Saturday Morning Memories: Richie Rich

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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In the 70s and 80s Hanna-Barbera ruled Saturday morning television. Besides original creations like The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear, the duo brought Richie Rich from pages of a comic book to the small screen. Richie's tv persona was more grownup from his comic book days. 

Many times outrageously rich characters are portrayed as evil or at least usually in the role of the bad guy. Look at Mister Burns on The Simpsons,  "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Scrooge McDuck for examples. But I guess Uncle Scrooge wasn't evil, just grumpy. There's probably a deeper social commentary for this trend, but I'm not going there. 

Richie broke that rude and rich stereotype. He was a wholesome, happy kid always trying to help those who needed it. Even when that little jerk Reggie was trying to pull one over on the family, Richie never tried to hurt his nemesis. He and his dog Dollar (who had dollar signs instead of spots on his fur) saved the day in the course of about 15 minutes. Although not officially a super hero, he kind of was. His super power was money and a sense of knowing the difference between right and wrong.

Besides Dollar, Richie's girlfriend Gloria and robot maid Irona joined the zillionaire boy on his adventures. Irona more often than not helped ensure Richie and his friends stayed safe. She was a Transformer before being a Transformer was cool.

Richie Rich was a part of Saturday mornings for four years, with just over 100 cartoons airing. In the mid-90s the cartoon was given the big screen treatment with Macaulay Culkin starring in the title role. Disclaimer, I only saw bits and pieces of it, so I'm not going to pass judgment. There's also a live action TV show on Netflix now. I didn't know this until I starting writing this post.

A few years ago when my kids were younger they started watching the Richie Rich reruns in syndication. They liked it too, which was priceless for this nostalgic dad.

Rest in Peace: Saturday Morning Cartoons

Some of the classics
Courtesy: Bluebuddies.com

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

As a kid growing up in St. Louis, we had five TV channels.  ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and an independent station; KPLR.  Eventually Fox was thrown into the mix, but before the days of cable, that was all we had.  And we had to get up and walk to the TV to change the channel.  Barbaric I know.

One of my fondest memories as a kid was waking up early on Saturday mornings (something that seemed so easy compared to getting up for school), pouring a big bowl of sugar coated cereal, and zoning out in front of the boob tube.  My brother and I would watch hours of cartoons in the early morning hours each week.

The Smurfs were always my favorite.  I remember very well when the tiny blue creatures debuted on NBC back in 1981.  I was in the third grade and embraced the characters like I'd never done before.  More than 30 years later,  I still love them.  

The competitors

There were countless other classic cartoons that we grew up watching.  Hanna-Barbera cartoons never failed to entertain.  I was hooked on Scooby Doo, so much so, that I told people I wanted to be him when I grew up.  The actual dog, not the guy who voiced him or the one who drew him, but the real Scooby Doo.  I was seven though, so give me a break.  Yogi Bear, Hong Kong Phooey, and the Laff-a-Lympics were just a few of the other memorable programming produced by this dynamic duo.  I would get lost in the talking bears, dogs, and even sharks that appeared on my screen every week.  Eventually my love of wrestling got animated with Hulk Hogan's Rock N Wrestling Cartoon too.  I was in heaven.

Other than a few syndicated Warner Brothers cartoons and Fat Albert in the afternoons, I don't remember there being a whole lot of other animated choices during the week.  That's what made Saturday mornings so special.  Then as cable and satellite got popular, all kids networks popped up and new cartoons were produced.  Cartoon Network was born, showing those classics from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.  Eventually new (less cool) shows came about, and those vintage shows ended up on another new network, Boomerang. 

The point is, no one has to wait for cartoons anymore.  You can watch Spongebob Square Pants, Adventure Time, or Phineas and Ferb anytime you want.  It seems at any given hour of the day or night you can flip through the hundreds of channels and find something animated on the TV.  The novelty wore off, and then the networks started replacing cartoons with news programming and live action content. 

I recently read that NBC and CBS stopped airing cartoons in the 90's.  ABC dropped the animation in 2004.  Most recently, the last broadcast network to air cartoons was the CW.  On October 4, 2014, they pulled the plug too.  Now for the first time in decades, none of the "regular" TV channels air cartoons on Saturday mornings.  It's the end of an era, one that I truly do miss. 

Jaws: The One That Got Away

Being attacked by Jaws

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

I have visited Universal Studios in Florida three times in my life.  The first was back in 1991, right after I graduated high school.  One of the rides that stuck out to me was Jaws.  When I went back in 2008 and 2010, I rode it again and of course posed by the giant shark hanging outside the entrance.

This is by no means new news, but I wasn't really aware the ride had closed more than a year ago.  It was taken out to make way for the expanding Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The waters where the guided boat tour once cruised have been paved over for Diagon Alley.  Like I said before, I've only been there three times in the last 20 + years, but it makes me a little sad to see the classics getting bumped.

My kids in Harry Potter World

Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Potter.  I love the books and the movies much more than Jaws.  The area of the park we visited in 2010 that's dedicated to the boy wizard is amazing.  I also thought it was sufficient.  But I understand as things in popular culture get old, they have to fade off into the sunset.

Yabba Dabba Don't close this ride

Something similar happened about a decade ago when my favorite ride at the park, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was replaced with Jimmy Neutron's Nick Toon Blast.  I'm sorry, but the likes of Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo, and George Jetson have and will stand the test of time compared to Jimmy Neutron.  But I get it.  The park is appealing to a much younger demographic.  And so Despicable Me has replaced Neutron.  As they say at the other theme park in Orlando, "it's the circle of life."

D'oh!

I do sing a different tune when it comes to the Simpsons ride.  I've loved the show since it started off as short sketches on the Tracy Ullman Show in the 80's.  The ride replaced the Back to the Future Ride.  A great movie, a fun ride, but my love for Springfield wins this battle.  Moe's Tavern and Krusty Burger have also been added since I was last there in 2010.  I don't know (and couldn't find after a brief search) what, if anything the new features are replacing.

While it's hard for me (not really hard, but you know what I mean) to see these blasts from the past become extinct, I know that new memories will be made for generations to come, including my own kids who loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It's a great experience, even for Muggles.