The POP-EXPOSE 

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

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…

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The POP-EXPOSE 

5 Retro Action Cartoons You Need to Rewatch This Week!

Defenders of the Earth Visionaries Centurions C.O.P.S. — Bulletproof Exosquad 5 Retro Action Cartoons You Need to Rewatch This Week! Serpentor’s Lair Retro Watchlist 5 Retro Action Cartoons You Need to Rewatch This Week! If you grew up during the golden age of after-school cartoons, action figures, cereal commercials and racing home before the opening credits started, this week’s Serpentor’s Lair Retro Watchlist is for you. Everybody remembers the giants like G.I. Joe, Transformers and ThunderCats. Those shows absolutely deserve their legendary status. But the 1980s and early 1990s were…

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The POP-EXPOSE 

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

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…

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