The Best Saturdays of our Lives Podcast

SC Comicon! South Carolina's premier comic convention recently hosted Tom Cook and Bill Golliher, two giants of the animation and comic book industry. Armed with great questions provided by Mark McCray, and with the assistance of Mike Faber and the ESO Network, Dan had an opportunity to speak with these gentleman from the convention floor. 00:00:26 Archiefied 00:08:56 Now We're Cook'n 00:22:57 One...

Best Saturdays of Our Lives 29 - Sweet Swee’Pea’s Baadasssss Dad! We're mixing it up with all your favorite cartoon dream daddies! Single parenthood is rough especially for sailors, cavemen and superheroes. We'll gladly hear you on Tuesday if you listen to us today - the Best Baadasssss Saturdays of Your Life! 00:00:24: I Yam What I Yam 00:22:25: And Son! 00:30:07: Scooner Seawell Georgia Washenti...

Batman vs. Batman Super Friends vs. Star Trek! The Dark Knight and Boy Wonder vs. Superman and Wonder Woman! The Caped Crusader vs. Space Ghost! Season Two opens with a double dose of BIFF, POW, and ZING as your Best Saturdays Dynamic Duo Mark & Dan return to ask "Who owns it?" 00:00:25 Bat Ghost Coast to Coast 00:20:37 Yanked: A Man Called Flintstone 00:25:48 The Best Season 2 of Our Lives TOTAL...

Episode #27 The Cutesy Era - Part 3 Recorded in 2019, this is the last of what we had in the can. I conclude our "Cutesy Era" discussion with the Gummi Bears, Flintstone Kids, and a whole lot more. Stay tuned for the premiere of Season 2 of The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast coming this Spring! 00:00:24 Hard Candy 00:12:34 Vitamins 00:24:49 Sci-Fi Where you Least Expect it TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:2...

Episode #26 The Cutesy Era - Part 2 In part two, trends in both marketing and child psychology coalesce. We might talk a bit more about the Care Bears then we intended, but this is what you get from an episode recorded back in 2019. Part two also explores Disney's leap into Saturday Morning market. 00:00:24 Attack Them With Kindness 00:17:59 Disney on Saturday Morning 00:22:38 Part 3 TOTAL RUNNTIM...

TBSOOLP 25 The Cutesy Era - Part 1 There's nothing tiny about this trend! From Tex Avery's last animated work to Jim Henson's first, we shrink it down and look at all that was small on Saturday morning. 00:00:24 Squishable Plushable Boss Hog 00:15:23 Muppet Babies 00:25:00 Don't Miss It! TOTAL RUNNTIME: 00:27:21 The ESO Network https://esonetwork.com #esonetwork Mark McCray The Best Saturdays Of O...

Ep# 24 - Wonder Woman 1968? Wonder Woman made her small screen debut almost fifty years ago, but not in a way you would expect. Mark and Dan explore her Saturday morning origins all the way through the modern cable era. You'll be fascinated by both when, and how, Diana Prince finally got animated! 00:00:25 The Wonder Bunch 00:22:38 Super Friends 84 00:35:11 A History of Comic Book Adds TOTAL RUNTI...

A Christmas Carol is one of the most adapted holiday classics and we're bringing you two of the best! Join Mark and Dan as they dive into Charles Dickens, Mr. Magoo and Mickey too! 00:00:28 Mickey's Christmas Carol 00:22:59 Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol 00:41:16 A Charlie Brown Christmas TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:43:38 The ESO Network https://esonetwork.com #esonetwork Mark McCray The Best Saturdays Of Our...

The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast Ep#22 - Leaving Money on the Table You ever watch a couple of cartoons and wonder why they never did a crossover, knowing how financially successful these events could have been? Or when they did, why some of the best elements from either show weren't used? Mark and Dan are just as curious as you are. 00:00:24 Easter Eggs & Schedule Swaps 00:18:37 Crossover,...

The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast Ep#21 - A Tribute to Ken Spears In Episode 21 Mark and Dan pay tribute to the life and legacy of Ken Spears who, along with his partner Joe Ruby, changed the animation landscape forever! 00:00:24 The Early Years 00:21:44 The Later Years 00:31:20 Thank You TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:33:36 The ESO Network https://esonetwork.com #esonetwork Mark McCray The Best Saturday...

The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast - Ep#20 Not PBS Kids part 2 In part 1 of "Not PBS Kids" we brought you the landscape. Now we dive into the shows! Romper Room hits the pre-K crowed while Schoolhouse Rock hits all the right notes with endearing lessons in civics! Celebrated journalists bring the news to Saturday morning and beyond, and children become a voice for the environment! 00:00:24 Ac...

The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast - Ep# Not PBS Kids part 1 Censorship! Educational Programming! Degrassi High! In episode 19 Mark and Dan jump all over the place. From the Lawrence Welk show and the Rural Purge to Action for Children's Television and PBS, we drop a lot of knowledge in this one. And knowing is half the battle! 00:00:24 ACT 1 00:17:54 The Rural Purge 00:34:08 Reagan? TOTAL RU...

Ep. #18 Live Action in Animation - Part 5 We have a Tale to tell about ALF while Saturday morning gets a little Rated R with Rambo! SCTV gets a couple of second lives, Beetlejuice gets high praise, but what about The Karate Kid? Join Mark "Miyagi" McCray and Daniel-san Klink as we conclude our look into Live Action to Animation properties. 00:00:25 Just Add "EXTREME" 00:21:35 Pick 'n Save on Spec...

Remember that episode of Happy Days when the Fonz and gang got lost in time with a traveler from the future? In part four we Punky out to Gilligan's Planet with Mork & Mindy while Star Wars and Ghostbusters land on Saturday morning with mixed results! 00:00:11 Somethin' Somethin' Mystery 00:01:16 Sit On It, Potsie 00:17:06 Diminished Expectations in a Galaxy Far, Far Away 00:24:48 80's Part 2? TOT...

Ep. #16 Tribute to Joe Ruby + Live Action in Animation - Part 3 In this special episode Mark pays tribute and we say goodbye to one of the giants of Saturday morning animation, Joe Ruby. We continue our "Trek" into the live action to animation genre through the 1970's with The Jackson 5, (most of) The Partridge Family, and so much more while boldly going into what could be considered the fourth an...

Live Action in Animation - Part 2 Ditch that bowl of Cocoa Puffs for a bucket of popcorn and the New Scooby Doo movies as we jam the lane with the Harlem Globetrotters! Licensed likenesses and the real deals continue to cross over to the small screen both episodically and in the Saturday Superstar Movies! 00:00:25 From Harlem to Gilligan's Island 00:14:32 All In The Family 00:21:07 The Future is P...

Celebrities get animated! We begin with an examination of the MGM and Warner Bros. Hollywood satires of the 1930's and 40's to the early age of television when parody became participation. Then we return as guest stars to the town of Bedrock! 00:00:52 parody to participation 00:20:35 Twist! Twist! 00:26:53 Best Saturdays / ESO add-spot premier TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:30:35 The ESO Network https://esonet...

Ep#13 Continuity, Contradiction and Canon part 2 Back to the Flintstones! Perhaps complicated, convolution and chronology better describes this episode. Past, present and future flash back and forth from the Post-Kazoo prime timeline, the Flintstone Kids, and the temporal tragedy of Captain Caveman! 00:00:16 Who Shot J.R.? 00:22:16 Scoob! 00:27:22 Manifestations TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:29:18 Mark McCray...

We're back and digging into Bedrock to discuss Yabba world-building and Dabba Do character arcs with Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm! We even go a little off-road with a pinch of Star Trek while looking at Sinbad Jr's two production studios. Wilma! Where's my continuity!?! 00:00:15 The Legend of Joe Rockhead 00:30:31 The First African American Stone Age Family 00:36:05 The Flintstone Kids TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:37...

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - "I Can’t Play With You Anymore” We're taking a break this week to have several very important conversations over on our other show. I had to confront racism head on in the first grade. Here's a preview of that segment. Listen to my story on the latest Thunder Talk Podcast! We'll be back next week with episode #12 of The Best Saturdays of Our Lives Podcast! Mark McCray The Be...

In part 3 of Saturday Morning Musical Renaissance we wrap up the 80's and blast all the way into modern day. That's right! From Cool Worlds to Steven Universe, the tunes in toons trend shows no signs of slowing down the beat. 00:00:15 The Modern Era 00:19:21 Mark and The Chipmunks 00:24:45 You're Welcome TOTAL RUNTIME 00:25:48 Mark McCray The Best Saturdays Of Our Lives tbsool.com The Best Saturda...

You want your MTV? 1980's children's programming gave it to you. In part 2 of Saturday Morning Musical Renaissance we explore the dawn of the music video craze, some very animated live action shows, and Jem teams up with Jimi Hendrix! It's truly, truly outrageous! 00:00:15 The MTV Era 00:19:54 No Grown-Ups Allowed 00:26:51 Oh, Madison TOTAL RUNTIME: 00:27:59 Mark McCray The Best Saturdays Of Our L...

THE BEST SATURDAYS OF OUR LIVES PODCAST Ep#9 Saturday Morning Musical Renaissance - part 1 Music in cartoons? Nah, we're talking cartoons that were all about the music! From the first Alvin show and The Archies to The Beatles, Mark rocks and Dan rolls out with Saturday morning's greatest hits. And you know we're all about the Jackson 5! Oh baby, give this episode a chance! Find Us On Soundcloud An...

Ep#8 A History of Violence - part 3 We go from Gatchaman to X-Men as we jump into the 1980's and beyond! Children's television stops playing it safe and starts playing with sharp objects. G.I. Joe helps rebrand the U.S. military's image after Vietnam while turning a profit. And super hero's make their action-packed return to Saturday mornings. Get ready for sweet 80's laser action as we conclude A...

THE BEST SATURDAYS OF OUR LIVES PODCAST Ep#7 A History of Violence - part 2 We take to the sky's as super heroes land on Saturday morning! Will grownups defeat our caped crusaders? Should Superman be charged with manslaughter? Why is Brainiac dressed like a frat boy in his underwear? How did Thunder Talk's Mightiest Avenger slide into the show? All this and more in part two of A History of Violenc...