Photo: Courtesy of Disney.The nation mourns today, as we witnesses the first weekend in America without Saturday-morning cartoons in more than 50 years. Last weekend, The CW ran the final installment of its Vortexx animation block, marking the last gasp of the decades-long animation domination.
The network has replaced it with "One Magnificent Morning," which promises all the wonders (read: boredom) of live-action educational programming. We want to believe it could be fun, but Bill Nye is nowhere to be found.
This may feel like sudden, harsh news. But, as Gizmodo points out, Saturday-morning cartoons have been on their way out for quite some time. They first became endangered when NBC dropped them in 1992. Then, ABC parted ways with its segment in 2004.
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Gizmodo explains that the nostalgic programming style met its demise due to a combination of the FCC, cable, and streaming. In the '90s, the FCC cracked down on its rule that required networks to include a minimum of three hours of educational television each week. Though, some may claim you learned more in a 30-minute Pepper Ann than you did falling asleep to PBS.
Plus, once cable became more ubiquitous in American households, advertisers took their money outside of the Saturday-morning network slots. And, as you can imagine, the financial hit changed the game for our animated friends.
Still, it's sad to know children born in the past few years won't ever get to experience the magic that is spending a Saturday morning in your pajamas, eating cereal in front of the TV. Plus, the timing couldn't be worse. What kind of cruel joke is it to end Saturday-morning cartoons during the only month we can purchase Count Chocula? (Gizmodo)