TVSquad

Raising the dead, robot/human relationships, melting families and naked tiger-like humanoids. By reading this list you probably think I'm talking about stuff that happens on shows like Battlestar Galactica, Lost and According to Jim. Obviously, you would be wrong...except for the According to Jim thing. No, all of these events took place in cartoons made in the 1980's.

To honor the release of the Transformers movie, I thought today would be a good time to reminisce about the original heyday of the vehicles and weapons that were 'robots in disguise'. Of course, I am talking about the 1980's, when Transformers cartoons ruled the weekday afternoon airwaves.

Oh, what a glorious time that was for the tween set! Running home from school, dropping our books on the kitchen table, then plopping ourselves down in front of the television to watch Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, and M.A.S.K. right before our parents called us to the table for dinner. Sure, we ended up not doing our homework. Okay, our grades slipped. Yes, we had to repeat 9th grade a few times. Still, it was a time we would never forget!

Animaniacs Volume 3 and Pinky and the Brain Volume 3 both come out June 19. This is an early review.

It's been my opinion for some time that series like Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid were entertaining cartoons not because of Steven Spielberg's involvement, but in spite of it. Spielberg --from what I can gather based on what I've read and the special features on both Animaniacs Volume 3 and Pinky and the Brain Volume 3-- always had the final say on character design and such. I'm just not sure what exactly would qualify Spielberg to make such decisions, since I'm fairly certain he's not an animator.

Oh yeah, it's happening.

Following the soon-to-be -released Transformers and the recently-announced He-Man comes yet another afternoon 'toon from my childhood making its way to the silver screen.

This time, it's ThunderCats, an animated series that aired in the 1980s and focused on a group of warriors that looked like a meld of both human and feline. Warner Bros. has optioned a script from Paul Sopocy for the live-action CGI feature-length adaptation.

As usual with YouTube when you are looking for one video, you end up finding another video that peaks your interest. And then another, and another, and soon the dawn of the next day comes around.

Thus was my situation. I was about to do a post on the Japanese anime classic Star Blazers when I found a more interesting piece of video that contained the opening introductions to a number of syndicated cartoons of the 1980's. And, even though I think that many Saturday morning cartoons of that era were pretty weak, I feel that this was when syndicated action cartoons reached their glory. I mean, who doesn't remember cartoons like Thundercats, M.A.S.K., or Voltron.

So, take a look at the video that appears after the jump and see if you can remember all of the cartoons shown. If you can, please let me know the name of the second cartoon shown in the video, as well as if one of the versions of Voltron is shown as well.

• The Amazing World of Kreskin - The Best Moments of the Amazing Kreskin
• Doogie Howser, M.D. - Season 4
• Remington Steele - Season 3
• Sahara - Michael Palin: Sahara
• The Sentinel - The Complete 1st Season
• Thundercats - Season 2, Volume 1

Here's a question. What does that logo on the right remind you of? Anyone?

Well, if you're around my age, it might remind you of a cartoon from the 80s called Thundercats. In fact, it looks a lot like the Thundercats logo. So what is it for? Is there some brand new Thundercats cartoon coming our way? Perhaps a movie? For the love of god, someone help me, I can't stop ending my sentences with question marks? I'm serious, I can't stop?

Sorry, got lost there for a second. Anyway, the logo has nothing to do with Thundercats, it was created for the UK's new crime prevention organization, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). The resemblance is coincedental, but you have to admit if they had the same weapons and resources the Thundercats did, they'd be able to take out all the bad guys in the world within a year. Not to mention they'd be prepared for any unforseen mummy attacks. 

[via Metafilter]