Throwback Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Underdogs We All Forgot But Shouldn’t Have
Ah, Saturday mornings. The sacred hours where, as kids, we’d roll out of bed at an ungodly hour, grab our biggest bowl of sugar-infused death (aka cereal), and plop ourselves down in front of the TV like zombies on a quest to discover the greatest hidden gems in animated television. But let’s be honest—while The Smurfs and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were grabbing all the fame, there were some seriously underrated shows that should’ve had their moment in the sun… but didn’t. Let’s take a trip down nostalgia lane and talk about a few of these Saturday morning cartoon rejects, the ones that, in true Johnny Spoiler fashion, deserve a redemption arc.
1. The Pirates of Dark Water
First up, we’ve got The Pirates of Dark Water, a show that combined pirates, monsters, and an evil force called “Dark Water”—I mean, it’s like the creators just threw random cool things into a blender and hoped for the best. Spoiler alert: It was awesome. This fantasy adventure series had slick animation, a compelling storyline (for the ‘90s), and characters who actually seemed to grow and change over time. But for some reason, it got the axe before it could wrap up its epic quest. Classic. No satisfying conclusion, just like that last sip of soda that’s always flat because you forgot to put the cap back on. If you were a kid watching this, you probably felt a deep sense of loss, like you had just lost a friend that you didn’t know you had.
2. Mighty Max
We’re all familiar with Max, the generic name for every protagonist in ‘90s cartoons, but Mighty Max was different. This wasn’t some whiny kid who couldn’t wait to be home to watch reruns of Full House. No, Mighty Max was a kid who got pulled into a mystical world and was given a magical hat that came with some serious responsibility. The series was dark, gritty, and had a badass talking chicken. Why wasn’t this a bigger deal? It had action, mythology, and good animation—but it was overshadowed by shows like Batman: The Animated Series, which, no surprise, still gets love from anyone who’s ever seen it. Mighty Max is like the underdog of Saturday mornings—if Saturday mornings had a WWE Royal Rumble, it would’ve been tossed out of the ring in the first round.
3. Space Cats (aka The Catillac Cats)
Alright, this one is a legit trip. The Catillac Cats followed a group of anthropomorphic cats, who were basically the cartoon equivalent of a ‘90s grunge band, but with less angst and more tail-wagging. They cruised around in a cool car, got into wacky adventures, and did that thing where the animation was borderline “what were they thinking?” It's the kind of show you watched while simultaneously wondering if you were actually awake or trapped in a weird dream that got its budget slashed by 75%. While The Catillac Cats didn’t blow up, it still had its moments, mainly because, well, cats and cars—what could go wrong?
4. Galaxy High
We all remember Galaxy High, right? If you don’t, I get it. It had the misfortune of airing in the same time slot as DuckTales, which, in hindsight, was like opening for The Beatles at the height of their fame. Galaxy High was about a high school in space, where the students were all weird aliens with attitudes that could rival a 13-year-old’s post-math test meltdown. It was a quirky show, but unfortunately, it never reached the level of appreciation it deserved. It had a good mix of humor, sci-fi, and a bunch of aliens who felt like they were ripped from a comic book, but Galaxy High didn’t exactly get the fanbase it should’ve. Classic underdog, much like that kid in school who could have been president but instead just became class treasurer.
5. Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
And then, there was Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. Do you even remember that title without getting a mental whiplash? Because I sure don’t. This show was a mess of ‘80s toys, car chases, and “cool” kids who were just a little too busy to make any sense. The storyline had Jayce on a quest to find his father while battling the evil Monster Minds (yes, that was the villain’s name). The animation was on the weird side, the vehicles were undeniably cool, and the theme song was catchy enough to haunt your nightmares. But did it win any awards? Nope. Did it get a second season? Nah. But it’s a cartoon that deserves more credit than the Transformers franchise, which, let’s face it, has made way too much money off a bunch of cars turning into robots.
6. The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends
Now, here’s where I get real. The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends wasn’t a hard-hitting action-packed show. It didn’t have car chases or lasers or even evil aliens. But it had something better—heart. Based on Beatrix Potter’s stories, the show brought to life Peter Rabbit and his woodland friends in the most adorable way possible. But this show slipped through the cracks like the lost chapter of a dusty old book. Sure, it didn’t have the long-lasting cultural impact of The Care Bears or The Muppets, but it had the charm to make you feel like maybe the world wasn’t so bad after all. It’s like the cartoon version of a warm hug, only it aired at 7 AM when you were still too tired to care. It was wholesome, but not wholesome enough to make you forget Garfield and Friends.
Conclusion:
Look, Saturday mornings were the glory days of cartooning—where the air was full of cereal dust and childhood dreams, and the stakes were low. So, let’s give a moment of silence to the underappreciated and hard-to-find shows that helped define a generation but got overshadowed by the big names. The Pirates of Dark Water, Mighty Max, Space Cats, Galaxy High, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and Peter Rabbit—you may not have gotten the credit you deserved, but you were ours… until we grew up and moved on to a million other distractions. RIP, underrated Saturday morning cartoons. You’re not forgotten, even if we don’t have the energy to wake up at 7 AM anymore.
Remember: cartoons from the ‘80s and ‘90s were way cooler than anything kids are watching today. Fight me.
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