ABC Kids: The Downfall of What was Once a Haven for Saturday Morning Shows

When I was a child, Saturday morning television was nothing short of spectacular. The 1980s and 1990s were filled with cartoons and live action shows that I, and many others, fondly remember and love to this day. Back then, shows could be humorous, action-packed, and filled with engaging story lines and nice animation. That is more than can be said for today's Saturday morning television, where the bulk of the shows are either educational series for very young children, Japanese imports, or reruns of cable shows. The latter aspect has plagued the ABC Kids Saturday morning line up for some time, and frankly, it is depressing. Just how far has ABC's Saturday morning schedule fallen in recent years? Allow me to explain...

Back during the good old days of Saturday morning cartoons, ABC would update its schedule each year, premiering several new shows and either renewing or canceling existing programs. During this time, I saw many excellent series on the network. There was Reboot, the first computer-animated series that was a great mix of action and humor. There was Sonic the Hedgehog, a nice dramatic series of adventures featuring the video game superstar. The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show was a delightful compilation of classic Warner Brothers cartoons. Bump in the Night was a silly, but enjoyable, claymation series. A Pup Named Scooby Doo brought us the further adventures of the famous Great Dane and his pals from back when they were children. Schoolhouse Rock gave us fun and educational songs that have stood the test of time. These and many other shows were consistently excellent, and great examples of what quality children's television should be like.

Since 1996, the line up has been filled with Disney shows as a result of the company's takeover of ABC. Consequently, the block's name became Disney's One Saturday Morning, a name that would remain until 2002. Even so, the network at least bothered to make some changes each year, and some good shows could still be featured, among them Mickey Mouseworks and Winnie the Pooh. The act of changing the line up continued for a few years following another change in the block's name, this time to ABC Kids, a name that is still used to this day. Not only did other Disney shows come and go, but it was in 2002 that Power Rangers aired on the network for the first time.

Even back then, shows repeated from the Disney Channel could be seen on ABC Kids. Kim Possible, Lizzie McGuire, and Even Stevens were among shows that aired first on the Disney Channel, then on ABC Kids. Indeed, by that time, first run American shows were becoming harder to find on Saturday mornings, with other networks either likewise airing repeated cable series or importing shows in Japan in the wake of the success of Pokemon. Power Rangers would be pretty much the only series to air first run episodes, and as had been the case since the mid-1990s, each year would bring a new version of the series, a trend that finally ended with the conclusion of Power Rangers RP, in late 2009.

The current line up consists of three hours of shows repeated from the Disney Channel, followed by one hour of Power Rangers. Presently, the repeated shows are The Emperor's New School, The Replacements, That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. It is all well and good for people who missed out on the episodes when they aired on the Disney Channel, but their airing has resulted in the nadir for ABC Kids for a variety of reasons. First, only episodes from earlier seasons of these shows are featured, with no plans to run newer episodes of this time, thus limiting the amount of episodes that can be shown. Second, the line up as a whole runs for a mere four hours, starting at 8:00 AM Central, whereas in the old days, it would run 5-6 hours. One can blame the addition of a Saturday morning version of Good Morning America for that.

These issues, however, are nothing compared to the biggest problem: in the past three years, the ABC Kids schedule has not been updated...at all...except for updating Power Rangers each year. Yes, the schedule on ABC has been largely unaltered in recent years, while the other networks at least make the effort to update their schedules on a more consistent basis. Having just one show with first run episodes during this time is just an example of how far Saturday morning television in general, and ABC Kids in particular, has gone downhill. Technically, Power Rangers is no longer a first run series on the network, since the episodes currently airing are those from its first incarnation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, albeit with added special effects. Thus, at least on ABC, the anticipation of new series that would be remembered fondly many years later has disappeared entirely.

Why has ABC Kids not changed their line up very much? Perhaps part of it is due to economical concerns. With the economy in such dire straits, ABC might have felt that it would be cheaper to simply air reruns of various shows than it would be to air first run shows. Whether it was the reason that the run of new Power Rangers shows came to an end in 2009, I cannot say. Still, is their programming budget really so low that the network is unable to at least try to make a first run series that may or may not click with young viewers? Financial trouble may also have something to do with the fact that only two shows are animated, while the rest are live action, a stark contrast to when the network's shows were mostly, if not entirely, animated. In any case, it is a crying shame.

The three hours of reruns have shows that collectively carry the E/I mark, indicating that they have some sort of educational value for children. This is a result of the requirement for networks to air at least three hours of educational programming for kids. While I have nothing against educational programming, having been exposed to some quality educational shows as a kid myself, seeing so much of it on Saturday morning when kids could use a break from a long week at school is a bit overwhelming. Also, if you are going to air educational series, why not either create or rerun other shows with lessons that will stick with children for a lifetime? Maybe another revival of Schoolhouse Rock, this time as a half-hour series, would work, with a mixture of new and classic segments. If new Schoolhouse Rock cartoons can be created for DVD, why not make them for television, as well?

Keeping popular shows on the air is fine as long as it does not seem like they are overstaying their welcome. Unfortunately, with much of ABC Kids' line up remaining constant over the last few years and only one new show (a new variation of Power Rangers) being added annually, it just goes to show a perfect example of just how much Saturday morning television has gone downhill over the last decade or so. We will probably never be able to see a revival of Saturday morning television as it used to be, but I would like ABC to get with the program and update their line up constantly. They should add first run shows, import other cable shows if they are really desperate, maybe even add more recent episodes to some series. Any of these moves would be a small improvement at least, and it would add some much-needed variety, instead of having the same monotonous line up. ABC used to be a real Saturday morning powerhouse in terms of offering a large variety of beloved shows, but they have become a home to a line up mostly lacking in change and improvement, which is extremely tragic.