1970’s Saturday morning cartoons. A memory that will stick with someone in their 40’s for a very long time. I had a routine. A serious routine without a doubt. It all started with my mom having laid out a few breakfast items and a tray the night before. It was my responsibility to assemble the items without instigating a catastrophe. This all happened about 645am. The action on the TV started at 7am. This was the 1970’s, starting about 1973 or 1974. Three channels to choose from on a TV that required the twitching of a dial to change the channel and adjust the volume. The set fired up with a single small light in the center of the screen that expanded from that point to a full picture.

ABC, NBC, and CBS. The three big choices. Great choices on all channels and a kid had to map things out the night before in order to watch the choice shows at the right time. There were three hours to work with, 7am-10am, time and scheduling mattered. The grand pooh-bah of all shows was Laugh Olympics. This was where the stars from the 3 networks competed against each other. I don’t remember the exact names, but the bad guys of the events/show were the Dirty Rotten Rottens. Always cheating, always mean, always devious. On the other teams there were various characters of all shapes and sizes, the most favorite being Grape Ape. He was on the air around 1975-77 or 78. A fine beast on all levels.

The favorite of non-animated shows was Land of the Lost. Marshall, Will, and Holly on a routine expedition. Living in a cave, wearing the same clothes show after show, dinosaurs, mysterious portals, and of course the mighty Sleestaks. When your age is in the single digits this was the height of excitement. Recently, a few episodes were found and watched. They were absolutely awful. Painful to watch with no redeeming qualities. Some things are best left in childhood memories.

With all of the available TV channels, these shows are very hard if not impossible to find in reruns. You would think that the Cartoon Network would have some offerings but no, unrecognizable crap seems to be what they offer. Where is the nostalgia? Where are the times of simple and straightforward cartoons. Even the original Scooby-Doo (1969-1974?) is very difficult to find. Disappointing and discouraging. Priorities people.

Sitting in the middle of the living room floor on the blue shag carpet. Drapes still drawn so that it was dark and so that the TV picture could be seen clearly. A tray of juice and an oversized bowl of Honeycombs cereal. The hall door closed so as to not wake the parental units. Changing the channel, TV guide in hand, and the anticipation of animated marvels every week.