scale back the cartoon programming they aired. De-
spite this backlash, the Warner Bros. franchise con-
tinued to thrive in the United States and Canada
throughout the decade.
Several successful cartoon series of the 1980’s
were modeled after lines of toys popular in both
countries. Frequently, cartoons acted as, as one critic
described them, “half-hour commercials” designed
to sell character-related merchandise. New charac-
ters or equipment added to the toy lines were often
incorporated into the cartoons, to increase con-
sumer demand. Programs includingHe-Man and the
Masters of the Universe,My Little Pony,G.I. Joe,Trans-
formers, andCare Bearssometimes served more as ve-
hicles to increase toy sales than as actual television
entertainment.
Many cartoons produced in the 1980’s followed
the popular trend of combining entertainment with
practical education.He-Man and the Masters of the Uni-
verseincluded a lesson at the end of each episode, in-
structing children on the rights and wrongs of every-
day life. InG.I. Joe, a segment at the conclusion of
each episode featured a different character sharing
information about safety, responsibility, and good
social behavior.Alvin and the Chipmunks, one of the
top-rated children’s shows of the 1980’s, focused on
the lead character’s inability to use common sense
and good judgment and his brothers’ tendency
blindly to go along with Alvin’s schemes.The Smurfs
was one of the most popular children’s series of the
1980’s. The show was appealing on many levels: Not
only did it include aspects of fantasy, but, like several
other series of the decade,The Smurfsoften focused
on issues such as respecting others, kindness, and
being safe.Mr. T, starring the actor made popular
in the live-action programThe A-Team, contained
plenty of action and healthy doses of tough love and
life lessons from Mr. T himself.
Not all cartoons had moral or even educational
lessons to convey; some animated programs were
designed solely for entertainment.Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles, based on an independent comic book,
made no pretenses about teaching correct behavior;
the main purpose of the show was to entertain chil-
dren.Scooby-Doo, popularized during the previous
decade and revived in several incarnations during
the 1980’s, was also designed only for children’s
amusement.Inspector Gadget, a highly successful car-
toon produced by the Canadian company Nelvana,
was also purely for entertainment purposes. How-
ever, the show’s strong child character (Penny, Gad-
get’s intelligent niece who frequently had to save not
only the day but also her bumbling, secret agent un-
cle) was undoubtedly an encouragement to chil-
dren.
Impact Programs includingYou Can’t Do That on
Television,Full House, andPee Wee’s Playhousecan be
considered definitive examples of children’s televi-
sion in the 1980’s, indicating that the days ofHowdy
DoodyandI Love Lucywere long gone. Furthermore,
the changes in children’s television programming
during the 1980’s were not temporary. Rather, the
alterations continued to reverberate into the next
decade and beyond, affecting not only the children
who grew up watching television during the 1980’s,
but subsequent generations of viewers as well.
Further Reading
Davis, Jeffery.Children’s Television, 1947-1990.Jeffer-
son, N.C.: McFarland, 1995. Exhaustive study of
animated, informative, and educational chil-
dren’s television shows.
Inglis, Ruth.The Window in the Corner: A Half Centur y
of Children’s Television.London: Peter Owen, 2003.
Chronological evaluation of children’s programs
explores the shows and trends of the 1980’s.
Palmer, Edward L.Children in the Cradle of Television.
Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1987. Focuses on
different eras in television history, highlighting
what differentiated the 1980’s from prior de-
cades.
Rainsberry, F. B.A Histor y of Children’s Television in
English Canada, 1952-1986. Metuchen, N.J.: Scare-
crow Press, 1988. Comprehensive examination of
the history of Canadian children’s television pro-
gramming, providing a focus on many types of
shows.Broderick, Matthew
See also Advertising; Cable television; Education
in Canada; Education in the United States;Facts of
Life, The; Television.The Eighties in America Children’s television 209