Tooniversaries in 2010

Time to hand out some "Happy Anniversary" greetings:

50 years:

The Flintstones & The Bugs Bunny Show both started in prime time in 1960. Bugs made the transition to Saturday mornings first, and eventually would shuttle back & forth between ABC & CBS until 2000. The Flintstones spent 6 seasons on ABC before NBC picked up rerun rights. Of course, the first spin-off, Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, marks its 40th anniversary next year.

45 years:

Atom Ant & Secret Squirrel started off sharing a 1 hour block on NBC before being splintered off into their own half-hour pockets. Al Brodax of King Features Television acquired a license to create an animated series starring the most famous rock group of the period, The Beatles.

40 years:

Hanna-Barbera, flush with success over Scooby-Doo a year earlier, adapted Archie Comics' Josie & the Pussycats for television and applied the Scooby Formula. Same thing with the basketball legends, the Harlem Globetrotters. They also tried domestic comedy again with Where's Huddles, which was actually a prime-time sitcom that also filled time on Sundays after football. DePatie-Freleng adapted Doctor Doolittle, and Rankin-Bass did likewise with The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad. Filmation, reeling from the Hardy Boys bombing out a year earlier, struck a deal with entertainer Jerry Lewis, but while Lewis acted as a uncredited creative consultant, he didn't voice his own animated alter-ego. That job was given to David Lander, later of Laverne & Shirley.

35 years:

Filmation expanded their live-action lineup with Isis & Ghost Busters for CBS and Uncle Croc's Block (previously reviewed) for ABC. The Kroffts presented Far Out Space Nuts, their first series for CBS, and Lost Saucer on ABC. Tom & Jerry returned to creators Hanna-Barbera, who gave them a new "playmate", if you will, The Great Grape Ape. DePatie-Freleng adapted Neil Simon's classic comedy into the funny animal farce, Oddball Couple, for ABC, and also produced Return to the Planet of the Apes for NBC.

30 years:

Heathcliff leaped from the Sunday funnies to Saturday mornings, thanks to Ruby-Spears, which also mashed together elements from "Star Wars" & "Conan the Barbarian" to create the post-apocalyptic Thundarr the Barbarian. Hanna-Barbera's licensing department obtained deals for Fonz & the Happy Days Gang (previously reviewed) and Richie Rich. Each of those four would average 2 seasons apiece. Tom & Jerry moved to Filmation and returned to CBS, which was home to their first series in the 60's. Filmation also acquired The Lone Ranger to pair with repeats of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle.

25 years:

We've previously reviewed the abysmal Hulk Hogan's Rock & Wrestling. 

20 years:

Real-life musical acts Kid 'N' Play and New Kids on the Block gave cartoons a whirl on NBC & ABC, respectively, and both bombed.

15 years:

Casper returned to television, this time with Universal producing a follow-up to their feature film. Fox's heavy-handed schedule shuffling made it difficult to follow the show, which was cancelled after 1 season.

I'm sure I missed a few, but bear in mind that unless I specify it, we're dealing only with Saturday morning shows. For the weekday crowd, She-Ra, Princess of Power marks her 25th anniversary this year. If you think I've missed a few Saturday anniversaries, feel free to let me know.