Since the 1960s, American children have concluded each long week of school by waking up early on Saturday mornings to view their favorite animated cartoon programs on television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3). Saturday morning is the only period during the week in which the broadcast networks schedule entertainment programming aimed specifically at the nation's youngest TV viewers. Generations of kids have grown up watching characters like Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear, Fat Albert, Johnny Quest, the Smurfs, and the Super-friends. Through the years, many concerned parents have been alarmed by often open commercialism and violence contained in their children's favorite shows. Despite these criticisms, Saturday morning cartoons have continued to flourish and even to move beyond their traditional time period. By the 1990s, entire cable TV (see entry under 1970s—TV and Radio in volume 4) networks were devoted to rerunning...