Picture this: It's Saturday morning, and you're a regular kid. No school, no homework, and definitely no job — unless you count minding your rowdy siblings. It’s just you, your comfiest pajamas, and a bowl of the sugary cereal you had to beg Mom to buy. That’s because Saturday mornings mean more than just being off from school or work. They also mean you get to delight in a smorgasbord of cartoons, and you absolutely cannot miss your weekly feast. 

If you're old enough to remember what that was like, you'll probably recognize the appeal of Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, or S.M.A.S.H. A love letter to the halcyon days of a certain generation’s bygone youth and the culture surrounding Saturday morning cartoons, the show — from its hokey "rad" hosts Skip and Treybor (Kyle Mooney) to its fake toy commercials spliced between cartoons — makes you feel like you’ve been transported back in time.

What defined the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons, and why was it significant? Each week, viewers young and old fell in love with the characters they saw on their TV screens. Super Friends brought superheroic stories to the table, while the Looney Tunes gang's antics sent you into fits of laughter. We solved mysteries with the Scooby-Doo crew, cheered on the warriors of ThunderCats and G.I. Joe, and rocked out to the music of Josie and the Pussycats.

Cynics may look back on this time as one where most cartoons were meant to sell something (namely, toys), but what ultimately made this era of pop culture so special wasn’t the products or the sugary cereal that accompanied so many viewings. The allure of the Saturday morning cartoon was about being young — letting yourself giggle helplessly at something silly, getting wrapped up in epic adventures and transportive tales. And if you were a parent, watching with your children, Saturday morning cartoons allowed you time together, sharing in the joys of familial laughter. In fact, for any adult, with or without kids, that special block of time gave you something to look forward to after a busy and hectic week. 

This was a simpler time where we didn't jump out of bed and head straight to social media or YouTube for a video from our favorite creators. There was a relative sense of peace in staying at home and seeing the friendly faces you got to know intimately. Each Saturday, your TV pals would be waiting to greet you to celebrate the end of the school week, and they'd be there for you before Monday rolled around again, too. 

Unfortunately, the era wasn't going to last, at least not in its traditional form. The decline of Saturday morning cartoons began in the early 1990s, when parents became less and less thrilled that weekends had turned into what they deemed hours of glorified toy commercials. And as children grew up and the landscape of entertainment changed, so too did the way children played as well as the things they played with. And when the internet showed up, young people migrated to another screen to spend their time with. 

Jumping into a show like S.M.A.S.H., now as adults, many will likely appreciate the nostalgic references, sarcastic jokes and often darker subject matter. But you can also close your eyes and imagine the most perfect Saturday ever, sitting in your living room, eyes glued to the screen from morning till lunchtime, delighting in the fantastical stories without a care in the world. While S.M.A.S.H. does its fair share of lampooning the more materialistic side of the cartoon industry, it does so in playful ways that everyone can appreciate, whether you lived through this time, or you’re part of a new generation and eager to set up your own Saturday morning cartoon block.