This would be the audience that liked animated musical groups. In the fall of 1968 Filmation introduced the world to The Archies and opened up network schedules to a genre started by The Beatles three years prior. Over the next few seasons nearly a dozen more cartoon and live action series would air featuring characters who, as a main or side job, performed in a band. With Filmation and Hanna-Barbera heading this new trend most of these shows tended to be very similar between one another.
While the bands were warming up two new genres began to emerge in the 1969-70 season. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! introduced the world to crime-solving teenagers and their talking pets. This genre was combined, in many cases by Hanna-Barbera with the animated singing group genre to produce a slew of nearly identical programs. We’re talking about titles like Josie and the Pussycats, Funky Phantom, Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, and, in the most direct duplication of the Scooby-Doo format, Clue Club.
The second new genre of 1969 was actually the return of an old one: live action programming. Thanks to Sid & Marty Kroftt, the next few years would give viewers some of the weirdest shows on television: H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and Land of the Lost, among others. They would hold the mantle for live action programming until Filmation decided to branch off into live-action shows in the mid-’70s. Focusing more on action than psychedelic comedy, Filmation would actually surpass the Kroftts in live action shows as the 1970s ended.
As the 1970s began the networks had lost a bit of their Saturday morning mojo and needed something new to recharge their lineups. They got what they wanted during the fall of 1972 thanks to Michael Eisner. Then head of ABC’s Saturday mornings, Eisner decided to use the primetime scheduling concept to rejuvenate his lineup. This resulted in the beginning of a new trend: animating primetime series for younger audiences. In addition to the successful ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and The Brady Kids, Eisner’s concept also allowed shows like Emergency +4, The New Adventures of Gilligan, and Star Trek: the Animated Series to perform quite well on their respective networks over the next few years.
This brings us to 1975. By this time the Saturday morning lineups looked drastically different than they did in 1965. CBS and ABC, which were always the leaders, were aligned to certain studios. ABC was heavy into Hanna-Barbera while CBS was Filmation’s defacto home. NBC, which had never really competed with the other two networks, had pretty much thrown in the towel by the mid 70s. One season later, their schedule would be heavy on the live action.
And, that’s where we’ll leave it for now. Next time, we’ll look at the 1976-77 Saturday morning lineup.
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on Apr 23, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
