Funshine Beaw's Top Five Old School TV Shows
Published September 7, 2007
5. Care Bears
A natural, as it's the namesake of yours truly, this show ran for only a short period during the mid-80s yet continues to highlight society's occasional fits of 80s cartoon nostalgia. Originally developed for the purpose of greeting cards, the Care Bears chronicled the adventures of ten bears who spent their time spreading cheer through various means. Their ultimate weapon was the Care Bear Stare, in which they shot a light of cheer out of their stomachs, beaming 100% pure joy into the hearts of their target. Looking back, it's borderline creepy, but they're cute nonetheless.
4. Inspector Gadget
Don't let your memory of this great show be influenced by more recent attempts at the franchise. The best part about Inspector Gadget is that it didn't take itself seriously at all. It subscribed to many of the common themes of the era, but put its own spin on them. The Chief constantly appearing in bizarre, clandestine spaces, the too-smart-for-her-own-good niece, the driving dog and the one-handed evil villain stroking the cat are just a few examples of this, but the list goes on and on. There were few cartoons at this time that consistently pulled off comedy and action at the same time. Inspector Gadget did it and did it well.
The Dark Knight had his own animated series.
3. Batman—The Animated Series
This 90s series just barely catches the tail end of the era I'd qualify as "Old School" in that it came out when neon clothing was still en vogue. The artistic style of this cartoon was amazing. Not only was it better quality than most 80s cartoons, it had a unique style which reminds you of Depression Era architecture, vehicles and attire, but with modern technology, science, and society. Accompanying the cool artistic style was some really awesome writing. Fleshing out some of the neatest plotlines from the long-running comic, the writers created what was one of the best written animated series ever. Add to that a great score and you've got a series worthy of DVD purchase, to say the least.
2. Transformers
An obvious choice, Transformers holds a special place in the heart of every boy capable of cognitive thought during this era. Like vehicles with eight cylinders or more? What about robots? Firearms? Explosions? Of course you do! If you don't, you're simply not human, or possibly some sort of awesome-ophobe. It set the standard for 80s shows to follow and continues to evoke strong feelings of nostalgia. The show even has the ability to polarize a room, segregating fans by their affiliation to either the Autobots or the Decepticons.
This is from the TMNTgame, but you get the idea.
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were always the tops, for me. Working off the same principle as the Thundercats, TMNT combined animals, martial arts and deadly weapons to create one of, if not the, most powerful franchises of the 80s. The totally tubular and radical personalities of all of the turtles reflected the surfer attitude so popular with kids at the time. Couple that with a steady diet of pizza and you've ensnared children in a fantasy world in which they need little or no plot to continue to dwell. While the stories certainly weren't Batman quality, they had some of the most colorful and compelling (to a 5-year-old) characters in the market. The Foot Clan, though evil, were a cool enough secret society of henchmen to earn their own loyal elementary school playground re-enactors. Of course, they fell to the turtle loyalists, but they still got the best Halloween costumes.
Article by Funshine Beaw
