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Filmation

Man of Many Cartoons

Lou Scheimer was co-founder and president of Filmation Animation. Before he passed away last year, he completed his autobiography with the help of comic book writer and historian Andy Mangels. Now it’s been released in trade paperback by TwoMorrows Publishing as Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. Best known for Saturday morning staples like The Archies and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Filmation was also responsible for the animated Star Trek series in the 1970’s, as well as for taking us back down the Yellow Brick Road with 1974’s Journey Back to Oz. For better or for worse (depending largely on your opinion of limited animation) there were a lot of anthropomorphic characters who made their way through various Filmation productions. Some of them, like Star Trek’s Lt. Mress, have become Furry icons. Check out Lou’s story — and the story of Filmation and Saturday morning cartoons — at Amazon.

image c. 2014 TwoMorrows Publishing

Coming Soon: The PB&J Network

Our good buddies Cartoon Brew have announced the formation of a new cable TV network, to be known as The PB&J. According to them, Luken Communications (owners of the Retro TV channel, which has been airing much of the Filmation cartoon archive) and Classic Media (owners of… well, a whole lotta stuff!) are partnering up to create the new channel. According to the PB&J press release, “The 24-hour network, set to launch in the US this summer, will feature Classic Media titles from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Those include The Archie’s, Mr. Magoo, The Lone Ranger, Gumby, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. PBJ will be available to broadcasters, cable and satellite providers”. Plus, according to the Cartoon Brew folks, “If they have the Classic Media library, this new channel could also air the Harveytoons (Casper, Herman and Katnip, et al), the Jay Ward library (Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, etc.), Roger Ramjet, Underdog, Felix the Cat, Rankin-Bass Specials, UPA’s Boing Boing Show, Dick Tracy cartoons and Magoo’s Christmas Carol – among others… “. At the end of the Cartoon Brew article is a link to a You Tube video with an introduction — apparently not official — to the new network. Stay tooned.