ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
This next item will be especially painful for Gen X-ers and even some Millennials. Saturday morning cartoons are officially a thing of the past.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "LOONEY TUNES")
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Porky Pig) That's all, folks.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
No, really - that's it.
(SOUNDBITE OF "LOONEY TUNES" THEME SONG)
MARTIN: Since the 1990s, TV networks have been pulling the plug on the cartoon block. The CW Network had been the only one hanging on, until this weekend. Now you'll have to pass down to your children the stories of the good old days - waking at the crack of dawn, pouring yourself a bowl of frosted flakes and waiting anxiously through the commercials to see if Poppa Smurf would once again outsmart that wily Gargamel.
SIEGEL: He always did, by the way.
(SOUNDBITE OF "THE SMURFS" THEME SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As Smurfs) La, la, la, la, la, la. Sing a happy song. La, la, la, la, la, la.
SIEGEL: And now that the Smurf song is stuck in your head, we bid goodbye to the unique institution of Saturday morning cartoons.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "LOONEY TUNES")
MEL BLANC: (As Bugs Bunny) So long, Sammy. See you in Miami.
MARTIN: And a note of thanks on behalf of all the parents for whom those shows meant a little more sleep on a Saturday morning. So no more "Alvin And The Chipmunks."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As Alvin and the Chipmunks) Watch out 'cause here we come. It's been awhile, but we're back in style. So...
SIEGEL: Goodbye, Care Bears. Goodbye, Gummi Bears.
(SOUNDBITE OF "GUMMI BEARS" THEME SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Gummi Bears, bouncing here and there and everywhere.
MARTIN: Mighty Mouse, we salute you.
(SOUNDBITE OF "MIGHTY MOUSE" THEME SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: (As Mighty Mouse) Here I come to save the day. That means that...
SIEGEL: Snorks, adieu.
(SOUNDBITE OF "SNORKS" THEME SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: The Snorks - play along with the Snorks.
MARTIN: Tell us who got you to the TV on Saturday mornings - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, perhaps? Popeye?
(SOUNDBITE OF "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" THEME SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - heroes in a half-shell - turtle power. They're the world's most fearsome fighting team. We're really hip. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
MARTIN: Join the conversation on Twitter. We are @npratc. You can find me @rachelnpr.
SIEGEL: And I'm @rsiegel47.
(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED SONG)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: After these messages, we'll be right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Yuck. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.