Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network) is a former American children's programming block, as well as former branching for a slate of international children's television channels. Fox Kids began on September 8, 1990 and ended on September 7, 2002. Fox Kids is the original programming block that Spider-Man: The Animated Series aired on.
History
The Fox Kids Network logo used from 1993 to 1996
According to James B. Stewart's book DisneyWar, Fox Kids' history is intertwinded with that of the syndicated children's program block The Disney Afternoon. Duck Tales, the series which served as the launching pad for The Disney Afternoon, premiered in syndication in September 1987, airing on Fox's owned-and-operated stations as well as various Fox affiliates in many markets. This may have been due in no small part to the fact that The Walt Disney Company's chief operating officer at the time, Michael Eisner and his then-Fox counterpart, Barry Diller, had worked together at ABC and at Paramount Pictures.
In 1988, Disney purchased independent television station KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, later changing it's call letters to KCAL-YV. The station's new owners wanted DuckTales to be shown on KCAL, effectively taking the local television rights to the animated series away from Fox-owned KTTV. Furious at the breach of contract, Diller pulled DuckTales from all of Fox's other owned-and-operated stations in the fall of 1989. Diller also encouraged the network's affiliates to do the same, though most did not initially. As Disney went forward in developing The Disney Afternoon, Fox (whose schedule at the time was limited to prime time programming on Saturday and sunday nights) began the process of launching it's own children's programming lineup.
Fox Kids was launched on September 8, 1990 as the Fox Children's Network, a joint venture between the Fox Broadcasting Company and it's affiliates. Originally headed up by division president Margaret Loesch, it's programming originally aired for 30 minutes per day on Monday through Fridays, and for three hours on Saturday mornings. In September 1991, the block was rebranded as the Fox Kids Network, with it's programming expanding to 90 minutes on weekdays and four hours on Saturday mornings; the weekday editions of the block grew to 2½ hours the following year. Every November, from 1992 to 1998, Fox Kids aired "The Fox Kids T.V. Takeover," a special programming block on Thanksgiving Day that led into the network's NFL coverage during the final four years of it's run.
Fox Kids was replaced by the FoxBox on September 21, 2002 and was subsequently renamed 4Kids TV three years later in January 2005.
Programming
1990 - 1993
1990
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1990 - 1991)
- Bobby's World (1990 - 1998)
- Fun House (1990 - 1991)
- Peter Pan and the Pirates (1990 - 1992)
- Piggsburg Pigs! (1990 - 1991)
- Swamp Thing (1990 - 1991)
- Tom & Jerry Kids (1990 - 1994)
- Zazoo U (1990 - 1991)
1991
- Beetlejuice (1991 - 1992) (Season 4 only)
- Bill and Ted's Exellent Adventures (1991)
- Dark Water (1991)
- Little Dracula (1991)
- Little shop (1991)
- Merrie Melodies Starring Gugs Bunny & Friends (1991 - 1994)
- Taz-Mania (1991 - 1995)
1992
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (1992 - 1993) (Reruns of the 1983 - 1990 series)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992 - 1995)
- Defenders of Dynatron City (1992)
- Dog City (1992 - 1994)
- Eek! The Cat (1992 - 1997)
- George of the Jungle (1992) (Reruns of the 1967 series)
- Ghostwriter (1992) (Pilot only)
- Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (1992) (Reruns of the 1987 - 1988 series)
- The Plucky Duck Show (1992)
- Solarman (1992) (Pilot only)
- Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire (1992 - 1993)
- Tiny Toon Adventures (1992 - 1995)
- X-Men: The Animated Series (1992 - 1997)
1993
- Animaniacs (1993 - 1995)
- Count DeClue's Mystery Castle (1993) (Television special)
- Droopy, Master Detective (1993 - 1994)
- Lost in Dinosaur World (1993) (Television special)
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993 - 1996)
- The Terrible Thunderlizards (1993 - 1997)
- Trollies Christmas Sing-Along (1993) (Television special)
1994 - 1998
1994
- A.J.'s Time Travelers (1994)
- Christopher the Christmas Tree (1994)
- Grunt & Punt (1994 - 1995)
- Jim Henson's Animal Show with Stinky & Jake (1994 - 1997)
- Johnson and Friends (1994 - 1997)
- Life with Louie (1994 - 1998)
- The Magic School Bus (1994)
- Red Planet (1994 - 1998)
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994 - 1998)
- Thunderbirds (1994) (Reruns of the 1960's television series)
- The Tick (1994 - 1996)
- Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (1994 - 1998)
1995
- Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Murnfie (1995 - 1997)
- Budgie the Little Helicopter (1995 - 1997)
- Goosebumps (1995 - 1998)
- Kultter! (1995 - 1996)
- Masked Rider (1995 - 1996)
- Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out (1995) (Short film)
1996
- The Balloonatiks: Christmas Without a Clause (1996) (Television special)
- Beast Wars: Transformers (1996 - 1999)
- Big Bad Beetleborgs (1996 - 1997)
- C Bear and Jamal (1996 - 1997)
- Casper (1996 - 1998)
- Little Mouse and the Prairie (1996)
- Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers (1996) (Miniseries aired as the finale of season three of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
- Power Rangers Zeo (1996)
1997
- The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police (1997 - 1998)
- Beetleborgs Metallix (1997 - 1998)
- Chimp Lips Theater (1997) (Two episode television special)
- Eerie, Indiana (1997) (Reruns of the 1991 - 1992 show)
- Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (1997 - 1998)
- Power Rangers Turbo (1997)
- Round the Twist (1997)
- Space Goofs (1997 - 1999)
- Stickin' Around (1997)
1998
- Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension (1998)
- Godzillia: The Series (1998 - 2000)
- Mad Jack the Pirate (1998 - 1999)
- The Mr. Potato Head Show (1998 - 1999)
- Mowgil: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book (1998)
- The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998 - 1999)
- Ned's Newt (1998)
- Power Rangers in Space (1998)
- The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs (1998 - 1999)
- Silver Surfer (1998)
- Toonsylvania (1998 - 2000)
- Young Hercules (1998 - 1999)
1999 - 2002
1999
- Avengers: United They Stand (1999 - 2000)
- Beast Machines: Transformers (1999)
- Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999, 2000 - 2001)
- Cybersix (1999 - 2000)
- Dennis and Gnasher (1999 - 2001)
- Digimon: Digital Monsters (1999 - 2001)
- Jellikins (1999)
- The Magician (1999)
- NASCAR Racers (1999 - 2001)
- The New Woody Woodpecker Show (1999 - 2002)
- Oggy and the Cockroaches (1999)
- Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999)
- Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999 - 2000)
- Spider-Man: Unlimited (1999 - 2000)
- Xyber 9: New Dawn (1999)
2000
- Action Man (2000 - 2001)
- Angela Anaconda (2000)
- Dinozaurs (2000)
- Dungeons & Gragons (2000) (Reruns of the 1983 - 1985 series)
- Escaflowne (2000)
- Flint the Time Detective (2000 - 2001)
- Monster Rancher (2000)
- Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000)
- Real Scary Stories (Also known as Scary. . . But True) (2000)
2001
- Alienators: Evolution Continues (2001 - 2002)
- Digimon Tamers (2001 - 2002)
- Kong: The Animated Series (2001) (Reruns)
- Los Luchadores (2001 - 2002)
- Medabots (2001 - 2002)
- Mon Colle Knights (2001 - 2002)
- Moolah Beach (2001)
- Power Rangers Time Force (2001)
- The Ripping Friends (2001 - 2002)
- Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends (2001)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 - 2002)
- The Zack Files (2001)
2002
- Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension (2002)
- Power Rangers Wild Force (2002)
Slogans
- It's On Fox (1992 - 1993)
- Fox Kids is What? Fox Kids is Cool! (1995 - 1997)
- Fox Kids Rocks Kids! (1997 - 1998)
- Fox Kids, Take the Ride (1998 - 2001)
- Fox Kids, Where Heroes Live! (2001 - 2002)