Obscure Cartoons From Years Past

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Kunmui

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There have been a lot of obscure animated programs over the years, many of which only lasted a season or two and are seldom remembered by the populace. A lot of these animated programs were being discussed in this thread and I figured some good would come from continuing the discussion in a more balanced manner. You?re welcome to discuss why various animated programs failed to achieve lasting success, but try to keep things in perspective and not blindly eviscerate a show merely because it got yanked after a few episodes. This thread is just as much about the positives of these obscure toons as the negatives.

One of the shows that people mentioned towards the end of the other thread was ?Jungle Cubs?. It had two seasons, but it has to be one of the most obscure animated programs that I know of because, even though I enjoyed it when I was younger, I don?t remember a single thing about it. Admittedly, I have a horrible memory, but I?m far from the only person who has little recollection of that series.
 
Spider-Man from 1981 comes to mind. It's not bad at all, and is pretty entertaining, and is even known for the 5 part story arc featuring Doctor Doom. But with the more unique Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (which was ironically 2 episodes shorter than the solo show), the solo cartoon didn't get the same recognition.

Heck, despite airing nearly every available Spider-Man cartoon, the 1981 show never received any Disney reruns (with it's last run being UPN 1999).
 
That was one of my brother's favorite shows when he was younger. I didn't watch it much because this was when he was in preschool/half-day kindergarten and I was in school all day. The only episode I seem to remember is about them finding Kaa's shedded skin and they thought he was dead.
 
I always liked The New Adventures of Speed Racer more than the original, but it only aired for 13 episodes in 1993-94 and now seems largely forgotten (and derided by those who do remember it).
 
I remember the Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show that used to air on the Disney Channel. It aired only 13 episodes, and it was short lived, probably because of its dismal ratings.

Despite that, though, I recall seeing Shnookums and Meat spaghetti cans at a grocery store in my hometown. Maybe that's my way of saying just how popular the cartoon was during that time in 1995.
 
For some reason I remember the short-lived `90s He-Man series. It's a show most people probably don't know even exists. I only remember it because it aired after the syndicated Sonic series. And I watched it for whatever reason.
 
One I seem to remember was Mad Jack the Pirate. It aired during the 1999 seaosn on Fox Kids, and didn't seem to last a month.

I saw a couple of minutes of the show before writing it off as boring. It seemed like generic show about someone who fails at what they do but get into terrible situations due to their own bloated ego.
 
On the subject of obscure Fox Kids show do you remember that Gaumont serie 'The Magician' or something like that? It was set in the future and was about a stage magician who could call upon real magic to become some sort of superhero. He lived in some sort of art deco train/RV combination and had a brother or something. The recurring bad guy had two henchmen with a card theme, I think they were call Spade and Club...

I can't find ANYTHING about that show because of its generic title :p

It sure was more fun than Xyber 9 >.>
 
The Magician?

Thanks for reminding me about that one, I remember watching it around that time as well since it gained a weekday slot after Power Rangers Lost Galaxy I believe.

He had a sidekick with a contemporary 90s look to him, although I believe he was powerless. I have an old promo of the show on my tape that recorded Countdown to Destruction's premiere. It looks like its architecture borrowed greatly from Spider-Man Unlimited.
 
I believe I have shots of the toys in an old Lee's Toy Review somewhere; this was believe it or not based on some old Bill Bixby thing from the '70s...and it never went anywhere in terms of the '90s animated series.
 
Yeah his sidekick was sort red head guy no? I think he was his brother...

I have CtD on tape too, I'll check and see if I got that ad too...
 
The New Adventures Of Beany And Cecil [ABC, 1988]. Thought it was one of the better cartoons of the '80s. Unfortunately it only lasted a handful of eps before ABC pulled the plug.
 
Downtown, the last MTV animated show, is probably my favourite failed cartoon show. Even a lot of MTV Animation lovers don't seem to be aware of it. It had great characters who felt very true to life, and I loved the way the show followed the characters into their conversations and imaginations, mixing fantasy with reality.

It was cool to see Goat live on in Megas XLR - even though I can't imagine both shows existing in the same universe!
 
There was a TV show that came out in the early 90s called "Capitol Critters." Even though I'm sure I watched a few episodes I don't remember anything about it.
 
Total Television, the studio that did "Underdog", had one show that very few people knows about: "The Beagles."

That was a one season show that aired in 1966 on CBS. Unlike "Underdog", "Tennessee Tuxedo", or even "King and Odie", the Beagles was never rerun or syndicated.

For years it was thought that all master copies were destroyed. However a new book on Total Television revealed that separation prints (three 35mm prints of red, blue and green) of the episodes were found.

Very unlikely they'll go through the trouble of making a transfer from THAT, however.
 
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