Saturday Morning Fever: Growing up with Cartoon Culture

1999, possibly first edition, from St. Martin's Press
Timothy Burke & Kevin Burke
Saturday Morning Fever: Growing up with Cartoon Culture
Bought new for $17.95
Worn paperback
B-

The Burke brothers look back at cartoons and live-action of the early '70s through mid-'80s, with some Saturday morning programming of before and after as well.  The book is all over the place, sometimes offering a somewhat serious examination of children's entertainment, and other times being very flippant about both TV and its critics.  (There's little of Martindale's respectful tone, especially about the Kroffts.)  This is the first book I own to be proudly, at times aggressively, Generation X, mocking Baby-Boomers and other elders who see their own nostalgia as superior, while at the same time being very Gen-X and cynical about nostalgia.  They also definitely are left of center, although they mildly criticize political correctness.  Not surprisingly then, they're also opinionated about the shows, although never clear exactly why, for instance, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters sucks more than Land of the Lost.  I disagree on that, and a few other matters.

They do offer others' opinions and experiences, and my favorite part was the Saturday morning viewing ritual in its many forms, sugary cereals optional.  I would've liked more of the book to be about the actual viewing, and not so much axe-grinding.  Overall, recommended, with some reservations, including that they can be very funny (like on Davey and Goliath) and then have a list full of duds.