{"id":7068957,"date":"2026-09-28T06:35:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animation\/fifty-years-ago-on-saturday-morning\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T06:35:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:35:56","slug":"fifty-years-ago-on-saturday-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7068957","title":{"rendered":"Fifty Years Ago, on Saturday Morning |"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Clue Club<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Raise your cereal spoons in salute; it\u2019s time, once again, to go back to a September when Saturday morning cartoons ruled the networks.<\/p>\n

Continuing a tradition that began five years ago here on Cartoon Research and has been part of each fall, here is a look back at what the \u201cBig Three\u201d networks offered up from the early mornings to lunchtime, when Bowling for Dollars<\/em>, American Bandstand<\/em>, and other shows would signal the end of Saturday morning cartoons for another week.<\/p>\n

Here, we travel back fifty years, to the Saturday morning line-ups of 1976. The Bicentennial had just passed that summer, and Laverne and Shirley<\/em> were debuting in prime time.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, here is what was being watched on Saturday Mornings:<\/p>\n

ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ABC debuts saw the return of Hanna-Barbera\u2019s Scooby-Doo, who remained popular and returned in an hour-long format that introduced a new character in The Scooby-Doo\/Dynomutt Hour<\/em>. The latter character was a mechanical dog (voiced by Frank Welker), who served as a sidekick to the superhero Blue Falcon (Gary Owens). Despite Blue Falcon being an earnest hero, Dynomutt was pure comic relief, as his automated abilities, such as extending his neck and motorized gears, usually landed in disaster.<\/p>\n

The massive popularity of Jaws from the year before helped inspire Jabberjaw<\/em>, another Hanna-Barbera show that debuted this fall. Set in an underwater world, where cities exist under domes, the show used the Josie and the Pussycats\/Scooby-Doo<\/em> formula. The title character was a massive shark (voiced by Welker, imitating Curly from The Three Stooges<\/em>), who is a drummer in the human band, The Neptunes. Each episode revolved around the band getting involved with a nefarious criminal and a subsequent mystery.<\/p>\n

Hanna-Barbera also brought us Mumbly this fall. A blue carbon copy of the snickering Muttley (both voiced by Don Messick), this version sported a Columbo-like trench coat and solved mysteries. The character debuted as part of The Tom and Jerry\/Grape Ape\/Mumbly Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Also debuting on ABC this fall, The Krofft Supershow<\/em>, a live-action series from Sid and Marty Krofft that combined elements of a variety show with comedic and adventurous segments like Wonderbug, Dr. Shrinker<\/em>, and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl<\/em>. This fall also included the live-action kids game show Junior Almost Anything Goes<\/em>.<\/p>\n