A Lifetime of watching Action cartoons

[O.Supreme]

Greetings All,

Well I was bored and just decided of the fun of it to make a list of all the Action/Sci-Fi/Comic based animated series I have watched during my almost 40 years of life. I did not include any comdy or comedy/action cartoons. I also decided to mit Anime, as that would make this list probably mor ethan twice as long. But I did however include a couple of anime adaptations if the series title was changed and the series was edited (Voltron & Robotech for example) . So I have a total of 133 shows ranging from 1963-2015 (I was born in 1976,but watched anything made from 63-76 in rerun on TV)

Here are some interesting statistics:

Total Shows : 133
By Decade:
1960's 15
1970's 13
1980's 48
1990's 23
2000's 19
2010's 15

Years with 0 new shows I watched:

1965,1969,1970,1971,1972,1974,1975,2005

Most watched new shows in a 3 year period: 24 (1984-1986)

Worst period in my life in terms of animation (1990-1991)

Single best years:
1985: 11
1967: 7 (before I was alive)
1986: 7
1984: 6
1996: 5
1987: 5
1981: 5

Beast year since 2000: 2010 (4 shows)

So yeah, I am a child of the 80's mostly, but that's not to say there weren't any other good shows in other decades, because there have been. and the 2010's still have 4 more years. It will be interesting to see what the people in the industry come up with.

It has also been interesting (and sad), to see the death of Saturday mornings. The rise & fall of syndicated cartoons, the rise of cable network cartoons, and now animated series being released new on pay online services such as Netflix, Hulu & Amazon Prime.

Now here is the complete list. Not all are good, but I acknowledge seeing and enjoying the majority of them:

1 The Mighty Hercules 1963 128 (5 minute episodes) "
Adventure Cartoon Productions "
2 Jonny Quest 1964 26 Hanna-Barbera
3 The King Kong Show 1966 25 Rankin/Bass Productions
4 Space Ghost 1966 40 Hanna-Barbera
5 The New Adventures of Superman 1966 68 (8 minute episodes) Filmation
6 The Marvel Superheroes Show 1966 65 Marvel Comics Group
7 Journey to the Center of the Earth 1967 17 Filmation
8 Aquaman 1967 36 (8 minute episodes) Filmation
9 The Herculoids 1967 18 Hanna-Barbera
10 Spider-Man 1967 52 Marvel Comics Group
11 Fantastic Four 1967 20* (19) Hanna-Barbera
12 Superboy 1967 34 (8 minute Episodes) Filmation
13 Green Lantern,Hawkman, Atom, Flash, JL, TT 1967 18 (8 minute Episodes) Filmation
14 Fantastic Voyage 1968 17 Filmation
15 The Adventures of Batman 1968 34 (8 minute Episodes) Filmation
16 Star Trek: The Animated Series 1973 22 Filmation
17 Super Friends 1973 16 (1 hour episodes) Hanna-Barbera
18 Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle 1976 36 Filmation
19 The New Adventures of Batman 1977 16 Filmation
20 The All-New Super Friends Hour 1977 15 (one hour episodes in four-part segments=60) Hanna-Barbera
21 Battle of the Planets 1978 85 Sandy Frank Ent.
22 Godzilla 1978 26 Hanna-Barbera
23 Challenge of the Superfriends/Superfriends 1978 32 Hanna-Barbera
24 The New Fantastic Four 1978 13 Marvel Comics Animation
25 The New Adventures of Flash Gordon 1979 32 Filmation
26 Spider-Woman 1979 16 Marvel Comics Animation
27 The Worlds Greatest Super Friends 1979 8 Hanna-Barbera
28 Star Blazers 1979 78 Claster Television
29 Superfriends 1980 22 Hanna-Barbera
30 The Lone Ranger 1980 28 Filmation
31 Thundarr the Barbarian 1980 21 Ruby-Spears Productions
32 Blackstar 1981 13 Filmation
33 The New Adventures of Zorro 1981 13 Filmation
34 Space Stars 1981 11 Hanna-Barbera
35 Spider-Man 1981 26 Marvel Productions
36 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends 1981 24 Marvel Productions
37 The Incredible Hulk 1982 13 Marvel Productions
38 Dungeons & Dragons 1983 26 Marvel Productions
39 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 1983 130 Filmation
40 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 1983 139 Marvel Productions (1983-1987) DIC Entertainment (1989-1992)
41 Mighty Orbots 1984 13 MGM/UA TV-TMS Entertainment
42 The Transformers 1984 98 Marvel Productions
43 Challenge of the Gobots 1984 65 Hanna-Barbera
44 Dragon's Lair 1984 13 Ruby-Spears Productions
45 Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show 1984 8 Hanna-Barbera
46 Voltron 1984 124 World Events Productions
47 Thundercats 1985 130 Rankin/Bass Productions
48 Robotech 1985 85 Harmony Gold
49 Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors 1985 65 DIC Entertainment
50 Galtar and the Golden Lance 1985 21 Hanna-Barbera
51 Robotix 1985 15 (7 minute segments) Marvel Productions
52 Sectaurs 1985 5 Ruby-Spears Productions
53 She-Ra: Princess of Power 1985 93 Filmation
54 Star Wars: Droids 1985 13 Nelvana
55 Star Wars: Ewoks 1985 35 Nelvana
56 Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines 1985 9 (7 minute segments) Marvel Productions
57 Tranzor Z 1985 65 Three B Productions Ltd.
58 Inhumanoids 1986 13 Marvel Productions
59 The Centurions 1986 65 Ruby-Spears Productions
60 Defenders of the Earth 1986 65 Marvel Productions
61 Ghostbusters 1986 65 Filmation
62 The New Adventures of Jonny Quest 1986 13 Hanna-Barbera
63 The Real Ghostbusters 1986 147 DIC Entertainment
64 Silverhawks 1986 65 Rankin/Bass Productions
65 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 193 Fred Wolf Films
66 Bionic Six 1987 65 TMS Entertainment
67 BraveStarr 1987 65 Filmation
68 Dinosaucers 1987 65 DIC Entertainment
69 Visionaries 1987 13 Sunbow Prod./TMS Ent.
70 COPS 1988 65 DIC Entertainment
71 Dino-Riders 1988 14 Marvel Productions
72 RoboCop: The Animated Series 1988 12 Marvel Productions
73 Superman 1988 13 Ruby-Spears Productions
74 Captain N The Game Master 1989 34 DIC Entertainment
75 The Legend of Zelda 1989 13 DIC Entertainment
76 X:Men: Pryde of the X-Men 1989 1 Marvel Productions
77 The New Adventures of He-Man 1990 65 LBS Communications
78 The Pirates of Dark Water 1991 21 Hanna-Barbera
79 Batman: The Animated Series 1992 109 Warner Bros. Animation
80 X-Men 1992 76 Marvel Studios
81 Cadillacs and Dinosaurs 1993 13 Nelvana
82 Fantastic Four 1994 26 Marvel Studios
83 Iron Man 1994 26 Marvel Studios
84 Spider-Man 1994 65 Marvel Studios
85 Street Fighter 1995 26 Graz Entertainment
86 The Incredible Hulk 1996 21 Marvel Studios
87 Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm 1996 13 Film Roman Productions
88 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest 1996 52 Hanna-Barbera
89 Superman: The Animated Series 1996 54 Warner Bros. Animation
90 Beast Wars: Transformers 1996 52 Mainframe Entertainment
91 Men in Black: The Series 1997 53 Columbia TriStar Television
92 Godzilla: The Series 1998 40 Columbia TriStar Television
93 Voltron: The Third Dimension 1998 26 World Events Productions
94 War Planets 1998 26 Mainframe Entertainment
95 Silver Surfer 1998 13 Marvel Studios
96 The Avengers: United They Stand 1999 13 Marvel Studios
97 Batman Beyond 1999 52 Warner Bros. Animation
98 Spider-Man Unlimited 1999 13 Marvel Studios
99 Beast Machines: Transformers 1999 26 Mainframe Entertainment
100 Kong: The Animated Series 2000 40 BKN International
101 X-Men: Evolution 2000 52 Warner Bros. Animation
102 Justice League 2001 52 Warner Bros. Animation
103 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2002 39 Mike Young Productions
104 Star Wars: Clone Wars 2003 25 (20 three minute segments, and 5 twelve minute segments Cartoon Network Studios
105 Teen Titans 2003 65 Warner Bros. Animation
106 Spider-Man: The New Animated Series 2003 13 Mainframe Entertainment
107 The Batman 2004 65 Warner Bros. Animation
108 Justice League Unlimited 2004 39 Warner Bros. Animation
109 Megas XLR 2004 26 Cartoon Network Studios
110 Legion of Super Heroes 2006 26 Warner Bros. Animation
111 Fantastic Four: Worlds Greatest Heroes 2006 26 Marvel Studios
112 Transformers: Animated 2007 42 Cartoon Network Studios
113 Batman: The Brave and the Bold 2008 65 Warner Bros. Animation
114 The Spectacular Spider-Man 2008 26 Marvel Studios
115 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2008 121 Lucasfilm Animation
116 G.I. Joe: Resolute 2009 13 (5 minute segments) Hasbro Studios
117 Iron Man: Armored Adventures 2009 52 Marvel Animation
118 Wolverine and the X-Men 2009 26 Marvel Animation
119 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 2010 52 Marvel Animation
120 G.I. Joe: Renegades 2010 26 Hasbro Studios
121 Transformers: Prime 2010 65 Hasbro Studios
122 Young Justice 2010 46 Warner Bros. Animation
123 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 2011 26 Warner Bros. Animation
124 Voltron Force 2011 26 World Events Productions
125 ThunderCats 2011 26 Warner Bros. Animation
126 Dreamworks Dragons 2012 66* DreamWorks Animation
127 Ultimate Spider Man 2012 78* Marvel Animation
128 Beware the Batman 2013 26 Warner Bros. Animation
129 Avengers Assemble 2013 52* Marvel Animation
130 Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. 2013 52 Marvel Animation
131 Star Wars Rebels 2014 26* Lucasfilm Animation
132 Transformers: Robots in Disguise 2015 26* Hasbro Studios
133 Guardians of the Galaxy 2015 10* Marvel Animation

[mbozzo]

What does the star following some of the titles mean?

[O.Supreme]

Sorry that was for my own reference, toward the end of the list, those are shows that are still in production and have new episodes forthcoming.

126 Dreamworks Dragons 2012 66* DreamWorks Animation
127 Ultimate Spider Man 2012 78* Marvel Animation (preceded by Spectacular Spider-Man)
129 Avengers Assemble 2013 52* Marvel Animation (preceded by Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes)
131 Star Wars Rebels 2014 26* Lucasfilm Animation (preceded by Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
132 Transformers: Robots in Disguise 2015 26* Hasbro Studios (preceded by Transformers: Prime)
133 Guardians of the Galaxy 2015 10* Marvel Animation

It looked better on a spreadsheet but it goes -Series name/year initially produced/number of episodes/production company

So other statistics- of the 6 action based cartoons I watch that are currently in production. 4 air on Disney XD, 1 on Cartoon Network, and 1 on Netflix

Of these Six, Four had a preceding series (3 of which were arguably superior -Spiderman, Avengers, and Transformers)

SW Rebels hasn't been around long enough for me to do a fair comparison with Clone Wars. There are positive and negative aspects to both, but early on, I am fairly satisfied with Rebels.

Of these Six, I am fairly positive that Transformers: RiD15 will be the next to end, because it's on Cartoon Network, which hates action toons now for some reason. The 2nd season has already been cut from 26 episodes down to 19. I'm almost positive there will be no 3rd season.

Interestingly DC currently has no action animated series in production for TV, they are however continuing their 3 animated annual films per year for the teen-adult market, with sporadic toy themed short films popping up on occasion

Marvel has established its new Spider-Man and Avengers for a 4th & 3rd season respectively. It's way to early to speculate if Guardians will get a 2nd season, but its interesting that marvel as of current news, doesn't seem to have anything else in development as of this writing.

Once Transformers RiD15 ends, No doubt Hasbro will come up with another animated Transformers series, for its new toy brand, as it always does. Hopefully they will be smarter however and go back to Discovery Family rather than Cartoon Network.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Hybrid Gojira]

I still watch X-Men on Hulu occasionally. The episodes range from excellent to terrible, but it's a nostalgia trip for me. It was easily my favorite Saturday morning cartoon and basically the only show I ever loved unabashedly as a kid besides the Saturday night line up on Nickelodeon (my favorite being a live action show - Are You Afraid of the Dark?).

[O.Supreme]

[Benjamin Haines]

[O.Supreme]

Cool. I've seen some episodes of the original Speed Racer, but not enough to have put it on my list. I forgot CN aired it back when they were good. Yes Peter Fernandez was one of the Greats! It's a shame I remember in the early 80's when I was watching Ultraman on TV, Speed Racer was always there, but I didn't gravitate towards it for some reason.