Overlooked Cartoon Channels/Line-Ups

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tnymont77

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Currently (and in the past) what are (and were) the overlooked cartoon channels and/or line-ups.

For a CN-obsessed message board I'm surprised we don't acknowledge TNT Toons and TBS Disaster Zone a lot more. Back in the day those were the line-ups to watch Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, and MGM as well as new cartoons like Captain Planet and Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. It was through those two line-ups where I discovered that stuff as well as the Dr. Seuss specials.

As for something current...I think people overlook Discovery Kids. That channel has some decent cartoons like Kenny the Shark and Grossology. And for "educational" cartoons those aren't bad at all. It doesn't really come across as they are forcing you to learn something.
 
U-Pick Live

America decides the show, and the bumpers in-between were awesome, despite not being animated. Infact, some of the U-Pick live shows were live-action. Nicktoons were still the most popular pick, though.

If anybody knows where to find some U-Pick live bumpers online, tell me.
 
I always had a soft spot for Nick In The Afternoon, hosted by ol’ Stick Stickly. I am not entirely sure if the block was overlooked, per se, but it’s seldom discussed and most people seem to have forgotten all about it. I believe that “Hey Arnold!” may have debuted on that block, as I remember Stick Stickly saying something about it, but it’s been over a decade and I might be wrong about that. Regardless, Nick In The Afternoon was my all-time favorite block on Nickelodeon.
 
I find Discovery Kids animation to be EXTREMELY overlooked by most people. There are actually quite a few good cartoons on there that don't stuff educational facts down your throat. Personally, I think the only way Grossology ended up there with an e/i rating was for the fact they add little "body odd" facts from time to time.
 
The USA Action Extreme Team

After WB pulled all the Hanna Barbera/WB related shows, and not having access to Disney's library (or 99 percent of it at least), USA actually put together a fun little block in wake of the demise of the Cartoon Express. They even managed to snag Gargoyles before kid's shows were killed off altogether on USA.
 
woah. I haven't thought about that in YEARS. lol. And, nah, I don't think that was over-looked per say but it did have a lot of competition from FOX Kids.
 
I don't remember that specifically, but I do remember being a fan of TBS's "Sunday Morning in Front of the Television (SMFTV)" with it's premieres of SWAT Kats and 2 Stupid Dogs, and their weekday afternoon 1-hr Cartoon Planet show, which, along with Space Ghost and crew's hilarious skits, occasionally played the What A Cartoon shorts (since I didn't have Cartoon Network at the time).
 
Back in the early to mid `90s, TNT aired a cartoon line-up called TNT Toons. Their bumper was Peeble and Bamm-Bamm playing musical instruments and you could hear the "theme song", "TNT Toons, TNT Toons, Toons on TNT!" On Monday to Friday from 6am to 9am they rotated several Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, and MGM cartoons. As far as Looney Tunes is concerned they only aired the 1940s one. Then, on Saturday (and maybe Sunday too...I don't remember) they aired the same rotation but in the afternoon in addition to cartoon specials like the Dr. Seuss ones. Then, later on they would add Real Adventures of Jonny Quest to the schedule.

TBS had a slightly different cartoon schedule. For starters, anything new/original (like Captain Planet) would air in their line-up. Secondly, their Looney Tunes consisted mostly of the 1950s and `60s one. Finally, they had a Saturday morning line-up which I doubt anyone actually saw since most kids were watching FOX Kids. lol. The ONLY thing I remember watching on their Saturday morning line-up was their version of Disney Channel's movie surfers. They would give behind the scenes stuff of various movies and TV shows. The one I remember the most was the tour of Hanna-Barbera studios.
 
On PBS Kids: the key limiting factor is that most of the material is pitched to a pretty young audience (the major exception having been Liberty's Kids).

On underrated blocks: significant parts of the Disney Afternoon canon don't get as much attention as they arguably deserve. Everybody remembers Gargoyles, and there's a definite following for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. But the fandoms for TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck seem to be markedly smaller, and one hardly ever hears mention of the Tarzan and Aladdin animated series, much less the relatively short-lived Mighty Ducks -- all of which had pretty good production values and succeeded reasonably well at what they set out to do.
 
Ah yes, Discovery Kids. I usually only watch Tutenstein, though, mostly because I find ancient Egyptian culture fascinating.

I seem to be the only one that remembers June Bugs, something Cartoon Network did in the mid-late 90s (I think) where they aired a lot of Looney Tunes shorts in the month of June.
 
TNT Toons rocked. It was pretty much the only exposure I had to the Turner-owned MGM cartoons and Looney toons, considering I had seen most of the over-exposed '50s cartoons a thousand times by then and seeing the lush artwork of the 40s Looney Tunes and the equally impressive MGM toons (almost always Tex Avery toons or Tom & Jerry) was a breath of fresh air that got me hooked until the big emmigration to Cartoon Network, the channel I never got.

Also, TNT Toons showed a lot of the made-for-TV Pink Panter cartoons for a time.
 
Indeed they did. There were 2 of DePatie-Freleng's recurring shorts characters-Hoot Kloot and Roland & Ratfink-whom I never knew existed until seeing them on TNT's Wild World of Shorts.
 
SVES. I dug its presentation, it had some good shows, and while the block didn't last long, I felt it had potential. But I guess there just wasn't enough room on one network for two action blocks. Stick Stickly was simple but fun. That "write to me" diddy was incredibly catchy and hard to get out of your head. The only thing I watched on AET was Street Fighter.
 
Yea, I think the syndication package seperates them. Kinda how you're never gonna see Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman together even though it was made by the same team/studio.
 
It was already mentioned but The USA Cartoon Express was pretty cool with it's reruns of Ninja Turtles among many many other shows. Then it ended up getting some exclusives when it changed to Action Extreme Team.

Syndicated Disney blocks were always evolving... I thoroughly enjoyed the "all duck all the time" variation of The Disney Afternoon that brought back Darkwing Duck to air with Quack Pack and Mighty Ducks (other things played as well of course). One Too which was an off-shoot of One Saturday Morning had a certain charm to it. It was especially odd when it was playing mostly Disney toons but also Digimon Frontier.

UPN had a few cartoon blocks that seemingly often get forgotten. There was the UPN Kids block which was all fresh material with the Jumanji series, The Incredible Hulk: TAS and I believe Technoman (or Tekkaman Blade as some recall) but all I ever really saw was Hulk. Later it became a sort of rehash for Saban programing... kinda like Jetix before Jetix existed with Beetleborgs and various Marvel toons and at the time it had been the only home for Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends in years.

And of course I can't forget the CBS and ABC Saturday blocks of yestur-years. Sonic SatAM, Reboot and the weekly episodes of TMNT and Darkwing Duck among others. I really miss the days when cartoons dominated Saturday mornings.

But there was one syndicated block that existed back in 1988 or 1989 I believe that aired on FOX in my area and it was what would become the Disney Afternoon but instead of TaleSpin airing with Gummi Bears, DuckTales and Chip'n Dale Rescue Rangers it was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That was back when I was in kindergarden but I remember it fondly.
 
So that's what it was called.That's the first time i started watching Nick.Stick stickly was the best.I remember U-Pick Live aswell.Good times

Nick Jr.-Not sure if this counts,but since someone did mention PBS.I remember Little Bear,Franklin,Allegra's Window,Rupert Bear,Busy World Of Richard Scarry,Gullah Gullah Island,Wubblous World Of Dr.Seuss,Muppet Babies,Max And Ruby,Lazy Town.

UPN-I don't know what the lineup was called but it aired
Pepper Anne(spelling),Recess,Tarzan,etc

The USA Network-I don't know what exactly the lineup was called but i do remember it aired on saturday morning and only aired Street Fighter 2,Mortal Combat Defenders Of The Realm,Mighty Max and Ultra force.
 
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