Synopses & Reviews
Hey Hey Hey, You're Gonna Have A Good Time!
It's predawn Saturday morning. You and your brother are the first ones up, gathering pillows and blankets and the TV warms up to the weekly Farm Report. Then, just as the sugar cereal kicks in, you begin your descent into the happy-spazzy TV world of Space Ghost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Hong Kong Phooey, The Herculoids, and for the hard-core Saturday morning junkie, live-action shows like Jason of Star Command.
Little did you know that this cherished world was also the battleground where greedy toy advertisers, network flacks, cutthroat cartoon companies, opportunistic politicians, and concerned parents struggled for the attention-deficit souls of America's youth.
Brothers Tim and Kevin Burke bring us a loving, insightful, and hilarious examination of all aspects of Saturday morning television. Tune in and get ready for some fun.
Review
"For anybody who grew up a veteran of Saturday morning, this book is beyond essential. It does for Saturday morning cartoons what the
Psychotronic Guide did for exploitation films. It confirms one's sanity (yes Virginia there really was a show called
Goober and the Ghost Chasers, you didn't just dream it); ponders serious questions (were
Dr. Quest and Race Bannon the most positive portrayal of a gay parental unit in the history of the media? How many budding young lesbians experienced their first crush on Velma from
Scooby-Doo? And how easily would shaggy fit in with the whole
Dazed and Confused gang?); and finally frustrates one to no end ( I must see again The
Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan!). --Quentin Tarantino
"If you think Saturday morning cartoons rot kids' minds, then the Burke brothers have a message for you: 'Piss off!' The authors manage to be stylistically impudent, socially trenchant, and impeccably scholarly in the first media analysis of kiddie TV created by today's adults who actually watched and loved kiddie TV." --Howard Rheingold
About the Author
Timothy Burke is a professor at Swarthmore college in Pennsylvania.
Kevin Burke was an editor of Film Threat and Wild Cartoon Kingtom magazines and now works for a film company in Los Angeles. Neither brother regrets watching lots of television.