TVSquad

Saturday mornings in 1967 were super. And I mean that literally. All eleven shows that premiered during this time featured one form of superhero or another. Be it heroes from the comic books, heroes of the jungle, prehistoric heroes, or alien animal heroes that shot hot lava balls from their horns. It was the heyday for these cartoons, and one that would be short-lived, thanks to outside sources who wished to limit the violence on the Saturday morning schedule. But, more on that in a later post.

Hanna-Barbera led the pack in animated fare with an amazing SIX hours of programming; three of those hours comprised of original material. Filmation was on their heels (and would gain even more next year) with 90-minutes of new shows. Broken down by network, both CBS and ABC, who had finally woken up and gotten into the Saturday morning game, offered four new shows each. NBC wasn't far behind with three new offerings.

Needless to say, the 1967-68 season was an exciting one for a child. So, if you were a child back then, and are interested in remembering what you watched, then grab you box of Quisp & Quake cereal and let's begin the journey.

ABC had the most variety on its Saturday morning schedule. Not only with the shows that premiered, but also with the animation studios that produced the fare. Two of the shows in particular featured superheroes that were appearing, and having great success, in comic books produced by Marvel. However, they weren't animated by the same studio.

The first one, Fantastic Four, was produced by Hanna-Barbera with designs by Space Ghost creator Alex Toth. Unlike the revival of this show during the 70s (which replaced The Human Torch with a robot), this version of fantastic four stayed fairly true to the comic book series created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It even featured many of the villains, like Doctor Doom, that made the comic what it was. There was even an episode that re-created the classic 'Coming of Galactus' storyline in the comics. Fantastic Four aired for 20 episodes and ended in 1970.

The second Marvel cartoon to air on ABC, and the one that more viewers remember, was the first animated version of Spider-Man. Produced by animation studio Grantray-Lawrence during the first season, and Ralph Bakshi in the later years, this animated show is remembered for one of the more famous television theme songs. It is also remembered for its limited animation style. While not as static as the syndicated The Marvel Superheroes, (also produced by Grantray-Lawrence) the show used stock footage from other cartoons the studio produced as well as scenes from previous episodes into newer ones. After Bakshi took over during the second season the show's budget became further reduced. Bakshi use the limited funds to make the show darker and more psychedelic in nature (it is Ralph Bakshi, of course). Spider-Man ran for three years and 52 episodes.

Also premiering on ABC in 1967 was the Filmation series Journey to the Center of the Earth. Based on the 1959 movie, which was based on the Jules Verne novel, Journey featured the adventures of Professor Oliver Lindenbrook and his crew as they encountered many wonders and threats in the center of the Earth. Journey featured the voices of two future sitcom stars -- Ted Knight as Professor Lindenbrook and Pat Harrington as a member of the Professor's team. The show only ran for 17 episodes and lasted for two years on the network.

The final show to begin in the 1967-68 season, and one of the few to feature comedy instead of action, was George of the Jungle. Produced by Jay Ward (Rocky & Bullwinkle), George was a spoof on the popular story of Tarzan. It starred the dim-witted but good-hearted George, his love Ursula (voiced by June Foray), his ape friend named Ape, and his pet elephant Shep. It also featured another famous Saturday morning theme song remembered to this day. Two additional cartoons aired during George of the Jungle. Tom Slick was about a race-car driver who raced against Baron Otto Matic and his sidekick Clutcher. Super Chicken starred a, well, super chicken and his lion sidekick.

On CBS, the domination of Hanna-Barbera continued with three of the four network premieres. The most famous of these was The Herculoids. Another Alex Toth-designed series, Hercluoids took place on the far-away planet of Quasar, where the native animals could shoot lasers from their eyes, energy blasts from their horns, and bounce around making weird noises. These creatures were friends of Zandor, Tarra and Dorno, the only three humans on the planet that other alien races seemed to want. Only 18 episodes of the original run were made and the show ended during the 1969 season, but lasted in syndication and on Cartoon Network for years.

The next Hanna-Barbera production to premiere on CBS was Shazzan. Yet another Alex Toth-inspired cartoon, Shazzan featured a powerful genie who would be called by two teenage siblings (Chuck and Nancy) to get them out of trouble. After the brother and sister team discovered a chest containing two halves of a ring, they were transported back to the time of the mystical Arabian Nights (pre-Al Qaeda) once the two halves were reunited. After meeting the genie, who presented them with a flying camel named Kaboobie as well as various magical items, Chuck and Nancy traveled their new landscape to find the rightful owner of the ring and return home.

The third Hanna-Barbera show to air on CBS in 1967 was Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor. Moby Dick, which had absolutely no relation to the Herman Melville story, involved the adventures of two teens who were rescued from a shipwreck by a very friendly and communicable whale. Along with pet seal Scooby (no relation to the detective dog, except they were both voiced by Don Messick), the boys and Moby travelled the world fighting the dangers of the seas. Meanwhile, Mightor was Tor, a caveman who was given superhuman powers by a club given to him by a hermit (which sounds awfully similar to how Dr. Donald Blake became Thor). He would fight to protect his village from evil-doers with his pet flying dinosaur, Tog. The show lasted for two seasons.

The last show to premiere on the CBS schedule was actually a combination of new and old. The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, produced by Filmation, featured new segments from last year's The New Adventures of Superman as well as six-minute episodes that featured a slew of DC Comics characters. In addition to the adventures of Aquaman and Aqualad other superheroes that appeared were Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, The Justice League of America, and the Teen Titans. Other than Superman Hour of Adventure was the animated premiere for all of these characters.

The 1967 NBC Saturday morning schedule was also full of superheroes, including one that was a bit strange even for the mid-60's. Super President, produced by the DePatie-Freleng animation company, starred U.S. President James Norcross. After being involved in a cosmic storm, Nocross gained the ability to change his molecular structure at will, allowing him to battle evil-doers out to destroy the world. Despite the negative reactions to the show, Super President lasted for over a year.

The other two series to air, both produced by Hanna-Barbera, were a little more normal than Super President. That is, if you call a flying birdman and a teen and his pet lion as normal. Samson & Goliath followed the adventures of a young man named Samson and his dog Goliath. When trouble arose, Samson would his golden wristbands together to transform himself and his dog into their super-powered identities (and, please don't get me started how a dog could become a cat; that throws evolution for a huge loop). Here's an interesting note: Samson was voiced by a young Tim Matheson.

The other Hanna-Barbera series, Birdman and The Galaxy Trio, introduced viewers to the man who would eventually become Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. In this cartoon, though, he was Ray Randall, a man who had solar powers thanks to the sun god Ra. Along with his sidekicks Avenger and Birdboy, Birdman would protect the world from evil at the direction of Falcon 7. The other cartoon on this show, The Galaxy Trio, starred three space-faring superheroes -- Vapor Man, Meteor Man and Gravity Girl, who fought for the protection of the galaxy as officers of the Galactic Patrol. The show ran for two seasons on NBC.

Needless to say, 1967 was a high water mark for the networks when it came to Saturday morning programming. However, with the plethora of superhero shows airing, it was a matter of time before the animation studios decided to shift their focus to more varied fare, which is something they did the following season.

Next time -- 1968: Banana Splits, Archie, and the animated return of Batman.