Grab your cereal bowls and the remote! We're going back in time to 1997, when 12 Saturday morning shows were just debuting on TV.
"Power Rangers: Turbo" (FOX Kids) - Premiered April 19, 1997
Kids went bonkers for the second inception of the "Power Rangers" franchise, starring a semi-new cast of teenagers with attitude, plus the spectral Dimitria of Inquiris and Alpha 6 as their guides. Also, Bulk and Skull are...chimpanzees? Alrighty then.
"Playhouse Disney" (Disney Channel) - Premiered May 8, 1997
Early morning preschool hits became all the rage when Playhouse Disney invaded Disney Channel before the summer of '97. The slate of programming introduced little kids to a whole new world of Disney magic.
This was the precursor for what is now known to preschoolers and their parents as "Disney Junior."
"Johnny Bravo" (Cartoon Network) - Premiered July 14, 1997
With super bizarre storylines and outrageous humor, "Johnny Bravo" followed a musclehead on a quest for women and good times. There was a lot of adult humor masquerading underneath all that slapsticky fun, of course, which made it great for parents and kids to watch together.
"Cow and Chicken" (Cartoon Network) - Premiered July 15, 1997
We still are owed an explanation as to how Cow and Chicken are biological siblings, but it didn't matter to most of us at the time. The funny show chronicled a relationship between brothers that had our sides aching at their misadventures.
"Recess" (ABC's One Saturday Morning) - Premiered August 31, 1997
A super team of six kids fight for control of the Third Street Elementary School playground, facing cliques, unspoken social rules, hilarious pranks and all-important kickball games. Viewers seemingly knew someone who was like every character on the show. This one is near and dear to our hearts.
"101 Dalmatians: The Series" (ABC) - Premiered September 1, 1997
Adorable pups Lucky, Rolly and Cadpig consume TV and snacks aplenty while dodging the villainous plans of Cruella De Vil. It was based on the Disney movie of the same name.
"Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation" (FOX Kids) - Premiered September 12, 1997
If you were a fan of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movies, you loved this show. These live action adventures left us shell-shocked by the zany storylines that always ended with Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello saving the day.
"Pepper Ann" (ABC) - Premiered September 13, 1997
Dealing with puberty, popularity, friendship and crushes, this Saturday morning hit on ABC followed the adolescent students of Hazelnut Middle School, and was based on a comic strip published in YM magazine.
"Science Court" (ABC) - Premiered September 13, 1997
Crudely-drawn cartoons and "Bill Nye the Science Guy" like learning played out in the Science Court, where lawyers on both sides tried to argue their scientific hypothesis in wacky court cases. In the end, we all learned valuable lessons-and got plenty of laughs.
"The New Batman Adventures" and "The New Batman/Superman Adventures" (Kids' WB) - Premiered September 13, 1997
These were some of the hottest comic stories on television. Period. The former FOX Kids show "Batman: The Animated Series" got new life as "The New Batman Adventures" over at WB, and animators added Superman into the mix. The artwork was amazing, the action was thrilling.
"Bear in the Big Blue House" (Playhouse Disney) - Premiered October 20, 1997
By the fall of its first year, Playhouse Disney had a huge hit on its hands with the help of an adorable bear and his friends Ojo, Tutter, Treelo, Pip, Pop and Shadow. The fuzzy gang of animals leaned on each other as they learned solving problem skills, how to share, and how to have some mad fun, too!
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