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Remember when Saturday morning was about the only time you could watch cartoons. weekday cartoons didn’t really appear until the early to mid-80’s. Now you can see cartoons 24-7 on 5 or 6 channels. Odds are, none of them are as good as the Superfriends.

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The Simpson are moving to Universal Studios. Following up the Harry Potter announcement, Universal has also announced that Springfield’s favorite family will debut in the Hollywood and Orlando theme parks next year. It sounds like they will be getting a ride style attraction and not the “Island of Adventure” treatment Harry Potter is getting. Can you imagine a “real” Springfield city block? That would be too cool.

I guess the next visit to Florida, we’ll be going to Universal and looking for Bart, Homer and the rest of the family.

“The ride is designed to duplicate the ‘Simpsons’ home-viewing experience, only at high speed and with lots of screaming,” creator Matt Groening said in a statement.

The agreement between NBC Universal & Fox also includes provisions that will allow characters from “The Simpsons” to be integrated into the larger Universal theme park brand. Actors dressed like “Simpsons” characters will start roaming the grounds of both parks, while stores devoted to selling “Simpsons”-themed souvenirs will pop up.

I like that last line. At least they admit is all about the merchandise.

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It looks like another one of my favorite cartoons is finally making its way to DVD this August 7th. Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show was the first new format SuperFriends series since 1979’s The World’s Greatest Super Friends.

When sinister forces like Darkseid, Lex Luther, Brainiac and Mr. Mxyzptlk scheme to dominate the galaxy, it’s up to the Super Friends to show them the light! Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Superman and new hero Firestorm risk it all to defeat evil and preserve peace throughout the cosmos. Featuring the voices of Adam West as Batman and Casey Kasem as Robin, this sensational TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera showcases favorite DC Comics heroes in adventures that meld galactic dangers, insidious villains and larger-than-life predicaments in a must-own two-disc collector’s compilation!

Over 80 short Super Friends episodes were produced by Hanna-Barbera from 1980-1983 and aired as part of the other Superfriends shows at the time. The Legendary Super Powers show continued the short story format. Each episode had two stories per half hour (11 minutes each). Also, in spite of appearing in the opening credits, Aquaman does not make an appearance in any single episode of this series.

This was the first DC series produced as a toy line tie-in (which was just becoming a very popular practice at the time). The toys were produced by Kenner. It was also the first series since 1978’s Challenge of the Super Friends to feature actual DC villains, instead of generic ones created for the show. The following 16 episodes should be included on the set.

  1. The Bride of Darkseid

  2. The Wrath of Braniac / Reflections in Crime

  3. No Honor Among Thieves / Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp

  4. Case of the Shrinking Super Friends / The Mask Of Mystery

  5. Darkseid’s Golden Trap

  6. The Case of the Dreadful Dolls / The Royal Ruse

  7. The Village of Lost Souls / The Curator

  8. Island of the Dinasoids / Uncle Mxyzptlk

DC has done a great job or releasing their old animated shows. They take the time to produce excellent menus and interesting bonus features. I do hope they keep the commercial break bumpers and intros intact when they release this set. Each episode always began with Wonder Woman saying, “Wonder Woman here, on today’s show…”