101 Classic (and Not-So-Classic) Kids Shows and Saturday Morning Cartoons from the ’50s to the ‘70s

‘Howdy Doody’ (1947 to 1960)

One of the first shows geared specifically for kids, it enjoyed an extraordinary run of 13 seasons. It was hosted by Buffalo Bob Smith, who co-starred with red-headed marionette Howdy Doody, Clarabell the Clown and others entertained kids at home as well as those gathered in the studio known as the “Peanut Gallery.” In its time, the show was huge.

‘Kukla, Fran and Ollie’ (1947 to 1957)

Interestingly this show did not have scripts, each episode being entirely ad libbed by comedian host Fran Allison, who interacted with puppets Kukla and Ollie as well as other guest puppets.

‘Bozo the Clown (1948 and Still Going!)

Another kid’s show that was innovative in that, thanks to the clown makeup of the title character, it could be franchised out to local stations with different actors taking on the part of Bozo. Like Buffalo Bob on Howdy Doody, Bozo would interact with kids in the studio.

‘Crusader Rabbit’ (1949 to 1959)

A satirical cliffhanger, this was the first animated show produced specifically for TV and over the course of its run presented a total of 455 four-minute episodes, 195 of them in black and white and 260 of them in color. Co-creator of the show is Jay Ward, who would create The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

‘Time for Beany’ (1949 to 1955)

Another puppet show, this one connecting to the audience thanks to such endearing characters as Beany, the 300-year-old Cecil the Seasick Serpent and Captain Horatio K. Huff’n’puff, Beany’s uncle. An animated version consisting of 26 episodes aired in 1962.

‘Lunch with Soupy Sales’ (1953 to 1966)

Comedian Soupy Sales’ comedy sketch show Lunch with Soupy Sales started off locally in Detroit and grew, becoming something of a sensation in the mid-60s. The show’s title began as 12 O’Clock Comics and after Lunch with Soupy Sales became The Soupy Sales Show. Whatever it was called, there was usually a moment when Soupy took a pie to the face.

‘Romper Room’ (1953 to 1994)

Put a nursery school classroom in front of the camera and you’ve got the idea of Romper Room, which, like Bozo, was franchised to local stations so that different markets would have their own teacher leading the kids. Sounds simple, but the show enjoyed a four-decade run.

‘Captain Kangaroo’ (1955 to 1984)

Created by Bob Keeshan, who not only played the captain himself but had previously been Clarabell on Howdy Doody, he described the show as trying to capture the “warm relationship between grandparents and children.” Well, it worked, turning co-stars Mr. Greenjeans (Hugh Brannum) and puppets Mr. Bunny Rabbit and Mr. Moose into celebrities along the way.

‘Mickey Mouse Club’ (1955 to 1959)

The brainchild of Walt Disney, this was a kid’s variety show that gave the world Mouseketeers such as (of course) Annette Funicello, Bobby Burgess, Darlene Gillespie, Cubby O’Brien and Karen Pendleton. The show, which was rebooted several times over the years, featured skits, singing, shows within the show and vintage Disney theatrical cartoons.

‘The Ruff and Reddy Show’ (1957 to 1960)

The first animated series from producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (collectively known as Hanna-Barbera), it focuses on the friendship between and adventures of a cat named Ruff and a dog named Reddy.

‘The Gumby Show’ (1957 to 1968)

Hopefully anyone who remembers Eddie Murphy dressed head to toe in green and proclaiming, “I’m Gumby, dammit!” on Saturday Night Live, knows that Gumby got his start as a clay animation show from the 1950s that spawned additional shows, a feature film and all those toys. Besides Gumby, the show featured his pony pal Pokey, the Blockheads, etc. Great, bendable fun.

‘The Huckleberry Hound Show’ (1958 to 1962) and More from Hanna-Barbera

After The Ruff and Ready Show, Hanna-Barbera gave the world some of animation’s most beloved characters in such series as The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958 to 1962), The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959 to 1961), The Yogi Bear Show (1961 to 1962) and Top Cat (1961 to 1962). These characters, of course, would be featured in various spin-offs in the decades to come.

‘Rocky and His Friends’ (1959 to 1964)

Creator Jay Ward was back with Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Bullwinkle J. Moose, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. Segments of this show also include “Dudley Do-Right,” “Peabody’s Improbable History” and “Fractured Fairy Tales.” The show would take on different titles over the years.

‘The Flintstones’ (1960 to 1966)

Audiences met Fred and Wilma Flintstone, as well as their next-door neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble, 60 years ago. Set in the town of Bedrock, it deals with the guys (usually under Fred’s lead) trying one crazy scheme after another, and their wives having to pick up the pieces when it inevitably goes wrong. Think of it as The Honeymooners, but, you know, set in the Stone Age.

‘The Bugs Bunny Show’ (1960 to 2000)

Hosted by Bugs Bunny, this long-running show (also to be known as The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour and The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show) consists of the theatrical Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts. Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky — the gang was all there.

‘The Alvin Show’ (1961 to 1962)

Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. had the brilliant idea of speeding up the voices of singers on a record, and the result was “The Chipmunks,” which became a hit and spawned this TV show featuring Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The ‘munks would continue on different shows, on the big screen and, of course, in music.

‘Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse’ (1962 to 1963)

Batman creator Bob Kane came up with this idea about a crime-fighting cat and mouse that in many ways managed to capture the campy feel that would make up the Adam West Batman series four years later. Their rogues gallery includes The Frog, Harry Gorilla, Professor Shaggy Dog, Rodney Rodent, The Fox, The Great Hambone and Outrageous Cat (Courageous’ cousin).

‘The Deputy Dawg Show’ (1962 to 1972)

Set in the South, the show is pretty much summed up in the title: Dawg (a dog) is the deputy sheriff first in Florida and, then, in Mississippi and Tennessee.

‘The Jetsons’ (1962 to 1963, 1984 to 1985 and 1987)

Animation producers Hanna-Barbera had hit paydirt with their 1960 primetime cartoon The Flintstones, Seeking a follow-up, the duo decided that they would look to the future in the form of the then-distant 21st century, which resulted in The Jetsons, a cartoon about America’s first space-age family. The focus is on George Jetson, an employee of Spacely Space Sprockets, and much of the comedy came from interactions with his wife, Jane; daughter Judy, his boy Elroy, and their mutt with a speech impediment (think Scooby-Doo), Astro. Initially it only ran one season, but that was enough: people never forgot it.

‘Tobor: 8th Man’ (1963 to 1964) and Other Anime Shows

Throughout the sixties, we were given a number of sci-fi shows imported from Japan as well as one that is such an obvious influence on The Lion King many years later. Those shows — a number of which include robots — are Tobor the 8th Man (produced between 1963 and 1964), Gigantor (1963 to 1966), Astro Boy (1965 to 1971), Kimba the White Lion (1965 to 1966) and Marine Boy (1969).

‘The Magilla Gorilla Show’ (1963 to 1967)

How much is that gorilla in the window? Take our advice, at any price, a gorilla like Magilla is mighty nice … sorry, broke into the theme song. This one from Hanna-Barbera features the gorilla in Mr. Peebles pet shop hoping against hope that someone will take him home with them (awww). The show also had short segments featuring the feuding Punkin’ Puss and Mushmouse, and Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long.

‘Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales’ (1963 to 1966)

Before he was Maxwell Smart on Get Smart, Don Adams provided his voice to the character of Tennessee Tuxedo, a penguin. Along with walrus friend Chumley, he has different adventures in their home base of the Megapolis Zoo. Oh, and TT’s favorite expression is, “Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail!”

‘Johnny Quest’ (1964 to 1965)

Yet another show from Hanna-Barbera, but this one was very different. The title character is a teenager who accompanies his father, Dr. Benton C. Quest; special agent Race Bannon and Hadji Singh, a Kolkata orphan adopted by Benton Quest on different action-packed journeys. Joining them is Johnny’s dog, Bandit. The animation is more realistic as are the storylines, despite the fact they could delve into areas of sci-fi. This series aired on ABC in prime time.

‘The Peter Potamus Show’ (1964 to 1965)

Equipped with his “hippo hurricane power,” Peter can let out big blasts of air, which he frequently has to do as he and his buddy, a monkey named So-So, take their hot air balloon to different places. The show also included segments Breezley and Sneezley and Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey. From Hanna-Barbera.

‘Underdog’ (1964 to 1967)

There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here! Popular cartoon series that’s a parody of Superman with Wally Cox voicing both the title character and his alter-ego, Shoeshine Boy. Underdog battled villains like Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff, and was constantly having to save this show’s Lois Lane, Sweet Polly Purebread. To do so, as he would announce in each episode, “In the secret compartment of my ring I fill, with an Underdog super energy pill.” Yes, that’s right. Underdog popped pills. But, you know, it was the 60’s.

‘The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show’ (1965 to 1967)

We are very quickly moving into the era of the Saturday morning superhero explosion. This hour-long show was split in two, dealing with the ultra-powerful ant of the title and the superspy squirrel. Atom’s back up cartoons were Precious Pupp and The Hillbilly Bears, while Secret’s were Squiddly Diddly and Winsome Witch.

‘The Beatles’ (1965 to 1969)

Throughout their relatively short career, The Beatles pretty much paved the way for others, and not only in terms of music. ABC licensed the rights to the band for this animated series that they had nothing to do with beyond the music that served as the title, story inspiration, and soundtrack to each episode. Before then, no one had done an animated series based on real people and, although it would take a few years, it started a trend. From today’s perspective the show is pretty bad, but back then, while in the throes of Beatlemania, all of it was awesome. Wonder how many people cared that the guys they hired to voice John, Paul, George, and Ringo sounded nothing like John, Paul, George, or Ringo. Thirty-nine episodes in all were produced. We’re still waiting for a DVD or Blu-ray release. C’mon, Fabs, what are you waiting for?

‘The New Three Stooges’ (1965 to 1966)

If you were a fan of Golden Age Hollywood, this was a fun opportunity to have some new adventures with The Three Stooges, featuringthe voices of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita. From 1966 to 1967 the formula was repeated with A Laurel and Hardy Cartoon and, then, 1967 to 1968 with The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show for which Bud Abbott supplied his own voice.

‘Sinbad, Jr. and His Magic Belt’ (1965 to 1966)

Sinbad the Sailor had a son (apparently) and he’s the star of this show, sailing the sea with his parrot, Salty (voiced by Mel Blanc) in search of those who need help. To provide it, he tightens his belt, which gives him the strength of 50 men. Yeah, it sounds odd to us, too.

‘Batfink’ (1966)

Given the success of the Batman TV series that premiered the same year, this take-off was quickly produced with 100 five-minute episodes airing between 1966 and 1967. Accompanied by his sidekick, Karate, Batfink takes on many villains, usually responding to their firing guns at him, “Your bullets cannot harm me. My wings are like a shield of steel” (though one time one of the bad guys responded, “Yeah, but your head is like a marshmallow,” before hitting him in the skull with a large mallet).

‘Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles’ (1966 to 1967)

In the Frankenstein Jr. portion of things, Frankie is now a giant robot (voiced by The Addams Family‘s Ted Cassidy) along with his young creator, Buzz Conroy. And with The Impossibles, on the outside they seem like a Beatles-like trio, but in reality they’re superheroes Multi Man, Fluid Man and Coil Man.

‘King Kong’ (1966 to 1969)

Produced in Japan, this show ran on ABC Saturday mornings for 26 episodes. Basically Kong decides to befriend a family and ends up going on their wild adventures involving mad scientists, robots, and other monsters.

‘The Lone Ranger’ (1966 to 1969)

In a nutshell, it’s the Lone Ranger (voiced by Michael Rye) and Tonto (Shepard Menken) making the Old West safe, only this time in animated form.

‘The Mighty Heroes’ (1966 to 1967)

Animator Ralph Bakshi had the bright idea to spoof the whole superhero thing and did it with this somewhat subversive series that takes on something like the Justice League. His heroes are Strong Man, Rope Man, Tornado Man, Cuckoo Man and Diaper Man. Quite the motley group.

‘The New Adventures of Superman’ (1966 to 1970)

The Man of Steel was brought back to television for the first time since George Reeves had played him in The Adventures of Superman. Here he’s voiced by Bud Collyer, who had previously brought the character to vocal life in the Max Fleischer animated theatrical shorts of the 1940s and on the radio show. These shorts would later become part of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and The Batman/Superman Hour.

‘Space Ghost’ (1966)

Space Ghost is kind of like Batman in space, armed with weapons and flying around in a cool ship. He’s accompanied by Jan and Jace as his sidekicks, along with their pet monkey, Blip. Years later, he would become the host of his own animated/live action hybrid talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

‘Birdman and the Galaxy Trio’ (1967 to 1969)

Birdman is a winged superhero who gets his powers from the sun, while interstellar heroes the Galaxy Trio consists of Vapor Man, Meteor Man and Gravity Girl. Honestly, these shows were very quickly becoming interchangeable.

‘Fantastic Four’ (1967 to 1970)

Marvel’s first family of their superhero universe are brought to animated life with stories that feel like they’ve come right out of the comic book. Characters are Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic, who can stretch his body), Sue Richards (the Invisible Girl), Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (the rock-covered Thing).

‘George of the Jungle’ (1967)

From Jay Ward comes this parody of Tarzan, with George doing the whole jungle king thing, but also proving himself to be a complete klutz (the title song warns him to “watch out for that tree”). Years later Brendan Fraser would play him in a live-action version.

‘The Herculoids’ (1967)

Heavy sci-fi and fantasy from Hanna-Barbera. A family described as “space barbarians,” consisting of Zandor, Tara and their son Domo, go into battle against extraterrestrial baddies accompanied by Zok, their dragon; Tundro, a rhinoceros-like creature; Igoo, an ape made of stone; and Gleep, a shape-shifter.

‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (1967 to 1969)

Based more on the live action 1959 film of the same name rather than the novel written by Jules Verne, the show is best summed up by its opening narration: “Long ago, a lone explorer named Arne Saknussen made a fantastic descent to the fabled lost kingdom of Atlantis at the Earth’s core. After many centuries, his trail was discovered: first by me, Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, my niece Cindy, student Alec McEwen, our guide Lars and his duck Gertrude. But we were not alone. The evil Count Saknussen, last descendant of the once noble Saknussen family, had followed us … to claim the center of the Earth for his power-mad schemes. He ordered his brute-like servant, Torg, to destroy our party. But the plan backfired, sealing the entrance forever. And so, for us, began a desperate race to the Earth’s core … to learn the secret of the way back. This is the story of our new journey to the center of the Earth!”

‘Moby Dick and The Mighty Mightor’ (1967 to 1969

After a while, you’re really got to wonder who came up with these pairings. In the Moby Dick portion of things, following a shipwreck a pair of teens are rescued by the great white whale (which is not known for its kindness in the Herman Melville novel) and together take on underwater dangers. And then there’s The Mighty Mightor, a teenage caveman who finds a mysterious club that endows him with powers. Uh, okay.

‘Samson and Goliath’ (1967 to 1968)

Taking a motorbike around the country, teen Samson and his dog, Goliath, do their best to right wrongs. Making it easier to do so is the fact that when his golden wristbands are brought together, he becomes the oh-so-powerful Samson and his dog becomes a lion. Together they take on all sorts of villains.

‘Shazzan!’ (1967 to 1969)

A genie named Shazzan helps brother and sister Chuck and Nancy as they make their way through a mystical Arabian world while riding the flying camel Kaboobie. When in danger, they bring two halves of a ring together to summon Shazzan.

‘Spider-Man’ (1967 to 1970)

Spidey’s had a long history of adaptations, but this was his very first appearance and it’s pretty loyal to the comic (despite some really limited animation at times). It also gave us the famous “Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can” theme song, which is gift enough.

‘The Adventures of Gulliver’ (1968 to 1969)

Inspired by Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver Travels, the show has Gary Gulliver, his father and their dog, Tagg, involved in a shipwreck. In the aftermath, his father is missing while Gary and Tagg find themselves ashore Lilliput, where they are giants and the citizens are tiny. Over the course of the 17 episodes produced, Gary tries to uncover the mystery of what happened to his father.

‘The Archie Show’ (1968 to 1969)

Archie, Reggie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and the rest of the gang enjoyed a full decade of animated adventures. Here’s what we had: The Archie Show (1968-69), The Archie Comedy Hour (1969-70), Archie’s Funhouse (1970-71), which is probably the most memorable in that it had an audience of kids reacting to the show and a giant jukebox; Archie’s TV Funnies (1971-73), The U.S. of Archie (1974-76), and, finally, The New Archie and Sabrina Hour (1977-78). If you miss Riverdale, you could always check out the dark, gritty, angsty live-action version currently airing on the CW. Nah!

‘The Banana Splits’ (1968 to 1970)

Created by animation legends William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, this was their first show to use live action wraparounds for the cartoons, featuring costumed characters as a bubblegum rock group. They consisted of a beagle named Fleegle, an ape named Bingo, a lion named Drooper and an elephant named Snorky. More recently they were featured in an R-rated horror film version.

‘Fantastic Voyage’ (1968 to 1969)

Based on the 1967 feature film, this show follows the the crew of the CMDF (Combined Miniature Defense Force), who are reduced to microscopic size along with a high-tech flying submarine and given 12 hours to accomplish each mission before they grow back to normal size.

‘Go-Go Gophers’ (1968 to 1969)

Okay, get ready for this one. The setting is the Old West and the U.S. Army — in the form of foxes in uniform — are attempting to capture and (one would assume) kill the two remaining gophers — Native American-like running Board and Ruffled Feathers — of Gopher Gulch. Were they really going with this allegory? Yeesh.

‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ (1968 to 2001)

The late Fred Rogers cannot get credit enough for reaching out to the minds and hearts of young viewers with this gentle series that offered up so many important life lessons and did so for over three decades. We were happy to be his neighbor.

‘Wacky Races’ (1968 to 1969)

Each week was a new race in North America between 11 different race cars. Among the teams were Dick Dasterdly and Muttley in the Mean Machine, The Gruesome Twosome in a horror-themed car; Penelope Pitstop (the only woman driver on the show) in the Compact Pussycat; The Ant Hill Mob, featuring a group of dwarf gangsters; and Peter Perfect in the Turbo Terrific. There would be two spin-offs from this show: Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969 to 1970) and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969 to 1970).

‘Cattanooga Cats’ (1969)

The approach was similar to the one taken by The Banana Splits, only there were no live action segments. Instead the Cattanooga Cats band was featured in between animated segments like Around the World in 79 Days and It’s the Wolf!. You don’t remember this one? Nope, neither do we.

‘The Hardy Boys’ (1969)

Brothers Joe and Frank Hardy, along with some of their friends, tour the country as a band and solve mysteries between gigs. Ah, to be young again.

‘Hot Wheels’ (1969 to 1971)

ABC said this was not a tie-in to Mattel’s toys of the same name, but all we know is that when the show is focused on the “Hot Wheels Racing Club,” we’re gonna have to say that they weren’t being honest.

‘H.R. Pufnstuf’ (1969 to 1971) and Other Sid and Marty Krofft Shows

British actor Jack Wild plays Jimmy, a boy lured to a living island by an enchanted boat, which is being manipulated by Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes), who is desperate to get her hands on a magic flute that is in Jimmy’s hands. Helping him once he gets to the island is the Mayor, H.R. Pufnstuf, a walking and talking dragon. He’s also helped by other members of the community. Like many of the Krofft efforts, very surreal, driving home the real meaning behind the name of the show. In 1970, Universal Pictures released a big screen version.

The Bugaloos (1970 to 1972): The title characters are a musical group consisting of four British teenagers — three guys and a girl — dressed in insect-like costumes who can not only sing, but fly as well. Their enemy on the show is Martha Raye’s Benita Bizarre. A good word for the show itself, which was certainly different from anything else on Saturday mornings.

Lidsville (1971 to 1973): Butch Patrick (little Eddie Munster on The Munsters) plays a kid named Mark, who falls into the hat of Merio the Magician (played by Charles Nelson Reilly) and finds himself in Lidsville, a land of living hats — who act the way that humans wearing them would.

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973 to 1975): Johnny Whitaker(Family Affair) and Scott Kolden play brothers Johnny and Scott Stuart, who come across a friendly sea monster named Sigmund (yes, the premise is that simple), who has been abandoned by others of his kind, because he refuses to scare people. They take him home and have to try to hide his existence from everyone.

‘The Pink Panther Show’ (1969 to 1978)

The Pink Panther, Inspector Clouseau, the Ant and the Ardvark — these were all animated theatrical shorts that were brought together on this show. They actually managed to work well together unlike a lot of other series that had segments that just made no sense.

‘Sesame Street’ (1969 and Still Going Strong)

We don’t even know what to say about the brilliance of this show and the young minds that its educated with a combination of endearing muppets, congenial humans interacting with them, guest stars and various ditties about letters and numbers. Even Oscar the Grouch can’t hate this one.

‘Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!’ (1969 to 1972)

A dog with a speech impediment following four teenagers who solve seemingly supernatural mysteries does not sound like the sort of thing that would make for a television classic. But can you argue against the merits of that concept when its name is Scooby-Doo — especially if it’s been around for half a century? Nope, neither can we.

The show’s popularity has given birth to nine spin-off series and more animated and live action movies than you can throw a Scooby-Snack at!

‘Josie and the Pussycats’ (1970 to 1972)

Yet another title from the Archie comics, this one focuses on an all-girl pop band that, while touring the world, find themselves involved with espionage, mysteries, and bizarre adventures. But things got really bizarre from 1972 to 1974 with the spin-off Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. In that show, while participating in a photo op at a rocket launching area, the girls accidentally find themselves trapped aboard and hurled into deep space where, week-to-week, they would encounter strange aliens on new worlds. You can’t make this stuff up… Well, obviously they did, which, we guess, kind of means you can make this stuff up. But we digress.

‘Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp’ (1970 to 1971)

Now this was an awesome Saturday morning series. Two of the writers of the Don Adams spy spoof Get Smart created this show, in which they took a veritable barrel of monkeys, dressed them in clothes, equipped them with props and put them in a world of simian spydom. Our lead chimp — the title character — worked for a spy agency called A.P.E., which battled the enemy agents of C.H.U.M.P. The plots were minimal; they’d try to train the monkeys to do certain things, but overall the actors dubbing in their voices would improvise dialogue based on what the chimps were doing and how their mouths were moving. Musical interludes were provided by the all-chimp band (dressed like hippies) The Evolution Revolution, who would be introduced by Ed Simian (a chimp in a suit). Wacky stuff.

‘Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down’ (1970 to 1972)

Jerry Lewis was well known for the different comic personas he played in his various films, and this series took on that idea, with Jerry being a wide variety of characters of all shapes and sizes. The main Jerry is a worker at the Odd Job Employment Agency, where he’s usually making a mess of things each time he’s assigned a job. While Jerry Lewis didn’t provide his voice, he did write a number of the scripts.

‘The Jackson 5ive’ (1971 to 1973)

Not very dissimilar to The Beatles animated series, with Michael and his brothers getting involved in all sorts of adventures and trying not to get mobbed by the fans. Each episode was backed with actual music from the band, but not their speaking voices.

‘The Funky Phantom’ (1971 to 1972)

You can pretty much dismiss this one as being a copy of Scooby-Doo given that its leads are three kids who are driving around the country solving crimes. One big difference: they’re accompanied by the nervous ghost of a Revolutionary soldier.

‘The Brady Kids’ (1972 to 1974) and Other Cartoons From Live Action

While The Brady Bunch was still in the middle of its network run on on ABC, the kids voiced their cartoon counterparts as they got in all sorts of adventures. Oh, and those adventures included a mynah bird named Marlon who spoke and happened to be a wizard (don’t ask us), their dog Mop Top (which raised the question of what had happened to their live-action dog Tiger, who mysteriously disappeared), and a pair of panda cubs named Ping and Pong. In two separate episodes, they also randomly met Superman and Wonder Woman. The ’70s was a strange time.

Other shows that were inspired by live action, most (not all) of which had scripts that could have been on the originals. Those shows were The Addams Family (1973), Jeannie (1973), which actually bared little resemblance to I Dream of Jennie; My Favorite Martians (1973), Star Trek (1973 to 1974), The New Adventures of Gilligan (1974 to 1977), Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974 to 1975), in which the family Partridge is propelled into the future; and The Oddball Couple (1975) with The Odd Couple’s Oscar and Felix replaced by, respectively, a dog and cat.

‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’ (1972 to 1984)

The brainchild of Bill Cosby before … well, you know …. it focuses on a group of kids in North Philadelphia who get into trouble here and there, but somehow always learn a lesson. They also get together in the neighborhood junkyard to sing a song about what they’ve been through. And it had a 12-year run. Hey, hey hey!

‘The Osmonds’ (1972)

Really not much in the way of variation in terms of The Beatles and Jackson 5ive before it. This premise was all about the brothers Osmond going to different locations around the world in each episode, but finding themselves involved in some adventure or another — usually because of the antics of the young Jimmy. One difference about this show is that not only did the Osmonds provide the music, but their voices as well.

‘Lassie’s Rescue Rangers’ (1973 to 1975)

This Saturday morning animated show had Lassie working with the ranger-rescue team The Forest Force, consisting of the Turner family as well as Groucho the owl, Toothless the mountain lion, Musty the skunk (oh, boy), and Robbie the raccoon. We’ve never seen an episode, and likely won’t. If you do … let us know what you think.

‘Schoolhouse Rock’ (1973 to 1984)

These animated educational short films aired between shows on ABC at the time, and they offered up delightful little songs ranging from such subjects as economics to history, mathematics, grammar and more. Our personal favorite? “I’m just a bill. Yes, I’m only a bill. And I’m sitting here on Capital Hill” — sorry, can’t post the whole thing, that would be a copyright violation. But go to YouTube where somebody else is violating copyright and check it out.

‘Super Friends’ (1973 to 1974)

It’s the Justice League, just geared really young. But for a generation, this was their answer to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and so on. Spawned a number of sequel series that took the Super Friends into the mid-1980s.

‘Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show’ (1974 to 1975)

Brothers Bill, Brett and Mark Hudson made such an impact performing on Sonny & Cher that they were given their own series. It was a half-hour variety show featuring comedy and music.

‘Land of the Lost’ (1974 to 1977)

Following a powerful earthquake, Rick Marshall and his kids, Will and Holly, find themselves trapped on a parallel world where dinosaurs exist and so does a violent reptilian (though humanoid) race known as the Sleestak. It ain’t Jurassic Park, but it’s still fun.

‘Valley of the Dinosaurs’ (1974 to 1976)

If you’re still in a dinosaur sort of mood, there’s this animated show about a family sucked back through time to the Stone Age (wonder if they met the Flintstones). There is an educational component in that we get to see exactly how they survive in such primitive conditions.

‘Shazam!’ (1974 to 1977)

Before Zachary Levi uttered that famous word on the big screen, Michael Gray did so as Billy Batson and was transformed into Captain Marvel (the hero’s original name). Accompanied by his mentor — actually named Mentor — they travel around in an RV helping people as needed. Captain Marvel was played initially by Jackson Bostwick and then by John Davey.

‘Hong Kong Phooey’ (1974 to 1976)

Scatman Crothers provides the voice for this character who works at a police station as janitor Penrod “Penny” Pooch, but in reality is the over-the-top Hong Kong Phooey, fighting crime with his martial arts skills (as they are). Frankly, he gets his fighting tips from the book The Hong Kong Kung Fu Book of Tricks.

‘Far Out Space Nuts’ (1975)

The set-up is that a couple of NASA maintenance workers accidentally launch themselves into space and start encountering various aliens that are out there. Bob Denver (Gilligan’s Island) plays Junior, while Chuck McCann is his partner, Barney. The alien guy in the middle of that photo above is Honk, played by Patty Maloney.

‘The Ghost Busters’ (1975)

No, not those Ghostbusters. F-Troop stars Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch are bumbling supernatural detectives Kong and Eddie Spencer, with Bob Burns as their gorilla pal Tracy. The show has a lot of slapstick.

‘Isis’ (1975 to 1977)

From the people behind Shazam! comes this show starring Joanna Cameron as the resurrected Egyptian princess who goes through life as schoolteacher Andrea Thomas. Fans of crossovers note that there were a couple between Isis and Captain Marvel.

‘The Lost Saucer’ (1975 to 1976)

Jim Nabors and Ruth Buzzi (respectively coming off Gomer Pyle, USMC and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In) play a pair of friendly androids who travel from the future to the present and then take off from Earth, inadvertently taking a boy named Jerry (played by Jarrod Johnson) and Alice (Alice Playten), his babysitter, with them. However, when their ship’s controls are damaged, they are unable to bring the two of them back to their exact time, so, instead, get involved in one wacky adventure in time after another.

‘Return to the Planet of the Apes’ (1975)

A Saturday morning cartoon that lasted 13 episodes. Same premise — astronauts from the past arrive on Earth in the future which is governed by intelligent apes — as the feature films. One interesting aspect is that it hews a little closer to the original Pierre Boulle novel that inspired it all in that the apes have technology that pretty much equaled our own at the time. Hurting the engagement factor of the show is that the animation was so limited that it was really difficult to get involved. This would be the last Apes production of any sort for 26 years.

‘Ark II’ (1976 to 1977)

Another situation where the opening narration describes the show perfectly: “For millions of years, Earth was fertile and rich. Then pollution and waste began to take their toll. Civilization fell into ruin. This is the world of the 25th century. Only a handful of scientists remain, men who have vowed to rebuild what has been destroyed. This is their achievement: Ark II, a mobile storehouse of scientific knowledge, manned by a highly trained crew of young people. Their mission: to bring the hope of a new future to mankind.”

‘Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle’ (1976 to 1980)

In many ways, this was credited with being the most faithful TV adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan, dealing with many elements from the novels and presenting a Tarzan who was intelligent and far more well-spoken than usually offered up.

‘Big John, Little John’ (1976)

From Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch, comes this Saturday morning sitcom about school teacher John Martin (Herbert Edelman) who inadvertently drinks from the Fountain of Youth.  He finds himself periodically turning into his 12-year-old self (played by Robbie Rist, Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch) and back again — usually at the most inopportune times. Think of it as the reverse of The Incredible Hulk.

‘Jabberjaw’ (1976 to 1978)

The year after Jaws premiered and terrified the world, we get this show about an air-breathing, drum-playing great white shark who is a part of the band The Neptunes. The rest of the group? Humans. One can only imagine what his audition was like. The band is on tour of the water world, encountering supervillains along the way … Uh, what?

‘The Krofft Superhow’ (1976 to 1978)

More or less a variety show for Saturday mornings, it presented short scripted adventures in every episode. Over the course of its run, it featured the following series: Dr. Shrinker (teenagers are shrunk by a mad scientist on an uncharted island and have to figure out how to survive), Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (a superhero show featuring a pre-soap opera Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis as the title characters, at a time when prime time was offering shows like The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman), Wonderbug (teens discover when they attach a magic horn to their old dune buggy, it brings the vehicle to life), Magic Mongo (the wacky adventures of three teens who find and release a magic genie); and Bigfoot and Wildboy (a kid abandoned in the forest is raised by Bigfoot — no, seriously).

‘The Mumbly Cartoon Show’ (1976 to 1977)

We still think this mutt is a cousin or something of Wacky Races‘ Muttley. In any case, he wears a trench coat and works as a detective. We’ve got nuthin’.

‘The Muppet Show’ (1976 to 1981)

Jim Henson created this variety show featuring his Muppets, and the audience loved it — especially the guest stars that would appear with them. This show elevated Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and all the rest to a whole new level.

‘I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali’ (1977)

Three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali goes animated in this series, for which he provided his own voice. On the show, he along with niece Nicky and nephew Damon went out on different adventures together. Unfortunately it only lasted 13 episodes.

‘Godzilla’ (1978 to 1981)

There’s no denying that this one is pretty dopey. Godzilla comes to the rescue of a team of scientists aboard the hydrofoil research vessel Calico. Part of the crew is his “nephew,” the oh-so-cute Godzooky, who is friends with the crew and can help signal his uncle when they’re threatened by giant monsters and the like. Twenty-six episodes were produced.

‘New Adventures of Flash Gordon’ (1979 to 1982)

In the aftermath of Star Wars‘ success, Filmation put into production this series based on one of the characters that had inspired George Lucas to create his saga in the first place. This one goes back to Flash’s roots and tells of his journey to the planet Mongo and going up against Ming the Merciless.