The Real Reason Saturday Morning Cartoons Disappeared

NOTE FROM LB: People often ask me why The Silver Surfer animated series went off the air (leaving the ultimate cliffhanger – the destruction of the universe) – um, hanging, and I give them all the answers I was given at the time:

“We got creamed in the ratings.”

“The network thought the show was too mature.”

“Marvel went into bankruptcy and couldn’t pay its share of the production costs.”

All of these responses engender a fair amount of discussion, and most of those discussions end with the immortal question: “But what happened to Saturday morning cartoons in general? Why did the networks dump them in the early ’90s?

I’ve never been able to give a knowledgeable reply – till last weekend, when an Will Meugniot, animation director, artist, writer, and cool guy indeed, showed me this:

Muchas gracias, Will!

Author: LB

A legendary figure in the television writing and production world with a career going back to the late ’60s, Larry Brody has written and produced hundreds of hours of American and worldwide television and is a consultant to production companies and networks in the U.S. and abroad . Shows written or produced by Brody have won several awards including - yes, it's true - Emmys, Writers Guild Awards, and the Humanitas Award. View all posts by LB