Depending on the day, we were picked up by either mom, dad, or Gram. When Gram picked us up, we either went home, or to her house, or shopping in West Caldwell at Marshall's, with pizza at Franco's (and our waitress Lena). With mom, we usually did errands before going home, and with dad, we usually just went home.
Either way, when we got home, there was a routine. First was snack and cartoons. My snack was usually cereal. Then homework. But it's the shows I remember...we had the best after-school cartoons in the 80s!
The one I remember the most is Duck Tales (1987-90), which was part of the Disney Afternoon shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frGLMtGsotc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_tales
I still know every word to this theme song. Right after Duck Tales came Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers, also part of the Disney Afternoon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e5q6ubDlZE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_Rangers
I didn't watch this, but I remember my brother watching it. We also watched TaleSpin (early 90s), another part of the Disney Afternoon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ReyS9i9BJg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talespin
One of my faves when it came out was Tiny Toons (early 90's). I remember going to a Bat Mitzvah that had a Tiny Toons theme, and then I was hooked. I had Babs and Buster Bunny stuffed animals on my bed. I wanted the others, never got them. I'd still watch this...I should YouTube episodes...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_ToonsI also loved Bobby's World. Howie Mandel was at the top of his career, and I found this show very creative. I still watch this On Demand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqQjpTbHR0A
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby%27s_World
My brother reminded me about Beetlejuice (89-92). We were big fans of the movie, and it was one of our after-school staples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetlejuice_(TV_series)Then there was the whole "Ghostbusters" debacle. Apparently, once the film came out, they wanted to make a matching cartoon, but the name "Ghost Busters" was already owned by the Filmation animation co. Filmation was already producing an unrelated cartoon. They wouldn't give up the rights, but Columbia trumped them by retitling their cartoon "The REAL Ghostbusters", as in the ones related to the film. Also as in, the one kids actually wanted to see, with Venkman, Stanz, etc. I remember both, and as a kid rember mentally categorizing them as the Real Ghostbusters, and the Fake Ghostbusters. I did, however, watch both. I preferred the real. You can't fool a kid.
Here's the "fake" one (what the hell was with the monkey?):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(1986_TV_series)
And the REAL one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7VS-ZoeMqs&feature=related
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Ghostbusters
My brother also reminded me of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (89-91). I didn't remember it at first but the more I read about it online, the more I remembered. This was another of my brother's shows, but we both watched whatever was on the tv.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w2fi_f5OLY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._Super_Show
There were more, but these are the first ones that come to mind. It was a great part of each day...until mom ruined it by telling us it was homework time, or time to unload the dishwasher (my most loathed chore)...
