🛰️ Operation: Saturday Morning Cartoons

Mike BeckerMike Becker
2 min read

🎯 Mission Objective

We built an open-source Python utility that resurrects the golden age of Saturday morning TV — powered by your Plex library.

SatAmPlex scans your collections, intelligently shuffles a weekend cartoon block, and generates a fresh playlist with just enough runtime to satisfy your inner 80s kid.

The goal? A self-renewing, nostalgia-fueled cartoon ritual — no menus, no binging, no decision fatigue. Just press play.

🛠️ Gear Check

  • ✅ Python 3.11+

  • ✅ Plex API access + Token

  • ✅ Collections labeled for cartoons and live-action shows

  • ✅ Optional emoji-enhanced playlist names (🌞📺)

The script picks 1 live-action show and fills the rest with animated episodes, targeting a 3-hour runtime and skipping anything too short (e.g. bonus features, behind-the-scenes fluff).

🧠 How It Works

  1. Connects to Plex using your token and server URL

  2. Filters episodes by:

    • Type (cartoon or live-action)

    • Runtime (between 10–55 minutes)

  3. Randomly selects a live-action show (never first in the list)

  4. Fills the remaining time with cartoons, shuffling to taste

  5. Builds a new playlist titled like:
    🌞 Saturday Morning Cartoons – Jun 15

Every week = a new grab bag. Familiar titles. Random order. Classic vibe.

🧬 Code Drop

Repo: github.com/ZentrixLabs/SatAmPlex

git clone https://github.com/ZentrixLabs/SatAmPlex.git cd SatAmPlex python main.py

You’ll need to edit config.py with your Plex info and collection names. There’s a sample config included to get roll

📺 Coming Soon

This is Phase 1 of a bigger idea:

  • ✅ Script that builds playlists

  • 🔜 Modular app with reusable functions + CLI

  • 🔮 A tvOS-style Plex viewer app with retro UI, fully offline-capable

Think: Apple TV meets CRT scanlines. No subscriptions, just snacks.

🕹️ Exit Strategy

This is a love letter to our childhoods and a low-maintenance way to bring structure back to chaotic streaming libraries.

If you’ve got a Plex server, a soft spot for X-Men ’92, and a desire to hit “Play All” on a Saturday morning, this one’s for you.

Feedback welcome. Fork it, theme it, automate it.

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Written by

Mike Becker
Mike Becker