It’s time for another installment of my Throwback Thursday series. I’ve decided that I’m going to do these entries in 3 sets of three’s, so the first 3 topics (T.V. Shows, Movies, and Video Games) will be covered in threes (Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, High School) before we move on to the next 3 subjects in waves of three.
Since I’ve already done the early childhood posts, the next step is to move up into middle childhood ( age 8-12) and talk about the top ten shows that I was watching during that time period, all of which are once again in no particular order. I feel like I should remind my readers about the fact that I didn’t have cable until I was about 16 yrs old, so please spare the “What?! No Johnny Bravo?!” Comments… Thanks.
1.)Jackie Chan Adventures
Some time before the V8 commercials, Rush Hour 3, and The Spy Next Door, Jackie Chan used to be the MAN in America when it came to action films, so much so that they gave him his own cartoon series, Jackie Chan Adventures, which ran from 2000-2005. Even though the story line took a sharp nosedive somewhere around the 3rd season and never really recovered, the initial story line, characters, comedy, and action scenes were very much within the heart of everything Jackie Chan presented himself to be. Easily one of the more quality cartoon shows of the early 2000’s.
2.)Yu-Gi-Oh!
When I was in 3rd-4th grade, I spent almost every allowance dollar I had on Pokemon cards, like every other boy (probably in the world) who was around my age. In 5th grade, for a brief period, it was Digimon cards. However, 6th-7th grade was undoubtedly the year of Yugioh cards, which is around the time the show came out.
Deep down, I know that the show technically was not one big marketing ploy like say Transformers, and actually focused on being a faithful adaption of the manga series it was based on of, that still didn’t stop it from helping to sell truckloads of Yugioh trading cards. I could go more into depth about this phenomenon but let’s just say that I owned my fair share.
Since this is the type of series that perfectly appeals to middle school teens, they’ve continued to make spin-off after spin-off, but the fact that I can now buy a “legendary” card for $10 from Ebay (it used to cost anywhere between $50-$75) shows how much the series’ popularity has declined over the years.
3.)Power Rangers In Space
I know what you 80’s babies are thinking, “How can one of us still have watched Power Rangers after the “Mighty Morphin” series finished? Even us die-hard fans clocked out some time after Power Rangers Zeo..” and you’re right to scrutinize me to an extent. Power Rangers first came out in 1994, so I was about 5 yrs old, meaning that there was no way my parents were letting me watch anything with “violence” in it, as to not harm my impressionable, young mind.
By the time “In Space” came around, I was finally allowed to watch Power Rangers at home and I took advantage of every opportunity. If you came by my house in 5th grade, I had both versions of the morphers at the ready (a waste of batteries and money, but good for the imagination?) and truth be told “In Space” is a pretty good series with an impressive story line for a children’s show. It even wraps up the original MMPR timeline. By the time ” Power Rangers Lost Galaxy” rolled around though, I would finally catch up to my peers in losing interest.
4.)Batman/The New Adventures Of Batman and Robin
Arguably the best animated series DC has ever produced and unquestionably the most memorable, the Batman animated series was technically a children’s show but could easily be watched (and enjoyed) by teenagers and even older. It’s the reason Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) will never have to look for voice work ever again and why Mark Hamill (voice of the Joker) probably won’t do voice work again. I recently watched a few episodes and I was impressed at how well most of the material has aged. Definitely one of those “If you missed this then what childhood?” type of series.
5.)Dragonball Z
What kind of red-blooded American male would I be if I didn’t mention Dragonball Z? To be fair, I do know of guys who don’t like DBZ but that’s like people who don’t like the taste of pizza, just because. (A reason devoid of logic right? I know)
Anyway, Dragonball Z might just be the most influential anime series of all time, with other series, video games, and so on and so forth showing signs of its influence throughout the decades. License holders continue to milk the franchise for all it’s worth, sometimes for the good (theatrical releases, T.V. specials) sometimes for the bad (Dragonball GT) but despite it all, fans keep coming back for more. As long as black hair keeps turning gold and cupped palms going through the necessary motions, this series might always have a fan base. I have my mini shrine set up for my future son or daughter to do my part in keeping the legacy going (I’m only half kidding)
