He-Man and beyond: 20 sci-fi cartoons (some iconic, some weird) that transported '80s and '90s kids to strange new worlds

Kids who grew up in the '80s and '90s couldn't enjoy the massive selection of live-action sci-fi TV available right now.

With the biggest out-of-this-world adventures likely to be found in theaters, many of the most memorable — and undoubtedly the weirdest — concepts tended to be found in Saturday morning cartoons.

This is a realm of exposition-heavy opening credits, relentlessly earwormy theme tunes, and heroes who, for no obvious reason, choose to hang out with cute/annoying [delete as appropriate] comedy sidekicks like Orko and Snarf.

The massive success of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" also established a symbiotic link between television screens and playrooms, as toy giants Mattel, Hasbro, and Kenner realised that a successful animated series could be the ultimate advertising opportunity for their latest product lines.

Below, we've picked out 20 sci-fi cartoons that brought outer space, time travel, must-own vehicles, and genre-defining villains into millions of living rooms every week. Just don't blame ...