A couple of cartoons that haven 't faded from my memory quite as much were Tale Spin and especially Duck Tales. I use to get pretty excited about Duck Tales and even sing along with the song. I thought it would be cool to have a neighbor who was really adventurous and maybe a little off the wall like Launch Pad McDuck or Doc from Back To The Future.
When I grew a little older and cartoons weren't so "cool" I took a real liking to Home Improvement. Tim was the coolest dad! Once in a blue moon I'll run across an old rerun and think of Jared Holyoak. That was about the only show I can remember being able to sit down and watch during the middle of the day, right around the time another t.v. great was on the air. Saved By the Bell was almost like Seinfeld for kids. You could talk about it to just about anyone and they also knew what happened in the last episode. Screech, A.C. Slater, Zack "Preppy", Kelly, Jessie, and Mr. Belding were the role models for us kids on how to deal with real issues. Drugs, first love, lost love, financial issues, being bullied, cheating, just to name a few.
Another lasting favorite that I'll still watch if I run across it is The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air. Will and his relatives the Banks (Uncle Phil, Carlton, Ashley and some others) along with Geoffrey the butler and Jazz got plenty of my attention. Chad Clark reminded me of Fresh Prince quite a bit. I just got the same feeling around him as I did watching Will. Both pretty cool dudes older than me I guess.
Thanks for the idea Scott. I'd like to hear about your favorites.