The Lookback: NBC's Saturday Morning 1991-1992: Countdown to TNBC

NBC The Flashback 

              This segment  of "The Flashback" returns as we this being the 30th year after NBC made a major change in network television history: they were washing their hands of the traditional Saturday morning block and adding news and shows for teens.  This wasn't out of the blue, they had been considering it since at least 1988. 

  

          Between 1988 and 1991, things had changed ever more. Cable's Nickelodeon was starting to make an in-roads, kid syndication was doing great, and Fox Kids was launched in 1990. Interestingly, NBC wasn't the last place kids block, they were first. If anything, it should have been  ABC getting out.   

  

      "Killed by the Bell" 

         One thing that could be a great indication of NBC's direction would be the 1989 series "Saved by the Bell" this live-action teen-lead series had become a hit. It was also cheaper to make (not trying to insult the show) than animation.  

  

  From the  NY Times article from 1988 

  

An average episode of a network Saturday cartoon show was nearly $300,000. Even though those programs can be played four times, effectively reducing the cost of each episode, Mr. Tartikoff noted that NBC can replace those shows with programs it produces for itself at a much lower rate, possibly striking a connection with an entirely new audience.

 

  The Saturday morning fare like "Smurfs" wasn't owned by NBC and  they could reap any benefits from the series, but "Saved By The Bell" could be, and it later did become that way. 

         This is Today... Saturday

        "Today" on NBC had launched in 1952, the show had never been a weekend affair, until it launched a Sunday version in 1987.  Saturday would naturally be next,  as Tartikoff, the head of NBC at the time, mentioned. The Today Show expanding would be cheaper than kid cartoons , NBC owns the show.  The mulling happened until December 1991, when it was announced : It's over. 

             Two hours of their Saturday morning block would be replaced by the "Today" show.  That wasn't the only plan, what about the other 2 hours?  That would be replaced by programming targeting 9-16 year-olds.  A centerpiece program would be "Saved by the Bell".  NBC looked at FOX, CBS,ABC,  and anything else and said, "Bye." 

   

          Also that new "Children's Television Act" was coming in and NBC was getting ready for that by jumping ahead, getting  a head start. Either way, this meant the 1991-92 season was the end of the traditional block on NBC.    So, this is our look at the the final season, mostly in order of show appearance, with brief overview of the shows and maybe some context of the time and bad humor, let's go! 

             First off, produced by DiC Entertainment it's not Saturday Night, but a skit comedy show with some cartoons with Canadian twin brothers  named Chip and Pepper (mmm chips and pepper : drools). 

       "Chip and Pepper's Cartoon Madness"  was classic style sketch show, where they would insert cartoons (read: Krusty the Clown, minus the clown) . The brothers were famous in Canada and Brandon Tartikoff decided to give them an NBC Saturday morning show.( "Eh, I'm torching this block soon anyway, might as well..." , he didn't say, but I wish he did.  )

                The show also interviews, ran vintage cartoons, with it's comedy shorts, it also sounds like NBC was keeping it uh low-cost.  This didn't save it, since NBC was going to give up 2 hours for "Today" this wasn't part of their 9-16 mention so, bye.

                

      Next on NBC, it's "Yo Yogi!" or really just switch over to FOX they have  "Bobby's World" just watch that, the Today show is taking this slot soon anyway. 

       

At least they weren't babies? / (watch intro here) 

     "Yo Yogi!" is about Yogi Bear,  Boo-Boo Bear, Huckelberry Hound,  Snagglepuss, and Cindy Bear (no relation to Yogi or Boo-Boo? Right, unless bears don't use last names the way we do , what?)  but with a twist,  someone at Hanna-Barbera missed making "Scooby Doo" because this was them as teenage crime fighters. (What's a teenage bear?)  They also do cool late 80's , early 90's stuff of hanging out at the mall, which is owned by Doggie Daddy. 

      Yogi and his friends work at the mall where they solve mall crimes. (like who stole the Sabro Pizza?) 

         The show lasted 13 episodes, it's final episode aired the day after NBC announced they were axing the block. ("Yo Yogi was a mistake, and it killed the block," I wish he had said that too) 

      

More after the jump 

 

          Welcome back,  you must be leaving Fox because "Tom and Jerry Kids" is on, and welcome to NBC, now don't go looking for "Darkwing Duck" on...  I should have shut up.  

    "Captain N: The Game Master" and "Super Mario World" were running together in one slot, might as well be brought you  by Nintendo , not that would save these shows.   

They are the digi-destined.  

   "Captain N: The Game Master" actually premiered in 1989, it made it to a third season, which also would be the final season. (Pay attention)  It was produced by DiC. It's about a teenager (would he watch TNBC in 1992? ) named Kevin Keene and lives in California. (Would he watch California Dreams, coming soon to NBC?)  and his dog, Duke. That's boring, oh they were taken to another universe (Texas?)  known as Videoland (I prefer VideoCountry, lower taxes) that he ended up getting suck into his TV. (Pay TV joke here) 

            He's the chosen one or something and he destined to become "Captain N: The Game Master" (roll credits)  and save Videoland from evil. He creates a team, because that's how you stop evil - teamwork. It's also part Nintendo ad. 

       Also in the same half-hour slot, was "Super Mario World" which premiered in fall 1991 and also died the day after NBC announced they were axing the block. ("I'm still sure that Yo Yogi! killed the block, Brandon, should have said this) 

       "Super Mario World" is based off the video game "Mario"(really, you don't say?)  and like "Rugrats" it's theme song was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh.   The show is "Mario" there's nothing more I can say?  

       Now on NBC,  Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson and Wayne Gretzky fighting crime... what? You know what? I miss the concept of just doing whatever the heck you want for TV,  our TV is boring, compared to the idea of just taking 3 sports stars and saying "Yeah, they team up and fight crime."  "Pro Stars" (How'd they come up with that name, hours and months of meetings?) ran for 13 episodes as well.  

          I will commend Jordan, Gretzky, and Jackson for  voicing themselves in a cartoon show.  So Jordan, represents basketball, Gretzky: hockey, and Jackson is baseball and football.  In their show they use their sports powers to help kids from danger.. and the environment sometimes. 

       

   The real life stars also would show up at the start of the show in their flesh and blood forms, and talk about the episode, coming up, instead of just doing the episode.  Maybe this was to make sure the kids wouldn't feel scammed and see that Jordan, Gretzky, and Jackson were actually part of this show. 

           

       They would get  call each episode where some kid though, hey "Michael Jordan" could you uh,  help me, my horse was kidnapped, I need him to win a rodeo so my family's ranch is taken by the debt collectors."    (That was my first thought, after calling Dick Butkus, he was too busy with "My Two Dads") 

              They' have their own M or Q named Mom who invents  wacky gadgets for heroes. (A gun would be handy)  There's other characters, but really you are there for wacky super sports stars against one-dimensional villains.  The show ran 13 episodes, and the final episode is a clip-show. (NBC was penny pinching, weren't they) 

            Uh, it's 1991 so why not ?  Macaulay Culkin.  That's right. Another show by DiC, I wonder who will be the most hurt by this going under.   Culkin voices a boy named Nick McClary who is not Macaulay Culkin, just kind of looks like him and voiced by him.  He has  a baseball glove.. that had been struck by a mini shooting star, and didn't melt.  It is able to grant wishes if punched time times. (same)  He's only able to use it once a week, (Saturday Mornings, during NBC's Saturday morning block?) and the wishes would expire shortly. (when the plot needed them too)  What's the point of that? 

        "Wish Kid"  also ran 13 episodes, this is getting repetitive to say.   Nick had a friend named Darryl Singletary who also knew about the secret.  Also, there's bully (zzzz) and Nick's sister is Katie, she's voiced by Culkin's real life sister , Quinn Culkin)  Also , there's a dog . (Sadly not voiced by Culkin's real life dog) 

    

  

  You should be disappointed, I didn't make a "Home Alone" reference.   

  

 The final new show was "Space Cats" created by "Alf" creator , "Paul Fusco".  The space cats come from Trygiceride-7 (I prefer Trygiceride-8) which is ruled by D.O.R.C which is just Charles Nelson Reilly as a floating head.   

   

   Each episode D.O.R.C gives the leader cat ,Catgun, a mission  to do stuff on Earth then give a moral lesson at the end.  Since this is 1991, there's a lot of environmental plots ,interspersed with basic other crime stopping stuff. 

   The other half of Saturday Morning was basically two episodes of "Saved by the Bell" , which would be carrying into in the TNBC era the next year, and the show that would be the launching pad for a non-DiC production company to make a majority of NBC's programming. 

  

            

      I'll talk more about "Saved by the Bell" somewhere else.  Also in the line up, "Saturday Morning Videos" basically a Saturday Morning version of NBC's Late night Friday Night Videos , an MTV style show but for broadcast TV. 

   

     "Saturday Morning Videos" started in in 1990 and ran into TNBC era but only the first year of TNBC.  Tom Kenny was a host of this show, at some point.  That's fun. 

  

      The line up here, doesn't seem that strong, I could see that they were going on the mode that their plans were to end it , even before the December 1991 announcement.  Again, this isn't the full look at the shows, this is a look at what was happening at a specific point of time.  I find it interesting that seeds were planted for NBC to bow out of the traditional block a few years before, when they were #1 in Saturday Morning , citing costs as an example. 

   

         They must have also noticed the shifts that were happening in the market place. Their idea to jump into more older kid/ teen programming also worked with the new advertising  rules about  ads and kids under the age of 12 versus over 12 a little loop hole. Also Nickelodeon. That network was also going to be getting into the older kid/teen market. NBC was trying to make sure they wouldn't be getting a head start.  

   

        The market was bigger, with FOX coming in 1990 and the syndication market growing. (Disney Channel wasn't  a threat, but The Disney Afternoon was)  NBC was either  ahead of their time or was part of the beginning of the end. Eventually, CBS and ABC  would expand morning shows into Saturday (as well as Sunday for ABC) and the children's blocks would  wither to what they are now, but that's a different story.  

    

      July 25, 1992 was the last  Saturday where NBC would have their full Saturday line up for animation,  on August 1, 1992, the "Today" expanded into Saturday, the other half was primed for TNBC which would launch on September 12, 1992.  There's no moral here, it just kind of happened, anyway but don't smoke drugs kids! 

   

   That's it for now, tune in next time, when we write about how "Saved By the Bell" and how it should have crossed over with "Alf"