Saturday Morning Preview Specials
Here is a partial list of shows partially based upon what I recall, partially based upon what I have on tape and based partially on research. The networks don't always run a preview and are more often than not an exception rather than the rule. Some of the information, such as the years and network, are based on the year the shows which the characters come from was introduced. For a variety of reasons, including a lack of interest and the inability to tape the specials, I have little information for the specials before 1990. Info on shows prior to 1990 comes from memory and research. (For instance, I remembered the Brady kids then researched to find out when the show first aired and on what network.)
I've been careful to catch all previews after 1990 and have most of the post-1990 preview specials (if not all) archived in AVI format. I trust the networks have these shows in their archives, but they're unlikely to come to light unless enough interest is shown in them.
Previews are considered by the network to be advertising, and as such are vulnerable to pre-emption and rescheduling. I have tried to list any special that I can remember or gather info on, even if it is fragmentary. As well, it's typically a decision of the local station as to air or not air so it's possible some areas saw them while others didn't.
As a general rule, the preview show is run the Friday night just before the new shows are introduced, typically the third Friday of September around 8 pm (just in case you're looking out for them). Sometimes they have been run or re-run on the same Saturday morning. ABC had been fairly consistent in showing previews up to 1999, but the other networks have been sporatic at best. For instance, Fox has only done two in five years.
To the best of my knowledge, prior to 1972 Saturday morning fare was previewed as part of the primetime fare. As such, not every year had specials (which partially accounts for the missing years). And it's worth noting that (to my knowledge) no Saturday morning preview specials were aired for 2000, 2001 and 2002. As expected, older information is more sketchy and more likely to be based upon memory than fact, but I have tried to confirm facts where possible.
Addendum (2007): Since creating this list someone posted one on Wikipedia. I don't know of thier source material and some listed there, particularly latter ones, could be for ad campaigns or previews of the hosted series and not preview shows. I'm only listing the actual half-hour or hour long preview shows.
I've updated to reflect the Wikipedia entries and indicated as such. I did find some errors with the Wikipedia entries (and corrected them) on info I could confirm elsewhere which is why I've marked those entries as uncertain. Wikipedia has a lot of entries which I don't recall and could not confirm elsewhere. Since they only seem to be listed on Wikipedia I'm doubtful about their accuracy. The greater the list of characters listed, the more likely they are to be have been aired, even though the year or the network may be wrong.
Also, a show that takes some time to develop may have a copyright of a year prior to release, so the copyright tags on a show can't always be trusted, but in most cases they do tend to reflect the year the show was aired. So someone going by just the copyright year on the recording might have the wrong year. Typically, the year the shows started is the year the preview aired, although the hosts of a hit show were commonly used. Without access to actual copies it's impossible to be certain. But even a recording and an old TV listing doesn't prove that they were actually aired.
1970s
Year: 1972
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): The Brady Kids (Kids from “The Brady Bunch” TV series)
Plot Summary: The kids from “The Brady Bunch” get zapped into their TV set by Whitchipoo from “H.R. Puffinstuff”. One of the characters they run into is H.R. Puffinstuff (the mayor).
Notes: This may have been the first saturday morning preview special, at least the earliest I can remember. (I seem to recall the special being made specifically because there was too much info for prime time.) The theme of “characters entering the television” has been repeated in many of these special, up to NBC's “Who Shrunk Saturday Morning”.
(Uncertain-Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1973
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): hosted by Avery Schreiber and Jack Burns
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
Year: 1973?
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Sigmond and the boy from Sigmond and the Sea Monster.
Plot Summary: Sigmond and the boy review new shows (while waiting for a vet?)
Notes: As I recall this special seemed like a pilot for the series, by introducing the boy (Johnny Whitaker from “Family Affair”) to the sea monster. The plot of the show more or less covered the back story shown in the series' opening credits. I also seem to recall the boy's house having a satellite dish, something new and rare at the time.
Addendum: Wikipedia has three entries which this could also be:
1973 - Starship Rescue (hosted by Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth from Emergency!)
1974 - Preview Revue (hosted by Jimmy Osmond; featuring Johnny Whitaker)
1975 - Preview Revue (hosted by The Lockers; featuring Michael Landon, and Billy Barty and Johnny Whitaker from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters)
Note that they claim a completely different preview for '73, although Sigmund and the Sea Monster premiered that year. If it wasn't '73 then it's likely '74. Because of the way Wikipedia works, it's possible that a couple of the entries all refer to the same show so I haven't listed them separately. "Emergency!" was also done as a cartoon so it's possible that entry is for another year.
(Uncertain-Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1974
Network:ABC
Main Character(s): Lee Majors
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm. I do recall one with Lee Majors but I'm not sure when and I believe it was a prime time preview, not Saturday morning.
(uncertain-Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1974
Network:CBS
Main Character(s): Hudson Brothers
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm. For those who don't know, the Hudson Brothers were a comedy team of brothers and were well known at the time. I recall their show airing Saturday afternoons but I don't recall if those were syndicated airings.
Year:1975
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): The robots from Lost Saucer (played by Jim Neighbors and Ruth Buzzi)
Plot Summary: The two robot characters from Lost Saucer take a couple of children in their flying saucer. This may have been one of those unofficial pilot shows. I think there may have been a similar special made another year with the characters from “Far Out Space Nuts” (think Gilligan's Island in space with only Gilligan and the Skipper), but I'm only working with vague memories.
Notes: These two performers were fairly well known at the time, with Jim Neighbors coming from Andy Griffith and Ruth Buzzi coming from Laugh-In. The children in the special were the same as in the show.
(Uncertain Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1975
Network: CBS
Main Character(s): Bernadette Stanis, Jimmie Walker and Ralph Carter
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(Uncertain-Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1976
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Jimmy Osmond
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(Uncertain Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1976
Network: CBS
Main Character(s): cast of Wacko
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(uncertain-Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1976
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Freddy Prinze
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(Uncertain-Info from Wikipedia)
Year: 1977
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Captain Kool and the Kongs
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm. I do recall one with Lee Majors but I'm not sure when and I believe it was a prime time preview, not Saturday morning. I do recall one with an evil scientist trying to eliminate a band but I don't know it it's this one.
(uncertain-Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1977
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): hosted by Andrea McArdle from Annie
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
Year: 1978
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Jimmy and Christy Mc Nichol
Plot Summary: Guest stars singing
Notes: Information gathered from http://www.xs4all.nl/~mayday/bio.htm . I don't recall seeing this one, likely because it ran against the NBC one, though I may have.
Year: 1978
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Dr. Deathray/Dr. Shrinker (Jay Robinson), Hugo (Billy Barty) and The Bay City Rollers
Plot Summary: Mad scientist trying to stop rock band from performing. Dr. Deathray is a renamed “Dr. Shrinker” from “Lost Island”, although the characters come from the Krofft show based on the sci-fi classic “Dr. Cyclops” characters.
Notes: I really can't remember much about this one, since I only saw it in fragments. From research and memory I think I'm correct about the details. I may have the characters confused with another show, but I can't think of any other shows that would fit. WIkipedia confirms a Bay City Rollers special at this time.
1980s
Note: I not did take much interest in Saturday morning around the 80s so I didn't watch too many specials, but I did catch a few. Given that they are more recent listings, I'm inclinded to believe the Wikipedia info for this time to be more accurate.
Year: 1983
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Hosted by Dick Clark.
Plot summary: Previews of new shows intermixed with highlights from old shows.
Notes: Information gathered from http://home.earthlink.net/~coolstuff/live.html as well as what I recall. This is one I wished I had on tape (aside from all the others as well). It was a good retrospective for the shows, though not the previews.
(Uncertain - Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1983
Network:CBS
Main Character(s): hosted by Scott Baio; featuring the Krofft Puppets, and Sorrell Booke and James Best (in-character as Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from Dukes of Hazard, respectively)
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm. But given the list of actors I'm inclinded to believe this one as accurate.
(uncertain-Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1983
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Ricky Schroder
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
Year:1984
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Weird Al
Plot Summary: Weird Al runs about a park, meeting up with Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo.
Notes: Half of this preview is available online (unfortunately the poster didn't have the rest). I don't recall seeing it before.
(uncertain-Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1984
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Joyce DeWitt
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm. Given it's an actress from “Three's Company” hosting, I almost wonder if they was not a prime time preview instead, although plenty of children saw “Three's Company”.
Year: 1985
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): hosted by Keshia Knight Pulliam and Lisa Whelchel
Plot Summary: A bunch of small children get sucked into a TV fantasy world.
Notes: This one looked as if it copied it's plot directly from the Brady Bunch special. The children were connected with an animated show aimed at young girls, something like Strawberry Shortcake. It may have been Rainbow Brite (I just seem to recall something about rainbows in it). Info is based partially on what I recalled seeing and partially on info from Wikipedia. (It's the most likely fit.)
(Uncertain - Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1985
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Tony Danza
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(Uncertain - Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1985
Network: CBS
Main Character(s): Roddy Piper
Plot Summary:
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
(Uncertain - Wikipedia entry)
Year: 1986
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Alvin And The Chipmunks (Wikipedia has the show listed as "Alvin Goes Back To School")
Plot Summary: (Though the title sugggests the plot)
Notes: Info uncertain. Based upon a Wikipedia entry I have not been able to confirm.
Year:1987
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): ALF
Plot Summary: Show entitled "ALF Loves A Mystery"
Notes: Info from epguides.com and also listed on Wikipedia. I don't recall seeing this one.
Year: 1988
Network: Unsure. I believe it was NBC but Wikipedia has it as ABC. Scooby started as an ABC show but incarnations of the show have aired on other networks.
Main Character(s): Scooby Doo and his friends. (Maybe Scrappy Doo)
Plot Summary: Scooby, Shaggy and the gang meet with studio executives. I believe they were investigating the theft of the new season.
Notes: It's amazing how long these characters lasted. Unfortunately the premises for the latter shows seemed to just get worse and worse. "The New Scooby Doo Mysteries” went back to what made the original interesting, even parodying the show's characters, but the latest incarnation is the worst ever.
Year:1989
Network: NBC
Main Character(s): Cast of "Saved By The Bell"
Plot Summary: Cast members, late for school, get pushed into a TV world by one of Skreech's inventions.
Notes: "Who Shrunk Saturday Morning" was the last NBC preview special and one of the better known for it's connection to "Saved By The Bell". I do have a recording of this one and it may be possible to find it online.
1990s
Note: I took an interest again in preview specials about this time and had access to a VCR so I was able to record most of them. The Perfect Strangers preview I only had half of (tape ran out) so I didn't keep it but did watch it in it's entirety. Except where indicated, the following info has been gathered from first-hand viewing and rewatching of tapes of the show so I can attest to their accuracy. (I've now archived them in AVI format.)
Year: 1990 (possibly '89, but I'm fairly certain it was '90)
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Larry and Balki (Bronson Pinocet) from Perfect Strangers
Plot Summary: Larry and Balki watch previews for the new shows. Not much story, just two grown men watching cartoons.
Notes: This was one of a series where characters from Friday evening shows (TGIF) were used as hosts, a trend that continued until Disney bought (and in my opinion destroyed) the network. ABC seemed to be trying to tie it's TGIF programming in with it's Saturday Morning Programming, appearently aiming for the same market.
Year: 1991
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Reginald VelJohnson, Kellie Shanygne Williams, and Jaleel White from "Family Matters" cast
Plot Summary: Three characters watch saturday morning preview.
Shows Introduced: Land Of The Lost, Darkwing Duck, The Pirates Of Dark Water, Hammerman
Notes: Of course there's a major plot hole with this (and many other specials that followed); how can they be watching the preview, when they're part of it? Aside from Hammerman, this was one of the best years for ABC's saturday morning. Also running this year was BeetleJuice and Slimer and The Real Ghostbusters.
Year: 1992
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): "Step By Step" cast plus Thing and Cousin It from "Addams Family"
Plot Summary: Step By Step family watches saturday morning preview.
Shows Introduced: Addams Family, Goof Troop, and Wild West Cowboys of Moo Mesa.
Notes: Thing and Cousin It may not have been performed by the same performers from either the film or TV shows.
Year: 1993
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Cast from "Hanging With Mr. Cooper"
Plot Summary: Family watches saturday morning preview while mother tries to get some help cleaning the attic.
Shows Introduced: Cro, Sonic The Hedgehog, Tales From The Cryptkeeper, City Kids
Notes:
Year: 1994
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Cast From "Boy Meets World"
Plot Summary: The children watch saturday morning preview.
Shows Introduced: Free Willy, Reboot, Bump In The Night
Notes:
Year: 1995
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Raven-Symone, Marquise Wilson, Zachery Ty Bryan, Gary Owens (and Megabyte from "Reboot")
Plot Summary:Raven-Symone and Marquise Wilson hack into ABC's computer and run into Megabyte, who holds the ABC line-up hostage.
Shows Introduced: Madeline, What-A-Mess, Dumb and Dumber
Notes: One of the more interesting previews, probably because the new shows were so bad. (What-A-Mess wasn't that bad but it didn't air until mid-season.) This was shortly before Disney took over, and it's likely ABC didn't want to spend a lot of money on new shows that might (and very quickly did) get canned. Recordings exist amongst Reboot fans.
Year: 1996
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Melissa Joan-Hart hosts, with Ian Zearing, the cast of "Bone Chillers", and Becka and Tucker from "Flash Forward" as guests
Plot Summary: Party hosted by Melissa Joan-Hart held in "Bone Chillers" school.
Shows Introduced:Doug, The Mighty Ducks, Gargoyles:The Goliath Chronicles.
Notes: This season shows the beginnings of ABC's "Disnification" of ABCs Saturday Morning which led to it's downfall. Recordings exist amonst Melissa Joan-Hart fans and it may be possible to find online.
Year: 1997
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): The cast from "One Saturday Morning," led by Charlie (Jessica Prunell)
Plot Summary: "One Saturday Morning"
Shows Introduced: Recess, Pepper Ann (Some "Doug" also shown)
Notes: The Disnification of ABC's saturday morning is complete. The "One Saturday Morning" theme continued to 2002, but has now been replaced with ABC Kids, although the shows are much the same. The saturday morning line-up took a dramatic change, as all shows, including the Disney shows with the exception of "Doug," were replaced with new shows. It seems Disney tried to make the shows educational by setting the stories in schools. This season is also markedly different from previous seasons by the lack of any guns, preferably part of an attempt to reduce violence in the shows. Definately not the same old ABC.
Year: 1998
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Meme (Valarie Roe Miller) and Salem from "Sabrina The Teenage Witch"
Plot Summary: One Saturday Morning again.
Shows Introduced: Hercules (Some Doug, Recess and Pepper Ann also shown)
Notes: New host for One Saturday Morning.
Year: 1999
Network: ABC
Main Character(s): Meme (Valarie Roe Miller)
Plot Summary: "One Saturday Morning On Friday Night." One Saturday Morning again, this time with a time machine.
Shows Introduced: Sabrina:The Animated Series, Mickey Mouseworks (Some Doug, Recess, and Pepper Ann also shown)
Notes: More of the same. It should be noted that this appears to be the last preview to date, as ABC did not show a Fall 2000 Saturday Morning Preview, likely because they used the same One Saturday Morning format and introduced only one new show. Although “One Saturday Morning” became “ABC Kids” in 2002, to date no new previews have been shown (to the best of my knowledge).
Year: 1999
Network: FOX
Main Character(s): Frankie Muniz, Justin Berfield, Erik Per Sullivan, and Michael Welch from "Malcolm In The Middle"
Plot Summary: Fox Kid's Sneak Preview. Kids watch tapes of new Fox saturday morning shows.
Shows Introduced: Spider Man Unlimited, Avengers, Cyber 9:New Dawn, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Godzilla, Power Rangers:Lost Galaxy, Beast Wars, Sherlock Holmes In The 22nd Century, NASCAR Racers, and Digimon.
Notes: This was the first Saturday morning preview for FOX. Despite a strong lineup with great potential, only Power Rangers and Beast Wars made it to spring. NASCAR Racers and Digimon were mid-season replacements. However, a couple of shows, such as Big Guy and Rusty and Spider Man Unlimited have been rerun by FOX in their entirety. Overall a good preview, especially clever by using tapes as a medium for seeing the new shows (instead of just watching the preview on TV).
2000 to current
Note: Saturday morning previews have generally disappeared, although a network will occasionally show one. The 2003 FOX special is about the last I know of.
Year: 2003
Network: FOX
Main Character(s): Characters from Sonic X, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cubix, Funky Cops, Ultimate Muscle and Shaman King appeared.
Plot Summary: “Fight for the Fox Box”. Cartoon characters battle over control of the Fox Box codes.
Shows Introduced: Sonic X, Cubix (although Cubix had previously been on WB), Funky Cops and Shaman King
Notes: Aside from this being the first Saturday morning preview special of the millenium, this was a special with many firsts. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first all-animated preview special (excluding comic books). In fact, almost all preview specials (with the possible exception of the '95 ABC special) focused around live-action, including those where the characters were taken into the television. The show also had clue codes in it which viewers needed to access the Fox Box website (SaveTheFoxBox.com), the first time (to my knowledge) a game was used as part of the show. Addendum: The theme of the 2007 season for FOX is "The Game Station."
Additional notes:
Wikipedia lists these questionable entries:
1998 - CBS Kidshow Preview
2002 - Nick on CBS Preview[citation needed]
2006 - KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS Preview[citation needed]
More likely ad campaigns, themes or pilot shows than actual preview shows. For something so recent as 1998 I would have noticed. Even Wikipedia is doubtful about the entries for the 2002 and 2006 preview specials. It's possible the poster meant “previewed” instead of “premiered.”
There are no known Saturday morning preview specials for the CW, WB or UPN shows, however the first prime-time UPN special listed it's Sunday morning shows which it aired instead of Saturday morning shows.