In the inaugural episode of this soon-to-be classic series, Joe, Nick, George and guest curator, Caitlin McGurk eat toxically sugary cereal, wear pajamas and watch cartoons that time forgot all before they've even brushed their teeth.
Let's do the Mario in this rap-tastic episode, where we watch an all hip-hop episode of the Super Mario Bros Super Show (1989) with Caitlin McGurk of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Plus, rapping chicken McNuggets, a Little Monsters movie rap, and Captain N!
“Talking Simpsons" co-host and cartoon aficionado, Henry Gilbert joins Joe, Nick and George to watch a thrilling episode of Hulk Hogan's Rock N Wrestling and eat cereal that's part of a complete breakfast. Plus wrestling toy commercials and a guaranteed copyright claim.
Grab some Cookie Crisp and your favorite cube-based puzzle and settle in for an episode of the 1983 cartoon, Rubik: The Amazing Cube, with a theme song by Menudo. Joe, Nick and George are joined by Denver's Sie FilmCenter artistic director Keith Garcia for this colorful, magical, lovable episode! Plus, George imparts a life lesson in his signature segment, "The More You Battle Is Twice The Knowing."
Cartoon aficionado and Fruity Pebbles enthusiast, Caitlin McGurk puts on her finest pajamas and joins the fellas to watch Rambo: The Force Of Freedom. Plus bootleg toys, a slideshow of cartoons spawned by rated-R movies and lots of Rambo, a hero who rarely wears a shirt.
Join Joe, Nick, George, cartoon expert Caitlin McGurk, and their magical leprechaun gopher Glomer as they cue up a punk rockin' episode of the Punky Brewster cartoon. Plus, Nick tries the new Pop Tarts cereal, George pours himself a "suicide," and Joe asks for "pap pics."
It's Shaturday morning and we're gearing up for Halloween with an episode of the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon called "Trick-or-Chomp." Mike Drucker (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) joins us to eat cereal out of his childhood Ninja Turtles bowl and make a stunning observation about Pac anatomy! Plus, a TV news report about Pacmania, the surprising voice talent behind some of your favorite cartoons, and another disturbing lesson from George. CHOMP!
It's Halloween and the Shaturday crew is joined by Laura Wimbels, co-host of the Big Bad B-Movie Show in Cleveland, to watch Fonz and the Gang face off against vampires, werewolves and way too many trap doors. Plus pap pics, low-effort costumes, scary commercials and a Bullwinkle shirt purchased with tacos.
The Shaturday crew crams onto the couch to watch “The Brady Kids,” a “Brady Bunch” animated spin-off, and is joined by Joe’s brother, Alex Pickett, who happens to be a Brady Bunch expert (he read Barry Williams’ book 25 years ago). George curates some gross commercials and Nick graphically details why he dislikes sleeping naked.
Hail and well met, weary viewers! The Shaturday Boyz are joined by Charlie Sanders (Key & Peele) to watch a terrifying episode of the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Plus, stories about Gary Gygax, Dungeon Master-pattern baldness, D&D toys, and role playing in Sofia Vergara's basement. How do you say, "great episode?"
It's the Shaturday before Thanksgiving and we're celebrating the traditional way: with animated Q-Bert! Nick's sister joins the gang to talk about growing up as "latchkey kids" and watching a ton of terrible cartoons. Plus, commercials that ruined songs, The Newlyshat Game, George's wisdom, and Joe dares Nick and his sister to swear in front of each other for the first time.
No, not that Ghostbusters. The Shaturday crew is joined by Craig Rowin (Search Party) to watch the worse 1986 Ghostbusters cartoon that confused us all as kids. Plus, a game called Name the Worse Version, Ghostbusters toys vs. The Real Ghostbusters toys, George's lesson, and a kid named either Gorky or Corky. Alright, enough about hiccups, enjoy!
The good ol' boys (Joe, Nick, and George), never meaning no harm, and yet they can't help but force Caitlin McGurk from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library to watch this Christmas episode of The Dukes of Hazzard cartoon from 1983. Plus, Nick's trip to a Dukes mini golf course called Cooter's, George's wisdom, and at least one reference to the song, "Dazzey Dukes." Have a bitch of a Christmas!
Slow Joe, Sick Nick, Furious George and Colonoscopy Caitlin pour some Christmas colored cereal and watch the never-actually-aired Garbage Pail Kids: The Series. George curates a block of Christmas cereal commercials paired with incongruous news teases and Joe unveils an extremely rare Garbage Pail Kid he found on the dark web. [insert cartoon SPLAT sound effect here]
Hang tough with Joe, Nick, George, and special guest Julie Houts as we watch the New Kids on the Block animated Christmas special! This aired in prime time on ABC in 1990 and contains a genuinely shocking ending. Plus, pics of Nick's NKOTB teen birthday party, vintage New Kids trivia, the NKOTB 1-900 number, and George's very special lesson. Word.
Still want more Christmas shoved down your gullet? You came to the right place. Joe, Nick, George and their pal, Kendall McKenzie watch the Christmas episode of Beverly Hills Teens and everyone learns the true meaning of Christmas or whatever.
Joe, Nick and George welcome actor Jason Griffith, the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in cartoons in the 2000s, to watch a New Year's Eve-themed episode of "Street Sharks" from 1995. Plus, failed toy lines from the 80s, Vin Diesel shilling toys in the 90s, more blatant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rip-offs, and Jason reveals the secrets of being a cartoon voice actor! And his kimono comes fully open at least once. Here's to a jawsome New Year!
Put on your brain boxes and join us for a 1988 cartoon 65 million years in the making, "Dino-Riders!" Artist Rebecca Dart (My Little Pony) is with us to provide animation insights and dinosaur party facts, George serves up some dino commercials, Joe marvels at the magical dinosaur butthole, and we survey the history of Tyco toys. Plus, Nick debuts the soon-to-be-hit game show, "Dino or Dino!"
On this very special Shaturday, film archivist and Sugar Bear expert, Skip Elsheimer from AV Geeks, educates the fellas about the history of cereal's most notorious cool guy, Sugar Bear, and everyone ends up with a mouth full of cavities.
Join George, Nick, Joe and supposed collegiate quarterback, Steve Lawrence as they watch PROstars, a 1991 one-season wonder featuring crime-fighting athletes who encounter some STIFF (wink, wink) competition on the basketball court.
Grab your lover and the sexiest bowl of cereal you can find for this Valentine's Day episode of the 1974 cartoon, Partridge Family 2200 A.D. Join Nick, Joe, George, Caitlin McGurk from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library, and a relentless animation laugh track for this romantic romp involving robot cruelty and a prominent front butt. Plus, play along in the new hit game show, Partridge or Cartridge!
Pour yourself a stiff bowl of cereal for this alcohol-themed episode of Shaturday Morning Cartoons with Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin McGurk from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library. We watch an episode of The Littles called "A Little Drunk," where our tiny heroes meet an alcoholic but cool movie star named Kurt Corwin. Plus, commercials for little versions of things, a sobering lesson from Nick, and a surprise cameo from cartoon royalty!
Joe, Nick and George FINALLY get around to watching Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos and joining them on this dangerous ride is author, Jason Waguespack who actually wrote the book on Saturday morning cartoons. Plus George debuts his InvesTOONgation series, Joe analyzes cartoon facial hair and we all learn a valuable lesson that will make us a better ninja.
It's a productive morning for the Shaturday crew as they welcome illustrator Don Sparrow to watch Galaxy High (1986) and to play George's Frank Welker-related game show, "Who's Welker?" Then they all get very serious and tap their toes to a Melinda Mix about animated alcoholism. Earth stinks!
Hello, Welkerinos! It's a St. Patrick's Day celebration as Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library gear up for an episode of James Bond Jr., in which our hero battles an evil leprechaun. Plus, commercials for "Irish" products, a history of cartoons featuring the young versions of other cartoons, and Caitlin's dog Rambo eats a whole bowl of Lucky Charms.
This week, Caitlin from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library picks "Life with Louie," the 1995-97 cartoon about little Louie Anderson, and Nick selects an episode about the Green Bay Packers. Plus, we match cartoons to the real life comedians behind them, George curates commercials featuring the name "Louie," Caitlin reveals her secret tailgating shame, and Nick gives the finger to the real Simpsons house in Nevada. Hey good lookin' Welkers, we'll be back to pick you up later!
The fellaz welcome on animation writer Albertina Rizzo (and also Joe's wife) to watch the infamous anti-drug Jem episode "Alone Again," full of important messages, inspiring music and trippy anti-drug animation. Grab your drugs (or sugary cereal) and just say no!
Join Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin as they cue up 1982's "A Family Circus Easter" on VHS. Plus, exasperated dads in TV commercials, Dizzy Gillespie mispronunciations, and Caitlin's Easter bunny nightmare. Then, Family Circus writer/artist Jeff Keane joins us to talk about wild cartoonist awards weekends and to play a game called "Who Said It?"
George worked his magic and somehow tracked down Jimmy Keegan, the guy who, as a kid, voiced Henry Bigg from The Littles and a handful of characters from the GI Joe PSAs (he was also in "Over The Top"). And thus it was decided we should bro with Jimmy and watch every single GI Joe PSA with him. And so we bro'ed. And bro'ing is half the battle. Sorry.
Join Joe, Nick, George and Reverend Jen Miller of the Troll Museum for a "cataclysmic" rewatch of 1993's Stone Protectors, a cartoon inspired by troll dolls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and general 90s extreme-ness. Then, Rev. Jen takes us on a deep dive into her troll collection and the troll doll phenomenon that's been red hot since 1959. It's a rollerblading, guitar shredding, grenade tossing, LSD-case-studying, superfluous good time!
It's comic strip day this Shaturday! And the gang will see how well they translate to cartoons by watching a short Ziggy special and a weird Snuffy Smith cartoon. Plus George assembles a block of commercials featuring pantsless cartoon characters. This episode couldn't be fudgier!
The Shaturday gang celebrates Canada with 1982's "The Raccoons on Ice" and Brennan Tilley of the Calgary Underground Film Festival. Plus, stories of smuggling cereal over the Canadian border, meeting Neil Peart of Rush, and the debut of the VHS-based game, "Religious or Canadian." It's un-pree-cedented Shaturday fun!
The Shaturday boyz are joined by Bob Mackey of the Retronauts and Talking Simpsons podcasts to watch a Mother's Day episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. Meet Princess Exposition, find out what's in the "mummy case," fire up your TurboGrafx-16, and play a round of the new game show, Super Mario Threes.
Buckle up for arguably the most ridiculous Shaturday morning of your life. Hands will turn to tires, eyes will become headlights and mouths will hit the floor in this wonderfully awful one-season wonder. Plus George tracks down an actual Turbo Teen and Joe cobbles together another low-effort game.
When the cat's away, the ALFs with play, and with Joe out of town, Nick and George cue up an episode of 1988's ALF Tales with David Steven Cohen, the co-writer and executive producer of the series. Plus, Nick blows the lid off an ALF cartoon theme song controversy, George curates a fine selection of ALF commercials, David performs an original song about Gordon Shumway's home planet, and the boys meet a Melmacian Ronald Reagan. HA!
It's NBA basketball playoff time and what better way to celebrate than to watch a team of cartoon basketball players turn into spaghetti and water! We say this a lot but this time we mean it: Super Globetrotters might be the most batshit cartoon of them all. For real this time. Get your canned laughter ready, studio audience, for Super Globetrotters!
This week, the Shaturday crew welcomes KJ from Night Flight to watch an episode of the particularly shatty Problem Child animated series from 1993. Plus, stories of Joe's youth as a real life problem child, clown-based commercials, LL Cool J rapping with Dr. Ruth, and a new game called "Red Head Redemption." And stay tuned, because you'll never forget where you were when Nick makes a stunning admission.
It's the greatest game show in the history of VCR Party, conceived and hosted by George, argumentatively played by Joe, spanning four episodes, all compiled for the first time in one half hour special. Play along and enjoy!
The Shaturday crew is back and in the studio with special guest Caitlin McGurk of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. This time, we take a look at Saturday morning preview specials from 1984, starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, Alfonso Ribeiro, Scrappy Doo, and an orangutan! Plus, George cooks up a Shaturday Shuper Chereal Quiz and we pay tribute to Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It's a laugh-busting season premiere!
It's Shaturday and we're watching one of our most requested series, 1983's "Mister T," with special guest Jen Lemasters, co-owner of Chicago's Bric-A-Brac Records and a bona fide Mr. T fanatic. Jen shows off her impressive T memorabilia collection in a game called "Genuine or Jibber Jabber," Nick wears glasses, George reveals a Mr. T memory that scarred him, Joe identifies what makes Mr. T so great, and Marty shows up dressed for the occasion. Plus, UFOs, gymnastics, and a robot Mr. T! This episode has it all.
Joe, Nick and Caitlin are in the office to watch the robotic (robonic?) versions of Moe, Larry and Curly in Hannah-Barbera's mercifully short Robonic Stooges (1977), featuring a title that confused the hell out of everyone.
This week, Joe, Nick, George and special guest Roy Miles ( / hoodland ) put on their magical shoes and their Hammer pants to watch 1991's MC Hammer-based cartoon, "Hammerman." Plus, Roy shows off his rare Hammerman merch collection, we delve into Joe's history as "the rap kid" at his small town Wisconsin school, George digs up a Hammer 1-900 number commercial, and Nick serves up a game called 2 Legit or Sh*t. Then, stick around after the credits as Roy points out a celebrity he spotted while watching the Saturday morning cartoon previews in our season 2 premiere episode!
It's October and that means it's time for spooky animation on Shaturday Morning Cartoons. First up, 1993's Tales From the Cryptkeeper! Joining Joe, Nick and George this week is Laura Wimbels, the co-host of the Big Bad B-Movie Show, who tells horrible tales of musty libraries and eBay auctions that got away. George serves up a game called "Guess the Twist," Nick channels the Cryptkeeper, and Joe fleshes out his Three Stooges dream with the help of Rhys from Australia.
Scooby-Doo was a massive hit when it aired in 1969. And you know what happens when there's a massive hit...RIP-OFFs! Joe, Nick, George and Lunchmeat's Josh delve into the world of Scooby-Doo rip-offs and find out what it's like to be a meddling kid.
It's Halloween month here at Shaturday HQ and this week we cue up the 1970 cult classic, "Groovie Goolies," featuring a castle full of monsters who play in a band and spout bad puns. The fellas are joined by long-time colleague and pal, Keith "Sabrina" Garcia of the Sie Film Center in Denver (http://denverfilm.org). Plus, the whole crew plays a round of the "Scary Band Name Game."
It's Halloween season so the Shaturday gang decided to pop in the most genuinely scary Halloween primetime animated program intended for kids, "Garfield's Halloween Adventure." Plus Caitlin shows off rare Garfield-related photos and George hosts his most ambitious game show to date.
In this spooky episode, Nick, Joe, and George welcome Skip Elsheimer from A.V. Geeks to show off monster cereal commercials featuring Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry and friends! Plus, a PSA about how sugary cereals manipulate kids, and the final installment of George's game show, Mask Me Another. Offer void in Wisconsin.
All aboard the USA Cartoon Express! The Shaturday crew welcomes Nick's sister, Jessica Rausch, to re-live their "latchkey kid" days watching the long-running cable animation block after school. The featured presentation is 1981's Trollkins: a truly forgettable combination of The Smurfs and the Dukes of Hazzard. Plus, George digs up commercials featuring famous actors before they were famous, Joe asks Jessica what annoys Nick, and the whole gang plays a round of the USA Cartoon Express game, Mainstay or Stowaway!
If you're like Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin, you've spent every waking moment toiling over what Beetle Bailey’s voice sounds like. Well today you’ll get your answer with this Saturday morning deep cut featuring all the hit comic strip characters from the 1972 funny pages.
This week, the Shaturday crew gets warm and fuzzy and cues up a Thanksgiving episode of The Care Bears Family from 1986. Grams Bear's got a new attitude, Tenderheart Bear sings a melancholy dirge, George relates it all to the Russian proletariat. Plus, Joe's pajamas are too small and Caitlin's nightgown is huge! Stick around for the hit game show, "Declare the Bear," and discover some Care Bears you never knew existed.
This week, the Shaturday crew welcomes Joe and Nick's childhood friend/voracious Heathcliff reader, Tom Jacobson, to watch a 1984 episode of Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats. Plus, Joe tells the legend of "The Get Out Tape," we watch Cliff Richard's stage adaptation of "Heathcliffe," and George cues up some commercials featuring orange cats. You should realize he can win it with you!
It's Shaturday and we've got a hankerin' for a hunk of PSAs! Nick is serving up a whole slew of educational shorts that aired during cartoons in the 70s, 80s and 90s, covering everything from reading to dental health to medical uses for South American ants. We've got celebrities ranging from Richard Moll to Scatman Crothers, and from Captain Lou Albano to Cap'n O.G. Readmore! Plus, Joe shows off some Super Globetrotters fan art, Caitlin shows off an indecent Ziggy shirt on Rambo, and George explains that PSAs teach us nothing. Remember, kids: If you do drugs, you'll go to hell before you die!
The Shaturday crew curls up with a piping cold bowl of cereal and watches the rarely revered Inspector Gadget Christmas Special. Plus George quizzes the gang with cyborg-based trivia and Caitlin brags about owning a beeper.
This week, the Shaturday crew is joined by art director and paleo artist Rebecca Dart, who helps separate dino-fact from dino-fiction in a Christmas episode of "Dinosaucers." Plus, commercials for recalled toys and a game based on those Shopasaurus t-shirts from the 80s. Merry Dinosaur Day to all!
You’ll probably want to postpone opening gifts and spend Christmas morning with your four favorite Shaturday Palz because they’re going to watch the non-shatty, award-winner, “Ziggy’s Gift.” Plus there are so many Christmas miracles happening in this episode it’ll make your damn head spin.
They’re b…ACK!!! The Shaturday Palz return to wish you and your romantic partner(s) a happy Valentine’s Day with another non-shatty holiday special, “Cathy’s Valentine.” If you’ve ever dieted, dated, worked, or been in a family, you’ll point at the screen and say, “Yep.” Plus some truly inexplicable but totally real valentines. Your diet starts tomorrow!
Without giving too much away, Poochie is a cute dog who writes an advice column in her owner's newspaper and Dic made one episode for this character and promptly called it quits. Buckle up for a real shatty one!
Just when the Earth needs the most defending, the Shaturday Gang watches “Defenders of the Earth”. Can a comic strip supergroup and a kid named Rick stop an invasion by evil ice robots? Probably! Plus: fun mugs, cool cups, and a shocking game of Flash, Flesh, or Flush. It’s the most shenshational Shaturday you’ve ever sheen!
Veteran voice actor Doug Stone - Matt Trakker of “M.A.S.K.” - joins the Shaturday Gang to set the record straight about IMDB’s undercounts, Frank Welker’s limo, and Metal Gear Solid’s Psycho Mantis. See transforming vehicles, superpowered helmets, and nonstop exposition, all at a cartoon Mardi Gras. Then explore the limits of M.A.S.K. merchandising… if there are any. You’ll positively S.H.A.T. yourself!
The Shaturday crew celebrates St. Patrick's Day with The Real Ghostbusters - not a fake Ghostbuster in the bunch! We trace the confusing animated history of Ghostbusters for TV, cue up some ghostly commercials, and play the Frank Welker-based game show, "Slimer, Nibbler or Glomer?," all in time for the mayor's St. Patrick's Day Eve dinner,
Acclaimed voice actor Katie Leigh joins the Shaturday gang to watch “Richie Rich” as late stage capitalism’s pride and joy battles his evil(?) twin. But first, we talk about Katie’s storied career - "Dungeons & Dragons", "Muppet Babies", "My Little Pony" - and so much more: Hear Katie reveal where voice actors hang out! Listen to Nick practice his ‘kooky professor’ character! Glare as Joe badmouths the Peanuts gang! Giggle while George struggles to operate Zoom! It’s another shocking peek behind the cartoon curtain.
Listen up, Dweebs. It's time for a t-shirt based cartoon from 1989 about a rude dog named Rude Dog. Join Rude Joe and the Dweebs (Caitlin McGurk, George and Nick) as they learn about the differences between cats and dogs and play a game called "How Rude!" Plus, George cues up some commercials from the fall of 1989, including a Keebler elf playing a potato peeler as a guitar!
The Shaturday gang wakes up with a vitamin-fortified bowl of senseless violence for the series finale of 1988’s animated “Robocop” series. Is it a warning of a cybernetic dystopia, a blistering critique of privatization, or a half-hour commercial for new action figures? Yes! Then thrill to other toys and cartoons that were unconscionably repurposed from R-rated movies. Dead or alive, you’re watching with us!
Hold on to your tentacles! The Shaturday kids get their psyches snapped by the Lovecraftian nightmare that is the syndicated 1986 series, “Inhumanoids”. Then, the gang investigates obscure monster toys pulled from previously unexplored merchandising dimensions. If you’re a fan of zombies, mech suits, colossal undead subterranean creatures, or quiche, this freaky toon of cosmic doom is just for you. Check the fluid level in your brain, chowderhead!
Professional voice actor and semi-professional Full House enthusiast Jason Griffith joins the Shaturday crew to watch the Alvin and the Chipmunks Easter special on VHS, featuring an original Easter song, a tense courtroom scene, and...the N-word? Plus, we name the chipmunk we most identify with, play a game called "Munk or Bunk," cue up some commercials featuring performing animals, and slow down the chipmunks into hardcore sludge rock.
It's Shaturday morning and Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin McGurk from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library are "raisin hell" with 1988's 2-D animated The California Raisin Show. We dive deep into the inexplicable craze that began with a TV commercial for raisins, led a series of collectible figurines from Hardee's, and ended with, among other things, California Raisin ear muffs. Plus, more Claymation commercials by Will Vinton, a slideshow of the weirdest raisin merch ever produced, and a stunning revelation about Caitlin's favorite candy bar!
Welcome to Lazer Tag Academy, recruits! In no time, you'll be lazering your way through time with your friends even though you're supposed to paint an entire house!
This Shaturday morning, Joe, Nick, George and music video director/artist/puppetteer Roy Miles cue up the 1990 Kid 'N Play cartoon, featuring a dog with a mohawk, a distracting soundtrack, and numerous animation mistakes! Plus, commercials featuring black action figures and a game called Place That Apostrophe.
Writer/performer Charlie Sanders joins the Shaturday Gang to watch Power Masters, our most obscure ‘toon yet. Watch as a model train company tries to cash in on the late 80s toy craze with calamitous results. Cringe as we fail to make sense of a three-episode series that doesn’t even have an imdb page. Meet Death Gold, Professor Doc, and huge watermarks. Plus: not one but two quizzes, as well as commercials for other forgotten toys. It’s the most fun you won’t remember!
In what is easily the most ambitious Shaturday of all time, the Shaturday gang creates their own cartoon with the help of comic book writer/illustrator, Cookie Madison and professional voice over actor, Jason Griffith and guest starring an illustrated Timothee Chalumet. Fwam!
In a tradition as old as Saturday morning cartoons themselves, we premiere the third season of SMC with a preview of the 1985 CBS cartoon lineup. This one is a who's who of random 80s celebrities, including Rowdy Roddy Piper, Patti LaBelle, Pee-Wee Herman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hervé Villechaize, New Edition and more. Stay tuned for the most convoluted game show in Shaturday history, Impression Your Luck!
The Shaturday crew pours themselves a disgustingly large bowl of cereal and braces themselves for an episode featuring ONLY the catchy theme songs to the weirdest Saturday morning cartoons.
Are you ready for some football? Some Mutant League football? Josh Schafer from Lunchmeat VHS lends us his VHS copy of the 1994 syndicated cartoon featuring skeletons, lizard men, and trolls tossing around the ol' pigskin. Plus, we show off more rare cartoons on VHS, take a guided tour through the history of toy footballs, and give ourselves Mutant League names. Hut, hut, hike!
Special guest star Laura Wimbels of Lenora’s Midnight Rental and The Big Bad B-Movie Show joins the Shaturday Boys to make incisive observations about the 1991 Swamp Thing cartoon. If you thought you’d seen it all, well, you’re going to see it again as the world’s best plant guy battles evil to save the environment. Or his friends. Or both. See astonishing asses, squirting projectiles, and vintage commercials for the weirdest toys. Spoiler Alert: Swamp Thing…he is AMAZING.
This week, Nick, Joe, George and guest Roy Miles blast off with Rickety Rocket and the gang! Four mystery-solving in teens in outer space, along with their cowardly sentient rocket, try to get the bottom of a monster who turns people into zombies. Plus, we take a deep dive into the career of actor Jack Bailey, who voices Sunstroke in Rickety Rocket, Roy shows off his vintage Hallowen mask collection, and George kicks off this year's edition of Mask Me Another!
The Shaturday crew collectively dip their toes into Camp Candy, a cartoon that John Candy produced, voiced and even sang in! Oh and he's gonna teach you about fish too! Plus round 2 of George's mask-based game show, Mask Me Another!
Just in time for Halloween, the Shaturday Boys invite video editor and FFF collaborator Mark Breese to watch the goofy and spooky 1986 Teen Wolf cartoon. This hair-raising episode features the most confused yet compassionate spin on punk culture in cartoon history, including, naturally, the Punk Wolf Rap. Then find out just how many wolfmen are hiding in vintage commercials. Finally, we say a somber goodbye to 2022’s hottest game show, Mask Me Another. As Lizard the Rap Wizard astutely observes, “You can’t party forever!”
This week, bonafide Al-heads Nick, Joe, George and Gabe Gronli of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert watch a couple episodes of the Fatman cartoons from 1997's The Weird Al Show. Plus, commercial parodies from the Al-iverse, stories about meeting Al, and the "Wierd Al Yankovich Limewire" game.
As a band, The Beatles did a lot of things right, but cartoon-wise, the jury is still out. Lennonology author and Beatles expert, Scott Raile join the Shat Boys to discuss the Beatles cartoon and to listen to some of the Fab Four's greatest and most undetectable midi song hits.
This week, the Shaturday Mysteries Gang meets an evil wizard, an exploding space pyramid, three talking pandas, and teenage siblings with a credit card. They must be watching the 1982 cartoon Pandamonium, guest starring a panda Voltron, hot human/cryptid action, and a narrator/laugh track battle that nobody wins. Plus: discontinued junk foods, panda excretion facts, and words that end in "-ium". Bring a shovel. It’s nonstop shat!
This week, we put the shat in Shaturday as Skip Elsheimer from A/V Geeks to take us on a guided tour through the weird history of Mr. Whipple commercials for Charmin toilet paper. Plus, we've got your cartoon content covered with commercials for animated holiday specials, including the He-Man/She-Ra Christmas Special and The Glo Friends Save Christmas. And Marvin Zindler, the "gotcha" news man from Houston, does an expose about a woman with frogs in her toilet.
This week, the Shaturday crew is joined by one of their favorite cartoonists, Johnny Ryan, to watch two disturbing Tom and Jerry cartoons. Plus, commercials featuring cat-and-mouse teams, and the Blecky Yuckerella Punchline Game. Play along at home with us! This episode is not safe for kids,, even thought Johnny's daughter Vivian is on his lap the whole time.
Sure, any comic strip can be turned into a cartoon, but can it be turned into a good cartoon? Join the Shaturday Morning Mysteries Gang as they learn the horrifying truth of 1971’s “Archie’s TV Funnies”. See once-renowned, now-obscure stars of early 20th century newspapers brought to life, and immediately wonder who thought this would be a good idea. So wake up, hop on the couch, and help yourself to a steaming bowl of shat that’ll help you fall right back asleep.
This week, Joe, Nick, and George are joined by Scott Miller of Strange Tapes to watch a VHS-only cartoon about pogs called The Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers. Plus, a short history of pogs, a heated debate about a coffee mug's gender, and a really dumb game show called Pog or Nogt!
It’s almost Boxing Day and you know what that means: hanging out with the Shaturday Gang to watch 1982’s “A Smurf Christmas Special”. All of your most embarrassing yuletide questions will be answered! What’s the deal with Gargamel? What does Satan have against the Smurfs? Can Belgium’s most famous non-waffle export restore your faith in humanity? Is Grandpa dead? You’ll smurf yourself right in the smurfing head, just in time for the holidays!
In the season finale, the Shaturday crew sits down with SNL-veteran, Kyle Mooney to watch a very special episode of the short-lived, Bravestarr. George curates some commercials that he thinks Kyle will like and Nick learns a valuable lesson that hard drugs and sugary cereals don't mix.
Wake up, kids! The rumors are true: The Shaturday Gang is finally back! They’re tanned, rested, and ready for more good, bad, and downright terrible cartoons. And this week they’ve got a doozy: a 1990 episode of Little Rosey. Yes, a controversial comedian tried to make a kid’s show, and wow do the Shatty Kids suffer for it. If that’s not enough, you’ll see the Japanese Prime Minister, the Micro Machines guy, and Dan Aykroyd singing 'We Are the World'. Finally, the S-Gang competes on a game show that makes them regress even further. It’s sure to shatten up even the crappiest day!
This morning on Shaturday Morning Cartoons, Nick's sister Jessica Rausch joins the crew to watch a cartoon designed to sell little monkey toys from Japan. But first, it's an old fashioned "gleek" competition between Jess and Joe. George serves up commercials that incorrectly use the word monkey for apes. Then, Joe asks Jessica to remember past childhood traumas caused by Nick!
While waiting until the blockbuster movie The Flash arrives in theaters (or at least until Ezra Miller’s antics derail its release), the Shaturday Gang watches Filmation’s obscure Flash and Green Lantern cartoons from 1967. But that’s not all! You’ll get problematic sidekicks, mad scientists, beautiful aliens, killer robots, space owls, janky animation, and our longest mug conversation yet! Still not satisfied? You’ll see outrageous superhero PSAs! You’ll hear an alarmingly superficial history of DC Comics! You’ll try to spot fake comic book characters in 2023’s hottest new game show, Challenge of the Superfrauds! So when life hands you lemons, make it a Shaturday.
Buckle up for a clowny good time as Joe, Nick and George welcomes actor and animation all-star Jason Griffith (Sonic the Hedgehog) to watch the universally disliked, The Little Clowns of Happytown! Will these lovable clowns bring joy and laughter to the jaded Shaturday crew? Tune in and find out, then stay tuned as Jason competes in the Clown Voice Challenge. There's even a cameo by Skip from A/V Geeks!
Nick and Joe are away, but the shat must go on! George and Caitlin, along with FFF’s favorite horror host, Laura “Lenora” Wimbels, welcome legendary comic book artist Stephen R. Bissette to the Shaturday Shack. They rescue a spine-chilling episode of 1994’s Monster Force from obscurity… and then put it right back! They also shoot the shat about the Universal Monsters, hot Lugosi gossip, horrific pinball machines, scary video games, terrifying Pepsi tie-ins, freaky toy recycling, and, of course, Steve’s unparalleled run on Saga of the Swamp Thing. All this plus goofy monster commercials and a zany, mixed-up monster game? It'll be a scream!* *Scream not guaranteed for all viewers of Shaturday Morning Cartoons.
Nick and Joe are still on tour, so George and Caitlin welcome back Lenora herself, Laura Wimbels, and producer/director/reformed meathead Steve Lawrence into the Spiral Zone, 1987’s most ambitious animated mind control parable. Will the Zone Riders destroy the Zone Generators and defeat Overlord and the Black Widows in the future year of 2007? Find out as the Shaturday Kidz discuss cartoon dance parties, Steve’s secret professional life, porn star names, and, of course, Savage Mondo Blitzers. Then bet it all on a high stakes game of Animation or Fabrication. And that’s one to shat on.
Nick, Joe and George welcome Hoodlan creator Roy Miles back on the show to watch 1984's Pink Panther & Sons, featuring the panther's offspring, Pinky and Panky. Plus, we dive into nearly 50 years of brand confusion about the Pink Panther, including everything from cartoons to insulation to liver salts. And stick around for a new game about animated title sequences to live action movies.
This week, comedy writer and former Nintendo employee Mike Drucker joins us to watch 1989's The Legend of Zelda cartoon, featuring a particularly jerky Link. Plus, commercials for obscure NES games, a contentious game show called Legends of the Titles of the Legends, and Nick's refusal to admit that Nintendo won the NES-Sega console war. Not a Zelda fan? Well, excuuuuse us, Princess!
Caitlin’s rolodex does it again! Joining the Shaturday Gang to watch 1967’s Justice League of America & Teen Titans is famed animator, illustrator, designer, and director J. J. Sedelmaier, best known for co-creating The Ambiguously Gay Duo and SNL’s TV Funhouse, as well as for his pivotal work on Beavis & Butthead, Harvey Birdman, and roughly one zillion other incredible projects. The gang goes deep and dirty, talking about comic books, comic strips, animation, commercials, Saturday Night Live, Wisconsin, Columbus, Cleveland, Metropolis, and way, way too much more. Oh, and just wait until you hear about his dad!
Comic strip royalty, Brian Walker, joins the Shaturday shquad to watch Beetle Bailey, a short-lived series from the 60s, and then play a game that will leave you plewding! (it'll make sense later)
This week, we kick off Pride Month with Keith Garcia and two classic cartoons about a pink mountain lion. Plus, a history of queer cartoon characters, a game about cartoon sexuality called "OK, But Are They?," and the origin of the phrase, "heavens to murgatroyd!"
Time to burn your D.A.R.E. t-shirts and roll up a tea cigarette because the Shaturday crew is watching a 1988 "Just Say No" special by The Flintstone Kids! Plus, anti-drug PSAs, a performance by Michael Jackstone, a game called "Who's Who in Hollyrock?," and a lot of references to Harmony Korine.
Spend your Saturday morning with the Shaturday Shquad and the Sky Dancers (1997)! If you enjoy complicated plots with way too many characters who are all seemingly named Skylar, then Sky Dancers is for you! Stick around after the cartoon to play Joe's awful game about injuries!
They said it couldn't be done, but we did it anyway: It's the 100th episode of Shaturday Morning Cartoons! Join our self-congratulatory retrospective as we stare down the good, the bad, and the absolutely unforgivable animated series we've watched in a cutthroat trivia game. Cartoon nipples? Check! Welker voices? Check! Patti LaBelle? Check! Our game show has it all! We revisit the zaniest commercials we've ever shown, hear Joe tell us what he's learned, and attend the star-studded first annual Shatty Awards! But mainly, we just shoot the shat like we've done since September 2020. It's a hearty shat you'll be recovering from all summer long!
While Joe, Nick & the Shaturday Crew get the summer off, the DYNA-SQUAD fills in! They’re digging up the craziest live-action 1970s kid’s shows, and starting it off with a doozy: Glam-rock goofballs KAPTAIN KOOL AND THE KONGS, the unforgettable band everybody forgot about! Watch and remember, or if you weren’t born yet, make your parents watch!
This week, the DYNA-SQUAD digs deep to unearth an unearthly ABC Afterschool Special - THE AMAZING COSMIC AWARENESS OF DUFFY MOON! Mystical powers, Jim Backus, hot oatmeal, and somehow, underneath it all, an inspirational message. Plus: An update on Nick & Joe’s Summer break, and another brain-taxing DYNA-QUIZ!
This week, the DYNA-SQUAD cracks open ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL, featuring a double-dose of girl power, giant ancient computers, and oh, yeah: the greatest villain in all of fiction! Plus: a deep dive into the prefix “Dyna-“, and another cranium-cracking DYNA-QUIZ! …DYNA!
DYNA-SQUAD assemble! Today, that legendary production company, The 4-H Club, serves up MULLIGAN STEW, where a bad all-kid band, adequate animation, and sketchy puppets collide to solve the mystery of the undernourished town! Plus a DYNA-QUIZ about Kid’s TV’s fakest bands!
DYNA-SQUAD assemble! Today, that legendary production company, The 4-H Club, serves up MULLIGAN STEW, where a bad all-kid band, adequate animation, and sketchy puppets collide to solve the mystery of the undernourished town! Plus a DYNA-QUIZ about Kid’s TV’s fakest bands!
Love ghost-busting, but sick of Peter, Ray, Egon, Winston, Dana, Louis, Janine, Slimer, Ray Parker Jr. and the Reitman family? The DYNA-SQUAD has you covered with Filmation’s THE GHOST BUSTERS, the screwball spooktacular that’s not sure how being a ghost works! Plus the wackiest DYNA-QUIZ yet!
For the grim truth about what drugs can do to the fragile mind of Scott Baio, read his social media feeds or join the DYNA-SQUAD for STONED, the classic ABC Afterschool Special about the critical dangers of unwinding once in a while! Then stick around for a classic-board-gaming DYNA-QUIZ!
The DYNA-SQUAD bids Summer farewell, and wraps up the season with LAND OF THE LOST, a Krofftacular romp through every kind of science fiction! Plus: The DYNA-QUIZ to end them all, and maybe even a MYSTERY GUEST! In fact, yes! There’s a MYSTERY GUEST!
October's wildest game show returns! See if you can recognize old, weird, forgotten, or ridiculous Halloween masks of the 70s and 80s before our superstar panel: VCR Party Live's Nick & Joe, Roy Miles the Ghetto Geppetto, Shaturday Morning Cartoon's Professor Caitlin McGurk, and editor Mark Breese. Compiled from three episodes of Shaturday Morning Cartoons, "Mask Me Another: Year 2" provides all the costume-identifying practice you need before "Mask Me Another: Year 3" arrives later this month!
The Shat Squad - Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin - kick off season 4 of the show with NBC's 1974 Saturday morning preview special hosted by the youngest Osmond, Jimmy, and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. See previews for Wheelie & The Chopper Bunch, Land of the Lost, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters, Emergency +4, and Run, Joe, Run, in between a lot of lame patter, problematic musical numbers, and pretty cool marionettes! Plus, 70s commercials with groovy songs, a game show about younger brothers, and the reveal of Cookie Madison's new Shaturday comic book.
Join three hideously deformed creatures of superhuman size and strength (Nick, George, and Josh from Lunchmeat VHS) to watch the 1991 animated series Toxic Crusaders. This inexplicable spin-off of The Toxic Avenger, Troma's cartoonishly violent, live-action cult classic from 1984, has everything kids want: sadistic bullying, disfiguring mutations, fourth-wall-bustin' violence, and toxic waste disposal logistics. You'll also see zany eco-commercials of the 90s and play America's new favorite game show: Toxic Toys for Tots. So meet us in Hordak's Slime Pit and get ready for a 'toon so good, it's good!
This week on Shaturday, Nick, Joe and George welcome actor/voiceover artist/dope slanger Jason Griffith to watch a recently unearthed episode of the 1984 toon, Wolf Rock TV, starring radio legend Wolfman Jack. Plus, commercials featuring wolves and an impression game called "Wolfman Jack Off!" Oh yeah, baby! Ah-woooo!
Once McDonald's made their trillionth dollar, they did what any massive corporation would do...they made cartoons! This morning the SMC pals watch a rare McDonald's cartoon played for birthday partiers in McDonald's Playlands in the late 80s. Ronald, The Hamburglar, Grimace and that one bird all partake on a mercifully short "adventure" with a kooky professor. But the most exciting adventure comes when special guest Tim Harrod (Bastard Tapes, The Onion) goes up against master impressionist, Nick Prueher in an Ed Wynn-off.
The sentient apes of Shaturday welcome author and Planet of the Apes scholar Scott Raile to watch the 1975 cartoon, "Return to the Planet of the Apes." We see apes in nightcaps, Charlton Heston in a tracksuit, and a boom-a-rangutan. Thank for watching and god damn you all to hell, Welkers!
Once in a great while, the Shaturday Gang takes in a cartoon that's actually good. And this week, we watch what may well be the best 'toon of the 1980s. It's G.I. Joe's 1985 story arc "There's No Place Like Springfield" smuggled onto YouTube by way of Britain's lightly redubbed version known as Action Force. It's so disturbing, enveloping, and trippy you'll wonder how it ever aired. But then you'll get the inside scoop in an interview with renowned voice actor Neil Ross. If you think this toon is mind-melting, wait until you see his resume. Plus: even though Joe's not here, you'll get a shocking demonstration of dental body horror in his honor. Yo, Joe!
Halloween's craziest game show returns for its most unhinged episode yet! Compete with the Shaturday Gang as they try to identify crappy Halloween masks of '70s and '80s, often futilely. This year, the gloves are off and the weaseling is on. New rules, new categories, and a new Big Board heat the cauldron of trash talk to a frothy boil. It's tax free, fat free, and fancy free. It's Mask Me Another!
Vroom! Vroom! Join Joe, Nick, George, Caitlin, and lifelong monster truck fan Brien Kielb as they watch the action-packed 1985 toon, "Bigfoot and the Monster Machines." Get a look at Brien's rare monster truck memorabilia and play along with a game show based on our favorite character name of all time, Yank Justice.
The Shaturday crew takes a much needed break from plot and character development to focus their attention on arguably the best part of any cartoon: the opening theme song! Joe wrangles up a handful of obscure theme songs as the crew tap their toes
It's holiday time and the Shaturday Boyz welcome best-selling children's author and illustrator Peter Brown (The Wild Robot) to watch the 1980 Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving special. Plus, we settle the Berenstain vs Berenstein debate once and for all, watch some puzzling Thanksgiving TV promos, and play a game called Mandela Effect or Mandala Effect. So remember his name. His name is Bigpaw!
Emergencies can be a real drag sometimes, but they're way more fun when cartoon extraordinaire , Roy MIles joins you. Based on the 1970s live action show, "Emergency!", this cartoon version features four kids who find themselves in action-packed adventures on a daily basis and apparently don't have to go to school.
This week, Director Steve joins the Shaturday Boys for a quest into Dragon's Lair, the Ruby-Spears version of the ground-breaking arcade game. Just as laserdiscs briefly wrestled for control of the video game industry, Nick and Joe battle it out like it's a run-of-the-mill episode of VCR Party Live. Plus, they watch commercials for swords and sorcery games, play a spot-the-fake D&D module quiz, and sample some top shelf Travalena for the holidays. So place your quarters on the arcade cabinet, because you're next.
The Legion of Shat presents: Shows We Can't Show, Volume 1. We smuggle in the Super Friends by watching a few choice clips plucked from its legendary 93-episode run. Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, you'll learn the secret origin of Batman's secret origin, hear Joe admire the Scarecrow, get details about Caitlin's forthcoming book, find out how the series broke George's brain, and watch Nick endure yet another unending episode. You'll get light-hearted cartoon bloopers and profane Top 40 freak-outs. And that's just from Casey Kasem! This one has it all: Batman crying, Superman dying, and, of course, the Waynes getting shot. That's if it airs... (it did... briefly)
Join Joe, Nick, George and Caitlin as they ask they watch the final episode of the 1982 NBC cartoon, "The Gary Coleman Show," based on the TV movie, "The Kid with the Broken Halo." Then ask yourself, "What's your Gary Coleman experience?" Plus, play along with a game where you try and decipher Todd Bridges' modulated voice in "Whatchu Really Talking About, Willis?"
Join Joe-Man, Nickor, and George-at-Arms as they welcome Nick Mayor and Jen Lemasters from Bric-A-Brac Records to watch the 1985 Masters of the Universe Christmas special. We cut it down from one hour to 20 minutes but it'll still feel like "Eternia." Plus, increasingly desperate He-Man commercials and a game called "Real or Faker" featuring Nick and Jen's incredible collectibles.
The Shaturday Kids trip out on the counterproductive 1990 anti-drug special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue with a live audience. Get ready for the Smurfs, Muppet Babies, Garfield, ALF, Slimer, and way too many more. Plus: Nick bring a hunk mug! Caitlin makes a Ziggy cake! George pontificates! And Joe goes to the hospital! Then, Nick gets everyone high with a game show about cartoon drugs. So Just Say Yes to some of the coolest psychedelic sequences Saturday mornings ever saw.
The Shaturday Boys convene a solemn President's Day caucus to watch an obscure cartoon few have ever heard of: 1967's Super President. The creators of the Pink Panther present President James Norcross, who transforms into a bulletproof superhero while his trusty yet fretful sidekick, Jerry Sales, squirms nearby. The Shatty Gang then enters its second term by saluting a succession of patriotically insane President's Day commercials. Finally, FFF's finest face off in a riveting trivia game about the myriad menageries of our chief executives. If you're a future historian looking for the episode where Nick makes nonstop TMBG references, this is it!
The Shaturday Gang is back and preparing for Super Tuesday with DIC's understandably obscure 1989 reboot of G.I. Joe. Prepare to vote your fond memories of Marvel/Sunbow's G.I. Joe cartoon out of office as the penny-pinchers at DIC offer a new and not particularly well-designed collection of good guys and bad guys. Today's episode features a kidnapped female president, a mysterious superhero, Millard Fillmore, and yet another Geraldo Rivera proxy. The Shat Kids also watch zany, terrifying, and/or undignified campaign commercials, and then get quizzed on fictional Presidents in comics and cartoons. So shat early and shat often!
This week, Nick, Joe, George and Caitlin make your sweet ass dreams come true with an episode of the forgotten 1986 cartoon, MoonDreamers. Part of Hasbro's My Little Pony 'n Friends lineup, with an accompanying glow-in-the-dark toy line, this one didn't light the world on fire, but we think it's worth another look, if only to try and spot a character's genitals. Plus, George serves up commercials for glow-in-the-dark toys and we take a quiz about the 1987 Sears Wishbook.
Chabadah chabadah and top of the morning to you! The Shaturday crew cues up a St. Patrick's Day episode of the forgotten Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Cattanooga Cats, about a quartet of hillbilly felines who play in a band. Makes total sense, right? In this episode, they travel to Ireland and encounter a "Wee Greenie Goofie." Then, George spotlights questionable Irish accents in local commercials and we play a game show called "Name That Toon Band."
If you like human/insect hybrids, you'll go buggy for Sectaurs, the short-lived 1985 cartoon featuring the ill-fated Coleco toyline. Puppeteer, toymaker, and animation aficionado Roy Miles returns to help the Shaturday Boys investigate why this action-packed mini-series crawled into semi-obscurity. Along the way, they'll find animated whips, weeping insects, and 976 puppets, as well as pancakes, C.H.U.D.s, and makeshift fleshlights. If that's not enough - and it is - they'll also watch 1980's fundamentalists denouncing Sectaurs toys... while gleefully playing with them. So hop on your tele-bonded insectoid and meet us in the Acid Desert for some top-shelf shat.
This week, Nick, Joe, George and Caitlin resurrect an obscure 1974 cartoon produced by Lutherans called "Easter Is." It's mostly about a kid who neglects a dog named Waldo but it gets Jesus-y at the end. Plus, highlights from Easter Seals telethons from years past, and a game show based on the Oriental Trading Company's religious party supply catalog.
Brace yourself for a Shaturday milestone! For the first time ever, the Welkerinos watch every single episode of this short-lived shat-toon, featuring all the mask-pulling-off endings.
The Shaturday Boys invite Overlord's drummer Matt to watch 1981's Blackstar, yet another sci-fi/fantasy 'toon featuring a scantily clad dude with a sword. Yes, Filmation poured Conan the Barbarian, John Carter of Mars, and The Hobbit into a blender, yielding a frothy puree of surprisingly sensual shat. The guys then watch commercials of other obscure Galoob action figures before facing off in a cutthroat game of animated sword identification. All this, plus incredible new Frank Welker information! In the immortal words of John Blackstar: "I'm John Blackstar."
This week, we go wiggy as Nick's sister, Jessica Rausch, joins us to watch a 1974 cartoon about three bears trying to escape from a zoo. Sound like every other Hanna-Barbera cartoon from that era? It is, right down to ripping off a popular live-action sitcom from the era (The Phil Silvers Show). Plus, we watch a commercial break from the USA Cartoon Express, play a game called "Help! It's the Hair BLUR Bunch," and George brings up Rick Wakeman twice.
The Shaturday Boys welcome Joe's brother (and author), Alex Pickett, to not only watch highlights of animated John Candy in campground distress, but to investigate a family secret that Alex has been holding onto since he was 10 years old. Plus George serves up a batch of shat-vertisments featuring John Candy's less popular movies.
This week, the Shaturday Boys invite Director Steve Lawrence, the Alan Smithee of VCR Party Live, to endure 1990's Computer Warriors, the understandably forgotten cartoon pilot for the understandably forgotten Mattel toy. The fellas ponder 90s computing, lamentable raps, product placement, and peeing robots while watching what can be charitably described as reverse-Tron Transformers. Then they screen commercials for obscure computers before playing a rousing game of What's This Dongle Do? So hold on to your shat... It's Toon Time!
This week, the Shaturday crew is joined by legendary comedy writer Tom Gammill (The Simpsons, Curb Your Enthusiasm) to watch two animated shorts based on the comic strip Nancy. How do Nancy's 69 hair spikes fare in cartoon form? Not well! Plus, George brings us commercials featuring famous and semi-famous Nancys and Joe serves up a game show called "Comic Strip Kidz Say the Darndest Things In Their Talk Bubbles."
With Shaturday's own gross creature Joe out of town, Nick, George and Caitlin rewind back to 1987 for the VHS-only MADBALLS cartoon! Plus, a final installment of commercials for gross toys and a game about gendered gross toy commercials called, "Does It Pass the Blecchdel Test?"
This week, the Shaturday Boys are joined by New York Times best-selling author Mike Sacks, who walks us though the dark recesses of Jerry Lewis's life and career in between clips from the 1970 cartoon, "Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down?" Plus, commercials that Jerry Lewis doesn't remember doing, rare footage from The Day the Clown Cried, and a game called "Will the Fake Jerry Lewis Movie Please Sit Down?"
The Shaturday Boys invite writer/comedian/friend of the show(?) Mike Drucker to watch 1984's Pole Position, a cartoon series very loosely based on Namco's classic arcade driving game. Talking cars, dead parents, Cold War espionage, and a monkey/raccoon hybrid make for a surprisingly sophisticated kids' show. Then fasten your seatbelts for breakdancing commercials, sexy arcade flyers, and a quiz about early racing games. Plus, in the final lap, the shocking return of a celebrated Plunkett. Think you can handle it? Prepare to Qualify!
This week, Keith Garcia from Denver Film joins us to watch a potentially very gay episode of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Plus, we watch commercials for D&D knockoffs, George has a shaving accident, and Keith takes the hot seat in "OK, But Are They?," where we finally get to learn the sexual orientations of creatures in the 1977 Monster Manual!
Last year, the Shaturday Gang received a comic book in the mail from New Zealand featuring THEM! It was written and illustrated by a mysterious person named Cookie and it was INCREDIBLE! With the help of professional voice actor, Jason Griffith (Sonic The Hedgehog), the crew embarks on a comic book table read for the AGES!
Get our your TV Guides and get ready to circle the cartoons you want to watch this fall season with our look back at network preview shows from 1985, 1991 and 1992. You'll see Snorks right alongside Rudy Huxtable, Urkel introducing Darkwing Duck, and a horny Patrick Duffy interrupted by the The Wild West Cowboy of Moo Mesa. Plus, a game about matching random celebrities with the preview specials they starred in, and a Little Caesars commercial with a singing uvula!
The Shatty Gang dives headlong into the Danger Room to watch the 1989 animated X-Men pilot "Pryde of the X-Men", a surprisingly well-made if exhausting adaptation of the legendary Marvel comic book. Is it a solemn allegory for prejudice or a character-filled extravaganza designed to make action figure manufacturers swoon? Yes! But first, the Shats get their freak(s) on with the Doom Patrol, watch bizarre clips of earlier X-Men cartoons, and receive a 1983 Yummy Award. They also watch X-Men pasta commercials, play a high-stakes game of Mutant or Not-ant, and offer no fewer than three lessons that they've learned. In the words of an inexplicably Australian Wolverine: Crikey, Bub!
The Shaturday Gang takes on their shattiest 'toon in ages: Frogger from 1983's Saturday Supercade. Watch as a video game with the barest of plots is turned into a journalistic thriller! Cheer as one brave woman fights to bring this all-time classic to arcades! Cringe as the Ruby-Spears sound effects machine approaches core meltdown! Then try your luck identifying obscure, disturbing, and erotic Atari cartridges in the world premiere of Name This Game. So if you've got terminal Pac-Man Fever, come join the gang for a delicious dose of toon-thanasia.
What if instead of lint and gum wrappers in your pocket, you found draculas and wolfmen? It's Halloween time at Shaturday HQ and we're watching the sole surviving episode of 1991's "Monster In My Pocket" with Josh Schafer (aka Josh Lunchmeat) from Lunchmeat VHS. Plus, spooky vintage commercials and a game about pocket-based products from yesteryear called "What's In My Pocket?"
The Shaturday gang invites comedian/musician, Shonali Bhowmik, to watch a big batch of rockin' theme songs from a variety of cartoons. Stretch out your toes because they're about to get tapped!
It's almost Thanksgiving and the Shaturday boys welcome Skip Elsheimer from A/V Geeks to watch the 1971 Hanna-Barbera special, The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't. Finally, we learn the real story of the first Thanksgiving, which involved singing and squirrels wearing Chippendales collars. Stick around for dessert--a new game show where you guess which cartoons had their own Thanksgiving specials. We're thankful to you, the Welkers, in this very special episode.
Join the Shaturday fellas and Sonic voice actor Jason Griffith for a look at the way-past-cool cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), starring Jaleel White as the voice of Sonic. Will this iteration of the world's most beloved blue hedgehog want to make us hurl or will the chunkage be contained? Tune in and find out. Plus, Jason, who voiced Shadow the Hedgehog in video games and cartoons, gives his thoughts on Keanu stepping into the role in the upcoming Sonic 3 movie, and Nick hosts a really dumb game called Sonic or Chronic?
On their final episode of 2024, the Shatty Kids take you through the Cabbage Patch Chaos of 1983, from shopping mall beatdowns to the weird world of 'creator' Xavier Roberts. You'll then be properly seasoned to watch the intermittently morose but always bizarre animated special Cabbage Patch Kids: First Christmas. Next, the Shat Gang opens an Advent calendar of cacophonous Christmas commercials, before matching wits in the classic game show Xmas Marks the Plot. So stop punching your fellow shoppers, and have yourself a Shatty little Christmas with us.
Sooey! Sooey! Welcome to Piggsburg, population: us. Nick, Joe, and Caitlin watch the all but forgotten Fox Kids cartoon from 1990 starring a bunch of talking pigs and, for some reason, a swamp full of creepy monsters! Plus, Nick wallows in a bunch of pig TV commercials and we play a new game about fast food tie-in toys.
This Shaturday we're celebrating our smart brains with a compilation of the greatest post-toon games we've ever played! Cyborgs, LeSabres and Kyle Mooney's vast knowledge of the TV show "Dinosaurs" are all on display!
This week, Joe and Nick are joined by Roy Miles to watch the 1974 Evel Knievel rip-off cartoon, Devlin, starring a daredevil, his siblings, and a clown named Jester. Plus, Joe cues up some legendary hip-hop commercials for Sprite and St. Ides and the crew plays a game called Devlin Over/Under.
This week, animator and paleo artist Rebecca Dart joins us to watch a strange 1993 cartoon where dinosaurs and humans exist together in future New York City. Plus, vintage commercials featuring catchy Cadillac jingles and questionable dino foods. Then we play a game about Flintstones appliances called Is It A Living?
Skip from AV Geeks joins the Shaturday crew and he brought a cartoon he had on 16mm! This one is a deep cut and has all the things we love about Shaturday: a mustached dad, a completely implausible storyline and clown villains with Russian accents.
This week, Nick, Joe, and Caitlin conscientiously object to watching the Laverne & Shirley In The Army cartoon from 1981, featuring the real voices of Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams and a pig named Sergeant Squealy. Plus, Joe makes a shocking revelation about his military service and serves up a game about our fuzzy recollections of this series called, Did We Watch It?
Underground comic artist, Robin Bougie, joins Joe & Nick to watch his favorite cartoon as a kid, Kidd Video! This half-cartoon, half-live action show features toe-tappers galore and is sure to get us a few copyright notices!
Travel with Nick, Joe, and Caitlin McGurk to the secret world of Happy Ness, the short-lived 1995 cartoon from the producers of Sky Dancers. It's part My Little Pony, part Smurfs, and all not-very-good. Plus, Nessie in commercials, a ringtone that broke the ice for Caitlin and her Scottish relatives, and a game called "Who's the Shatness Monster?"
Author and American-living-in-England, Alex Pickett (aka Joe's brother) joins Joe and Nick to watch The Pondles (1987), a god-awful Smurfs rip-off from England. Plus boring British commercials! By the end of this episode, viewers should expect to be chuffed and full of pukka.
May the George be with you, and us, as he enters this den of scum and villainy to watch the 1985 Star Wars Droids cartoon. It's got Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, R2-D2 as himself, and no other characters anyone cares about. Plus, commercials for obscure Star Wars licensed products and a game called Star Wars Droids Character or Loose Leaf Tea. All that and dueling lessons from George and Nicky Rooney. The possibility of a successful episode is approximately three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one!
This week, all-star comedy booker, musician, and lad from Manchester, Michael Clapham joins us to watch five samples from different British cartoons. You'll see snippets from The Poddington Peas, Raggy Dolls, Postman Pat, Bananaman, and SuperTed--and almost nothing happens in any of them. Plus, the best of UK "adverts" from the 80s and a game called "Lad, Bloke, Pensioner, Geezer, Wanker, or Pram." Play along, Guv'ner.
This is it, true believers: our season five finale! The original Shaturday gang reconvenes to assess 1979’s semi-forgotten animated version of Marvel’s big orange bruiser, The Thing, just in time for the latest cinematic reboot of the Fantastic Four. Is this ‘toon more disturbing than John Carpenter’s The Thing? It’s certainly more shatty! You'll hear about the Fantastic Four's sordid backstory, hustle through five disco-laden commercials, and play an unforgettably NSFW game about Thing memorabilia. It's one Thing after another. Excelsior, my Human Torch Skillet!