Tag: Filmation cartoons

Serpentorslair Staff · September 27, 2026

Gilligan’s Planet: The Forgotten 1982 CBS Saturday Morning Cartoon That Sent Gilligan Into Space

September 27, 2026September 27, 2026 Serpentorslair Staff1980s cartoons, 1982 cartoons, Bob Denver, CBS cartoons, CBS Saturday morning cartoons, Classic animation, Dawn Wells, Filmation cartoons, forgotten 80s cartoons, forgotten cartoons, Gen X nostalgia, Gilligan's Island cartoon, Gilligan's Planet, Gilligan's Planet 1982 cartoon, Gilligans Island, Hal Sutherland, Lou Scheimer, Paul Dini, Retro cartoons, retro TV, Saturday morning cartoons, Saturday morning TV, Tom Ruegger, vintage cartoons0 comment

There was a wonderfully strange moment in Saturday morning television when almost any familiar character could be sent into outer space. And in the fall of 1982, CBS and Filmation actually sent Gilligan there. Long before Saturday mornings became dominated by toy-driven action franchises, Gilligan’s Planet took one of television’s most recognizable comedy ensembles, loaded them aboard a homemade spaceship, and stranded them all over again—only this time on an alien world. If you grew up watching cartoons in the early 1980s, there is a decent chance you saw this…

Before He-Man Had the Power: Blackstar’s “Search for the Starsword” Turns 45

September 10, 2026September 10, 2026 Serpentorslair Staff1980s Saturday morning cartoons, Blackstar 1981, Blackstar cartoon review, Filmation cartoons, forgotten 80s cartoons, He-Man precursor, John Blackstar, Search for the Starsword, Starsword and Powersword, The Overlord Blackstar0 comment

Before Eternia, before Castle Grayskull, and before the phrase “I have the power” became part of every 1980s kid’s vocabulary, Filmation took viewers to the strange and dangerous planet of Sagar. On September 12, 1981, Blackstar arrived on CBS with “Search for the Starsword,” a wild science-fantasy adventure that feels like a missing link between Thundarr the Barbarian, Star Wars, and the later explosion of toy-driven action cartoons. The premise gets right to the good stuff. John Blackstar is an astronaut from Earth who has been swept through a black…