What were some of your favorite Saturday morning rituals when you were growing up? Some dreamed of a chance to be in the "Peanut Gallery" of Howdy Doody. Some begged their parents for a dog just like Lassie. Many wore cowboy hats to watch The Roy Rogers Show. In the 1950s, television was new and exciting, full of imaginative shows for children. Looking back, these shows had a significant impact on the children of the first TV generation and helped to shape the medium as it increasingly became a part of our culture.

On May 6, 2008, Shout! Factory will bring a sumptuous collection of the best kids' TV programs from the infancy of the genre to every home through the DVD release of Hiya, Kids!! A '50s Saturday Morning. The 4-DVD box set is packed with 21 complete episodes culled from some of America's iconic television classics, including Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Howdy Doody, Lassie, Annie Oakley, Flash Gordon, Time for Beany, The Paul Winchell Show, The Roy Rogers Show, Captain Z-RO, The Rootie Kazootie Club, Winky Dink And You, Super Circus, Andy's Gang, The Cisco Kid, Sky King, The Magic Clown, Kids And Company, Junvenile Jury, The Pinky Lee Show, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Each DVD from Hiya, Kids!! is designed like a Saturday morning programming block from the era, with shows for the very young first on the menu. As the older siblings "wake up," the programs become more and more "sophisticated."