Monday, January 19, 2015

Is there really hope for new cartoons on Saturdays?

It's being reported that a 2-hour syndication package, presumably under the aegis of Dreamworks Classic, is being prepared to launch as early as next fall. That's the good news for fans of Saturday morning cartoons. The bad news, though, is that the syndicators are targeting the unholy hour of 5 am (ET) as a launch point.

Yes, some stations begin a new broadcast day around that time these days, including starting a morning news block, the better to catch the overnight shift coming home from work, one would suppose. But new cartoons? At 5 am?

SAY WHAT?

One would have to hope there is diversity in time availability, depending on who picks up the block in what part of the country. The block consists of the following (all properties currently owned by Dreamworks Classic):

He-Man & the Masters of the Universe: The original 1983-6 series, of course, gradually being phased out by Me-TV.

Casper's Scare School: The most recent series featuring everyone's favorite ghost, which was dumped by Cartoon Network a ways back.

George of the Jungle: The flash-animated remake, instead of Jay Ward's righteously silly 1967 original. CN also gave up on this one.

The New Adventures of Lassie: The first animated Lassie series in more than 40 years.

Somehow I have a feeling Dreamworks and/or their partners will wind up taking this to a prominent cable network not named Cartoon Network, once they find that no one will program this block before dawn. Of course, I could be wrong.

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