Cartoon Network - July 23, 1995 Commercials, Bumpers & Interstitials (SGC2C, Power Zone)
Hey all; this old codger of '90's Cartoon Network commercials is dusting off after a nine-year hiatus.
These are Cartoon Network-related wraparounds from a VHS recording dated Sunday, July 23 1995. Long before Toonami, Adult Swim Action and Toonami Midnight Run was the granddaddy of Saturday night action blocks on Cartoon Network.....Power Zone.
Power Zone was the Saturday late-night counterpart to Cartoon Network's original action block, Super Adventures. Premiering in January 1995, Power Zone originally aired on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings from 12:15AM-5:30AM.
A unique opening and logo was produced for the block, but it largely recycled its bumpers from Super Adventures.
Power Zone's programming format differed from its weekday counterpart, as each Saturday night installment highlighted a series or character(s) from Cartoon Network's library of action shows at the time. Episodes of the highlighted show would be interspersed with 30-minute blocks of action shorts (in the same vein as the main Super Adventures block) throughout the night.
The featured series of this edition of Power Zone was Ruby-Spears' "Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show" (1979-1981).
Power Zone was initially canceled sometime in late 1995/early 1996, and after a substantial revamp (featuring an updated intro and bumpers), replaced the short-lived Afternoon Adventures as Cartoon Network's weekday action block in March 1996.
The revamped Power Zone ran on weekday afternoons from March 1996 to March 14, 1997. The following Monday, March 17, 1997, it was quietly canceled and replaced with a unique take on action blocks from Williams Street called "Toonami"...and the rest is history.
