friend-o. :lol:

There's been a few cross-overs in the video games, most notably in the Smash Bros. series and the Shonen Jump Smash Clone series but otherwise they've been extremely limited. I believe there was a DBZ and One Piece cross-over at one point but beyond that I can't recall anything else. In Dragon Ball they visit the first manga Toriyama booked aka Dr. Slump but it was just one of those self-referential type deals. Kind of like when The Rock appeared in the XFL and Luger in the Bodybuilding fed.

Apr 24, 2020 1:02:58 GMT Big Pete said:

This does not sell me on Super.

Chat me up, does Super have a fan-ficcy feel to it? I caught a random episode deep into the series and it appeared they were having a six man tag tournament between the usual suspects and a babyface version of Frieza? It seemed weird because the three villains seemed like they were out of something like One Piece.

Am I on the ball? The animation was also very questionable and lacked that late 80s/early 90s charm DBZ had.

What you saw was probably the Universe 6 Saga, Super introduces the concept of a multiverse (which just you know, makes sense, there is no one left in the universe to challenge these characters anymore).

Super is good, it wont sit well if you expect something equal to what DBZ was when you were a kid, and the animation totally suffers at the beginning, but picks up quickly and becomes real good (if uneven at times), that is just a price to pay for weekly anime shows in the modern day.

I choose to rank it as it's own thing, but tbh watching Super weekly was an event on itself lol, the final arc they had, the Universal Survival Tournament Saga was probably the most self indulgent thing ever, a battle royal between all universes with the winning universe  being the only one that would not be erased by THE God of the Dragonball Multiverse.

It was full of very cool and creative fights, and allowed many forgotten characters to shine again after being left in the dust for so long (Krillin, Gohan, Roshi, 17 and 18 all get their Wrestlemania Moment, basically).

Hell, it was such a big deal that down here in Mexico people would go to large gatherings at plazas to watch the main event, it was crazy lol.





As long as you go with expectations in check, I highly recommend the experience.

Lol oh fuck me, I totally got rickrolled by these fake Naemkeans!

So here's my WatchMojo Reasons Why People Dunk on the Buu Saga list.

1. Goku saves the day

2. Majin Buu kicked out of too many finishers

3. Majin Buu was a broken character that could wipe out humanity in the blink of an eye

4. The show zig-zagged from light hearted to super serious far too often

5. Fans hated the Great Saiyaman and were embarrassed that Gohan turned into a dweeb.

6. Fans hated the social commentary and how Hercule went from a low carder to main event status right away

7. Fans were mixed on Vegeta nixing his retirement

8. Whereas Goku and Gohan worked better as Cruiserweights, fans hated when Trunks went from a Heavyweight to the Junior division.

9. Goten was only created so Trunks could dance with somebody

10. The work-around behind Vegito splitting up was flimsy.

11. Did I mention that Goku came out of retirement to save the day?

So here's the deal.

The show did an ol' Randy Orton 2004/05 bait and switch on everyone. It tried to present itself as DBZ The New Generation with Gohan in the lead. It figured out mid-way that Vegeta's character arc was far more interesting and how badly his character was struggling after the Cell Saga.

Vegeta was like Froddo Baggins where his life had no more meaning and in a moment of madness he snapped. He tries to atone for his sin by committing the ultimate sacrifice but still, Vegeta's attempt at redemption ultimately appeared to be fruitless.

UNTIL the gods recognise his virtues, gave him a second chance and he was able to find acceptance.

And that was the theme Toriyama stumbled upon that made for a better story than the one he was telling.

Originally he had Gohan, Trunks and Goten becoming something they weren't.

Gohan fell for this Tony Robbins scheme by this crotchety self-help guru who told him if he dressed a certain way he would realise his potential. He attempts to use that against Buu and fails.

Meanwhile Goten and Trunks literally become a new person and they struggle with their identity to overcome Buu.

It isn't until Goku, Vegeta and Hercule accept their roles in the story that Buu is vanquished. Goku accepts that he has to be earth's protector and he can't stay dead, Vegeta accepts he doesn't have to be THE best to be the hero and Hercule realises he isn't a phony and he's capable of commiting great acts.

I find the characters far more interesting in the Buu Saga than I did in the Cell Saga. It's nice to see that Gohan just didn't turn into his father, that he became this dorky Peter Parker character and that he struggles to fit in.

It's nice to see what the events of the Cell Saga had on the earth and how it turned this Antonio Inoki esque character into a global icon. His struggles through out the saga are the most suspenseful moments as he constantly has to worm himself out of these impossible scenarios and yet he does time and time again.

The fusion concept while a worn out trope now in animes was a fun concept and the Vegito/Buu fight is peak DBZ. Android 17/Piccolo is usually cited as the best fight because of how even it was, but DBZ to me is a parody of martial arts, sci-fi, eastern mythology etc. and that fight was a perfect representation of that.

Some of the fake outs are great as well. At one point Piccolo saves the day, but has to spend eternity with Buu, Goten and Trunks in this Black Mirror esque void where they play Last Christmas on loop a million times. The whole saga also starts off incredibly bleak with Krillin, Piccolo and the Kai turning to stone, Vegeta turning heel and dying, Gohan is presumably dead and Goku only has a limited amount of time to teach these two bratty kids a dance that takes years to master.

Finally Majin Buu, at least the first form, is a terrifying child-like villain out of the Twilight Zone who will turn you to candy if he senses you thinking bad thoughts. He eventually becomes Cell, a generic villain who would have read for the role of Ivan Drago if they existed in reality. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz but at least there was a point in time that he was memorable and his existense expands the story of the show.

It's a fitting final chapter to an incredible 11 year run.

Anything after that was always a bonus.

Once you've finished SMASHING that Like Button, hit that bell and stay tuned for my 'GT didn't ruin Dragon Ball settle down' video.

Admitting GT exists?

Unsubscribed.

Don't even regret using adblock.

But seriously why do people act like GT sodomised their childhood?

I'm no where near as familiar with it, but from the little I know, it seemed like it actually had a few good ideas.

Was the central premise of Goku being transformed into a kid again THAT much of a turn off?

Goku being a kid is fine. GT seemed like it wanted to go back to the less ded srs vibe of Z. A lot of it was just dumb or uninteresting. Great opening and closing themes though.

GT was ok, at first.

The idea of it being a return to more OG Dragonball style adventures was good, but it really didnt last before they went fully back in on the DBZisms. It's the internet, so people naturally can't grasp that GT doesnt affect DBZ's existence in any way. And then you have people whining about their favorite characters not being "badass" anymore (Trunks, Vegeta, etc).

You know, the kind of folks that would consider shirts like this one cool unironically.

Apr 27, 2020 16:08:20 GMT @ness said:

Goku being a kid is fine. GT seemed like it wanted to go back to the less ded srs vibe of Z. A lot of it was just dumb or uninteresting. Great opening and closing themes though.

DBZ is supposed to have a ded srs vibe!? I am totally missing that from the Abridged shit. :lol:

Also, as a heads-up, Baker-man might be hijacking this thread for other cartoon talk.

I excitedly look forward to it. I had to give him a PM Primer on Street Sharks, and he in turn exposed me to the Exo Squad.

Particularly looking forward to reliving Bucky O'Hare, Voltron, and Gobots... in that order too.

Seto Kaiba is my favourite Super Sayan.

So that Baker-man (and any others) don't feel inhibited about hijacking this thread, allow me to start...



Loved this show as a kid. Super early favorite. No memories of any storylines or honestly most of the characters aside from maybe two or three. Had totally forgotten about this at least by name, and was a million percent convinced this show is what Guardians of the Galaxy was. I ended up being very confused and initially disappointed during first GotG viewing when the rabbit was a racoon and not even green. Then Batista and Groot made me quickly come around on the contemporary version of Buck O'Hare and his fellow animorphic space bandits.

Apr 24, 2020 13:27:21 GMT Big Pete said:

The abriged version is definitely the best way to experience it in retrospect. Otherwise it's nearly 100 hours of television to sit through and they can really milk a scene.

What makes the abriged work is that DB is already a light-hearted show, so the humour fits in pretty seamlessly. That's why it's sister show Yugioh Abriged also works because the show it was based on was so ridiculously over the top it seemed like the writers were taking the piss.

Yugioh also has one of the greatest anime gimmicks of all-time: Kaiba.

Bandit Keith: Only in Murica. 

Double post - delete please

Apr 27, 2020 16:27:23 GMT 🤯 said:

Apr 27, 2020 16:08:20 GMT @ness said:

Goku being a kid is fine. GT seemed like it wanted to go back to the less ded srs vibe of Z. A lot of it was just dumb or uninteresting. Great opening and closing themes though.

DBZ is supposed to have a ded srs vibe!? I am totally missing that from the Abridged shit.

Also, as a heads-up, Baker -man might be hijacking this thread for other cartoon talk.

I excitedly look forward to it. I had to give him a PM Primer on Street Sharks, and he in turn exposed me to the Exo Squad.

Particularly looking forward to reliving Bucky O'Hare, Voltron, and Gobots... in that order too.

As far as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoffs go, Street Sharks was a good series, same with Biker Mice From Mars (though I doubt they hold up well). Outside of those, I also enjoyed Mummies Alive as a kid as well.

Apr 28, 2020 2:14:51 GMT Lony said:

Double post - delete please

Quoting for posterity.

Apr 28, 2020 2:18:43 GMT Lony said:

Apr 27, 2020 16:27:23 GMT 🤯 said:

DBZ is supposed to have a ded srs vibe!? I am totally missing that from the Abridged shit.

Also, as a heads-up, Baker -man might be hijacking this thread for other cartoon talk.

I excitedly look forward to it. I had to give him a PM Primer on Street Sharks, and he in turn exposed me to the Exo Squad.

Particularly looking forward to reliving Bucky O'Hare, Voltron, and Gobots... in that order too.

As far as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoffs go, Street Sharks was a good series, same with Biker Mice From Mars (though I doubt they hold up well). Outside of those, I also enjoyed Mummies Alive as a kid as well.

I'll definitely be getting to Street Sharks at some point soon.

Don't know the others, although Mummies Alive sounds vaguely familiar.

I didn't make the Street Sharks - Ninja Turtles connection for the longest time. Biker Mice from Mars I got right away and I avoided that show like the plague, but I thought the Street Sharks toys looked amazing and I had to add them to my roster right away.

The show itself was fairly sub-par and I had completely tuned out by the time they did that Extreme Dinosaurs spin-off.

Conan the Adventurer was one of my early favourites. I can barely remember anything other than Conan was on a quest to cure his parents from being turned to stone (which he did) and he was constantly fighting lizards sent by the evil lizard king. The design of the show is what stands out most to me, it looked a lot like the X-Men and Spiderman cartoons.

I never got into the X-Men cartoon either. Everyone swears by it being 'the best' marvel cartoon but it was just on too late in the morning to get invested. I'd be out the door just as the theme song would start, so Spidey became my defacto favourite. The show got really weird at one point with all these multi-verse Spideys and such but I was really into their multi-parters. The Venom storyline, the Vampire storyline, the mecha Spider toy commercial one were the episodes that stick out. Also I think there was an episode where the villain was made of water and he was kicking Spiderman's ass until Spidey realised it was so hot the villain would evaporate eventually. I think that's how it went? It was pretty dark regardless.

I thought I was a massive cartoon buff growing up, but I don't recognise half of pi's list.

Apr 28, 2020 2:36:41 GMT 🤯 said:

Apr 28, 2020 2:14:51 GMT Lony said:

Double post - delete please

Quoting for posterity.

Apr 28, 2020 2:18:43 GMT Lony said:

As far as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoffs go, Street Sharks was a good series, same with Biker Mice From Mars (though I doubt they hold up well). Outside of those, I also enjoyed Mummies Alive as a kid as well.

I'll definitely be getting to Street Sharks at some point soon.

Don't know the others, although Mummies Alive sounds vaguely familiar.

Apr 28, 2020 2:48:05 GMT Big Pete said:

Conan the Adventurer was one of my early favourites. I can barely remember anything other than Conan was on a quest to cure his parents from being turned to stone (which he did) and he was constantly fighting lizards sent by the evil lizard king. The design of the show is what stands out most to me, it looked a lot like the X-Men and Spiderman cartoons.

I knew I liked you for a reason. You nailed the plot of Conan. The evil lizard king was named Wrath-Amon and the lizards were called Serpent Men. Conan was honestly a couple notches above the vast majority of cartoons from that period. But even The Mightiest Warrior Ever (it's in his theme song) would soon be surpassed by the GOAT...

He-Man was another series I enjoyed the hell out of growing up, even dug the 2000's series. I will say this about late 80's - mid 90'a cartoons the majority of them have catchy theme songs.

Oh, also The Raccoons and Inspector Gadget were favourites of mine growing up as well.

My friend Bryan was definitely the kind of guy who would have unironically worn those shirts @nighty posted 

Big Pete I forgot about the Great Saiyaman storyline. That was Gohan's superhero alter ego, right? I liked that. Peak Gohan in my book. He was a well-meaning nerd. I'd have been friends with Gohan if we went to school together.

🤯 and I have been discussing this thread in PMs. I never even heard of Bucky O'Hare (or Street Sharks) until a few days ago.

====================

The Early Days

My first two tv obsessions were Scooby Doo & He-Man. This should not be surprising. These shows were staples of the 80s kiddie culture I grew up in that have since gone on to become pop culture icons. Practically everybody in my generation watched them. Some of my earliest memories involve watching Scooby & He-Man. There's a very good chance I learned about the concept of time itself through these shows. Like "Scooby Doo comes on at 2:30 so I must be ready." Both shows also had great theme songs. A cool theme was huge. It set the stage for what was to come. Pretty sure every cartoon I rate highly had a great theme song.

I had most (all?) of the He-Man action figures and the (rather enjoyable) He-Man Intellivision game. As for Scooby, I watched the original version, the 70s version where they met celebrities, another series called The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo which featured the great Vincent Price and real ghosts(!), and finally the mediocre A Pup Named Scooby Doo during that weird early 90s phase where every classic cartoon character was turned into a pup/baby. For the purposes of this post, I will be referring only to the classic original series.

For Scooby, I remember all the main characters, including Scrappy, who I can proudly say I hated before it was cool. Fred was my favorite btw. I don't recall a ton of episodes/ghosts though. There was the one with the Electricity/Voltage Ghost. Another one with a Totem Pole Ghost. And...? Oh, I also "saw" the ghost in the opening credits when I woke up extra early one morning with a particularly overactive imagination. Whether real or not (it wasn't), you better believe I sprinted from my kitchen all the way to my parents room with all the speed of Carl Lewis. This is my most memorable Scooby scene....



I tried this multiple times in real life. Doesn't work. Also still regularly bring it up to bemused coworkers whenever there is a fog.

For He-Man, I remember about 10 characters. Not bad! Don't recall who my favorite was though. Yet I do remember getting a Beastman figure for Halloween, of all things, one year. Other favorite figures included Ram Man and....Triclops. Now that sounds like a Milhouse alter ego, but I'm pretty sure that Triclops was this dude's name. Most memorable episode is the one where He-Man & Skeletor have to team up to defeat an even greater threat. The hero & villain being forced to form an uneasy alliance to defeat an even greater foe was always one of my favorite storylines growing up.

Unfortunately, both of these shows aged terribly. I revisited Scooby at my friend Adam's house in high school. I was super excited! Hadn't seen "the great" Scooby Doo in nearly a decade. But the stories were soooo predictable. The villain obvious. Agatha Christie this was not. Extremely disappointing.

In the early 2010s I'd occasionally work a second job- catering- on Saturdays. One Saturday I came home worn out from one of these catering jobs. I plopped down in my chair and lazily flipped through the channels. Suddenly I was wide awake after landing on a channel called Qubo which played the mighty He-Man! YES! I probably hadn't seen He-Man in 20 years. Instant wakefulness! So for a few weeks I would watch some late night He-Man on Qubo every Saturday night. But He-Man sucked even more than Scooby! This show was ridiculous. He-Man no sold EVERYTHING. And HOW DO THEY NOT KNOW HE-MAN IS ADAM?!?! I mean, just how dumb are the people of Eternia? It is clearly the same guy with slightly longer hair and no shirt. People being too dumb to realize Clark Kent was Superman (glasses aren't that great of a disguise) always bothered me too. But this was even worse than that. Anyway, I tapped out for good when He-Man lassoed a planet. I repeat, He-Man LASSOED A PLANET~! Ridiculous. The aforementioned Conan The Adventurer did the He-Man thing far better than He-Man. Conan was the thinking man's He-Man. Warning: I was (am?) one pretentious cartoon watcher.  

I also caught some She-Ra on Qubo. Controversial Opinion: She-Ra > He-Man. She-Ra at least sold a little bit. BUT whenever She-Ra was in really big trouble stupid He-Man would just magically appear to save the day. Boring.

Also, Skeletor was nowhere near as cool as I remembered him. He's basically just a really, really cool looking jobber with an annoying voice.

But He-Man was pretty much god to 80s kids. You can't take that away from him. How popular was He-Man in the 80s? Well, I can easily imagine this classic scene really happening in real life....



Final Thoughts- If I had to come up with a Favorite Cartoons List I'd feel obligated to throw both Scooby & He-Man in at the bottom. While it's true I don't have much time for either today, they still hold some nostalgia value and were a huge part of my development.
=======================
*Next Time: Other cartoons I watched during this early period. Transformers! Thundercats! Voltron! And More!
-No work tomorrow and I'm wide awake. So I'll probably write another lengthy blurb before going to sleep. 

Other Early Days Cartoons

Transformers- Watched regularly. Owned some toys. But remember very little. For years I doubt I could have named a single character beyond Optimus Prime (great name btw). Maybe Megatron on a good day. And perhaps I could have recalled the good guys were called Autobots and the bad guys Decepticons. But probably not. Nowadays I know Starscream (bad) and Bumblebee (good....I think?) were two other characters. But I still cannot name a 5th. Did they have recurring human friends? Don't remember any episodes or storylines. I did have a friend named Brandon in the mid-late 90s who was a massive Transformers fan. He could surely rattle off dozens of characters and episodes. 

Thundercats- Again, watched regularly. Owned some toys. But don't remember much beyond the creepy villain Mumm-Ra and the hero "Lionel O" as I misremembered Lion-O as for like 2 decades. Cannot name a 3rd character. Remember no particular episodes. But Mumm-Ra was a top tier cartoon villain who freaked out kiddie me. My friend Will was a huge Thundercats fan who rocked a Thundercats shirt for years in the 2000s.

Voltron- Literally the only thing I remember is all the good guys would combine into a giant robot called a Voltron for the finish of every episode ever. I don't even remember if they were people or machines or what before combining into a Voltron. Yet I'm pretty sure I had Voltron toys too.

Gobots- As best I can remember this was a poor man's Transformers.

Inspector Gadget/Looney Toons/Tom and Jerry/Popeye/Woody Woodpecker- Look, I fancied myself a young sophisticate. I'm not necessarily proud of this, but it is what it is. I thought these shows were stupid. Like they were "beneath me."  I'm honestly a little surprised I didn't wear a suit to school while carrying a briefcase. I'm also surprised I didn't get beat up.  Anyway, I disliked all these shows, and only watched them when stuck in front of a tv with my brother. 

The WWF Cartoon- Surprisingly didn't watch this one often. Again, it was more of a brother show. Or if I happened to spend the night at my cousins place.

Mask- Another brother show.

GI Joe- Another one I only watched on occasion. Lasting Memory: the episode where the bad guys had a sub that resembled a sea serpent. Great episode! Very Scooby Doo. Don't remember any of the characters beyond Sgt. Slaughter, the blonde haired guy(?), Cobra Commander, and that villain with a metal face.

The Star Wars Cartoon with only C3PO, R2D2, and the Ewoks- Now this was a weird one. Star Wars was my 3rd great pop culture love as a child (along with Scooby & He-Man). Yet this was a Star Wars cartoon without many important Star Wars characters! Why?? Anybody else remember this?

Gummi Bears- All time great theme song. Didn't remember much of this. Until! A few years ago when my brother watched a bunch of episodes on Youtube and sometimes I would join him. Gummi Bears is alright in my book. It aged pretty well. Yeah, I've got some time for Gummi Bears in the year 2020. Favorite Character: the sweet female Gummi. But honestly most of the Gummis and the humans they interact with are pretty cool. Duke Igthorn is also a decent villain. His stupid henchmen are probably the worst part of the show though. Buncha idiots. Just once I wish there had been a cartoon villain with competent lackeys. This was a pet peeve of mine even as a child. The annoying Gummi who was always hungry also got on my nerves. The theme must be shared...



The Flintstones- A "just there" middle of the road sort of show. Good measuring stick for dividing the good from the bad. I never set out to watch The Flintstones, but it frequently came on in between shows I did like, and it was a good enough show to sit through for 30 minutes. So I've seen my share of Flintstones over the years. It was better before Pebbles and especially Bamm Bamm came along. Bamm Bamm jumped the shark. And then the Great Gazoo jumped the shark all over again.

The Fake Ghostbusters- I hated this show so much. It came on right before school for a year or two. You see Ghostbusters and you naturally think Egon, Peter, Ray, Winston, etc., right? Wrong! These were different Ghostbusters! I think one was a guy in a wheelchair and a monkey may have served as their "Slimer." For years, I half-thought I had imagined this whole thing. But it was real! And it turns out they really were the ORIGINAL Ghostbusters! This show initially aired in the 70s, long before the more famous Ghostbusters came along. But I didn't know this at the time and thought they were a bunch of phonies. It was like the Demolition/LOD thing all over again.
EDIT: Ok, it looks like this was actually a sequel to a 70s cartoon called Ghost Busters. Or maybe I'm mixing up both fake Ghostbusters? Either way, this is starting to give me a headache. Moving on....

That Superhero Show- OK, so I only remember one thing about this show. But it was an awesome thing. Some episodes would start out in a swampy/rivery sort of area. The camera would pan from left to right until....
This big, evil looking dome would emerge from the river. I'm pretty sure it was the bad guys lair.
I don't remember what this show was called, or if it even WAS a superhero show (though I think it was), but I LOVED that opening with the "evil dome." It creeped me out, but in a good way. Anybody know what I'm talking about??
===================
Next Time: The Late 80s-1990. Duck Tales! The Jetsons! The REAL Ghostbusters! Alvin and the Chipmunks! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Nintendo! More Nintendo! Garfield! And more!

Apr 28, 2020 4:13:12 GMT Baker said:

That Superhero Show- OK, so I only remember one thing about this show. But it was an awesome thing. Some episodes would start out in a swampy/rivery sort of area. The camera would pan from left to right until....
This big, evil looking dome would emerge from the river. I'm pretty sure it was the bad guys lair.
I don't remember what this show was called, or if it even WAS a superhero show (though I think it was), but I LOVED that opening with the "evil dome." It creeped me out, but in a good way. Anybody know what I'm talking about??

Yes! Found it. The show was called Super Friends. It aired from 1973(!) to 1985 on ABC. Like I said, I don't really remember the show itself. But that occasional(?) intro with the dome in a swamp definitely made a lasting impression on young Baker.

Flintstones gets a lot of love for being an adult centered cartoon, but if we rewrite history and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles were never a thing would we still hold it in high regard?

Ten million strong?

Apr 28, 2020 14:06:18 GMT @ness said:

Flintstones gets a lot of love for being an adult centered cartoon, but if we rewrite history and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles were never a thing would we still hold it in high regard?

Ten million strong?

Fruity all the way over here. Long, long, long run as my favorite cereal.

That said though... always preferred Jetsons over Flintstones. Every day of the week.

With He-Man and She-Ra, Filmation just happen to hit all the right notes. Memorable theme song that explains the basic premise, a proverbial who's who of memorable characters and this fantastic setting. It made for a great toy commercial and the one VHS tape I watched of both left a big impression. It must have been years later when I finally got to see another episode and I remember being so disappointed. It was nowhere near as awesome as I remembered and all the characters, even the heroes, acted like buffoons.

Still, the toys looked amazing. They were out of print by the time I knew any better, but they'd always be on display at the Laughing Clowns for the annual Carnival. Just sitting there, looking as sun-faded as ever.

The two documentaries they released on making He-Man are worth the watch.

I was also a massive Scooby fiend growing up and would always barrack for him in the All-Star Laugh-A-Lympics. :lol: It started off with this VHS tape which google informs me was Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf where Shaggy had to win a race to be cured of his curse. It had actual wacky universal style monsters in it which I was drawn to and I'd later learn the cartoon was nothing like that.

I would come to regret my Scooby addiction when I'd get cable television and Cartoon Network had barely anything other than Scooby. So I would usually chase down an episode of the Scooby and Scrappy show with a classic Scooby Doo Where Are You followed by a Scooby Doo Movie where he'd team up with the Mama and the Papas to solve crimes. I really went off the deep end when I would watch the Scooby clones like the Partridge Family cartoon or Captain Caveman.

Even when I was younger, I recognised it was one of those shows where if you saw one, you saw them all. However I was into the 60s pop music of Where Are You and some of the designs were creepy.

I could've sworn Street Sharks was 50% about fighting crime and 50% about roller hockey or at least rollerblading, and yet I just rewatched the intro and there's only a split second of rollerblading and it's a totally pointless scene toward the end. Has my memory betrayed me yet again!?

Only thing I can remember about Street Sharks is I had a few of the figures. Don't think I ever watched the show, but the toys man.

Apr 28, 2020 23:15:47 GMT @ness said:

Only thing I can remember about Street Sharks is I had a few of the figures. Don't think I ever watched the show, but the toys man.

Raises such a good point.

Do cartoons even exist anymore, and if so... Are they 100% pure reverse engineering marketing projects to sell toys to kids like they were back in our day?

The history on Transformers: The Movie was it came to be purely because a new toy line needed to be pushed. I doubt commercials ever came in such quality again as they did back then.

Nowadays I bet cartoons are either educational or full of zoomer humor. Would hate to see what toys are being pedaled. Probably just apps with DLC. Fuck that noise.