When I was growing up, we had two TV channels, programming started at 6pm and ended at 11pm. At 7pm all kids would sit in front of the TVs and watch a great animated TV show. Sundays were the best — animated shows imported from abroad (mostly the U.S.), with voiceover and everything!

The Moomins

They haven’t really been popular here much, but I have some very warm memories of watching the Moomins. The show is really serene, soft, and a little creepy.

Rescue Rangers

My favorite TV show tune of all times. And, quite frankly, I kind of wanted to be Chip (that was before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I guess).

Gummi Bears

I liked this show primarily because there was a whole colony of “Other” Gummi Bears that was across the sea that the Gummi Bears desperately tried to find. No matter how close they got, they could never actually find the others. I liked the mystery of it.

Come to think of it, I guess I also liked the fact that those seemingly quite normal bears acquired superpowers after they drank the mystery potion.

The Smurfs

I used to like the Smurfs because they were a rather original idea; I’m not sure anybody expected blue creatures with white hats to be so successful. However, the show was a little too predictable; the characters were too stereotypical (one is always clumsy, the other is always depressed, etc.). I abandoned the Smurfs in favor of Gummi Bears.

Duck Tales

Another great show tune.

Disney did a great job casting their shows with characters — first, the choice of an animal was just brilliant: ducks are toony, their faces are expressive (and the beaks are funny), and the great sounds they make when under stress come for free. But also the decision to base the show on three brothers and their uncle, a stingy millionaire modeled on Scrooge, is original, clever (the fact that it’s their uncle and not their dad gives them more freedom to go on their crazy adventures (which are also made possibly by their uncle’s wealth) and make fun of him occasionally (and point out why it’s bad to be greedy).

Darkwing Duck

I haven’t really watched it much, but I really liked the imagery — the protagonist, a duck in a cape, dressed in purple. There was a video game based on the show that I would play religiously.