Agro's Cartoon Connection

Last updated

Agro's Cartoon Connection
Agro's Cartoon Connection.png
GenreChildren's
Variety
Presented by
Country of origin Australia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
Production
Production locations
  • Brisbane, Queensland (1990–1996)
  • Sydney, New South Wales (1997)
Running time180 minutes (1990–1993)
150 minutes (1994–1996)
90 minutes (1996-1997)
Original release
Network Seven Network
Release22 January 1990 (1990-01-22) –
19 December 1997 (1997-12-19)

Agro's Cartoon Connection was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1990 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn. It was originally filmed at BTQ7 from 1990 to 1996, after which it moved to ATN7 in 1997.

Contents

History

Over the years the show had a number of co-hosts including Ann-Maree Biggar, [1] Terasa Livingstone, [2] Holly Brisley, [3] Michael R Gibson (who was known to the audience by the nickname "Gibbo") and guest hosts Ian Calder and Stacey Thomson.

It began as Seven's Super Saturday, later becoming The Super Saturday Show, which only aired on Saturday mornings and was originally only broadcast in Brisbane.

It followed on from a show called The Cartoon Connection which had been hosted for many years previously by Michael Horrocks and Alex Wileman, Wileman went on to do New South Wales lottery broadcasts.

The show consisted of playing a variety of cartoons including Bobby's World , Samurai Pizza Cats and Magic Knight Rayearth while including small editorials presented between the cartoons in a variety of segments. One such example included Ian Calder appearing in a regular segment acting as a character, one of his more popular being Crikey the Clown where he would walk around the streets of Brisbane in an aggressive manner asking questions to anyone he met.

Other shows presented during the series' run included G.I. Joe Extreme , The Bots Master , Eek! The Cat , Bob in a Bottle and Mega Man: The Animated Series . The Sunday morning edition of the program ran under the name The Super Sunday Show and included skits performed by the regulars, as well as presenting the UK animated program The Dreamstone and the science fiction program UFO .

Notably the show's humour was sometimes provocative but always done in a way that would escape the notice of the show's primary audience of children. The program was criticised in Parliament for including product sponsorship within the program itself, rather than simply running commercial breaks.

From 1995, the show fiercely competed with Cheez TV on Network Ten. In an attempt to boost ratings against Cheez TV, Seven replaced Gibson & Thomson with Brad Hills in 1997. In December of that year, Agro and all of the show's hosts were removed, with the programme rebranded simply to Cartoon Connection and only showing cartoons. Cartoon Connection was eventually cancelled in 1999.

Following the show's cancellation, Seven attempted several experiments to revive its breakfast programming for children. Eventually in 2000 Seven shifted the timeslot's focus towards early morning news, occupied by the Sunrise programme instead.

Co-host Michael 'Gibbo' Gibson passed away on 10 June 2024. [4]

Cast

NameRoleDuration
Jamie Dunn [5] Agro/Host1990–1997
Ann-Maree Biggar [1] Co-host1990–1994
Terasa Livingstone Reporter1994
Co-host [2] 1995–1997
Holly Brisley [3] Reporter1995–1997
Ian CalderVarious characters1990–1992
Crikey The Clown1991–1997
Michael R GibsonGibbo1990–1996
Stacey Thomson Ranger Stacey1990–1996
Brad HillsReporter1997

Awards

Awards and nominations for Agro's Cartoon Connection
YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
1991 Logie Awards Most Popular Children's ProgramAgro's Cartoon ConnectionWon [6]
1992 Won [6]
1993 Won [6]
1994 Won [6]
1995 Won [6]
1996 Won [6]
1997 Won [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

"Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre was a tradition from broadly the mid-1960s to mid-2010s; over time its popularity declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier media regulations. In the last years of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired on major networks to meet "educational and informational" (E/I) requirements. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continued to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates.

<i>Cheez TV</i> Australian childrens television program

Cheez TV was an Australian children's cartoon show, hosted by Ryan Lappin and Jade Gatt, that aired on weekday mornings on Network Ten. It began broadcasting on 17 July 1995 and it ended on 31 December 2004 with the presenters leaving. After eight months of being without presenters, it officially ended on 20 August 2005, and was replaced with Toasted TV.

<i>The Bugs Bunny Show</i> Animated television anthology series

The Bugs Bunny Show is a long-running American animated anthology television series hosted by Bugs Bunny that was mainly composed of theatrical Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons released by Warner Bros. between 1948 and 1969. The show originally debuted as a primetime half-hour program on ABC in 1960, featuring three theatrical Looney Tunes cartoons with new linking sequences produced by the Warner Bros. Cartoons staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agro (puppet)</span> Australian puppet and media personality

Agro is an Australian puppet and media personality, not owned although operated by comedian and voice artist Jamie Dunn. He was especially prominent on Australian television in the 1990s due to his co-hosting opposite Ann-Maree Biggar and Terasa Livingstone of Agro's Cartoon Connection, a children's program that was aired from 1989 to 1997 on weekday mornings on the Seven Network.

Wombat was an Australian children's television show which screened on the Seven Network from 1979 to 1990. It was produced at BTQ7 in Brisbane and aired across Australia on weekday afternoons, and later Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The Great Outdoors was an Australian travel magazine series broadcast on the Seven Network. It began in 1993 and was broadcast regularly until 2009, with a short-lived revival in 2012.

Jamie Dunn is an Australian television and radio personality, puppeteer, comedian, and voice artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BTQ</span> Television station in Brisbane, Queensland

BTQ is the Brisbane television station of the Seven Network in Australia. BTQ was the second television station to launch in Brisbane, going to air on 1 November 1959, after QTQ launched three months earlier and before ABQ launched just 1 day after BTQ's launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine's Wide World of Sports</span> Australian sports anthology series

Nine's Wide World of Sports is a long running sports anthology brand on Australian television that airs on the Nine Network and streaming service Stan. All major sports, events and series covered by the network are broadcast under this brand, the flagship sports being rugby league, rugby union and Grand Slam tennis, the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games, and spring horse racing. Previous sporting rights include the Australian rules football, Australian Cricket Team home season, autumn horse racing, swimming until 2008, and golf since 2018.

The Early Bird Show was an Australian children's television show that aired on Network Ten in Australia from 26 January 1985 until 10 June 1989. The show was so popular that a magazine about it was published in 1989.

NBA Inside Stuff is a television program featuring behind the scenes activities of NBA players. The program also includes features on fitness and fundamentals of basketball. The show has had three runs on three different networks: on NBC from 1990-2002, on ABC from 2002-2006, and on NBA TV from 2013-2016. From 1990-2006, it was hosted by Ahmad Rashad. His cohost changed over his time on the show; from 1990-1991 it was Julie Moran, from 1991-1998 it was Willow Bay, and from 1998-2006 it was Summer Sanders. In 2006, ABC retooled the show, changing its name to NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, and shifted its time slot from Saturday mornings to Sunday afternoons.

Terasa Livingstone is an Australian theatre, film and television actress, TV presenter and children's host. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, fellow Australian actor Wil Traval.

<i>Wide World of Sports</i> (Australian TV program) Australian TV series or program

Wide World of Sports is an Australian sports television program. It is broadcast on the Nine Network.

Captain Noah and His Magical Ark was a television program for children and was generally broadcast around the Philadelphia area. The series aired from 1967 to 1994. It was filmed and produced at the WPVI-TV, Channel 6 studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Toonturama is an American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish-language television network UniMás which debuted on January 15, 2002 and January 19, 2002. The four-hour block—which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and Pacific Time—features live action and animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 14. It was the network's attempt to have a Saturday morning block.

<i>Weekend Edition</i> (Australian program)

Weekend Edition is an Australian news and current affairs television program on Sky News Live on Saturdays and Sundays. It is the weekend incarnation of First Edition.

Ann-Maree Biggar is an Australian television presenter.

The Big Breakfast was an Australian children's breakfast television series presented by Tim Bailey that aired on Network Ten from 21 December 1992 until 5 July 1995. The series aired every weekday from 7:00am to 8:30am and later from 6:30am to 8:30am and featured competitions, music videos and cartoons such as X-Men, Biker Mice from Mars, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Dungeons & Dragons, Bobby's World, The Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer, Eek! The Cat, The Transformers, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, Mighty Mouse and Friends, Bionic Six, Casper and Friends, The Adventures of T-Rex, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Fievel's American Tails, Piggsburg Pigs!, Back to the Future, Garfield and Friends, Transformers: Generation 2, Exo-Squad, Conan the Adventurer, Peter Pan and the Pirates, Little Wizards, Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!, Capitol Critters and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and a few live-action shows such as the American sitcoms Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, the very first The Lone Ranger TV series and the American children's super hero series Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad as well as the Australian children's wildlife series Totally Wild in which Bailey also presented.

Univision y Los Niños is a former American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish-language television network Univision which premiered on June 26, 1989, to September 15, 1990. The two-hour block—which airs Monday to Friday and Saturday morning cartoon from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET/PT—features the network was in partnership with DIC Entertainment including animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 14. It was the network's attempt to have a Saturday morning block.

References

  1. 1 2 Sadlier, Kevin (3 May 1992). "Ann-Maree's double secret". The Sun-Herald . Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 Kibble, Emma (28 June 1998). "Thrill a minute life for traveller Terasa; I'd even fly to - the moon if they asked me!". Sunday Mail . p. A10. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 Melloy, N (31 May 1999). "Agro's mate in living colour". The Courier-Mail . p. 24. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Vale Michael 'Gibbo' Gibson". RadioInfo. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  5. ↑ Crawford, Anne (5 March 1995). "Ugly Agro caught up in custody tug-of war". The Age . p. 7. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "TV Week Logie Award Winners 1990 to 1999". Now To Love. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.