10:30 a.m.

The competition gets tough. Pinky and the Brain on Kids' WB!, Sam and Max on Fox, and The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show on ABC.

Pinky and the Brain still remains one of the funniest shows, and I will continue to watch it, while I pray for it to return to prime time. Sam & Max is a show that I've been anticipating for years. I like the comic book. I like the video game, and I'll bet the show will be funny too. I'll tape it. When they both go into reruns, though, it's back to Bugs and Tweety, who remain the funniest, even years later. 11:00 a.m.

Life with Louie on Fox, Animaniacs on Kids WB!, and Jungle Cubs on ABC.

Hey, do the writers of Animaniacs split their writers' fees with the people who actually wrote the stuff they are parodying in the first place? Just wondering. It's still funny, nevertheless, so I will watch Animaniacs.

Toonsyvlvania, now in production by DreamWorks Television Animation, will air on Kids' WB! starting in 1998. © 1997 DreamWorks L.L.C.

11.30 a.m.

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on ABC, X-Men on Fox, and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, on Kids' WB!

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries is better than you'd think. But CBS is set to weigh in with The Weird Al Show, and that could be worth checking out, even though it is predominately live-action.

12:00 noon.

Science Court on ABC. Despite sounding about as much fun as chemistry lab, this may have potential. It's from the creators of Dr. Katz, and my guess is that if you can stand the Squigglevision, this could be fun. Enough fun to make you forget that your daily dose of educational programming is being heaped on.

We'll have to wait until 1998 for Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania. Too bad. It will be interesting to see DreamWorks TV Animation in action.

Hmmm ... So, What Do I Think?

The good news is that Saturday morning is no longer the Jim Carrey Cartoon Festival. But the bad news is that it's still Saturday morning animation. More choices simply equals more of the same mediocrity this year.

For some of the shows, the attempt to be different and relevant has even made the shows the same as those that are on other channels. We are starting to see just a few too many fond paeans to youth all over the airwaves, and they are becoming repetitive. Thus, there are a lot of new programs, but nothing really new. Nickelodeon was successful in 1991 because they made shows that were different, and other show creators will probably have more success if they follow the lead of making shows that are unique, not replications of past successful shows.