In the late 1960's,and throughout the 1970's and 1980's for that matter, Lou Scheimer and his partner Norm Prescott crank out a ton of cartoons for Filmation productions during the time. They were some that were in fact down right awful,and some that were very successful indeed(like their animated version of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek,and The Archies) to name a few. But the one that blew them out of the water and perhaps one of the better Saturday Morning cartoon shows that had a minority in a starring role was that of "Fat Albert". There was some criticism during this show's run,but when it was on CBS,it garnered more awards and praises then any children's show ever produced. It was the show that broke the mold and the quinessential animated show of all time. As a kid growing up,I couldn't wait for it to come on. Each episode had the kids in usual predictments,and after the band would sing a song regarding the lesson they learned. However,me and me friend had a debate on who was singing those songs. We knew that Bill Cosby was the voice behind Fat Albert,but we it was a unknown singer that did the songs.........From its premiere episode in September of 1972 to the final episode of the series in September of 1985,this was the show to watch. However,the years on CBS were from 1972-1979,and when the network cancelled "Fat Albert",the series went into syndication from 1979-1985,under the title,"The New Adventures Of Fat Albert". Bill Cosby was not only the star of the show,but served as executive producer,executive in charge of production and also as the educational consultant for the series. Repeats of the show ran every Saturday Morning from two decades(1970's and 1980's)and later on in syndication markets.
It was a great show. However,their were many specials produced that were good including the riveting "A Fat Albert Christmas" and others. It a crying shame that this series isn't on Cartoon Network or FOX family channel or the Odyssey network,since the show had family values. It would be nice if Bill Cosby would release these episodes on videocassette or DVD(as a box set..they did with the animated version of Star Trek). Great show from the groovy 1970's!!
