Television Cartoon Shows : An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 1993

This is the book on tv cartoons that I've always craved. It lists the cartoons alphabeticly and keeps related shows together in the same listing (example: The Archie Show,Everything's Archie, U.S. of Archie,et al).under each listing are the running dates, behind-the-scenes people, the characters and the voices behind them, and the story behind each. I really like the fact that Hal Erickson took the time to find the facts and stories behind each toon,and if it takes five pages to tell that story,so be it. Erickson took four years compilling this collection and he lays it on the line if the toon deserves a sour note. The book covers the years 1949 through 1993. There's a lot of great history leading up to the show listings. There's a boatload of memories packed into this encyclopedia. If you've ever been curious about the pioneer days of Saturday morning tv,this is the place to start learning.

This is one of those spectacular books that comes along every few years. It's complete, well-written, doesn't take itself too seriously (after all, it IS about cartoons!), & offers an expert's personal point of view (the author's) in addition to presenting all the factual details. My only complaint is that I wish the author had included entries for movie cartoon characters as well. Some of the cartoon characters included here originated in the movies (for example, Popeye, Woody Woodpecker), but are included here for various reasons that the author explains. Other movie characters, such as my personal favorite (Betty Boop) are omitted because the don't meet the criterion for inclusion. Mr. Erickson, please follow-up on this great book by writing one about the movie cartoon characters that are omitted here!

As a cartoon aficionado, I find that Hal Erickson's book about Television Cartoon Shows is a wonderfully written book! The majority of the cartoon shows listed in this book were the staple of my childhood, as I've watched on Television growing up! I have an updated edition of this fascinating book, along with a softcover edition of the Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons by Jeff Lenburg! One of the cartoon series that I enjoyed reading about was "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home". The author had mentioned that this particular cartoon was influenced by Norman Lear's "All in the Family". And after watching this cartoon again on DVD, nothing can be further from the truth!