Early seasons feature an announcer stating each episode's theme and three cartoons to be showcased.

He wanted the show to be a "Ken Burns" type of weekly documentary on specific cartoon history.

Three basic concepts used for these episodes are directors (e.g. Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng), characters (e.g. "Evolution of Tweety" and "The Year Elmer Fudd Got Fat"), and themes.

Featuring: Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid (edited for time), Crying for the Carolines, clips from The Leon Schlesinger Studios gag reel showing a "typical" day working at Termite Terrace; Lady, Play Your Mandolin!

(edited for content), Spies (edited for content), The Return of Mr. Hook (edited for time), a scene from Two Guys from Texas, a scene from My Dream Is Yours, So Much for So Little, Drafty, Isn't It?, a commercial for Tang featuring Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian, clips from the failed 1950s pilot Philbert, and the opening credits and original theme song for Adventures of the Road Runner, with clips from You Oughta Be in Pictures, One Froggy Evening, Rabbit Seasoning, Daffy Duck in Hollywood, Slick Hare, What's Opera, Doc?, Tired and Feathered, Home Tweet Home, Baby Bottleneck, the Private Snafu shorts Coming Home and Snafuperman, and Hare Trigger.