I first remember seeing "Top Cat" when it was part of NBC's Saturday morning lineup in the late 60's (I was born on April 29, 1962, when the show was halfway through its first - and only - prime-time season on ABC).
Whoever said, "You don't really appreciate something until after it's gone," was right - once "Top Cat" left NBC in 1969, all I had were comic books of the show to enjoy, as well as a coloring book of when T.C. and the gang went to the local zoo. When "T.C." was first syndicated in 1969, no stations here in Detroit (or around Lansing, Michigan, where I moved to in 1971 and lived until 1978) decided to purchase the reruns and show them (apparently the program directors of said stations didn't know a good cartoon series when they saw one); until 1996, when Cartoon Network reran "T.C." for the first time in ages, it would be a miracle (such as when I visited my relatives near Pittsburgh or my grandparents in California) before I ever saw any episodes of the show again.
About two weeks ago (January 14), I FINALLY purchased the entire 30-episode DVD box set of "Top Cat." It was such a treat to see all the episodes again, as well as the shorts with the actors who voiced the characters (my favorite "Top Cat" episodes have to be "All That Jazz," about the "diamond mine in Diambodi," and "The Golden Fleecing," about the female cat Honeydew Melon). And the best part is: Now I DON'T have to wait until if and when Boomerang decides to rerun "T.C." in the future; I can watch the show again any time I want!
(I also recently tracked down a copy of the 1962 TV soundtrack album on vinyl, so now I have another "T.C." collectible to enjoy. I hope to have one of my friends dub it onto a CD for me.)
So thanks, Warner Home Video, for helping revive an old, enjoyable childhood memory. It was certainly $45 well spent! (Now would you PLEASE see about putting another one of my all-time favorite, and seldom-seen, Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, "The Roman Holidays," on DVD soon? I know that would also be worth paying good money for!)
