Aired: 1970-1973
Budget: $10,000 per episode
“Harlem Globetrotters” was a cartoon based on the famous basketball team of the same name. Each episode ran for thirty minutes, and there were a total of twenty-two episodes of the show. Of course, Hanna-Barbera was the producer behind the show.
The show featured an animated version of the basketball players as well as a fictional bus driver, manager, and Dribbles the dog – the team’s mascot. The series followed the team as they traveled, usually getting into a local conflict that led to one of the players proposing a basketball game to settle the issue.
Flipper
Aired: 1964-1967
Budget: $15 million in total
The television show starred Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin and the pet of Chief Porter Ricks, the Head Warden at the Coral Key Park & Marine Preserve. Flipper was portrayed at first by a female dolphin named Susie and occasionally by other females. Female dolphins were chosen for the role because they are less aggressive than males.
The show's marine preserve was based on the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, located in Key Largo, Florida. Dubbed "the aquatic Lassie," the show ran on NBC for eighty-eight episodes and is still inspiring children's merchandise today.
The Batman/Superman Hour
Aired: 1968-1969
Budget: $150,000 per episode
"The Batman/Superman Hour" was based on the DC Comic Books characters and featured Robin, Batgirl, and Superboy. The show marked the beginning of Batman appearing as an animated character and was also the first time the classic Batman villains were featured on television.
When CBS secured the animation rights of Batman, the series moved to that network where it would air reruns well into the nineties.
Fat Albert
Aired: 1972-1985
Budget: $360,000 per season
Filmation produced the show, and it ran from 1972 until 1985. New episodes were released sporadically during that time, so the show consisted mainly of reruns. The show was based in North Philadelphia, and most episodes had an educational lesson to them.
"Fat Albert" was widely known for its episodes ending song the gang would play. The show was directed by veteran Tv executive Hal Sutherland and featured the voice of Bill Cosby.
The Partridge Family
Aired: 1970-1999
Budget: $6,000 per episode
One of the best-known sitcoms of the twentieth century, The Partridge Family, starred Shirley Jones. The family traveled around the world, playing music. The show aired as a part of ABC's Friday-night lineup and would later go on to have reruns in syndication.
The family was based on a real-life family band that was popular in the sixties and seventies, The Cowsills. "The Patridge Family" had it all, comic books, animated series, movies, and CDs - not to mention various spin-offs of the show.