Retro TV Friday

A few odds and ends this week, starting with another visit to Saturday morning cartoons.  Last month we mentioned Linus the Lionhearted, the cartoon based on the Post cereal characters.  Linus' great rival in the cartoon lion field, I pointed out, was King Leonardo, sponsored by General Mills.  Leonardo had his own notable opening title scene, which we see here.  Unlike Linus' sidekick, Sugar Bear, none of King Leonardo's fellow cartoon characters seem to have survived into today's culture.




Some of you may think all this proves is that I watch too much TV.  But realy - how much is too much?  According to our correspondent Sheryl Owen from the Satellite Dish blog, here are 10 ways to tell you are addicted to television.  In all seriousness, I think the ten ways to reduce the habit are particularly useful - although I've always been an unabashed fan of television (even as I curse many of the shows on it), I think it should be seen as an augmentation to one's lifestyle, as opposed to totally taking it over.  We actually gave up television for Lent two or three years in a row, and I have to admit there was something of a cleansing feeling to it.

Finally, was there ever a TV detective with a cooler name than Peter Gunn?  And did any TV series have a cooler theme than Peter Gunn? Here's the beginning of a typical Gunn episode, with Henry Mancini's dynamite music. ◙