This was the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in 1980 — how many do you remember?

Where else could you find Fred Flintstone and the Fonz together?

Images: ABC, NBC, CBS / Unce Upon a Geek

Pour yourself a big bowl of Donutz or Waffelos cereal, because it's 1980 and we're watching cartoons. The reign of Hanna-Barbera was still in full swing, though the Filmation studio gave them a run for their money. 

The Saturday morning cartoon schedule included old (as in characters from the 1940s) favorites and some brand new faces. There were even some sitcom spin-offs.

Let's take a time warp back four decades and revisit the lineup. Which show is your favorite?

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1. 8AM

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle (CBS)
Super Friends (ABC)
The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour (NBC)

Chatty magpies Heckle and Jeckle dated back to the end of World War II, but any Gen-Xer remembers watching them. Godzilla palled about with little Godzooky — and dragged along a lot of old reruns, including The Funky Phantom shorts that were nearly a decade old. You think we are oversaturated with superheroes today? They were nearly a prevalent back in 1980. Loads of DC heroes were packed into Super Friends, and there are more to be found below.

2. 8:30AM

Fangface (ABC)
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (CBS)
The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour (NBC)

Fangface was a good deal like Scooby-Doo, only imagine if Shaggy turned into a dog. In some ways it was a precursor to Teen Wolf. Elsewhere, old favorites Tom and Jerry found themselves in new creative hands. Once a series of Hanna-Barbera serials, the cat and mouse were now being produced by competitor Filmation, who looked to revive their slapstick roots.

3. 9AM

The Flintstone Comedy Show (NBC)
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (ABC)
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (CBS)

The Flintstones returned for all-new family adventures in 1980! There were new characters such as The Frankenstones and Cavemouse. Shmoo came along for the ride, too. Meanwhile, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm teamed with Dino to solve mysteries in a very Fred and Daphne way. Aaaaayyyyy! The Fonz brought his pals Richie and Ralph along on new animated adventures. Henry Winkler, Ron Howard and Donny Most all voiced their original characters — but this was a far from hanging out at Arnold's. The teens traveled through time with girl from the future named Cupcake. And there was dog named Mr. Cool. 

4. 9:30, 10AM

The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show (ABC)
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (CBS)
The Flintstone Comedy Show (NBC)

There were plenty of familiar favorites bundled into these hourlong ensembles. 


5. 10:30AM

Scooby-Doo Classics (ABC)
The All New Popeye Hour (CBS)
Daffy Duck (NBC)

Sitcom actor Allan Melvin was perhaps best known as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, as well as work on Gomer Pyle and Andy Griffith. You might not think of him as a muscle-bound bully, but he indeed voiced Bluto in The All New Popeye Hour. Jo Anne Worley and Hal Smith also voiced characters on the sailor show.

6. 11AM

Thundarr the Barbarian (ABC)
The All New Popeye Hour (CBS)
Batman and the Super 7 (NBC)

Thundarr the Barbarian felt like the first truly "Eighties" cartoon of the 1980s. With its muscular characters and magic, it set the mold for hits-to-come like He-Man and ThunderCats. Comic book legends Jack Kirby and Alex Toth worked on the preproduction art of the series, which gave it artistic credibility.

7. 11:30AM

Drak Pack (CBS)
The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show (ABC)
Batman and the Super 7 (NBC)

Drak Jr., Frankie and Howler were descendants of classic Universal horro monsters. Together, they battled the wicked O.G.R.E. (The Organization for Generally Rotten Enterprises). The Drak Pack lasted just this single season in 1980. But we bet Hollywood tries to reboot this Hanna-Barbera toon sooner than later.

8. 12PM

Plastic Man and Baby Plas (ABC)
Fat Albert (CBS)
Jonny Quest (NBC)

More DC Comics heroes! And with offspring, at that. Fat Albert felt like a holdover from the 1970s at this point, while Jonny Quest might have made Boomers feel nostalgic.

9. 12:30PM

The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (CBS)
The Jetsons (NBC)

Tarzan and the Lone Ranger had been entertaining kids for generations. The Jetsons, too, dated back nearly three decades at this point. It just goes to show you, classics never get old.

10. 1PM

American Bandstand (ABC)

Dick Clark had been hosting this teen music show in some form for 30 years, as it began on local Philadelphia television in 1950. In 1980, he welcomed hot singers including John Cougar Mellencamp, Pat Benatar and Kim Carnes, as well as hip British bands like the Jam and Public Image Ltd. 

Image: The Everett Collection

11. 1:30PM

30 Minutes (CBS)

As the title suggests, this CBS news docuseries was essentially 60 Minutes for people half the age/size. Yes, they produced news for children in 1980. The journalists took viewers behind the scenes of MAD Magazine, investigated school safety and interviewed Shaun Cassidy. They also tackled juvenile imprisonment, addiction, vandalism, etc.

SEE MORE: This is the Saturday morning TV lineup of 1966. Can anything top it?

Was this the best cartoon lineup of all time? READ MORE

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40 Comments

VaughnBaskin 36 months ago
How bout 1985 the year of Funtastic?!
73rhyno 48 months ago
By 11 I'd be out playing with the dog.
loner1964 48 months ago
On Saturday, I would start watching at 6am till 12-1. Use to be able to tell what shows where on and what channel.
IsisLaShawnHardy 49 months ago
Here in Cleveland, Soul Train came on at 12noon. We would watch that and then change to Bandstand at 1pm.
scp 50 months ago
I could have sworn Godzilla was on NBC and Dynomutt on ABC.
RobCertSDSCascap scp 50 months ago
You are correct. No listing under the name Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour.
Sixteen episodes were produced as segments of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour in 1976, 8 episodes were produced as segments of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics in 1977 and 16 episodes were produced in 1978, with 9 of them running by themselves under the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! name and the final 7 as segments of Scooby's All-Stars.
bpacha77511 50 months ago
i mustve been a ABC kindve kid cuz every show they listed that i remember watching was on ABC
Lillyrose 50 months ago

I remember The Jetsons and The Flintstones and Scooby Doo. My favorite was The Jetsons. I also liked Super Friends.
Lillyrose 49 months ago
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Runeshaper 50 months ago
These are the shows I actually remember. Seems like forever ago;

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse
Super Friends
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
The Flintstone Comedy Show
Scooby-Doo Classics
The All New Popeye Hour
Daffy Duck
Thundarr the Barbarian
Batman and the Super 7
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
Fat Albert
Jonny Quest
The Jetsons
texasluva Runeshaper 50 months ago
I say, I say thar boy how comes you forgot about me. What kept ya son? Now listen up jr. Foghorn Leghorn. Other then that your list looks pretty Looney. How's bout throwing me a line too .
Runeshaper texasluva 50 months ago
LOL Awesome!
Runeshaper 49 months ago
This comment has been removed.
Martin 50 months ago
Another comic book legend worked on Thundarr the Barbarian, Steve Gerber. Gerber was known for his work at Marvel, writing the Defenders, Man-Thing and Howard the Duck. In fact, Gerber was trying to raise money to secure the rights on Howard the Duck from Marvel in the early 80s. This lead to him teaming with Jack Kirby to create Destroyer Duck, which was published by Eclipse.
DerekBird Martin 46 months ago
The first issue of Destroyer Duck was a "one-shot" with contributions by Gerber/Kirby and Mark Evanier, Dan Spiegle. The first issue is notable for also having work by Mad Magazine artist Sergio Aragonés (He did those little cartoons in the margins of Mad). Groo was a parody of Conan, The Barbarian. (Did I err? Cheese Dip). Issue #1 of the original Destroyer Duck series, labeled the "Special Lawsuit Benefit Edition", and contained the first appearance of Sergio Aragonés’s Groo the Wanderer and also featuring additional stories by Mark Evanier, Dan Spiegle, Shary Flenniken, Martin Pasko, and Joe Staton. The rest of the series contained the back-up feature The Starling, written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, with art by Val Mayerik.
The book was published as a way to help Gerber raise funds for a lawsuit he was embroiled in at the time, in which he was battling industry giant Marvel Comics over the ownership of the character Howard the Duck, which Gerber created for the company in 1973.

texasluva 50 months ago
Many of the comics I did not read. I was out busy saving da Earth.
RobCertSDSCascap 50 months ago
I remember most of those.
Happily, many are available on DVD box sets!
moax429 RobCertSDSCascap 49 months ago
I especially wish the "Fonz and the Happy Days" one would get on DVD, too, but it is dually owned by two studios (CBS Television Studios, formerly Paramount Television, and Warner Bros., who bought out Hanna-Barbera in the mid-90's). I can only hope they get their differences resolved and that a DVD of that show will become a reality.

I also remember Didi Conn - "Frenchy" from "Grease," and who played "Vi" in the recent live TV version - was the voice of "Cupcake." Fonzie always called her "Cuppus."
RobCertSDSCascap moax429 49 months ago
We can only hope. Recently, I found Mask The Animated Series season 1 on WBshop.
So much better than my homemade VHS-to-DVD transfers!
DavidBartholomew 50 months ago
American Bandstand was a Monday through Friday afternoon show in the 50s. Mickey Mouse Club (3 PM), Bandstand (4PM), then the local news at 5PM. Children>Teenager>Adult. By the mid 60s it was once a week, Saturdays. But there was also Shindig, Hull-a-Baloo, and more local shows than we should think about.

In the 70s, they updated the show. Was that the first color broadcast for Bandstand? The new theme was Barry Manilow lyrics to the 40s Big Band classic.
DavidBartholomew 50 months ago
Plastic Man was purchased by DC comics from its owner, Quality comics. The deal included other characters such as Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady , and the Blackhawks. All created during WW2.
AngeloJuarez 50 months ago
Maybe you should have a Saturday morning or Sunday morning kids show or cartoon block
They can't. Weekend morning shows have to be E/I certified.
Moody 50 months ago
I was in the Air Force in those days & traveled a lot but when I was home I liked sitting down with my young son & watching cartoons with him. I especially liked Bugs Bunny but his favorites were Tom & Jerry and Scooby Doo. We always had a good time. What great memories!
Barry22 50 months ago
Thundarr was actually pretty good.
Martin Barry22 50 months ago
Yeah, but he wouldn't have lasted five minutes against Conan. :-)
Barry22 Martin 50 months ago
Conan O'Brien?! Nyuk-Nyuk-Nyuk!
MaryAnn 50 months ago
I do remember watching a lot of Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner... 2 hour time block!
RobCertSDSCascap MaryAnn 50 months ago
Best ever was when it ran weekends on Cartoon Network,
from 7-11 a.m. Back when Cartoon Network still ran a few
classic cartoons. Today's Special is a 4-for-1 seltzer blast!
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