Top Cat
I could remember when I wrote about watching Hanna Barbera cartoons in the 90s. I remembered having an obsession with Top Cat for some stupid reason. Was I just a kid or what? I just watched Top Cat brainlessly as an escape route from real-life events. I always felt that the show was an escapist route for me from real-life problems. I always considered Officer Dibble as an "evil character" even when the show suggests otherwise. Top Cat and his fellow alley cats were a gang of swindlers who were always up to "get rich quick" schemes and that's why Dibble had to stop them. Though, I just enjoyed it for stupid reasons until I realized it was just an old shame. Perhaps my BIGGEST old shame among Hanna Barbera cartoons.
The Flintstones
As if Top Cat isn't the only old shame - another is The Flintstones. Yes, I'm talking about this show. At first, I just watched it because it was a cartoon. However, the older I got, the more obnoxious Fred really becomes. I really just can't stand Fred any longer. I guess it's only normal for his mother-in-law Pearl to really hate him.
Wizard of Oz by DIC Entertainment was another show that I was obsessed with. I saw the pre-war movie version before this. The show itself was a pseudo-sequel to the movie where references like the Wicked Witch of the West (looking a lot like Marguerite Hamilton who played the titular character). The gang must regather to defeat the resurrected Wicked Witch. However, it just ended up with only 14 episodes. For me, it's regrettably become an old shame of sorts.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
I remembered having an obsession with this show to the point I had a TMNT birthday party. Okay, it's an old shame really. Why? When I started checking out the 2001 cartoon - this show just looks weak. Sure, it was a hit back then but has it aged well? I always thought combining Shredder and Krang into one character known as Utrom Shredder (though Krang was renamed as Chrell) is one cool concept. Remakes can be better if done right.
Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo
As a child, I didn't really know Scrappy was hated. The trope The Scrappy is used for a disliked character. I used to find Scrappy cute. However, as years went by, Scrappy just got annoying to the point that fans hated him and the writers reboot doesn't include Scrappy. Though, I do still find turning Scrappy into a villain still uncalled for. Though the show had a refreshing twist that some of its episodes were focused on funny episodes than unmasking villains.
Maxie's World
The show is aimed at girls but why did I watch it? Well, it's going to be a really bad reason - I had a crush on the non-existent Maxie. Some female peers said it was okay for me to watch it - they did watch manly superheroes too. I remembered some of them had a crush on Cyclops from the X-Men TAS by Haim Saban. Then again, I find this to be quite an old shame too.
Seiun Kamen Machineman
Nice theme song but this show SUCKS. One can easily berate Gekisou Sentai Carranger or Engine Sentai Go-Onger - those shows are way more watchable than this one. How? I remembered how I once watched this on IBC-13 back-to-back with Kamen Rider Black. It was a campy show though it just got bad for me with bad designs for both heroes and villains. After trying to rewatch it subbed - I just decided to dump it. Both Carranger and Go-Onger still deserve better. At least, Carranger and Go-Onger still had plot even if the former always makes me see the latter as a somewhat convoluted mess.
Lion Voltron
I was once obsessed with this show for a reason. It was a popular show without me knowing that Toei Ltd. itself had its own original version known as Hyajakuu Golion. Golion wasn't popular in Japan probably due to how mature it was for the intended audience but still managed to film more episodes than Voltes V. The show itself had heavy censorship from the overly violent Golion. For me, I can't rewatch this show or any of its modern remakes after seeing Golion.
Golion may have not been popular in Japan (but not bad either from what I heard) - Voltron is obviously sanitized. Its sudden hit can be compared to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. However, watching Golion just made me think that "WOAH! This is better than Voltron!" The backstory of Golion where his separation was done by the Space Goddess and NOT Hagar. If Hagar had that power she could have done it again unless it was explained away by, "Well I can do it only once." Also, Golion has had what Voltron never had - a definite finale. Sure, it's not the best finale and there are some random elements added (like Hagar is actually Lotor's paternal grandmother) but the villains got what they deserved. Hence Golion did end at a high note!Conan the Adventurer
Hasbro created a hit cartoon that would probably make Robert E. Howard turn on his grave. How? Well, Conan the Barbarian is NOT a franchise for children. It was actually this movie that made me think that the movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was for children. The movie had lots of sanitized violence (such as just making the serpent men disappear), Serpentor 2.0 in Wrath-Amon though it was able to make a 65 episodes cartoon. I could remember how I frequently threw a tantrum if I missed an episode of this show.
However, after watching Conan the Barbarian (1982) - the cartoon just starts to fade away. I mean, why trade the scenes of serpent men getting sent into another dimension when the Arnold movie has him beat them up to their deaths? Not to mention, you don't see "Wrath-Amon" (movie Thulsa Doom) turn Conan's parents into stone. Nope, the serpent men MASSACRE the whole village, Conan's attack on the Mountain of Power to recover the princess, and later the Battle of the Mounds are all bloody. It has none of those "Send them to another dimension!" but rather "We're here to make sure you don't return!" Not to mention, the movie Thulsa Doom really can outsmart his opponents or would actually make a better Chief Servant of Set than Wrath-Amon ever will. Why Hasbro decided to sanitize Conan the Barbarian even replacing Barbarian with Adventurer is still funny. Sure, it's a hit but can you say the same thing about it after you've seen the masterpiece that's Arnold's? You'd probably never say it again!
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Before I ended up disliking Power Rangers - I used to like it as a child. Okay, what's the real reason? I mean, I've been watching Tagalog-dubbed Super Sentai before this show? I guess it had to do with my bad crush on Kimberly as a child or what? Anyway, I just enjoyed it for what I'd call as brainless fun. However, after discovering more of Super Sentai - can I still enjoy the Power Rangers franchise? Some do but I don't. For me, rewatching Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers after seeing more the Japanese original (complete with scenes that won't make it past the TV-Y7-FV radar) - I don't see much of a reason to invest leisure credits on the Power Rangers as a whole. I don't find Mei in Zyuranger attractive but at least the show she's in had a proper conclusion. Mighty Morphin' got overextended and I find that a BAD THING. Think about it... I used to think that it was a good thing! Toei later produced 25 sets of Zyu2 footage for Saban's usage - something similar they did for World Events Production for the second season of Lion Voltron.
Then again, I won't consider Super Sentai as a flawless franchise either. Just that, Power Rangers has had a lot of decisions that made me dislike the franchise. Recently, it hasn't gotten any better from Disney's rushed seasons to Nickelodeon's unnecessary splitting it into two. Sure, the cast members of Super Sentai have gone to Morphicon but it hasn't changed my stance about Power Rangers not being my cup of tea. Then again, that hasn't changed my mind about how terrible Power Rangers has kept becoming. Oh boy, I wonder why Toei doesn't intervene at all?
VR Troopers
While Saban's Masked Rider will always be THAT BAD (and it inadvertently vindicated the failure that's Kamen Rider BLACK RX) - I was once a fan of VR Troopers. However, my liking of the series started to dwindle down when the second season used Shaider footage. That's when I realized that the first season used footage from Chojinki Metalder and Dimensional Warrior Spielban. VR Troopers ended up getting canceled due to running out of STOCK FOOTAGE.
Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm
Back when I thought all video games were for children NEVER MIND the rating. It lasted for only 13 seasons. The voice acting is BAD. Did Sean Catherine Derek try to pull the same stunt that Hasbro did with Conan? Well, Hasbro succeeded with Conan though it had a failed sequel called Conan and the Young Warriors. Funny, a lot of shows that didn't do well usually only have 13 episodes! This one was a sanitized version of the real deal. After replaying Mortal Kombat (2011) - can I still pick this show up and rewatch it? If I can't even play all the old-school MK games before the reboot (except for MK Shaolin Monks) - the same goes for this atrocious show.
Street Fighter (US Cartoon)
After the Street Fighter movie - the cartoon was made. The movie had an inaccuracy with why it had Balrog on the side of good. Here, Zangief gets adaptational villainy like he did in Street Fighter II V. Guile here is nowhere near as great as either the cheesy movie version or the video game version. For me, if they wanted an American protagonist - why not pick Ken to replace Ryu? Ken would've been a better replacement for Ryu. Guile? Well, gotta admit that while he had a grudge against General Bison but he's not main character material. Also, combining Charlie with Blanka was sort of weird. Video game material reveals Blanka is named JIMMY.
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These are just a few shows I remembered as old shames. I may soon update this list depending on how much I remembered.
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