Childhood TV favorites
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Cartoons
The Transformers (1984)
My inner-child will still tell you this was the greatest cartoon series of all-time. I never missed an episode & had plenty of the toys (still have most of them in fact). My love for it is the reason I continue to avoid Michael Bay's attempts to cash-in on my generation's nostalgia.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
My second favorite cartoon growing up, and another one I never missed an episode of & had tons of the toys from (up until they went overboard on variations on the 4 turtles I had all the character toys they'd made, such was my devotion). I also made sure I saw the first two movies during their opening weekends.
Raphael was my favorite.
Raphael was my favorite.

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Easily my 3rd favorite for the 80s, and another show I had many toys from. When I watched the show I always rooted for the good guys, but when it came to the toys the villains were always the cooler, better toys. So they often won in the battles I had between them.
This poster used to hang on my bedroom wall.
This poster used to hang on my bedroom wall.

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Super Friends (1973)
I can't be sure anymore, but this may have been the show that started my love of superheroes (if not, then the live-action Batman or Incredible Hulk series). As a child I was REALLY into comic-book characters, which would later transform into my reading comics (a hobby which I mostly abandoned after high school when I realized I couldn't afford it in addition to my other interests).

the giraffe's rating:

I think being a boy during the 80s required you to watch this show & own toys from it. I liked it a lot better before I reached an age where I was bothered by the fact they were all lousy shots...I mean, trained armed forces battling it out and their live ammo NEVER HITS ANYONE ALIVE? Lame.
This made up for it (if a little late).
The villains were my favorites.
This made up for it (if a little late).
The villains were my favorites.

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ThunderCats (1985)
Watched it religiously, had the toys, etc. My appreciation for it was diminished when Cartoon Network aired the series in the late 90s & I realized how terrible the voice work was.

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The most underappreciated cartoon I ever watched...I've met very few people who have even heard of it. It was basically an animated version of a giant monster movie. I really got into it & even have the complete series on DVD now. I think it aired around the same time as Jem, which I had to occasionally suffer through because my little sister watched it.
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Why Spider-Man was running around with a pair of mutants, I have no idea but it made for a decent show. This was my introduction to Spidey, and I read his comics off and on into the 90s.

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Apparently I'm the only person on Listal who watched this show. Cool. I had the comic book mini-series too, but never managed to get my hands on the toys. Fortunately a couple of my friends got them so I could play with them.

From wikipedia:

From wikipedia:
The premise was that "somewhere in space, somewhere in time," exists a planet called Symbion, where a genetic experiment fails. Frightening changes take place that cannot be stopped. The result? A world where insects and arachnids grow to frightening proportions. A world where the inhabitants have taken on the awesome characteristics of insects and arachnids. Prince Dargon, ruler of the peaceful Shining Realm of Prosperon, and his allies are in conflict with the forces of Empress Devora, ruler of the Dark Domain of Synax, and her henchmen, for possession of the Hyves, fortresses of an ancient civilization holding the key to ultimate power. Each character was "tele-bonded" with intelligent, non-anthropomorphic insect creatures called Insectoids that had a special ability, and shared each other's "pleasure and pain."
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the giraffe's rating:

My first Japanese cartoon. I'd love to find the original Japanese versions, since apparently the violence was toned down for American kids.

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Actually I think I only watched this because I liked Bill Cosby. I hardly remember anything about it now other than that I watched it every weekend.

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MASK (1985)
The toys were cooler, but I watched the entire series while it was on.
the giraffe's rating:

Count Duckula (1988)
Growing up I fell in love with monsters due to the Universal horror movies, and vampires were my favorites for a long long time. So when I found out this show was on I had to check it out.
Have a taste of its hilarity:
Have a taste of its hilarity:
the giraffe's rating:

Garfield and Friends (1988)
I always loved Garfield as a child, and watched his animated specials whenever they came on TV. When this came along I had to see it, and over time I got to where I enjoyed the U.S. Acres half more than the Garfield half.

the giraffe's rating:

Beetlejuice (1989)
I really need to get my hands on a DVD copy of this series. Obviously I got into it as a fan of the movie. I dug the darker humor and never missed an episode.

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Nintendo was a big part of my childhood, so any cartoon based off their characters had to be seen. Capt. Lou Albano was perfect as Mario.

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Captain N: The Game Master (1989)
See above. This one had more range since it was able to incorporate a variety of Nintendo characters, starting with Kid Icarus, Mega Man, and Simon Belmont (of Castlevania). My only complaint was them turning Simon into a sissy. Other than that I loved it, up until they added GameBoy as a character...that was pretty dumb.

the giraffe's rating:

The Simpsons (1989)
I watched this from the night it premiered on Fox all the way into the mid-nineties when I decided I preferred going out on Sunday nights over sitting at home & watching TV. From then on I only caught episodes here & there, some great, some completely boring.
Their Halloween specials remain my favorites of the entire series.
Their Halloween specials remain my favorites of the entire series.

the giraffe's rating:

Taz-Mania (1991)
I'd always dug the Tasmanian Devil character, so I was stoked when he got his own show. His dad was my favorite character though, with his "blah-blah-blah"s and love for orange juice...pretty random but always hilarious.
the giraffe's rating:

Doug (1991)
I used to watch this & Rugrats. I quickly identified with Doug...he was bullied daily, he couldn't tell his crush he liked her, his best friend was considered weird, and he daydreamed of being a superhero. That was junior high & high school for me.

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The Pirates of Dark Water (1991)
Tim Curry was one of the villains, and it was about pirates looking for treasure. Need I say more?
The only downside to the show was it ended prematurely due to production costs.
The only downside to the show was it ended prematurely due to production costs.

the giraffe's rating:

I placed this at the end of this section because it was the first non-family-friendly cartoon I ever fell in love with. This was definitely NOT a kids cartoon, and at the time I couldn't get enough of it. It came along at the perfect time in my life & led me to other, more mature animation such as Liquid Television (which gave birth to Aeon Flux and Beavis & Butt-head).

the giraffe's rating:


Retro animation
Cartoons I watched & loved as a child, all of which had been around before I was born. I put Merrie Melodies to represent all the different Looney Tunes series that ever aired...pretty sure I watched them all at some point.

Non-animated shows
Listed in chronological order of when they aired, aside from the first five, all of which I watched from the moment I started paying attention to the TV.
Missing from this list: Peppermint Place which aired locally in Dallas, TX
and WWF & NWA/WCW Wrestling, which I watched various shows for from '85 until '92. I was huge into wrestling, went to a couple matches, & at one point even believed (sadly) that it was all real.
Missing from this list: Peppermint Place which aired locally in Dallas, TX
and WWF & NWA/WCW Wrestling, which I watched various shows for from '85 until '92. I was huge into wrestling, went to a couple matches, & at one point even believed (sadly) that it was all real.
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)
I thought this was the coolest way to get into a car & hounded my parents to let me try it... 
Apparently I never missed an episode of this show, and yet I can't remember anything specific. I know I had the soundtrack on cassette & toys of the Duke brothers & the General Lee. I'm sure I liked it because of the car stunts.

Apparently I never missed an episode of this show, and yet I can't remember anything specific. I know I had the soundtrack on cassette & toys of the Duke brothers & the General Lee. I'm sure I liked it because of the car stunts.
the giraffe's rating:


I actually didn't see this show until the late 80s when it aired on Nickelodeon all the time. My favorite part was, of course, any time anyone got slime or water dumped on them.

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Family Ties (1982-1989) (1982)
I watched this one all the way until it ended. Michael J. Fox was my favorite of course, which led me to check out his movies that followed.

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Drugs' Favorite TV Lists
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the giraffe's misc. lists guide
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