I was talking with a dear friend of mine today about the ‘good
old cartoons’ when I realized I was not the only one missing those cartoons
which were being aired when I was a kid. That goes almost 10-15 years down the
lane or maybe even more. Nevertheless, those were the best cartoons ever on TV.
The cartoons of the 90’s and the early 20’s, I mean. They are for sure gone
now, but the memory still remains and every time a see a picture, or when
someone talks about those cartoons I cannot help but get nostalgic.
Cartoon Network
was definitely my favourite channel, but Nickelodeon and Pogo did come a close second even though Pogo was fairly new.
I have been watching
Cartoon Network even before it was a full-fledged independent channel. As a 5
year old, all my Sundays have started only with ‘The Timeless Tales’ – which were
fairytales, if you do not know or have forgotten. To name some that I watched
at that time were ‘Dino the Dinosaur’, ‘Perils of Penelope’, ‘The Road Runner
Show’, ‘Scooby Doo, where are you?’, ‘Popeye’, ‘The Flintstones’, ‘Topcat’, ‘Josie
and the Pussycats’, Richie Rich’, 'Fantastic Four', and
many more. Growing up, I fell in love with shows like ‘Captain Planet’, ‘Swat
Kats’, ‘The Powerpuff Girls’, ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’, ‘Pokemon’, ‘Addam’s Family’,
‘Looney Tunes’, ‘Smurfs’, et cetera.,. The list is so very long but not boring.
Oh wait, how can we forget the eternal classic ‘Tom and Jerry’?! See, that’s
what I’m talking about. We had a plethora of good cartoons then.
Coming to Nickelodeon, the show that I miss the most has to
be “The Legends of the Hidden Temple”. And a few other shows like ‘Rugrats’, ‘Kenan
and Kel’, ‘Drake and Josh’ etc.,. I even loved Nick Junior for that matter. “Dora
the Explorer”, “Blue’s Clues”, “Little Bill” and some more.
Not to forget, 'Spider Man', 'Batman', 'He Man' and so on.
No, I cannot forget Pogo, “Tiny TV” being my favourite. The
whole idea of Tiny TV fascinated me. Five totally different cartoons rolled
into one – “Make Way for Noddy”, “Bob the Builder”, “Pingu”, “Oswald” and “Kipper”.
Apart from that, I liked “Takeshi’s Castle” as well.
Each and every cartoon then had a distinct concept and an
essence of its own. None were alike. That was one thing that drew the kids to
these cartoons then and I know, there are so many like me over there who
actually miss these shows, till date. The freshness and simplicity, or
the action and intrigue element of every show on the cartoon channels back then
hooked us, viewers to watch 99% of the shows without realizing that we’d spent
more than the allotted time in front of the TV. And to top it all, the vocabulary
and language used in those cartoons were high on standard. These shows have chiselled
my language and vocabulary, I must say! (And I ain’t boasting here. The language
of these cartoons was just exceptionally good!) The illustration, theme, and
presentation everything was way above the shows the kids have these days. I especially
regret Cartoon Network, my ‘once upon a time’ beloved cartoon channel, turning
into any other sub standard cartoon channel. I repeat to myself so many times
when I pass through Cartoon Network, Pogo, Nick, Disney, etc., – “What has
become of my favourite channels?!”. I sigh and just flip over to the next
channel since it’s pointless to brood over what’s not there and what you will
not get.
I haven’t even bothered to watch Cartoon Network now since
the shows airing now, I feel, are just not worth being watched. Yes, it happens
because I’ve grown up watching the best so the average ones surely won’t serve
the purpose. Every now and then, when ‘Tom and Jerry’ or other old(yes, golden
shows they were too!) are aired, I make myself free just to watch it. You can
see the love I have towards these cartoons and shows. Although there is YouTube
for people like me to watch old cartoons, it’s not as good as seeing it live on
TV, right?! I just wish somehow, sometime they get back the old cartoons, even
if it has to pave way for the emergence of new channel. Okay, my expectations are
soaring too high. But I can’t help it, I’m too optimistic! :P
Do you miss the old cartoons/shows too? Do share what you
feel. :)
Keep smiling! :)