The MeTV Launch Schedule Is Out (Some Thoughts)

 

MeTV TOONS has officially revealed its launch schedule, which starts on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. You can see it in full right here. 

As it is, it's a pretty solid lineup of classic cartoons from the golden age of theatrical shorts to the birth of television animation to the Saturday morning era of cartoons up to the turn of the century. 

Looking at the full launch lineup, the most recent series present is 2003's Duck Dodgers, which is great for folks who appreciate older, classic cartoons without having to sit through a lot of modern shows to get to the good stuff, which has been disappearing from the airwaves and still largely absent from streaming platforms. 

This lineup has variety. Like, a crazy amount of variety that isn't found on linear cable networks these days. You have Looney Tunes in the form of Bugs Bunny and Friends for an hour every weekday and for two full hours weeknights and Saturdays in primetime. You have Rocky and Bullwinkle every night at 11 PM E/P. This network has shows from all over the place, each representing their era proudly. You have the theatrical stuff from Warner Bros, MGM, Fleischer, Walter Lantz, Columbia, and Famous. You have retro TV shows from Jay Ward, Hanna-Barbera, and Harvey. You have early anime shows and iconic Gerry Anderson Supermarionation classics. You have 80s shows like The Smurfs, Inspector Gadget, Mister T, Challenge of The GoBots, The Real Ghostbusters, ALF, Ed Grimley, Police Academy, and Beetlejuice.  You have 1990s shows like Captain Planet, 2 Stupid Dogs/Super-Secret Secret Squirrel, The Mask, Freakazoid, and Histeria. Pretty much every era up to the early 2000s is covered here, even more than MeTV itself. Over 40 shows at launch.

That said, I still want to see more action on the lineup. Jonny Quest, Speed Racer, Marine Boy, the Supermarionation shows, Mister T, GoBots, and The Real Ghostbusters definitely gives MeTV TOONS an adrenaline rush, but I wouldn't mind seeing some Hanna-Barbera Super Adventures (I'm including Ruby-Spears shows like Thundarr the Barbarian and Centurions in that group of heroes) and DC representation there. I know they're restoring much of the HB library, so, I'll wait for the best versions of those shows to come to the channel in time. 

MeTV TOONS is in the warm liquid goo phase of its creation. This is literally the first form of the channel. It's a living channel that will continue to change and evolve over time. I think that's why I don't want to focus on the classics that aren't there because in my heart of hearts, I know they will be. But right now, what they have on tap looks like a "funtastic" voyage of cartoons, and I can't wait for it to launch.

I hope I get a chance to watch it in my part of the world. 

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