The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” Created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears; Starring Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Nicole Jaffe, Frank Welker, and Stefanianna Christopherson. Originally aired September 13, 1969.

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” debuted in 1969 and was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for CBS and Hannah-Barbera in an attempt to placate parent watch groups who were protesting the super-hero cartoons of the sixties.

Scooby-Doo and the gang were meant to represent non-violent children’s programming while maintaining the sense of heroes solving crimes or mysteries.

While the original series only ran for 25 episodes it has had a long running influence on popular programming. The show inspired other series with similar models of a group of kids solving mysteries with a non-human sidekick or mascot, think “Josie and the Pussycats.”

In addition, the franchise has never really died, spawning reboots and spin-offs throughout most of its more than forty year history including “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo,” “A Pup Named Scooby-Doo,” and “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated,” among others. In addition, there have been countless feature length animated movies and crossover with other characters including Batman and Robin.

While the inhabitants of the mystery mobile have captured the imaginations of children for decades, they also have a considerable following among adults who grew up with the show and now relive their nostalgia or share it with their children.

The Scooby-Doo franchise has also been hailed by scientists and skeptics including Carl Sagan who mentioned the characters in his book “The Demon-Haunted World” as a good example of children’s programming that can teach critical thinking and equip them with what he called a baloney detector. He also called for an adult equivalent to balance out the effects popular supernatural shows like “The X-Files” which lean toward supernatural explanations.

If history is any indicator, Scooby-Doo and his pals won’t be going away anytime soon. Fred, Velma, Shaggy, Daphne, and Scooby have imprinted themselves in the public consciousness so deeply that our children’s children will be watching them pull masks off villains when we’re old enough to be old Mr. Wetherby.

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Arthur” (8 out of 10) Episode 1.1 “Arthur’s Eyes/Francine’s Bad Hair Day” Created by Marc Brown; Directed by Greg Bailey; Written by Marc Brown and Kathy Waugh; Starring Michael Yarmush, Michael Caloz, Bruce Dinsmore, Sonja Ball, Daniel Brochu, Jodie Resther, and Arthur Holden. Originally aired September 2, 1996.

“Arthur” is the longest running animated children’s television series and second longest running animated series in the United States behind only “The Simpsons.” The show is based on the children’s book series of the same name created by Marc Brown.

The theme song “Believe in Yourself” (which gets stuck in my head on a weekly basis) was performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Brown was initially skeptical about translating his series into a television show but was won over when he learned that the series would encourage kids to read.

The series follows Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his family, and friends. The show tackles issues that kids encounter growing up such as confidence and self-worth. The episode we’re watching today, has two segments “Arthur’s Eyes” and “Francine’s Bad Hair Day.” The first segment begins with DW, Arthur’s little sister, finding a photo album with baby pictures of Arthur before he had glasses. This sparks a memory of when Arthur first got glasses and the challenges he faced with his school mates about the change in appearance. Arthur is ultimately comforted when he discovers that Wilbur Rabbit, the actor who plays Bionic Bunny, Arthur’s favorite television superhero, wears glasses as well.

While watching the episode I’m reminded of a friend of mine who is almost entirely deaf and the comfort they received from learning that watching “The Incredible Hulk” as a kid and learning that Lou Ferrigno was hearing impaired as well.

The second segment revolves around picture day at school, Francine is approached by Muffy, the resident fashionista, who wants to do a makeover so that Francine can have a respectable picture. This segment tackles body image issues and the concept of bodily autonomy.

Considering that this is the first episode of the series, aired almost twenty years ago, it’s impressive that it tackles such modern issues in a way that would make the most liberal among us impressed. 

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Courage the Cowardly Dog” Created and directed by John R. Dilworth; Written by John R. Dilworth, David Steven Cohen, Irvin S. Bauer, Billy Aronson, Craig Shemin, Bill Marsilii, and Lory Lazarus; Starring Marty Grabstein, Thea White, Lionel G. Wilson, Arthur Anderson, and Simon Prebble. Series ran from 1999 to 2002.

“Courage the Cowardly Dog” is Cartoon Network series that premiered originally as a seven minute animated short at Hanna-Barbera’s World Premiere Toons showcase in 1996. The short, entitled “The Chicken from Outer Space” received a nomination the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but was beat out by “Wallace and Gromit’s A Close Shave.”

The acclaim the short received resulted in Cartoon Network greenlighting a series which debuted in 1999 and ran for 52 episodes. The series follows Courage, a pink dog, and his owners Muriel and Eustace Bagge. The three of them live in a small house in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. Each episode puts the three of them in a dire situation, usually at the hands of some mythological creature or supernatural phenomenon. Courage is tasked with keeping Muriel and Eustace, who are seemingly oblivious to what’s going on around them, out of harm’s way.

Watching the show as a kid I remember being freaked out by it but intrigued at the same time. My attitude toward the show then reflects my attitude toward horror then, it’s exciting yet uncomfortable. Watching “Courage the Cowardly Dog” again now as an adult I feel the same feelings resurfacing, it holds up and is genuinely disturbing at times. It makes me curious why it ran on Cartoon Network during daylight hours instead of as a part of Adult Swim where it would have felt right at home.

I find myself, however, fighting through the discomfort to watch it more and more because it went into some uncharted cartoon territory and it did it in the light of day and garnered a respectable following.

One fan theory suggests that the events of the series are simply the imaginings of a small scared dog and none of it is real. This theory makes sense because it explains why Eustace and Muriel are always completely unaware of what’s going on and why Eustace is so frustrated with Courage. While it’s also perfectly acceptable to just take it at face value, it is a cartoon afterall and the rules of our reality need not apply, but it does make sense. I’ve met dogs like courage.

Whatever it is, it’s fun, and freaky, and absolutely addicting.

I’ve selected two episodes for viewing today, first off, season one, episode four: 

“The Demon in the Mattress/Freaky Fred”

Wherein Muriel purchases a miracle mattress that comes with a free possession. It’s essentially a slightly toned down interpretation of the “The Exorcist” and then her nephew Fred arrives for a visit. Fred is one of the creepiest cartoon characters I’ve ever seen. He’s like if the Joker washed off the makeup and went to visit his elderly aunt.

As well as the 52^nd and final episode:

“Remembrance of Courage/Perfect.”

Wherein we see Courage’s origin story, how he lost his parents and met Muriel and the machinations of a mysterious veterinarian turned mad scientist. Then Courage is visited by an obedience trainer who demands nothing short of perfection. Courage is faced with crushing doubt as well as vivid and terrifying nightmares. 

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Disney’s Goof Troop” Episode 1.3 “Axed by Addition” (8 out of 10) Created by Peter Montgomery; Directed by Robert Taylor; Written by Marion Wells; Starring Dana Hill, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings; Originally aired September 7, 1992.

In “Disney’s Goof Troop” Goofy moves back to his home town of Spoonerville and into a house next to his old friend Pete. The series centers on Goofy’s attempts at raising his son Max as a single father and Max’s relationship with Pete’s son PJ. The series was later adapted into “A Goofy Movie” which involves the same characters but takes place a few years later.

In the episode “Axed by Addition” Pete threatens PJ with a lifetime grounding if he fails an upcoming math test. The following day PJ blanks during the test after staying up all night studying with Max. Having no memory of the test he assumes he failed and at Max’s suggestion, decides to do everything he’s ever wanted to do in the next 24 hours before his report card arrives.

He and Max make a bucket list and plan to fake sick to stay home from school to get it all done before the mail comes at 3:30. Max does PJ up to look like he has two obscure diseases in order to convince Pete to let him stay home. Pete takes the bait but Max and PJ were too convincing so Pete calls an ambulance when he sees the severity of the illness.

Max follows Pete and PJ to the hospital and sneaks in pretending to be a doctor, and sneaks PJ out wrapped in bandages. The doctors come back and find PJ’s bucket list along with the broccoli and mush they used to simulate the diseases. When the doctors try to explain what they’ve discovered Pete runs out of the hospital thinking that PJ is dying and has snuck out to go out with a bang before he dies.

Max and PJ hit the town at warp speed to check off everything on the list with only a few hours remaining. With the help of a skateboard, a wheelchair, and an unlimited supply of childhood moxie they do it all: 400 pounds of burgers, twelve slasher movies all at once, down a hill in a shopping cart, kissing Cynthia, and the three scariest rides at Terrorland.

Pete chases him through town going down the list the doctors retrieved from the hospital. If he were as smart as he wants PJ to be he might have skipped to the end and cut him off but instead wreaks havoc through the city.

Pete gets home just in time to see PJ passed out on the floor, thinking he’s dead he cradles his son in his arms and apologizes for all the mistakes he’s made raising him. Just then the doctor calls to tell Pete that PJ isn’t really sick. Just when PJ thinks his life is really over his report card comes in the mail and he discovers he earned an A in math afterall.

This cartoon served as a daily before school ritual for most of junior high and I have fond memories of it. I was glad to see that it holds up well even after more than twenty years. “Disney’s Goof Troop” earns seven stars out of ten because it’s a hell of a lot of fun, it captures the fears and excitement of being a kid, and it features the talents of some of my favorite actors.

Bippity-bop-bop-ba-doo-wop. Yeah!

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” Episode 3.11 “Around the Nursery in 80 Days” (8 out of 10) Created by Jim Henson and Jeffrey Scott; Directed by Ray Lee, Bob Shellhorn, and Bob Richardson; Written by Jeffrey Scott; Starring Greg Berg, Dave Coulier, Katie Leigh, Laurie O’Brien, Russi Taylor, Frank Welker, and Barbara Billingsley; Originally aired November 22, 1986.

“Muppet Babies” was a 30 minute animated series that ran from September 1984 to November 1991. The series is a reimagining of what might have happened had all of the Muppets grown up together. The concept was first introduced in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” during a dream sequence. A few months after the film’s release, “Muppet Babies” debuted.

Its popularity can’t be understated, evidenced by its long running time. During the height of the show’s popularity it rain in sixty or ninety minute blocks.

In the series all of the central muppets, as well as at least one who never appeared as a live action character, live together in a nursery and are looked over by Nanny, a human adult whose face is never seen. Nanny treats them like her own children, though their actual parentage is never addressed. Each episode focuses on the power of imagination and the young muppets imagine their way into and out of problems.

In “Around the Nursery in 80 Days” the kids overhear Nanny on the phone talking about leaving the children with someone else while she goes on vacation. Worried that Nanny is going to leave and never return, they imagine the babysitters they may be saddled with, including King Kong and Darth Nanny.

Archived movie footage is used to enhance the imagination sequences including Darth Vader and an Imperial Star Destroyer where the kids find themselves enlisted as Storm Troopers equipped with lightsabers. Or later while travelling the world when footage of an ATV race is used to enhance an imagining of riding an ATV across the Sahara.

They soon realize that there is no acceptable alternative to Nanny so they plot to give her an around the world vacation right here in the nursery. Using a Jules Verne picture book as a reference they build every important world monument, including the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids of Giza, and acquire a balloon to carry them on their way.

After the completion of their worldwide tour the muppets reveal that they set this up for Nanny in order to convince her not to go on her trip. She promises that she would never leave them in the care of someone they were uncomfortable with and they agree she can go on her trip, left safely in the care of her sister, a cooler and more radical caregiver.

“Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” earns eight stars out of ten, the writing is solid, the transition from animation to live action is flawless, and Jim Henson can do no wrong. Add into the mix cameos from “Star Wars,” “King Kong,” “Ghostbusters” and more and you’ve got a recipe for excellence. 

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Star Wars: Droids” Episode 1.1 “The White Witch” (7 out of 10) Based on characters created by George Lucas; Directed by Ken Stephenson and Raymond Jafelice; Written by Peter Sauder; Starring Anthony Daniels; Original air date: September 7, 1985.

“Star Wars: Droids” follows the adventures of C3PO and R2D2 in the nineteen years between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope.” The series opens with 3PO and R2 having been dumped overboard by a crooked master along with other stolen goods. 3PO finds himself in a barren desert of acidic salts while packages rain down around him, he struggles to locate R2 in the rubble.

After R2 emerges from beneath a pile of salts they encounter a pair of land speeders piloted by a racing team, Jord and Thall, who become their new masters. After they embark the four of them take off accidentally crossing into a restricted zone and are pursued by seeker probes.

These events are observed by a mysterious rebel spy named Kea Moll who, moments later, saves 3PO from certain death, unbeknownst to him.

3PO is recovered and he and R2 are taken back to a garage with the racers. Thrall leaves the garage for a moment with the droids and Jord is kidnapped by a pair of muscle droids. When Thrall returns he finds his garage ransacked and Jord missing. Kea emerges and tells him the details while also offering her help.

Thrall, 3PO, and R2 head for the hidden base of gangster Tig Fromm, along with Kea, to rescue Jord. Navigating a series of tunnels and work shafts Thrall and R2 manage to avoid capture and rescue Jord with some help from Kea and 3PO. The five of them escape the compound destroying a substantial portion of Fromm’s base and droid army.

Like “Star Wars: Ewoks” the show seems to be a light caricature of the live action characters. While R2 maintians his quiet dignity and stoic expression, 3PO seems clumsier than ever and the villains are inept idiots, though none of this seems out of place for a children’s cartoon.

Overall “Droids” earns a seven out of ten, the characters and universe of “Star Wars” never gets tired and any peek into that story is welcome, especially one that offers an easy introduction to kids because after all, aren’t cartoons all about the kids?

“Star Wars: Droids” ran for 13 episodes between 1985 and 1986. 

“ReBoot” 1.1 – The Tearing (7 out of 10)  – Directed by Dick Zondag; Written by Gavin Blair, John Grace, Philip Mitchel, and Ian Pearson; Starring: Michael Benyaer, Kathleen Barr, Jesse Moss, Tony Jay, Michael Donovan, Philip Maurice Hayes, and Gary Chalk; Originally aired: September 10, 1994.

“ReBoot” was a Canadian series created by Mainframe Entertainment that took place inside a computer mainframe, Think “Tron” but watered down. The series centers around Bob, a Guardian and protector of Mainframe, and his friends Dot Matrix, diner owner, and her little brother Enzo who looks up to Bob as a grand hero.

The series had to fight to get a place on the small screen. The nature of its animation meant that the work was slow going, most of the creative team had to learn how to animate with new software as they went along. The show was in production for three years before it aired in order to ensure there were enough episodes backlogged to keep the show going.

The central plot of the series is the continual struggle between Bob and the villain Megabyte, a virus that has infected Mainframe and wants to get into the super computer to infect the entire system.

In addition, the story is often interrupted when “the user” inputs games in which the residents of Mainframe participate. Bob’s other concern aside from protecting the city from Megabyte, is to discover the true nature of the user and protect his friends from the destruction left behind when they lose a game.

The pilot episode introduces the three central protagonists as well as Megabyte and his two cronies Hack and Slash. Megabyte has discovered a tear in the programming that, if stabilized, would allow him unfettered access to the super computer. When the user inputs a game the tear stabilizes into a portal and Bob, along with Dot, race to stop Megabyte from getting through.

My initial rating for the episode and the series was a six out of ten but it earned an additional star for being the first fully computer animated television series and pushing the boundaries of animation.

Though the animation is clunky and some of inserted computer terminology feels forced, the series has heart and hit a chord with nineties viewers who were also just entering an increasingly digital world. As such “Reboot” earned its place in the history of cartoons for being pioneers of an emerging medium. 

This week on Saturday Morning Cartoon we’re leaving the hallowed halls of the 80s and 90s for the distant future of 2008 when Marvel Studios gave us the short lived-

“The Spectacular Spider-Man” episode 1.1, “Survival of the Fittest” (8 out of 10); Starring Josh Keaton, Dee Bradley Baker, Lacey Chabert, John DiMaggio, Robert Englund, Deborah Strang, and Alan Rachins; Written by Greg Weisman; Based on characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko; Directed by Victor Cook.

This incarnation of Spider-Man skirts the origin story, alluding to the spider bite happening during a school field trip to the laboratory of Dr. Connors last year, and gets right into the action. Peter has spent the summer honing his skills and is now returning as a Junior to Midtown High.

When Peter thwarts a jewel heist by Flint Marko he unknowingly confirms his existence to an unknown entity who sends The Enforcers to deal with him. In the meantime Peter returns home for his last night of summer before returning to school in the morning.

Meanwhile Aunt May talks with a friend about the financial hardships she is facing since the death of Uncle Ben and a beak-nosed man confronts an Oscorp scientist about stolen magnetic flight technology.

Peter makes his way to school feeling rejuvenated with his new spider abilities and confident that this year things will be different. He approaches a girl but she rejects his advances resulting in Flash pushing him around and stealing his lunch, so much for things being different.

While Peter may not be very well liked at school, he is becoming increasingly popular with The Enforcers and the anonymous voice who gives orders in no uncertain terms to kill Spider-Man. Later at school, Peter is offered an internship with Dr. Connors, he accepts, thinking this will be the solution to he and Aunt May’s money problems. He goes to visit the Osborne’s when The Vulture appears swooping away with Norman into the sky. Peter sends Harry to call the police and makes chase.

Peter soon finds he may have bitten off more than he can chew when he finds himself between The Vulture and The Enforcers.

In a single episode “Spectacular Spider-Man” is able to introduce viewers to many of the core characters, set the stage for Peter’s every day woes in addition to his super problems. We’re introduced to two sets of villains, Gwen Stacey, Harry and Norman Osborne, Eddie Brock, Dr. Connors, and J. Jonah Jameson. The storytelling is tight, the pacing is fluid, and the Peter maintains his signature sense of humor with some pretty decent jokes.

I’m familiar with every “Spider-Man” animated series going back to the sixties and to my mind “Spectacular” is the undiscovered and underappreciated gem of the lot. Critics and those close to the source material seemed to agree, but the masses didn’t show and the series was ultimately cancelled after 26 episodes had been produced, out of the planned 65. The final blow came with the announcement of “Ultimate Spider-Man” in 2012.

Season three of “Spectacular Spider-Man” would have seen the introduction of Carnage, and while I have quite enjoyed “Ultimate” so far, I can’t help but wonder where this series could have gone if it had been given the chance. 

In 1983 Kevin Paul Coates and Dennis Marks, in conjunction with Marvel Productions and TSR, brought one of the most successful and long running tabletop games to life in 27 twenty-two minute episodes.

“Dungeons and Dragons” episode 1.1, “The Night of No Tomorrow” (7 out of 10); Starring Willie Aames, Don Most, Tonia Gayle Smith, Adam Rich, Katie Leigh, Ted Field III, Sidney Miller, and Peter Cullen; Written by Mark Evanier; Directed by John Gibbs and Bob Richardson.

Six children, ranging in age from eight to fifteen, take an enchanted theme park ride and end up in the realm of “Dungeons and Dragons.” There they meet a gnome-like creature who introduces himself as the Dungeon Master and gives them each a magical item which endows them with a weapon and/or ability.

Hank becomes The Ranger with a magical bow. Eric becomes The Cavalier with a shield and detestable personality. Diana becomes The Acrobat with an enchanted staff and stereotypically skimpy outfit. Presto is given a wizard’s hat and becomes The Magician, which is convenient given that his name is Presto. Sheila is The Thief, with a cloak that allows her to become invisible. Finally Bobby, age eight, is given a club and rounds out the party as The Barbarian, along with a baby unicorn called Uni.

The kids begin their journey to search for a way back home when they encounter a fantastic canyon with a seemingly endless echo. As they play, yelling into the canyon, they awaken Tiamat, a five-headed dragon. Bobby runs into the fray presumably because he’s young and stupid, the rest of the group runs to his aid. They trap the dragon in a cave by dropping a large boulder in front of the opening.

Shortly thereafter the Dungeon Master appears and sends the party to the village of Helix where an annual celebration is taking place to remember the defeat of Venger (the spirit of evil) and his dragons a thousand years ago. There, he says, they may find something that will help them get home.

On their way, the group encounters Merlin’s castle in the sky and visit him in hopes that his grand magical ability can help them get home. He says he doesn’t have a way to send them home but he can help them on their way. He parrots the Dungeon Master and tells them to visit Helix, suddenly Tiamat appears, understandably pissed off and the group plus Merlin retreats, ultimately trapping Tiamat in the dungeon by way of a magically produced carpet covering the hole.

Merlin, seeing Presto’s magical ability when producing the carpet, offers to take him on as his apprentice and teach him all he knows about magic, but only if he agrees to stay for the rest of his life. Presto agrees and the rest of the party leave without him to travel onto Helix.

Presto has many questions and Merlin tells him that the answer to all things are inside a large book beside the cauldron, he then exits the room instructing Presto to continue stirring the cauldron until he returns. Left with the book of all knowledge, Presto neglects the cauldron and searches for a way to get he and his friends home. He later reveals this was intention the whole time.

Presto finds what he believes to be the answer to their troubles and concocts a potion that should send them home but once he is finished a dragon emerges from his bubbling pot. Presto runs to Merlin for help and discovers that Merlin was actually Venger in disguise. Venger needed good magic to undo Merlin’s enchantment and free the dragons so he switched the spells and tricked Presto into setting them free while simultaneously sending his friends to Helix, to die.

When dragons appear over Helix the party realizes something must have gone wrong and return to Merlin’s castle to retrieve Presto and set things right. Venger attempts to steal their enchanted objects to add to his own power but the kids release the one thing Venger is afraid of, Tiamat the dragon. Venger flees vowing to return, while Presto fixes Merlin’s spell and saves Helix from the dragons.

Upon their descent from Merlin’s floating castle they meet the Dungeon Master who returns Presto’s stolen cap and disappears. The party is left with only the option of returning to Helix in search of a way home.

Considering the era and the audience, “Dungeons and Dragons” is a pretty good attempt at bringing the world of the game to kids and since each group of people will play the game differently, there’s no wrong way to position the series, though if I were to do a D&D cartoon my way, it probably wouldn’t be so fluffy. 

If you grew up in the nineties like I did, you probably watched your fair share of Nickelodeon cartoons. Shows like “Rugrats” and “Doug” were a regular part of life and while I’ll probably eventually get to those two series, today I want to talk about…

“Hey Arnold!” Pilot “Arnold” (8 out of 10) created by Craig Bartlett; Starring J.D. Daniels, Francesca Smith, Justin Shenkarow, Jamil Walker Smith, Dan Castellaneta, and Tress MacNeille; originally aired March 1, 1994.

In this eight minute short, Arnold and a group of neighborhood kids are playing baseball when Arnold accidentally knocks Harold’s (the neighborhood bully) hat off when he hits the ball. The plot was later used in a full length episode titled “24 Hours to Live” but was originally shown as a short before Nickelodeon’s first feature length film “Harriet the Spy.”

I remember watching this in theaters because, as ashamed as I am to admit it, I saw “Harriet the Spy” in theaters, mostly because I was nine and had minimal taste in movies and even less control over which ones I got to go see (except for the time I absolutely lost my mind until my parents took me to see “Jurassic Park” at the drive-in in the rain).

The series revolves around a fourth grader named Arnold, his best friend Gerald, and arch nemesis/love interest Helga. Arnold lives in a boarding house that’s falling down around him (except for his strangely high-tech and awesome bedroom which I totally want to this day) with his grandparents and a motley cast of unusual adults that, as a child, always made me feel just a little bit uncomfortable.

What’s special about “Hey Arnold!” is the way it accurately portrays the feelings of being a kid, adults are around but there’s a sensation that they don’t really get what’s going on in your life and you have to solve your problems on your own, whether that means getting into or out of a fight, unrequited affection, urban legends, or breaking a world record for making the world’s largest pizza.

What you may not know is that “Hey Arnold!” was conceived long before the theatrical short or the Nickelodeon series. The character of Arnold originated on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” as a minimal player in the claymation Penny cartoons (Penny looks a bit like Helga Pataki as well).

Series creator Craig Bartlett, brother-in-law to Matt Groening and husband to the real life inspiration for Lisa Simpson, showcased some of the Penny shorts to executives and Nickelodeon while pitching ideas for new cartoons. While he intended to expand on the character of Penny, they were more impressed with Arnold and asked to see more.

If you’re old enough you may even remember seeing Arnold on “Sesame Street,” some claymation shorts of the character were used as filler material in 1991.

Arnold’s design changed a bit between his time on Sesame Street and his time on Nickelodeon, keeping only the hat perched atop his football shaped head. The show officially debuted in October of 1996 and ran until 2004, producing a total of 100 episodes as well as a feature film titled “Hey Arnold!: The Movie.”

To my mind “Hey Arnold!” is one of the crown jewels of nineties kid’s television and a suitable replacement hasn’t presented itself since. Bartelett went on to create “Dinosaur Train” which isn’t terrible but just doesn’t have the capacity to cover the same level of content or hit the same heights. Maybe if we all ask him really nicely he’ll give something comparable to a new generation. It would certainly be welcome.